Experience the Loire Valley Home Page

 

Loire Valley by train from London

The Eurostar experience:

Smooth and efficient travel between London and Paris.

 

The world's most advanced train, whisks you through the famous Channel Tunnel taking you between London (St. Pancras) and Paris (Gare Du Nord) in record time (2hrs 15min.) and in very comfortable surroundings. Your seat is reserved for you after you book. For 'Business Premier' and'First Class' passengers meals are included. Like most forms of transport nowadays it is non-smoking. Guide dogs are welcome on  board the trains.

 

 

Check-in times
'Business Premier' tickets or Eurostar carte blanche - 10 minutes.

Standard & Leisure Select  tickets  -  allow 30 minutes.

For special travel needs ( wheelchair etc.) allow 45minutes.

If you need assistance please ask a member of staff.

You can make a reservation 180 days in advance.

This service is direct, board the train in the centre of London and disembark in the centre of Paris!
No lengthy check-ins or hassle getting to and from airports!
London to Paris: 2hrs 15mins - hourly service.

The first Eurostar train departs from St. Pancras station, London at 5:25 am and arrives at Gare du Nord station, Paris at 8:50 am.

The last train departs from St. Pancras station, London at 8:05 pm and arrives at Gare du Nord station, Paris at 11:26 pm.

The journey from London to Paris takes approximately 3 hours 40 minutes, and Eurostar fare for this journey is £39 for one side and £69 including return ticket.

Gare du Nord does not service Loire Valley Destinations

 

 Onward to the Loire Valley:

When you arrive at Gare du Nord, the other mainline stations with access to the Loire Valley are all within easy reach, allow yourself   1 1/2 hours to get to Montparnasse  and 30 min to Paris-Austerlitz'

If you want to take the TGV for the next part of you journey you must head for Gare Montparnasse

To get to Gare Montparnasse from Gare du Nord you can either take a taxi or the metro depending on your personal circumstances.

If you can carry/wheel your luggage then you can take in the 'metro experience' which can be interesting depending on the time of day, and remember you may have to negotiate stairs, escalators and turnstiles.

Leave the Eurostar platform, turn left, and follow the signs for Metro line M4.

Metro line M4  takes you directly to 'Montparnasse Bienvenue' - follow signs 'M4 direction Porte d'Orléans'.

Note: The metro will bring  you up a 700 metre (750 yard) walk away from the actual railway station. Follow link below to see detailed metro route.

ratp.f_official_website

Be sure that you can handle your luggage, if in any doubt, just take the taxi, it should cost around €13.00

Check here for up-to-date taxi price to Gare Montparnasse

This could be your best option - especially with luggage.

If the taxi rank is busy you can call an English speaking cab company   'Taxis G7' on +33 1 41 27 66 99 but they will have to pick you up opposite the front entrance to the station on Boulevard de Denain, outside the 'Hotel Paris Terminus Nord' for example, away from the official rank, due to some French taxi union rules.

Loire Valley from Montparnasse Paris

From Montparnasse you can get the high-speed TGV train to a destination in the Loire Valley (ie Tours or Angers for under 50 euros) either as your final destination or to pick up your hire car for further exploration. You can also catch a standard train over to Chartres. Your ticket can be purchased along with your Eurostar ticket or separately - it should be less expensive (as little as 20 euros) the earlier you purchase it.

When you enter the station from street level you'll find escalators and stairs leading up to the main stations plus access to the metro, lines 4, 6, 12 and 13. 

Journey times from Paris Montparnasse (TGV) station.

Tours: (**Saint-Pierre-des-Corps):1hour 15 mins. on the high-speed TGV train

There are some trains that will take you into the main Tours' station - check on the SNCF site for these. 

 

Angers:                1 hour 40 minutes

Blois:                   1 hour 35 minutes

Bourges:              1 hour 50 minutes

Chateauroux:       2 hours 10 minutes

Chinon:                 2hr / 2hr 30min

Orléans:               1 hour

Chartres:              1 hour 15 minutes by TER train

 

Chatellerault:       1 hour 30 minutes

Poitiers:                1 hour 40 minutes

http://www.sncf.com/en/passengers

Please Note:

 **Saint Pierre des Corps is just outside the city of Tours.(3.8km - not 15km as per the Eurostar website!) If you are heading into Tours itself you will find a non TGV train waiting (or arriving shortly) to take you there on your arrival. You can also pick up a hire car from here for onward journey to you destination. There are also trains that do go direct to Tours central station - when enquiring or booking on the SNCF site enter Tours as your destination. You will see some trains require a change at Saint Pierre des Corps and others terminate at Tours.

Although Chatellerault and Poitiers are not in the Loire Valley they provide good links into the Southern Touraine area of the Centre-Val de Loire region.

You can pick up a standard commuter train from any of the above stations to other destinations within the Loire Valley, for example to Loches you would transfer to another train at Tours.

Loire Valley from Austerlitz Paris

To get to Gare Austerlitz from Gare du Nord you can either take a taxi or the metro depending on your personal circumstances.

If you can carry, wheel your luggage then you can take in the 'metro experience' which can be interesting depending on the time of day, and remember you may have to negotiate stairs, escalators and turnstiles.

Leave the Eurostar platform, turn left, and follow the signs for Metro line M5. Metro line 5 takes you directly to the Gare d'Austerlitz, follow signs 'M5 direction Place d'Italie'. The metro train comes out above ground, crosses the Seine and arrives at  Gare d'Austerlitz on a high-level platform opposite the mainline station entrance.

If you'd rather take a taxi it should cost  just over €13.00

 Click here for up-to-date taxi price to Gare d'Austerlitz    

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