The Paris Train Stations That Keep the City – And The Country – Moving

It may be a city of slow strolls and lingering cafe stops, but the Paris train stations tell a different story — one of speed, scale, and nonstop motion. These are the launchpads for weekends in the Loire, Monday mornings in Brussels, and high-speed escapes to the Riviera. Each station pulls its weight, from the showpiece halls of Gare du Nord to the Left Bank sprawl of Montparnasse. Here's how to make sense of the stations that keep Paris connected.

The 19th-Century Gares of Paris

Gare de Lyon, newly opened in 1900

The railway system is convenient, safe and economical. The six Paris train stations were built in the mid-to-late 1800s and early 1900s and retain a pleasing period feeling to them. (The exception is Gare Montparnasse, which was rebuilt in the late 20th century.) They look the way train stations should look. With your French train tickets in hand (or in your phone) you'll be traveling from one of the gares below.

Gare du Nord

Gare du Nord main hall, photo Wikimedia by Diliff

Gare du Nord, in the 10th Arrondissement, is where you catch the Eurostar to London and other northern destinations in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. This Paris train stations important hub in the urban transportation network, including the RER and the Paris Metro. The RER train from Charles de Gaulle Airport (line B) connects at Gare du Nord. It's no wonder it's the busiest train station in the world (most likely).

Gare du Nord train destination highlights —

• TGV to Lille – London
• TGV to Brussels – Amsterdam
• TGV to Brussels – Cologne – Essen
• TGV to Brussels – Ostend

Gare de l'Est

Gare de l'Est, photo Wikimedia by Gilbert Bochenek

Gare de l'Est is the near neighbor of Gare du Nord in the 10th Arrondissement, up against the 18th. It's one of the oldest Paris train stations. This is where you'll leave from if you want to spend the day in Champagne. Trains from Gare de l'Est also head to other eastern points such as Strasbourg, Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, and even Moscow.

Gare de l'Est destination highlights —

• High-speed train to Berlin
• High-speed train to Innsbruck
• TGV to Reims (Champagne)
• TGV to Luxembourg

Gare de Lyon

Gare de Lyon and its clock tower

Travel over to the 12th Arrondissement, sort of at the intersection of the Canal St Martin and the Seine, and that's where you'll find Gare de Lyon. Built for travelers arriving to attend Universal Exposition of 1900, this sParis train stations with a clock tower is the hub for many southern destinations in France as well as cities of Switzerland and Italy. In fact, it's the gateway to the Rhone Valley, Provence, and the French Riviera.

Gare de Lyon train destination highlights —

• TGV to Lyon
• TGV to Avignon – Marseille
• TGV to Geneva
• TGV to Milan

Le Train Bleu

Sumptuous detailing at Le Train Bleu, photo Le Train Bleu

Named after a famous train of yesteryear that sped Parisians to the Cote d'Azur, restaurant Le Train Bleu is still found today at Gare de Lyon, and it's still just as magnificent as when it opened in 1901, following a recent multi-year renovation. You're going to be amazed at the restored gilding, carved moldings, chandeliers, paintings, and ceiling frescoes.

Gare d'Austerlitz

Gare d'Austerlitz, renovated and improved

Across the river from Gare de Lyon, on the border of the 13th and 5th Arrondissements, is Gare d'Austerlitz, the gateway to the center of France and even the Mediterranean coast. At one time, this was where you'd catch a night train to Spain, but all those legendary (and romantic) sleeper trains have been discontinued.

The station was built in 1838 when it was known as Gare d'Orléans, the terminus for trains traveling to that French city. Currently Austerlitz, one of the oldest Paris train stations, is being completely renovated and revamped to modernize the station and the neighborhood, to make them more green, and to add tracks for high-speed trains serving southwest France. You'll learn all about it in our guide.

Paris Train Stations – Gare Montparnasse

The exterior of Gare Montparnasse Paris after its renovation, photo by AREP

At the Montparnasse Train Station, the trains aren't the only thing moving fast. Between artful murals, rooftop parks, and espresso-fueled travelers heading west, Paris Montparnasse Station pulses with energy. It's a rail hub with attitude and ambition—just the way we like it.

Gare Montparnasse was also built in 1840 (known as Gare de l'Ouest). It is the only train station in Paris to be demolished and rebuilt in the modern era — all part of a complex of office buildings and the Tour Montparnasse skyscraper, in an unfortunate wave of modernization that was in vogue among French politicians in the 1960s and 70s. A renovation between 2017 and 2022 revitalized and beautified the place.

Gare Saint-Lazare

Gare Saint-Lazare, by Claude Monet

Impressionist painters had a soft spot for Paris train stations — both Edouard Manet and Claude Monet chose this gare as the focus of many of their paintings.

There's a famous story of how Monet showed up unannounced, with his painting equipment and his assistant in tow, and demanded to see the station master who was either so impressed or so confused that he "posed" the trains to The Master's instructions, blowing steam on his command.

Gare Saint-Lazare is where you'll depart to get to Mont-St-Michel and Dieppe. It's reached on Metro lines 3, 12, and 13.