French rail holidays and train travel to France

Travelling by train to France and rail holidays within France are popular experiences. France may be the destination in itself for your holiday, or you may spend time in France on your way by train to other countries such as Italy, Spain, Austria or Switzerland. Train travel through France is one of the best ways to see the changes in scenery from north to south and west to east. Expressions Holidays can tailor-make your rail holiday to France. We will navigate through the options to select the most appropriate and convenient trains for your holiday. We offer a range of hotels such as luxury five star and charming boutique hotels.

How you travel to France by train
A rail holiday to France starts with a journey by Eurostar from London St Pancras, Ebbsfleet or Ashford stations in the UK to either Paris Gare du Nord or Lille. Not all trains stop at the Ebbsfleet and Ashford stations in Kent, but parking is plentiful at both stations and it allows you to avoid London.
You may wish to start your French holiday with a night or more in Paris, or with a simple change of station in Paris continue further into France. For certain destinations such as the Mediterranean you can change in Lille Europe station which is a very straightforward connection with no change of station required. In summer months there are direct trains on Saturdays from London St Pancras to Avignon with no change required. On arrival at your French destination, you can either explore with a hire car, or if you prefer we will arrange private transfers from the train station to your hotel. For more information regarding rail services to and within France, view our train guide.

Suggested holidays
We have assembled some suggestions for rail holidays to France. These include journeys by train to Provence, Catalonia and the Basque Country, the Loire Valley and the French Riviera. We can tailor-make rail holidays using any of our featured French hotels. You can travel one or both ways by train – the other direction, you can fly or sometimes travel by ferry. A combination of France with Italy, Spain or Switzerland is very popular.

Train schedules
A rail holiday to France will usually start with a journey by Eurostar from London St Pancras to Lille or Paris. Trains start early in the day (around 7 am) and there are regular departures until about 8pm. Connection can then be made to elsewhere in France. Here are some sample timings to give an idea of how your rail journey could work. They are by no means the only rail journeys we can arrange, but simply a selection of commonly used routes. 
LONDON TO AVIGNON BY TRAIN 
London 0717 Avignon 1347 (Direct train - summer Saturdays only)
London 0949 Lille 1226 / Lille 1303 Avignon 1708 (daily, throughout the year) 
LONDON TO PERPIGNAN BY TRAIN 
London 0757 Lille 1026 / Lille 1102 Perpignan 1743
London 0931 Paris Nord 1247 / Paris Lyon 1407 Perpignan 1908
LONDON TO BORDEAUX BY TRAIN 
London 0824 Paris Nord 1147 / Paris Montparnasse 1321 Bordeaux 1657
London 0917 Lille 1154 / Lille 1322 Bordeaux 1843 
LONDON TO ST JEAN DE LUZ BY TRAIN 
London 0912 Paris Nord 1247 / Paris Montparnasse 1429 St Jean de Luz 1958
London 1731 Paris Nord 2047 / Paris Austerlitz 2212 St Jean de Luz 0911 next day (overnight)

Trains from Ebbsfleet depart approximately 20 minutes later than London, and those from Ashford depart approximately 30 minutes later than London.