Paris stopover journeys to the Alps

Why stop over in Paris?

Paris stopover journeys are a great way of getting additional time in resort. It' sounds counterintuitive, because you are spending extra time in France's capital.  But on your outbound journey, if you leave the UK the evening before you would normally have done and stay in Paris, you get to travel to your ski resort the next morning.

This way, you arrive at your ski resort earlier than you would have done if you'd travelled straight from the UK the next day. Plus, by spending a night in Paris on the outbound journey and then taking a fast train the next morning, you actually have a wider range of rail travel and destination options.

Depending on your passion for pains au chocolat and PSG, you can choose your Eurostar to give you more or less time in Paris. For travel the next morning, there are lots of TGVs that depart Paris in the morning headed for French, Italian, Swiss and even Austrian ski resorts.

You can take a super early one to give an earlier arrival in resort. Travelling this way, you can arrive in-resort by lunchtime and in many cases can ski in the afternoon—a bonus half-day's skiing that no one else travelling straight through will have. Or, you can give yourself a lie-in and a leisurely start from Paris, and arrive in resort in the afternoon.

A same-same-but-different advantage can work for your return journey too: you can ski on the last day (when other skiers would normally be travelling back) and then get a late-afternoon TGV back to Paris, to stay the night there. Then, you simply board the Eurostar to London the next morning.

On the outbound journey, when you arrive in Paris on the Eurostar, you take a taxi from the taxi rank outside Paris Nord, or with a pre-booked taxi that will meet you at the end of the Eurostar platform. There are lots of clean, comfortable, inexpensive hotels close to Paris Gare de Lyon (where most trains to the Alps depart from), and the journey from Paris Nord (where your Eurostar arrives) is about a 20-minute drive. You arrive at your hotel and can then go out for dinner or to explore Paris if you wish. Then, the next morning, you just walk about 150 metres to the station, hop on board your TGV train and head to the Alps.

Further down this page, we've listed a few recommended hotels that you can stay at right by Paris Gare de Lyon. There are of course plenty more that you could choose. 

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Le Paris Stopover - the film

Snowcarbon Founder, Daniel, has travelled this way with big groups of friends and they had a great time. The relaxed journey and stopover in Paris gives you an even greater opportunity for making the journey part of the holiday.

Daniel has created a two-minute film of one such trip, showing how the group travelled and had fun on their way to the Alps and sneaked an afternoon on the slopes once they arrived.

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Examples of morning TGV trains from Paris to the Alps

Below is a table showing some of the departures from Paris Gare de Lyon, to give you example timings. For each ski resorts we list the closest train station, departure time from Paris Gare de Lyon, arrival time at said station and how long the transfer from station to resort takes. 

Please note that these are just examples of some of the morning departures, there will be others too. 

Ski resort	Train station	Depart Paris	Arrive	Transfer
Alpe d'Huez	Grenoble	07:13	10:13	90 mins
Auris en Oisans	Grenoble	07:13	10:13	85 mins
Avoriaz	Cluses	07:05	11:10	50 mins
La Plagne	Aime-la-Plagne	07:47	12:29	40 mins
La Rosiere	Bourg-St-Maurice	07:47	12:50	40 mins
Le Grand Bornand	Annecy	09:43	13:29	35 mins

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Examples of afternoon TGV trains from the Alps to Paris

Notice that many of the journeys below can give you an extra final day on the slopes, because you can ski the whole day, or most of it, before catching your TGV back to Paris, where you can stay a night before continuing your journey home the next morning.

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Citizen M hotel, Paris Gare de Lyon

Citizen M

Just by Paris Gare de Lyon station is the fantastic Citizen M hotel, overlooking the River Seine.

We've had some great recommendations from skiers who have stayed here, and of course, you may already be familiar with the Citizen M hotel brand from their hotels in other cities.

The hotel and rooms are done in the attractive Citizen M style, and the rooms have XL king-size beds, ultra soft linen from Italy and powerful tropical rain showers (in the bathroom - not the weather...)

Prices start at €71.40 per night.

Contact details:
Phone: +33 1 86 65 07 40
Email: TBC
Website: https://www.citizenm.com/destinations/paris/paris-gare-de-lyon-hotel

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Hotel Palym, Paris Gare de Lyon

Hotel PalymPhoto: Daniel Elkan

Just around the corner from Paris Gare de Lyon is the comfortable Hotel Palym, a simple but pleasant place to stay.

The rooms are clean, attractive and reasonably priced.

Single €89 - €95; Double or twin €105; Triple €140; Quadruple €160; A buffet breakfast is €8

Contact details:
Phone: +33 1 43 43 24 48;
Email: infos@hotel-palym.com;
Website: www.paris-hotel-palym.com

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Hotel Bel Oranger, Paris Gare de Lyon

Hotel Bel OrangerPhoto: Daniel Elkan

Equally close to Gare de Lyon station is the comfortable Hotel Bel Oranger.

The rooms are clean and very well presented, and we've stayed there a couple of times when travelling to the Alps with groups of friends. The room rates are listed below, but the hotel said that if you phone, they sometimes have special offers.

Single €127; Double or twin €130 - 225
Contact details:
Phone: +33 1 43 43 11 00;
Email: hotel@beloranger.com;
Website: http://www.hotelbelorangerparis.com

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Getting from Paris Nord to your hotel

From Paris Nord to the Eurostar, it's a simple transfer to your hotel. You can do this in three ways: by pre-booked taxi, with a taxi from the taxi rank or by RER (part of the Paris Metro).

The taxi journey is a 15–20 minute drive, and costs about €18 for a four-seater taxi, or for the pre-booked taxi is €55–€65 for an eight-person vehicle. All types of transfer can take skis and snowboard bags, so there's no problem there. 

All in all, you should factor in one hour from your Eurostar arriving to you arriving at your hotel, although it would usually take less time.

Once that's done, you are free to enjoy your day and/or evening in Paris, knowing the next day you'll be hitting the slopes!

To find out how to change easily, just view our guide to changing stations from Paris Nord to Paris Gare de Lyon.

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Pre-booked taxi to your hotel

You can use the taxi rank at Paris Nord to take a taxi across to your hotel at Gare de Lyon. The queue at Paris Nord is often very short, and it always moves quickly in any case. The journey is about a 20-minute drive.

You can also book a pre-booked taxi to meet you at the end of the Eurostar platform, or just opposite the station, holding a placard with your name on it. ,

We made a one-minute film about it to show exactly what it is like (and had fun doing it!).

This is a brilliant way of crossing Paris for a family or a group of friends. It just makes things very easy.

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Choose how long you stay in Paris

Photo: Daniel Elkan

As long as you stay in Paris for fewer than 24 hours, you can still book the journey on one ticket and take advantage of lower "Connection Fares".

So, if you want to spend a day or an afternoon in Paris, this won't affect the price of your rail ticket.

Here are some of the Eurostars you could take, for example:

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Like more help and advice?

If you'd like more help and advice on the best train travel options, resorts and accommodation, feel free to contact SnowCarbon's founder, Daniel. 

He can help with specific advice and suggestions, using his years of experience as a ski journalist and expert on how to travel to the Alps by train. 

Daniel knows lots of great accommodations, tour operators and independent providers that can help, so you'll get some great, personalised suggestions.

Just send Daniel an email, and he'll be back in touch ASAP.