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8 French night trains to take this summer

French train operator SNCF is offering sleeper train services between Paris and eight cities across the country this summer, part of a growing network of European night trains.

Published: 2 June 2023 13:57 CEST
8 French night trains to take this summer
The Paris-Nice night train. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP)

Night trains are officially back – with more and more European routes opening up (Paris-Vienna is also available this summer) it’s an increasingly popular way to travel for people who are either concerned about the planet or simply prefer to enjoy a more relaxed travel experience.

Where

SNCF is running 8 Intercité services this summer, they depart from Paris and go to;

  • Toulouse – aka la ville rose, the lively university town in south west France
  • Nice – the night train to the Riviera resort evokes (some of) the glamour of France’s famous train bleu
  • Briançon – perched in the Alps, this is France’s highest city
  • Albi – world heritage site and birthplace of painter Toulouse-Lautrec, Albi is situated in south-west France
  • Argeles-sur-Mer – another seaside resort, this is in the Pyrénées-Orientales
  • Ax-les-Thermes – the spa resort in Haut-Ariège still offers water ‘cures’
  • Cannes – the Riviera’s glitziest destination
  • Lourdes – if you’re going on a pilgrimage, why not travel in style?

Journey time

The night train is slow – deliberately so, nobody wants to be woken up in the middle of the night because you have arrived at your destination.

It uses the slower Intercité routes rather than the high-speed TGV.

The journey from Paris to Nice takes more than 12 hours (compared to 6 hours if you take the daytime TGV), setting off from Paris Austerlitz at around 8.48pm and arriving the following morning in the Mediterranean city at 9.25am – but travellers can sleep through most of the journey that’s more environmentally friendly, cheaper and arguably more relaxing than a flight.

Accommodation

Travellers can book seats with a footrest and adjustable headrest, with a personal night light from €19; the cost of a “couchette” bed, from €29, comes with use of a duvet and pillow, as well as bottle of water, cleaning wipes, earplugs and tissues.

The standard couchette has either four or six bunk beds to a compartment, but if you don’t fancy the idea of sharing with strangers, SNCF also offers the option of hiring out an entire four or six-berth sleeping compartment in first or standard class. All you have to do is mention the “Private Space” service. This service costs from €45 on top of the cost of the couchettes and is not available during busy periods.

Women travelling by themselves can book a berth in a compartment for women only. Tick “Espace Dame Seul” when booking online or mention it when booking tickets at the station or SNCF shop.

All compartments are equipped with locks and there are few or no intermediate stops between 12 midnight and 5.30am.

Showers are available to first-class passengers arriving at Paris Austerlitz and Toulouse Matabiau stations.

Booking

You can book night trains via the usual SNCF website or app, or at station travel centres.

When booking a ticket via SNCF Connect, and after selecting your destination and date of travel, click on Types de Train and select the Intercités des Nuits option.

A guest appearance from Hercule Poirot cannot be guaranteed. 

Member comments

  1. I was excited to try one of the newly available night trains last fall from Toulon to Paris. I am sorry to report that it was a very disappointing experience. The birth was quite uncomfortable and sleeping was impossible. I probably will not take a night train again.

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LIVING IN FRANCE

Explained: What to do if you leave your belongings on a train in France

Here's a look at the steps you should take if you discover that you have left an important or treasured item on a French train.

Published: 3 July 2024 14:59 CEST
Explained: What to do if you leave your belongings on a train in France

We’ve all done it. You get home, or to your hotel or office to realise that, when you got off the train, you forgot to pick up your wallet, laptop, or tablet or sometimes even items of luggage.

Or – every parent’s nightmare – one of your children has left behind their beloved cuddly toy, and only realises as the train you’ve just got off leaves the station.

The good news is that all is not, necessarily, lost. 

The first step is to report the missing item to SNCF. You can do this at the station, but if you’ve got home before you realise something is missing, you can report lost property online (you can change the language of the website).

You will need to describe what you’ve lost, when you lost it, and which train you were travelling on – as well as giving your contact details. 

What happens next

First of all, you will be given a declaration number. Keep it safe – it allows you to track the progress of SNCF’s search for your lost property.

Even so – we have to be honest – the investigation relies a fair bit on good fortune. If your lost property is found on the train by a member of staff, or handed in at a station, then there’s a good chance you’ll get it back. 

It may be that your lost property has already been handed in. If so, it will be registered on SNCF’s national lost property database and kept for 30 days at the station where the item was picked up or, for items forgotten on a train, at the station where they arrived.

Deadline

The database is monitored in real-time matching found items with reports of lost property. When your property has been located, you will be informed, and can go to the station where it is stored, or have it sent to your home address, subject to a shipping charge.

If you do collect it from the station, take along proof of ID – and expect to pay a fee of up to €10, depending on the value of the property you have reported missing.

And, after 30 days?

If items of lost property are not claimed after 30 days, it may be handed over to the government’s Administration des domaines, sold to a charitable organisation or destroyed.

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