London to Béziers / Beziers by train

How to take a thrilling high speed rail journey from London to Beziers

The only current viable option for making the journey by high speed trains from London to Béziers, is to travel via Paris
However, you will need to make the transfer across the French capital between the Gare Du Nord, which is where the Eurostar will arrive, and the Gare De Lyon, the departure station of the TGV train.

However, when the usual (pre-pandemic) timetable is available the other options typically are
1: make a transfer within Lille Europe station (this is normally available year round
2.; When the direct London to Marseille resumes operating in the summer of 2022, taking that train and making the one connection in Lyon or Marseille, is the easiest option for a London to Béziers rail journey.

Share

Routes

From London St Pancras International to Béziers

Journey Summary

Travel Time
7hr 45min - 8hr 55min (approx)
Frequency
Daily
Travel Information

The Eurostar will arrive in Paris at the Gare Du Nord, but the TGV to Béziers will depart from the Gare De Lyon.
This guide explains how to make the transfer between the two stations by RER train.
The London to Béziers tickets do not include the transfer across Paris.

When making a booking, check the connection time between the arrival at Gare Du Nord and the departure from Gare de Lyon; the wide variations in the current end-to-end journey times are mainly to do with the time between the arrival and departures in Paris.
The current, more limited timetables, have compromised the connections, the majority of which now allow around 2hr 30 mins between trains; time enough for a lunch in the fabulous Le Train Bleu restaurant within the Gare De Lyon, or in brasserie by the station.

There are typically quicker end-to-end journeys available on Fridays and Sundays, though be wary of cross Paris transfers of less than an hour; they're perfect if the trains are on time, but don't allow for much contingency in the event of a delay; and there are fewer than the usual number of trains, currently available on the Paris to Béziers route.

USUALLY you can avoid having to make your own way across Paris if you take the alternative journey options via Lille or Marseille, but neither of them are currently an option.

However, there are also 3 ticks in the box for choosing THIS routing via Paris:
(1) More departures to choose from,
(2) you can book the end-to-end journey on one ticket,
(3) and it tends to be cheaper.

Current timetable:
Mon - Fri = 3 x connections per day
Saturday = 2 x connections
Sunday = 3 x connections

Usual timetable (pre-pandemic)
Mon -Thurs = 3 x connections per day
Friday = 4 x connections
Sat/Sun = 3 x connection per day

Changing trains in: Paris

These are the optimum connections that involve taking the Eurostar to Paris + plus a direct TGV from Paris to Beziers.
Look up this journey on the ticket agents and you will also see alternative connections that involve additional transfers between trains.

Tickets

Book Early And Save: Yes

Online bookings open: 90 days ahead

Eurostar now DOES sell tickets for London to Beziers journeys by train.
A plus of booking with Eurostar.com is that you can access a 'Manage Your Booking' facility - which enables you to change the seat on the Eurostar, that you will have been automatically assigned when making a booking.
Click on the Eurostar 'train guides’ for more information on how to do this.

The very cheapest tickets tend to sell out particularly quickly on this route via Paris; they're generally more likely to be available if you can travel on a Tuesday - Thursday, or are happy to set off from London early in the morning.

The search results usually combine these journeys via Paris with the alternative connections via Lille or Marseille.
(Avoid choosing 'Beziers Gare Routiere' as a destination - that's the bus station in Beziers).

The ticketing terms:

If you book Standard or Standard Premier tickets, you can exchange them if need be, to an alternative departure on your booked route; but if you want to transfer your ticket to a new departure less than 7 days before your travel date, you will need to pay an admin fee of £30 for Standard Class tickets, £40 for Standard Premier tickets PLUS the price difference with the new ticket you will be booking.
What's new, in response to the pandemic, is that these £30/40 charges aren't applied if you want to transfer to an alternative departure more than seven days before your travel date.

Business Premier tickets are less restrictive, in response to the pandemic they can now be refunded and they can be exchanged to alternative departures without paying the admin fee, or the price difference.
Eurostar's full ticket terms and conditions are here

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Eurostar from £87 (approx)

Eurostar Guide

In addition to direct journeys by Eurostar trains, the Eurostar website also sells

  • 'Any station in Belgium' tickets; the key feature of these tickets is that they live up to their name, so how distant your Belgian destination is and the journey time doesn't impact on the ticket price.
  • Journeys to SOME major cities in France not served directly by Eurostar– including Avignon, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nice, Nantes and Rennes.
  • Journeys to destinations in Germany that are served by direct ICE and Thalys trains from Bruxelles, including these cities; Aachen, Cologne/Koeln, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt (Main).

Eurostar also sells seat reservations to users of Eurail and InterRail passes without booking fees.

Trainline from €87 (approx)

Trainline Guide

Journey Features

High Speed

Good to Know

As a consequence of the Covid-19 crisis Eurostar will be operating a particularly limited timetable for the time being - further information is available on Eurostar.com

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind - so when looking at a timetable the journey will look as though it's an hour longer.

When the usual timetable is operating;
The majority of trains have a journey time of 2hr 16mins and these trains are non-stop between London and Paris.
All departures from London after 14:30 are non-stop to Paris.

Depart from London before 14:30 some trains will call at either Ebbsfleet or Ashford International stations.
However as the trains only call at these stations to pick up passengers - these station calls are not included on the departure boards at St Pancras International or usually announced on the train.

At St Pancras International:

Eurostar requests that holders of Standard Class And Standard Premier tickets check-in a minimum of 30mins BEFORE departure, though this increased to 45mins on weekends and holidays.
If you have a Business Premier ticket, Eurostar recommends that you only have to check-in 10 mins before departure.

Our guide to taking a Eurostar from London is here.

The crossing of the River Medway - seen from the right of the train The crossing of the River Medway - seen from the right of the train
The Queen Elizabeth II road bridge seen from the right of the train The Queen Elizabeth II road bridge seen from the right of the train
From the high speed line between the tunnel and Lille From the high speed line between the tunnel and Lille

It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with SIX distinct phases and highlights:

1: For most of the first 8 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to exit London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).

2: Then from the right of the train, there are views of the River Thames marshes and of the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge.

3: The third tunnel that the train will pass through is the tunnel under the River Thames.

4: Shortly after Ebbsfleet International station (can only be seen from the right of the train) is the scenic highlight of the journey - the crossing of the River Medway.

5: The train will slow down as it approaches The Channel Tunnel.
Announcements are no longer made that the train is about to enter the tunnel.
The journey through the tunnel will take around 22 mins.

6: There is little of note to be seen from the high speed lines in France.

Journey Features

Scenic - NoHigh Speed (partial)

Good to Know

Note that these trains depart from the Gare De Lyon in Paris.

Up to three additional trains per day depart in the summer.

Final Destination: Beziers or Perpignan or Barcelone

Most* trains also call at: Nimes and Montpellier-St Roch

*The fastest trains from Paris to Beziers now take an extension of the high speed line, which by-passes Nimes and Montpellier.
As a result around 15 mins have been shaved off the journey time if you take these trains, providing Beziers with its fastest ever trains from Paris.

Some trains also call at: Sète

For most of the train journey from Paris to Beziers, the part of the trip between Paris and Nimes, you should be travelling at more than 270 km/h on the high speed lines.

This is not an outstandingly scenic journey, but the views from the windows pick up to the north of Nimes, as the train travels through Provence.

Though this is train journey, which saves the best to last!

The journey between Sete and Béziers is unusual because they are often simultaneous views over the Bassin de Thau salt-water lake from the right of the train; while The Mediterranean Sea can be simultaneously seen on the left hand side.

Take the stress out of your journey Everything planned to your specification, so sit back and relax… Try Concierge

Newsletter

Sign up to receive the latest travel news stories and to hear about what we've been working on for you.

See if there’s a unique journey guide for your trip, featuring info on the trains, tickets & stations.
Leaving From
Going To
ShowMeTheJourney

This is one of more than 1000 journey guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.