Lyon to Montpellier by train

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Routes

From Lyon Part-Dieu to Montpellier St-Roch

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings usually open: 4 months ahead of the travel date - but bookings can open sooner when SNCF is running a promotion

If tickets aren't on sale yet for your travel date, you can sign up to the ticket availability notification service on Oui.SNCF.

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When looking for tickets on Oui.SNCF tick the 'direct trains' box, on Trainline tick the 'fastest journeys' box.

Our step-by-step guide to booking train tickets on the Oui.SNCF (official French railways) website is available HERE.

The price is dictated by demand per departure, so book ahead and try and be flexible re: your departure and arrival times, as trains leaving earlier or later may be cheaper.

The Oui.SNCF (French national railways website) will indicate the cheapest price per day - click on this and you will be shown the departures on which this price is available.

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Seats will automatically be assigned when booking tickets for this journey, but rail pass users will need to be pay a reservation fee prior to boarding these trains.

If you're new to booking tickets for train journeys in France, we also recommend taking a look at our guide to French train tickets - it should help you save time and money and confusion.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Trainline from €20

Trainline Guide

Oui.SNCF from €20

Oui.SNCF Guide

SNCF is the national rail operator in France and not so long ago it recently simplified both the range of tickets and the term and conditions of using them.
Therefore the cheapest tickets also become more flexible too.

Other improvements included a simple integration of travelling with bicycles and rail pass users being able to book reservations for national journeys, without paying booking fees.

Though a legacy of when SNCF sold international tickets under the Rail Europe branding is that OuiSNCF is available in multiple translations with the offerings on the site then tailored to international visitors to France.
However, some of the site's features, including the integration of mobility assistance into the booking path, are only available on the French language version.

Something else to look out for is that simplest way of travelling with tickets is to use the SNCF 'My Travel' phone app, so it's therefore often a good idea to book on the OuiSNCF mobile service.

SaveATrain from €20

SaveATrain Guide

Happyrail from €20

Happyrail Guide

Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.

HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.

SaveATrain from €20

SaveATrain Guide

Happyrail from €20

Happyrail Guide

Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.

HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.

On this journey

Journey Features

High Speed (partial)

Good to Know

The number of trains from Lyon to Montpellier St-Roch station, the city centre station has been reduced, because there are now direct trains from Lyon to the newer edge of town, Montpellier Sud-de-France station.

These trains to the Montpellier Sud-de-France station are usually scheduled to depart from Lyon Part-Dieu at:
Mon - Weds: 07:36 and 17:10
Thurs-Fri: 07:36 and 17:10 and 19:10
Saturday: 13:40 and 17:10
Sunday: 13:40 and 17:10 and 19:10

Departing from Lyon:

The train which is usually scheduled to depart from Lyon at 14:24  is the RENFE (Spanish) high speed train -  which will be heading to Barcelone.

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Final Destination: Toulouse or Montpellier or Barcelone

All trains also call at: Nimes

Arriving in Montpellier:

When looking up this journey on Oui.SNCF it doesn't give an option to select Montpellier St.Roch as a specific arrival station.

Though until December 14th all these trains from Lyon do arrive there and NOT at the new Montpellier-Sud De France station - which is 6km from the city centre.

However from December 15th some of the trains from Lyon to Montpellier WILL begin to arrive at the Sud-de-France station.

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The journey from Lyon to Montpellier:

This is a typical French high speed train journey, when the primary wow factor is provided by the fact that the train will be travelling at more than 275 km/h.

Though look out for the multiple crossings of the River Rhone.

If you are new to travelling by train in France, our French Train Travel Guide is packed with info and useful links to help ensure you’ll have a stress-free trip.

The number of trains from Lyon to Montpellier St-Roch station, the city centre station has been reduced, because there are now direct trains from Lyon to the newer edge of town, Montpellier Sud-de-France station.

These trains to the Montpellier Sud-de-France station are usually scheduled to depart from Lyon Part-Dieu at:
Mon - Weds: 07:36 and 17:10
Thurs-Fri: 07:36 and 17:10 and 19:10
Saturday: 13:40 and 17:10
Sunday: 13:40 and 17:10 and 19:10

Departing from Lyon:

The train which is usually scheduled to depart from Lyon at 14:24  is the RENFE (Spanish) high speed train -  which will be heading to Barcelone.

---------------------------------------------------------

Final Destination: Toulouse or Montpellier or Barcelone

All trains also call at: Nimes

Arriving in Montpellier:

When looking up this journey on Oui.SNCF it doesn't give an option to select Montpellier St.Roch as a specific arrival station.

Though until December 14th all these trains from Lyon do arrive there and NOT at the new Montpellier-Sud De France station - which is 6km from the city centre.

However from December 15th some of the trains from Lyon to Montpellier WILL begin to arrive at the Sud-de-France station.

---------------------------------------------------------

The journey from Lyon to Montpellier:

This is a typical French high speed train journey, when the primary wow factor is provided by the fact that the train will be travelling at more than 275 km/h.

Though look out for the multiple crossings of the River Rhone.

If you are new to travelling by train in France, our French Train Travel Guide is packed with info and useful links to help ensure you’ll have a stress-free trip.

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

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