Paris to Quimper by train

How to take a train journey from Paris to Quimper

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Routes

From Paris Montparnasse to Quimper

Journey Summary

Travel Time
3hr 30min - 3hr 50min (approx)
Frequency
Daily
Travel Information

Note that these trains to Quimper depart from the Gare-Montparnasse in Paris.

Final Destination: Quimper

All trains also call at: Rennes and Lorient
Some trains also call at: Auray

A mix of the new TGV Oceane and the older TGV Atlantique trains are used for these Paris to Quimper high speed services, so here's a guide as to how you can confirm which type of TGV train you will be travelling by.

Mon -Thurs = 8 trains per day
Friday = 10 x trains
Saturday = 6 x trains
Sunday = 8 x trains

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.

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

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 can 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.

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 TGV trains.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Oui.SNCF from €36

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.

Download the Oui.SNCF app from €36
SaveATrain from €36

SaveATrain Guide

Trainline from €36

Trainline Guide

Happyrail from €36

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.

RailEurope from €36

On this journey

Journey Features

High Speed (partial)Scenic - Yes

Good to Know

Two TGV trains are normally joined together for the high speed part of the journey between Paris and Rennes - which is now faster than ever before, because these trains use the LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire - the new extension of the older high speed line.

At Rennes the trains are separated, either one train (the front train) continues on to Quimper with the other part of the train terminating at Rennes (or the second part of the train heads off to a different destination).

When two TGV trains are joined together, these can be exceptionally long trains, so you may have to walk some distance along the voie (platform/track) - hence the advice to be at Paris Montparnasse at least 10 mins before the train departs!
Check the coach number on your ticket, your seat will be in this coach and you can check the coach number on the outside of the trains.

When looking at the departure board you may see another train departing at the same time AND from the same voie (platform/track) as the train heading to Quimper
This info is for the other train that will be attached to the Quimper train between Paris and Rennes.

Heading west after leaving Rennes station Heading west after leaving Rennes station
After Rennes the train will travel by the River Vilaine After Rennes the train will travel by the River Vilaine
This series of images was taken from a backwards facing seat on the right This series of images was taken from a backwards facing seat on the right

This is a journey of three distinct phases:

  1. Within 3 minutes of departure the train will be begin to travel at high speed and will remain on the high speed line, travelling at more than 280 jm/h, shortly before arrival in Rennes.
  2. Soon after departure from Rennes, the train will travel beside the River Vilaine for around 25 minutes; and this is the most scenic part of the journey, if your seats are on the right.
  3. After Redon the train will travel through the rolling landscape of Brittany.
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