Travelling to France and the Loire Valley by train is a very good option both for your sanity and the planet ! With more and more scheduled air flights worldwide it is worth considering the facts; while an aeroplane can emit up to 23 kilograms of CO2 per 100 passenger kilometres,a lot of carbon dioxide, cars do a little better at just less than 18 kilogramstrains outdo them both at under five kilograms of CO2 per 100 passenger kilometres. Not a difficult choice we think! Add to this the not having to negotiate a route out of, or through Paris and it becomes very attractive.
Visitors travelling from the UK by rail can use Eurostar to get from the centre of London(St. Pancras) to the centre of Paris (Gare Du Nord) before transferring to either Austerlitz (non TGV) or Montparnasse (TGV) stations (gares) within the city for onward travel to the major cities of the Loire Valley.
At the intersection of the Paris-Bordeaux and Nantes-Lyon routes, Tours' St-Pierre-des-Corps railway station takes full advantage of the success of the TGV, offering an ever increasing number of reliable connections with Paris - 16 return TGV trips per day, bringing you from Gare Montparnasse in the centre of the city, in just over an hour.
The TGV railway network gives the Val de Loire a direct link to other towns in the Ile-de-France area such as Marne-la-Vallée for Disneyland plus with its Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport service, allows easy access worldwide.
Journey times from Paris Montparnasse (TGV) station.
Tours: (Saint Pierre desCorps): 1hour 15 minutes on the high-speed TGVtrain
Angers: 1 hour 40 minutes
Blois: 1 hour 35 minutes
Bourges: 1 hour 50 minutes
Chartres: 1 hour 5 minutes
Chateauroux: 2 hours 10 minutes
Orléans: 1 hour
Chatellerault: 1 hour 30 minutes
Poitiers: 1 hour 40 minutes
From Paris- Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport terminal T2 to Tours: (Saint Pierre desCorps): 1 hour 40 minutes
Please Note:
Although Chatellerault and Poitiers are not in the Loire Valley they provide good links into the Southern Touraine area of the Centre-Val de Loire region.
Times are using TGV -- check schedules for standard train times.
Non TGV
You will have no trouble exploring the many tourist attractions of the Loire Valley by just taking the TER Centre trains and coaches, as St-Pierre-des-Corps station is the centre of a large local railway network.
Some examples:
TOURS - CHENONCEAU (Railway station located just in front of the entrance to the chateau.)
30 min by regional train - 8 trains per day
TOURS - AZAY LE RIDEAU
30 min by regional train - 8 trains per day
TOURS- AMBOISE
20 min by regional train - 18 trains per day
AMBOISE- BLOIS
20 min by regional train - 18 trains per day
That said, to take full advantage of the areas many delights and allow you to visit many of its attractive villages (or getting to your holiday home) picking up a hire car at Tours or one of the other towns, depending on your final destination, is the most popular option for visitors to the Loire Valley.
French rail services:
TGV:High speed train network in France -- you must book in advance. Site in French with other language options.
The
train 'à grande vitesse' ('big fast train') stops at Tours,
actually at Saint-Pierre-des-Corps
just outside the city, Nantes in the west and alsoChâtellarault and Poitiers,
which, although in Vienne both give good access
to the south of the Loire valley/Centre region (Southern Touraine)
SNCF: France's national rail service -- check routes, timetables and book on-line.
TER-SNCF: France's regional rail system where you can view timetables for the Centre Val de Loire region and book on-line. You can also pick up timetables and information booklets at all stations and some tourist offices. Site is in French.
