Paris stopover journeys to the Alps

You can find out more about how to book these journeys in our guide to booking ski holidays by train.

Examples of afternoon TGV trains from the Alps to Paris

Notice that many of the journeys below can give you an extra final day on the slopes - because you can ski the whole day, or most of it, before catching your TGV back to Paris, where you can stay a night before continuing your journey home the next morning.

Citizen M hotel, Paris Gare de Lyon

photo:Citizen M Citizen M

Just by Paris Gare de Lyon station is the fantastic Citizen M hotel, overlooking the river Seine.
We've had some great recommendations from skiers who have stayed year, and of course you may already be familiar with the Citizen M hotel brand from their hotels in other cities.

The hotel and rooms are done in the attractive Citizen M style, and the rooms have XL king-size beds, ultra soft linen from Italy and powerful tropical rain showers (in the bathroom - not the weather...)

Prices start at €71.40

Contact details:
Phone: +33 1 86 65 07 40
Email: TBC
Website: https://www.citizenm.com/destinations/paris/paris-gare-de-lyon-hotel

Hotel Palym, Paris Gare de Lyon

photo:Daniel Elkan Hotel Palym

Just around the corner from Gare de Lyon station is the comfortable Hotel Palym, one of those simple and a good place to stay.

The rooms are clean, attractive and reasonably priced.

Single €89 - €95; Double or twin €105; Triple €140; Quadruple €160; A buffet breakfast is €8

Contact details:
Phone: +33 1 43 43 24 48;
Email: infos@hotel-palym.com;
Website: www.paris-hotel-palym.com

Hotel Bel Oranger, Paris Gare de Lyon

photo:Daniel Elkan Bel Oranger

Equally close to Gare de Lyon station is the comfortable Hotel Bel Oranger
The rooms are clean and very well presented, and we've stayed there a couple of times when travelling to the Alps with groups of friends.  The room rates are listed below, but the hotel said that if you phone they sometimes have special offers.
Single €127; Double or twin €130 - 225
Contact details:
Phone: +33 1 43 43 11 00;
Email: hotel@beloranger.com;
Website: http://www.hotelbelorangerparis.com

Like some help sourcing Paris hotels?

We've been beautifully surprised by the efficient service offered by Budgetplaces.com in finding hotels near Gare de Lyon.

They are an agency that sources all levels of hotels and hostels.  So if you give them your budget and the desired area, they come back quickly with availabilty and offers.

Snowcarbon Founder Daniel Elkan says:
"I had the idea of travelling to Alpe d'Huez and stopping in Paris, but there were 24 of us travelling. I wondered whether I'd find accommodation easily for so many. I found Budget places by Googling initally, contaced them by phone and within minutes had a couple of good options by the station. A very impressive service so far."

Contact details: Phone: 0207 100 4522; email: reservations@budgetplaces.com; web:Budgetplaces.com
 

Getting from Paris-Nord to your hotel

Taxi driver waiting at Paris-Nord

From Paris-Nord, to the Eurostar, it's a simple transfer to your hotel.  You can do this in three ways:  by pre-booked taxi, with a taxi from the taxi rank or by  RER (part of the Metro).

The taxi journey is a 15 - 20 minute drive, and costs about €18 for a four-seater taxi, or for the pre-booked taxi is €55 - €65 for an eight-person vehicle. All types of transfer can take skis and snowboard bags, so there's no problem there. 

All in all, you should factor in one hour from your Eurostar arriving to you arriving at the hotel, although it would usually take less time.

Once that's done, you are free to enjoy your day and/or evening in Paris, knowing the next day you'll be hitting the slopes!

To find out how to change easily, just view our guide to changing station from Paris-Nord to Paris-Lyon.

Pre-booked taxi to your hotel

Gare du Nord taxi rank

You can use the taxi rank at Gare du Nord to take a taxi across to your hotel at Gare de Lyon. The queue at Gare du Nord is often very short, and it always moves quickly in any case.  The journey is about a 20-minute drive.

And you can also book a pre-booked taxi, to meet you at the end of the Eurostar platform, or just opposite the station, holding a placard with your name on it. ,

We made a one-minute film about it to show exactly what it is like (and had fun doing it!).

This is a brilliant way of crossing Paris for a family or a group of friends. It just makes things very easy.

Choosing how long you stay in Paris

As long as you stay in Paris less than 24 hours, you can still book the journey on one ticket and take advantage of lower "Connection Fares".

So if you want to spend a day or an afternoon in Paris, this won't affect the price of your rail ticket.

Here are some of the Eurostar's you could take, for example:

Booking your rail travel

As long as you stay in Paris less than 24 hours, you can still book the journey on one ticket. This gives the opportunity to get a "Connection Fare" which is a cheaper fare available on many Eurostar + TGV journeys.

You can find out more about how to book these journeys in our guide to booking ski holidays by train.

Like more help and advice?

If you'd like more help and advice the best train travel options, resorts and accommodation, feel free to contact Snowcarbon's founder, Daniel. 

He can help with specific advice and suggestions, using his years of experience as a ski journalist and expert on how to travel to the Alps by train. 

Daniel knows lots of great accommodation and tour operators and independent providers that can help, so you'll get some great suggestions.

Just send Daniel an email and he'll be back in touch.