Gare de Lyon

It is a major train station in Paris so you know it's gonna be busy. But it was actually pretty manageable. It is big, busy and you can get lost, but there are enough signs for easy navigation through it. There is even a water filling station positioned and clearly marked so you can fill up your water bottles before your trip.

The closest major train station to Central Paris itself where the tourist sites can be accessed by a short-ish walk. There are three departure halls here so be sure to get to the one for your train. Plenty of commercial areas and places to choose from when you are inside. Big station but easily navigable and most station employees are happy to help if you need directions. Multiple M and RER trains are accessible in the underground part of the facility.

A major transportation station for bus, metro, and train as well as a multi-level shopping mall with restaurants, and merchant stores. There are plenty of signages to help passengers navigate around. Spacious station with convenient stores, shops. Outside the station is also a lively area with restaurants and shops.

Gare de Lyon is a decent and well-organized train station, offering a smooth travel experience. The station has nice coffee shops, with Le Train Bleu standing out—not just for its elegant, historic atmosphere but also for its delicious menu. It’s a perfect spot to enjoy a meal while soaking in the station’s rich history. Beyond the cafés, the station also has small shops, a grocery store, and a nice bakery, making it convenient for travelers to grab snacks or last-minute essentials. The trains themselves are good. My journey from Paris to Cannes took about five hours. Though the trains are old, they are well-maintained and clean, making the ride comfortable. It was another great experience—enjoying the views of the French countryside while getting some work done.

The structure of the entire train station can be divided into three layers, with the subway at the bottom, the station on the first floor, and the station on the second floor above. This is a complex with various shops for people to rest and shop. The train station is a bit crowded because there are trains departing or arriving from here every few minutes, both of which are convenient, without cumbersome security checks and complicated routes. The trains are lined up outside the platform in a consistent manner and go to various places on time. The station is simpler than expected and not so magnificent, but the convenience of transportation is better than I thought. Overall, my travel experience here is satisfactory.

Beautiful historic station serving the trains going South. Lots of little shops and cafes inside. It's stunning both inside and outside. The directions are clearly labeled and tableaus are easy to read. There are also a number of great cafes, and outstanding boulangerie just outside the station.

Quite okay. Sufficient cafes, restaurants and stores. I always use this station as it is near my apartment. All my experiences in this station in Paris Lyon were ok.

I visited Paris from Valence, so I took the train 🚆 . It was a big training station 🚉 inside the city. That's so convenient. Inside they have so many stores and restaurants so you don't need to worry about food when you stop there. I enjoyed it a lot when I waited there and listened to some stranger playing piano 🎹. That's a good memory and good time when you are waiting ✋️ 😊 The train goes fast and saves a lot of my time ⏲️. The staff are nice and helpful. Highly recommended 👌

Train stations in Europe are a trip and no pun intended but you go there and it's an experience it does make think of grand central in nyc where they have legitimate places people go eat lunch or dinner like le train bleu which is a Michelin restaurant and their stations just look fancy and nice I enjoyed just walking around Exploring even if I didn't have a place to go aside back into Paris

Terrific modernized train station that's easy to navigate and clean. It was the station to catch the TGV to get to Marseilles for an Olympics soccer match. 5 star ambience: it's a beautiful blend of old and new. The old portion is Belle Epoque ornament everywhere, complete with glass canopies and roofs. The newer parts mirror the same design idea and have multiple levels of shops. 5 star service: the SNCF / TGV railway staffers were terrific. A local told us there were always a lot of information people and friendly staff, not just for the Olympics. One even helped us sort out / translate that we were in someone else's seat.

One of the few stations we visited dur8ng our visit to Paris. We reached here from Geneva. The station is great but not busy like montparnasse. The signs are well marked for shopping, food, taxis, and restrooms. The restrooms are maintained well. Short walk from the platform to catch your taxi.

Busy train station. So, so, so busy. Plenty of signs to help you figure out where you're going. Lots of small places to eat & drink. Not a ton of seating while waiting for the trains. You can go pretty much anywhere from here & I would absolutely come here again

We took the OuiGo bullet train from Paris Gare de Lyon to Nice on a Thursday morning, and it was a mixed trip with a good ending. We were told to come at least 40 minutes early, and didn't want to take the subway that early in the morning, so took an Uber from our hotel, instead (18€). It took about 30 minutes with Paris traffic; still plenty of time. The first thing to recognize is which hall is the departure. We happened to enter into Hall 3, and the first thing we noticed were a bunch of people looking up at the monitors. So of course we did too, and saw that it listed the departing trains for the next 2 hours. We did see the Nice bound train listed, as Hall 3, but with no gate. We realized later that they don't tell which gate until closer to departure. So we found an empty seat and waited. It got really full in the meanwhile, and even 30 minutes before scheduled departure, they hadn't told the gate. The wi-fi wasn't working for us, so only later did we realize that I had been getting email updates that there was a delay. I'm sure they were saying something on the intercom in French, which I didn't understand. Finally at the time of the scheduled departure, the screens showed A as the departure gate...causing the whole waiting area to start going to the two one-person gates leading to the track. They had turned off the ticket scanner to let people get through more quickly, and considering how much luggage everyone had, it turned out to be pretty orderly. Luckily, they had escalators going up. Once you got to the top, you had to make a decision to go in which direction to find our car (car 4). Of course, we went the wrong way once we realized the numbers were going up. Then going against the mass of people trying to get on, was interesting. We finally found our car, and we were on our way 30 minutes later.

Gare de Lyon is a relatively easy train terminus to navigate. It is also the second busiest train station in Paris and sixth busiest in all of Europe. There are lots of retail shops, cafés and lunch places, too. Gare de Lyon is broken into two segments. The original building which opened in 1849 and is called Hall One, uses Letters (A thru N) for it's tracks. While the newer building, opened in 1855 is called Hall Two and uses numbers (5 thru 23). It is also used by the SNCF's high speed train service Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV). It's routes tend to go to the South of France, Switzerland (photo), Germany, Italy and Spain. So it's important to know where your train is leaving, either by a Letter or Numbered track. Btw, the Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV) is fast and efficient. It took us barely three hours to get from Basel Switzerland to Paris. Now the Hall One part Gare de Lyon also hosts regional trains, the RER, has a Métro station and Île de France Mobilités, which is the regional suburban train and bus systems for greater Paris. If you travel on Mobilités, you can go as far south as Fontainebleau, west to Versailles, east to Euro Disney (Chessy, Seine-et-Marne) and north to Charles deGaulle CDG Aéroport and more. We have used Île de France Mobilités many times over the years and found it to be clean, modern, a very quick train service and it's relatively inexpensive. See photos. Lastly, the Cab situation outside of Hall One can be somewhat confusing. If you are older, or have mobility issues, there is a special Queue to the left of the regular Cab line. Now if you're familiar with Uber, walk past the Cab Queues down the hill to Blvd Diderot. The Marriott Courtyard is a short 100 yards away and you can use that as your Pickup point. Easy Peasy. I've attached a detailed Map of Gare de Lyon, as well as a street Map of the area, which includes where the Marriott is located. Remember, it's about the journey and not the destination. So enjoy Paris. Enjoy France.

One of several train stations in Paris. If you want to go to the South of France, this is the one you'd use. The staff on the platform were very helpful and spoke great English. They have signage all over, to help you find where you need to go. The train itself was decent, but rather cramped in second class. Overall, definitely a nice way to see the French countryside between Paris and Aix-en-provence!

Gare de Lyon is a very busy train station and one would think that it would be user-friendly. That would be a mistake. Compared to Gare Montparnasse and other train stations in Lyon and Marseille, Gare de Lyon was a complete circus. There are two main issues, 1. Not enough public places to sit. Many travelers were criss-cross apple sauce on the cold concrete floor while others were hugging the walls to catch a bite of a croissant. 2. The escalators/elevators work when they want and on our visit, many of them did not work. I know the trend is to have a carry-on bag or backpack, but many travelers are still on the one-suitcase program and many of them struggled to get up the stairs with their luggage. TIP: There's a sushi restaurant on the upper level. It looks like a takeout stand but has an enclosed patio. The sushi is what it is but the enclosed patio area was empty. It looked like business-class seating compared to what was available in the Gare de Lyon. If you're desperate for seating, get some sushi, ask to sit in the patio area, and enjoy the people-watching before catching your train.

This is Our stop nearest our hotel. You need to plan that way to minimize to have to to walk with bags far or submit to taxi fares. This is one block to the citizenM Hotel. Easy to navigate the gare. Signage is easy.

I know that there is a specific thing for the multiple railway stations in Paris, but I'm not quite sure what each of them represent. However, this particular one, as the name suggests, handles all of the trains that come from Lyon and further south. As such, I suspect that this is the station where you go and catch trains down to the Cote de Azur and such. Unfortunately I didn't get much of an opportunity to look around, namely because I had to get to the Eurostar, and I suspected that going through customs was going to take time. However, it wasn't particularly bad. I was able to leave fairly quickly and find my way to the taxi stand (I wasn't keen on lugging my luggage through the Paris Metro). It does look quite impressive on the outside though.

Very busy train station. Easy to navigate but not much seating for waiting area. Cool shops around!

We arrived in Paris this time at Gare de Lyon instead of Gare du Nord. I don't know why it never occurred to me there would be other train stations in Paris, duh! Anyway, upon arrival, Gare de Lyon struck me as a typical European train station - big, gorgeous, old... you know the drill. I will say though that Gare de Lyon did seem just a little less idyllic. It seemed more crowded, people were pushier, it was harder to get around hauling your baggage. And the building seemed just a little run down. I looked up at a beautiful glass awning that must've been some years old, and one pane was sadly broken with a piece missing and the rest was covered in dirt and grime. It was kind of sad. Also the taxi line was a little bananas, but we got there in the end. Like Gare du Nord, watch out for the skeezy taxi cab drivers who approach tourists as they exit the station offering a taxi ride. They are trying to rip you off! Bypass the scammers and go to the official taxi line.

Catch the TGV going south. There's so much going on here. Gare de Lyon station is a Metro stop for lines 1 and 14 and RER trains A and D. As well as the high-speed TGV trains to south & eastern France with destinations in Switzerland, Italy and Spain, Gare de Lyon is a busy station - at 6 am and 11 pm. Allow time to find your right platform when traveling. This station was built for the World Exposition of 1900. It is also home to Le Train Bleu restaurant. There's a small lower level shopping mall. If trying to get an Uber from the area, walk to the nearby Marriott. It is an easier landmark and cheaper pick up.

Bonjour à tous. My partner and I I are on our way to Mulhouse about a 4 hour train ride from Paris close to the Swiss border. We are heading to the car museum (Cité de l'Automobile) that holds the largest collection of Bugatti. Gare de Lyon has huge 3 halls with signage everywhere. At 615am there was only one establishment opened where riders were getting their 1st meal of the day. The train we are on was clean and the seats very roomy.

Amazing place for people watching. It has three separate departure/arrival halls, but which one your train will be departing from is posted well in advance. Beautiful light filled space to wait for your train. Lots of small shops, and of course the Train Bleu restaurant!

Horrible experience here. The SNCF/Oui wouldn't let us board even though we were there about 8-10 min before the train was suppose to depart. On our tickets, it stated that you just have to be at the train station 5 minutes before departure to be let on. The lady who worked for the company was a real jerk. She refused our entry along with 20 other people. There were so many pissed off people at the train station. In fact, I witnessed a lot of angry Parisians yelling in French at this person (deservedly so). lol. The reason we didn't get to the train platform earlier was because the station didn't post where we were suppose to go. It also didn't announce the boarding of passengers. This was why so many people missed the boarding time. I also didn't like this train station because they charge you money to use their restroom facilities. In Marseilles, the bathrooms are all free of charge. I don't understand why some train stations in Paris/France, they don't charge anything but at this one does. Stupid.

2012. I take Metro Line 8 to Gare de Lyon. It's a slow ride that starts and stops its way across Paris, one station at a time. Concorde. Madeleine. Opera. Underground names for the places up above. All the sights, but none of the seeing them. Line 8 gives me an idea for a guide book. It'd be for the kind of tourist who has romantic notions about the cities they visit, but then finds that the reality of the place always falls short of the fantasy. The guide book I have in mind would list all the famous sights and attractions, but then offer suggestions on how to avoid them. It'd be a carefully curated collection of evasions and circumventions. A way to navigate around disappointment. I even have a name for the series: "Delayed Gratifications." Gare de Lyon would definitely merit an entry in my guide book if only for the old murals in the former ticket hall. The murals depict places that the trains leaving Gare de Lyon can take you to: Dijon, Avignon, Marseille, etc. The image of each destination has been reduced to a noteworthy monument you'll find there: a medieval castle, a palace, a Roman aqueduct. The images remind me of the photos of menu items you find posted on the window of a tourist restaurant. Color reproductions of the perfect plate of spaghetti marinara or steak-frites. Of course, the food never measures up to the photos. That's just how it is. Even so, when the food arrives, you still feel a little heartbroken.

One of the major train stations in Paris. There are two halls. Trains are clearly listed on the board. They post the track your train is leaving on about 20 minutes before the departure. The station is very crowded. Prior to departure an employee goes around checking COVID documents and places a blue wristband on you. Boarding is fairly easy as long as you board the right car on the train. If not you can walk to it on the train.

Used GARE de Lyon for the first time as a tourist to travel from France to Central Europe. The station was clean, security and French armed forces teams passing through. Information boards were clear and staff helpful. Trains opened for boarding 20 minutes prior to departure and left to the minute. Hall 1 has a Starbucks which has infiltrated the station...

I was pretty let down when the reality of Gare de Lyon did not live up to what I expected (setting aside that we were there to catch a train and that aspect was completely accomplished). The architecture of the exterior led me to great expectations for the interior. While the expected vendor machines and sales stores were present and accounted for, the interior didn't catch my eye as strongly as I expected. And the station had a somewhat dirty feel to it, like it needed a good bleaching and spraying down. Also the staff were not nearly as helpful as one would hope for in a well known travel center. When we ask one worker where to go to find our train, he looked at our tickets, saw the word Ouigo, and rudely shoved the tickets back at us while nastily saying "Ouigo, I don't know". Then we asked two other men working there where we need to go. Their directions contradicted what our tickets said. Thankfully they were right and also we chose to listen to them, we barely made our train. It was very disconcerting to be in a place for the first time and not be able to find multi-lingual directions. This station would be better served with a good cleaning, updating signage with multi-lingual options, and getting a smile on their faces more often.

Gare de Lyon is an interesting and HUGE train station. When I arrived, it took ages to locate the luggage storage center because it is housed all the way at one end of the station and signage is sparse from the other side. Once you go through the little security scan, the luggage storage is convenient. I stashed my rolling bag in one of the smaller lockers for €9. They also have larger lockers. There is a good amount of seating throughout Hall 3, which is where I was departing from. Note that there are different levels/floors and different halls, and then there are the different lettered and numbered gates/doors that you go through. One suboptimal thing is that the boarding gates are only posted for each train 15-20 minutes before departure. This can lead to a lot of standing around watching the screen to see when it will change and give you your gate. There's a nice, quiet area with chargers and comfy chairs toward the back of the station. It was a nice escape from the hustle and bustle. Altogether, it's a 3.5 for me.

We came into Gare de Lyon from Venezia Saint Lucia Stazione in Venice. They had free wifi as soon as we got off the train & very nice sitting areas/lounges to relax in while you get your bearings. I was also nice that you can just go straight downstairs and get right onto the metro or go outside to other modes of ground transport. You can eat some reasonable food or hit the vending machines, make payphone calls, get cash out the ATM or get information from the tourist information area before you head out to meet the world of Paris. This really is a fully functioning somewhat fast paced station & much different than the stations in Italy. There was also armed security everywhere so there is an air of safety in the terminal. I think also since there are trains coming from so many different countries to this station, there is a heightened security presence. Architecturally the station is also very beautiful. Just crank your neck up and look around because it's really cool. The station is also very clean and I didn't see any homeless people upstairs, also when you head down to the metro the smell turns quickly to a pee smell in some areas so watch where you step.

Easy to navigate, even for first timer like myself. Friendly and helpful staff and clean facility. There were police that were actually patrolling the area, which was good! The police here seem to be more fit and more approachable than the ones in the US. They are actually helpful, and seem to be more trained. Watch out for pick pocketers, and don't leave your bags unattended.

Traveled by train from London to Paris Gare du Nord into Gare de Lyon. My purpose was to visit the Hard Rock Cafe Lyon. Train station is going through some renovations but overall it has the same architecture as the Gare du Nord and King's Cross St. Pancras. At this station you walk through many shops to get to the platforms, I guess it's there way of generating revenue but no one solicits or bothers you. Trains here were older than the Eurostar and seats were not comfortable.

How I wish we hv TGV system in USA. Purchased the tickets online and validated the tickets at the station. Pretty straight forward even if one's French is limited. Plenty of cafes and boulangerie where coffee and bakeries can be purchased while waiting for the train track to be announced. Train is clean and organised, toilet was very clean. In the train, there are also beverages and bakeries available for purchase. Highly recommend if outside of Paris is in the travel itinerary.

Very clean station though not as efficient or easy to navigate as I would like. It was ok once we got the hang of it but a lot of the signage wasn't clear with particular direction.

We stayed in an adjacent hotel (there are at least 2 such places) as had a lot of connecting items with the station. Depending on what you need, this is a great location from which to explore Paris. On our trip, we wanted to drop off a rental car without having to return to the airport. There is a rental car return within a block or so of this station (gas stations to refill your rental car prior to the return are another question entirely; do your research there). We also wanted a convenient place to access the Metro (subway) - and there is a Metro station adjacent to / underneath the train station. Finally, we had to catch a train to Spain on our last day here, and that train left from Gare de Lyon. My advice would be to research such auxiliary activities and confirm whether all can be accommodated at Gare de Lyon (or some other station) and then book your hotel accordingly. As far as the station itself, there are a number of coffee shops / cafes located within it. We noted a Starbuck's around our 3rd day here, but never actually went there. Our go-to breakfast spot became Pret-A-Manger, as they had a good variety of items. There are several other comparable shops, though. The station is divided into halls (1 and 2). There is an information office in hall 1, which we used a couple of times for quick answers to questions. The station is under renovation as of September of 2017, but that doesn't seem to be a huge impact to anything. There seemed to be slightly more food options in hall 2. Access to taxis is at the front of the station at hall 1. To access your train, you need to be in either hall about 20 minutes before the boarding-time. At that point, they will list which track the train will depart from. You then proceed to that track with your luggage, find your car/seat, stow your bags, and wait for departure. They will come through in the first hour or so and check tickets while the train is moving. One bit of advice: try to be early, as the trains generally seem to have more passengers than convenient luggage-storage. If you are among the first to get seated, it will be much easier to put your bags in the storage area nearest your seats. Another tip: try to keep your seat whenever the train is pulling into some intermediate stop. There is a lot of churn as some passengers exit and others enter, so it is generally a bad time to hit the restroom, etc. It isn't necessarily a bad time to hit the dining car, as long as you stay in the dining car until the train is moving again. In terms of the immediate area, there are a lot of restaurants within fairly easy walking distance of Gare de Lyon. There is some sort of linear park on an abandoned elevated rail line about 2 blocks away, though I did not check that out. The Seine is about 2 blocks to the south. Gare de Austerlitz (another large train station) is just across the Seine and is useful for accessing some commuter-rail trains (such as the one that runs out to Versailles, etc.).

Very clean station with friendly staff at kiosk. Plently seating area dotted woth charging docks, very convenient and accessible.

Typically train station in Europe. Although this one is quite big and has 3 different departure halls. Budget at least 5 minutes to get to your train Good connections with Paris metro and RER lines

It is too crowded and the walk to the taxi stand is way too long. There are no adequate signs and the place is just a mess. It feels like a mass refugee camp after a catastrophe.

This place is a little confusing...we got dropped off by our Uber here, and wasn't exactly sure which platform we should wait on after getting our tickets especially when there isn't one assigned if you are early or a train is running late. Also it's not entirely enclosed so it can be a little cool waiting inside. There's a decent selection of food places if you want to grab something to eat on the train ride. Bathrooms are not as abundant. The ticket counter agent service was ok.

We stayed at hotel near here. It was very convenient to get grab a coffee and croissant early. However, when you do so you are made a mark. Beggars will ask you for money in the main entrance by the Pret. It's just best to keep moving and make no eye contact. After a full day of doing touristy things we tried to exit on the side entrance on the main level. My husband was "bumped" and he felt a hand touch his back pocket as recon. He did not keep his wallet there for this very reason. My husband swung around and made eye contact with the person. This person kept walking very close to us and eventually turned around and started walking the opposite direction once we got outside. It was very clear we were being targeted before he decided to turn around. This was the scariest thing we encountered during our visit.

Be aggressive with the taxi attendant when waiting for a taxi. The line winds around like at a Disney Park and the wait time can be :30 minutes plus. Yet, people just walk up in groups and cut in the front of the line completely disregarding the 80-100 people who have been standing in the long line patiently waiting for taxis to arrive. This area is not covered and be prepared to get blasted with cigarette smoke. There is construction at the station at this time. The waiting areas can get congested and the ticket office is not well marked. The SCNF office is around the backside of the station near the information office.

Beautiful. Well, I'm biased. This is definitely the busier of the latter two hubs (du Nord and L'est) because it is closer to where all the work is and farther away from all the tourists but it also houses two great eateries on a bi-level. In terms of efficiency, if you have less time, go to the bistro downstairs. If you do have time, you must eat at Le Train Bleu. I made reservations in advance about 3 months. Again, it is a large station since it is a major hub. Easy access to everything, little stores offering souvenirs as well as Bankomat ATM's and bathrooms for public use (remember your Euro coinage). And it is a short scenic walk from the Gare d'Austerlitz and I love the bridge spanning old town to new town. The buildings definitely take a turn for modernity. But I prefer the old part better.

Ever see one of those older movies with train stations, the gorgeous architecture, amazing details throughout, that giant huge clock, with a bunch of nicely dressed people wearing top hats and long coats, looking oh so debonair? I feel like I just experienced this today ... in 2011. The last time I was in Paris, I took a train to Geneva from the CDG airport. Oh, how different of a station the Gare de Lyon was. It's gorgeous and it's great if you need to take the TGV (high speed train) to any other part of France. Inside the station there are shops at the bottom, great cafes all around and you feel like you are in a black and white film where Marlon Brando might make his grand appearance at anytime... What an absolutely gorgeous train station and conveniently located in Paris!!

Beautiful old station front that will, I'm sure, be charming once again. It's a huge station, however, and right now it's under construction, so that means lots of walking if you enter on the side your trains not on. Also completely swamped with travelers sitting on the floors and what not on the sweltering day we came though; more what I expect more from an Italian train station.

Trains, Trains, and more Trains! In Paris! The Gare de Lyon is one of the smaller train depot hubs in Paris, France. It's facilities still are grand in scope, but does not rival Gare du Nord. It's definitely the cheaper alternative to flying inside Europe, if you have the time. Trains in Europe are fast and reliable, although they do take more time versus flying on an airplane. It was pretty neat to see all the trains lined up with plenty of travelers waiting for the train and those who got off the train from a destination where I would love to go someday. I was here on a trip back to Paris from Lausanne, Switzerland and it arrived here at the Gare de Lyon on the Lyrica train. The Lyrica train is noted for is speed and comfort, so I was like, that's great. It took about 3 1/2 hours from Lausanne Switzerland to Paris, so it wasn't too bad of a ride. I think I slept through half of the ride. Gare de Lyon is seems to be always busy, with people traveling to and from this hotspot in Paris. I guess, its Paris after all, so the economic impact is pretty huge here to get tourists and travelers in and out of the city to wherever they're going in central Europe. After arrival here at Gare de Lyon, I just headed out and not really paid much attention to anything else, but the vendors whom were selling fast food and reading materials. I just needed to get back to the Charles du Galle Airport and my hotel. I found it odd that during my train trip in Gare de Lyon and on the Lyrica itself that I did not have to show my Passport to any government official, especially when traveling to another EU country. Found that a bit odd, but whatever. At least I had it with me. I bought my train ticket a couple of months before departure, so I didn't have to maneuver the complexities of the train ticket machines! Yay for internet! The Gare de Lyon is located in central Paris, pretty much in the thick of where you want to be. I myself actually walked from Gare de Lyon towards the Cathedral de Notre Dame while sightseeing along the way, then taking the RER "A" train back to the Charles du Galle airport. There are several food vendors here, but they just do fast food items like cakes and sandwiches. There is also a place where they sell newspapers and magazines, so you're pretty well stacked here waiting for someone or waiting for a train to get in or out of Paris. There's minimum security here and I thought that was a bit lacking, especially with the pickpocket issues all throughout Paris in general. It's a shame really. Wish they did have that France military presence I have seen at the Gare du Nord. That sense of security made me feel safe yet scared at the same time. Kind of like being in a military state of mind really, but that's alright. Gare de Lyon I felt was more aesthetically pleasing, versus Gare du Nord. The ironwork was really nice and quite beautiful in an urban kind of way. Gare de Lyon can be sketchy as well, but it depends on what time of day you are there. Late evenings through early morning most definitely are prime time for people to do crazy stuff. You just got to pay attention and keep your stuff together. Like any areas of Paris, do be aware of pickpockets. More so here than anywhere, since it can be fast paced and there are many people around you. Like an airport when you can just forget about stuff. I didn't have any problems getting around here. Just need to follow the signage and any French you have picked up along the way and figure this stuff out. Even as an American traveling overseas in Paris, I can figure it out rather than having to ask for directions. There is signage in English, so that takes some of the headache while traveling overseas too, as they know Americans and the British love to go to Paris anyhow. You never know nowadays. There can be weird people here.My experience here was kind of short and brief. My train arrived at 1245 from Lausanne, Switzerland and I left almost immediately thereafter. Best bet would be to have lunch or a pre train meal outside the train station, since food prices here can be rough, for what you pay. Then again, it's Paris, so be prepared to pay up anyway. I am glad that nothing happened to me while leaving the train station. Try not to trust anyone, except from a uniformed personnel. You're well off, believe me. . My overall thoughts here are rather positive. I didn't get pickpocketed nor gotten my luggage stolen and my train was on time. I did had to ask which cabin my seat was in, since the Lyrica was ridiculously long. Happy to have book my train trip through Gare de Lyon for its inexpensiveness versus air travel, but do be safe and aware of what's around you. Last thing you need is Last thing you need is to get your stuff stolen while on vacation. Where was cabin #17 seat 46? Support local! B

Nice entourage and could be coming out of the movie "Hugo" You find everything there for a quick pass through or when you want to prepare for a longer TGV ride and get some sandwich and co. Large Metro network underneath , including RER A+B .

The train station is quite pretty. It's as busy as any and quite smelly on the outside. There is a convenient tourist information office included, which is important to notice if you like to buy museum passes or Batobus river boat tickets for example. Also, get your Paris Visite subway train tickets at the station as well. The announcement jingle is quite charming.

This is a very large and busy train station and I can genuinely say "I'm a fan" because it welcomed me to Paris. However, I was glad I was with friends who knew their way around. It had such beautiful architecture, especially the ironwork overhead.

This must be my favorite train station ever with all the outlets (stores/food) that I like as sephora, pret a manger, millie's cookies from UK and many more. Beautiful architecture and plenty of seats available. Still some works going on but it has a lot of charm and it is easy to move around it.

Probably one of the places where you don't need to take out your camera or smartphone to take a picture. Why? It is just a plain busy train station. Nothing to do but to sit on a bench with your luggage held closely to you and wait for your train to arrive. It's not all that bad though, there is a coffee shop right in the middle of the station that offers delicious croissants.

I arrived at 8 pm on the TGV from Paris, and was admiring the classic train station, with a modern flair. I walked outside to see a crazy traffic jam of taxis and cars battling thru a silly design for pickups. I figured I'd walk to my hotel, as a started Dow the steps I saw a large young man being chased by another with a large knife up the steps. I returned to the taxi stand quickly. Then I jumped in a taxi who pretended not to know where the Intercontinental Hotel was. He went the right way until we were 200 meters from the hotel, when he dropped into the tunnel to go to the otherwise of the harbor. Clearly there is some unrest here.

Probably best described (if not the "Grand Central") as the "Penn Station" (yes, I'm using all NYC terms because other cities don't match up as well) of Paris. Very conveniently located (well, when I was staying in the XIIe arrondissement) and is a major hub for the Metro and RER train lines (think Subway and LIRR). The architecture and surrounding area is quite lovely and there are tons of bistros, crepe shops, bars, brasseries, buses, and car rental places in the area.

It s a real pleasant station in Paris it s well deserved by subways and buses. It s also usefull to go in the south of France. The shops are cool and not too expensive.

This review is not so much for the station itself but the service or lack there of. I have traveled extensively on Amtrak and the European trains, and I don't care what folks say about our antiquated cars and rails, service on Amtrak is exceptional compared to say the TGV. Now granted, Europeans expect their citizens to educate themselves on train travel and manage their trips/luggage/seat assignments/timetables independent of any help from train personnel. But throw in some inexperienced foreigners and boom, you might just have a whole lot of folks ending up in a country they didn't plan to visit. When I travel Amtrak, I am informed when I can board and am escorted by a red cap who handles my bags and places them in the right compartment. Each car has an attendant and that person is there to assist and answer any and all questions from passengers. Travelers are instructed which car to enter depending on their destination. We had first class tickets on the TGV and we saw absolutely no personnel on the track or on the train. As we watched the board over head show the track number, we scrambled with everyone, not really knowing where we were going. Having done this before though, we managed to find our own car, seats, and stowed away our heavy luggage ourselves. Not an easy task on a double decker TGV when you are on the upper level. We did not see a TGV staff person for probably 2 or 3 hours into the trip, when the conductor took our tickets. I am sure if you know the drill, than this comes second nature to many locals. I know when we were returning from Nice to Paris, we were unaware that our TGV consisted of two trains that were hooked together, each having a locomotive and each having coach and first class cars. We went to the first class section, and saw that the numbers on the cars did not correspond to our ticket. We were a bit panicked as the train was late to begin with and everyone was boarding. NOONE was there to help. I finally asked a Frenchman who spoke no English and he kept pointing me in the opposite direction. I left my luggage, my husband and started running. Lo and behold, what I thought was another train, was our train just the other half and then I noticed the second set of First Class cars. All was well but not after a lot of unnecessary frustration, sweat, anxiety, and huffing and puffing. So a word to newbie train travelers. Know your car number, seat number, class, and if your ticket does not have a date on it, you must use the self stamp machine (it's yellow and located before every platform) to validate your day of travel. We bought our tickets online and they were sent to our home in the States so the date was on our tickets. Also, look for a display about waist height, that will show the consist of the train (how all the cars line up), they are found on the platforms and can help you determine where you need to go. But don't expect to find a friendly TGV staff person to help you on your way. You'll have to ride Amtrak to experience that.

This station is beautiful and far superior to Nord. Lovely architecture and very spacious. Only minus is the disgusting toilets.

Beautiful old train station but sooo much construction. Make sure to get there before you think you need to because the construction will cause you delays in getting to your train on time. Build in an additional 15 - 20 minutes to get around the lines, especially if you want to purchase anything before boarding.

This is a very straight forward station as gigantic as it is. The architecture inside and out is impressive. Even if you are not going anywhere, just visit it and walk around. Not sure I will recommend shopping inside, and if the cafes are expensive inside, there is a Quick burger right outside.