Paris Gare de Lyon's landmark clock tower, the terminus for TGV, Ouigo and Trenitalia trains arriving from Marseille.
Photo: Nils Oberg / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)Marseille to Paris by Train
A domestic route within France.
Reviewed by Eurotraintrip on 2026-07-30
- Duration
- 3h 04m – 3h 50m
- Price from
- 16 EUR
- Distance
- 660 km
- Operators
- TGV inOuiOuigoTrenitalia France
- Frequency
- Around 25-30 direct trains a day combining TGV inOui, Ouigo and Trenitalia's four daily round trips
Compare and book Marseille–Paris tickets
Check pricesWhat makes Marseille to Paris different
- The TGV Reseau trainset that inaugurated the LGV Mediterranee on 26 May 2001 ran nonstop from Calais-Frethun to Marseille - 1,067km in 3 hours 29 minutes at up to 306 km/h - weeks before the line's 10 June 2001 commercial opening that first brought Marseille within roughly 3 hours of Paris.
- Marseille Saint-Charles now handles around 45,000 passengers and roughly 80 TGVs among some 300 trains a day, up from about 7.1 million annual passengers in 2000 to 17.9 million in 2024 - a near-tripling of traffic since the high-speed line opened.
- Approaching Marseille, trains on this line run through the Tunnel de Marseille, a 7.8km bored tunnel - the longest railway tunnel located wholly within France - built as part of the LGV Mediterranee specifically to bring the high-speed line into Saint-Charles underground.
Marseille station
Marseille Saint-Charles opened as the Paris-Lyon-Marseille line's terminus on 8 January 1848, built on the site of the city's former Saint-Charles Cemetery; the current U-shaped, glass-roofed building dates from an 1893-1896 rebuild by architect Joseph Antoine Bouvard.
Paris station
Trains arrive at Paris Gare de Lyon, rebuilt for the 1900 Universal Exhibition by architect Marius Toudoire after the original 1849 station was partly burned during the Paris Commune fighting of 1871; the vast trainshed is lined with frescoes depicting towns once served by the PLM railway company, Marseille among them.
Train vs. other options
Marseille Provence Airport sits about 25km northwest of the city center, and Paris's Charles de Gaulle and Orly are each 30-50 minutes out too, so once transfers are added, flying rarely beats the roughly 3-hour, center-to-center TGV; driving the same corridor via the A7 and A6 - the historic 'Autoroute du Soleil' - typically takes 7 hours or more without stops.
Booking tips
- Ouigo's lowest advance fares (from about 16 EUR) go quickest for weekend departures - Sunday-evening and Friday-afternoon Marseille-Paris trains are usually the first to sell out.
- Trenitalia's Frecciarossa (from about 27 EUR) is worth comparing on this direction too - it calls at Aix-en-Provence TGV, Avignon TGV and Lyon Saint-Exupery before Paris, adding roughly 30-45 minutes over the fastest nonstop TGV inOui.
- Most Ouigo tickets between Marseille and Paris arrive at central Gare de Lyon, but some of the cheapest low-cost fares route instead to Marne-la-Vallee-Chessy, about 40km east of the city near Disneyland Paris with its own RER A connection - check the arrival station code, not just the price, before booking.
Good to know: Some of Ouigo's cheapest Marseille-to-Paris fares end not at central Gare de Lyon but at Marne-la-Vallee-Chessy, a station near Disneyland Paris with its own onward RER A connection into the city - worth checking the arrival station code before booking on price alone.
While you're in Paris
The Eiffel Tower, seen from the Palais de Chaillot across the Seine.
Photo: Andyxox / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)Between the Louvre's endless galleries, Montmartre's hilltop streets and a market culture that runs from grand covered halls to a single cheese stall, Paris is built for slow mornings and long lunches as much as headline sights.
Full Paris travel guide →Frequently asked questions
How long does the train from Marseille to Paris take?
The fastest nonstop TGV inOui trains take just over 3 hours (about 3h04m). Ouigo and Trenitalia services that stop at Aix-en-Provence TGV, Avignon TGV or Lyon Saint-Exupery can take up to about 3h50m.
Does the Marseille to Paris Ouigo train always arrive at Gare de Lyon?
Not always - most do, but some of the cheapest Ouigo fares arrive at Marne-la-Vallee-Chessy instead, well outside central Paris.
What's the cheapest way to get from Marseille to Paris by train?
Ouigo's low-cost fares, from around 16 EUR when booked well ahead, are typically cheapest, with Trenitalia's Frecciarossa (from about 27 EUR) as a newer, slightly slower competitor.