Train Travel

At least 10 high-speed TGVs per day leave Paris’s Gare Montparnasse and Gare Austerlitz bound for Toulouse; depending on which one you choose, the journey can take 5½–7 hours. There are also 15 daily departures from Paris to Narbonne and 13 to Perpignan. Most of these trips take six to seven hours, but if you get a TGV from the Gare de Lyon you can be in Narbonne in 4½ hours. A TGV line from Paris also serves Montpellier 18 times a day, departing from the Gare de Lyon. The regional TER rail network provides regular service to many towns, though not all. TER buses complete the network where rails don't go. Within the Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse is the biggest hub, with a major line linking Carcassonne (1 hr), Narbonne (1½ hrs, change here for Perpignan), and Montpellier (2 hrs); trains link up with Albi (1 hr), too. Toulouse trains also connect with Biarritz (5 hrs), Pau (3 hrs), and Bordeaux (3 hrs). In Languedoc-Roussillon, Montpellier connects with Carcassonne (2 hrs), Perpignan (2 hrs), and other towns. From Perpignan, take one of the dozen or so daily trains to Collioure (20 mins). All TER trains in the region offer a limited number of seats to any town for only €1; tickets must be purchased in advance online (www.train1euro.fr).

Train Information

Gare SNCF Carcassonne. 1 av. Marechal Joffre, Carcassonne, Occitania, 11000. 3635.

Gare SNCF Montpellier. Rue Jules Ferry, Montpellier, Occitania, 34000. 3635.

Gare SNCF Narbonne. 1 bd. Frédéric Mistral, Narbonne, Occitania, 11100. 3635.

Gare SNCF Perpignan. Av. du Général de Gaulle, Perpignan, Occitania, 66000. 3635.

Gare SNCF Toulouse-Matabiau. 64 bd. Pierre Semard, Toulouse, Occitania, 31500. 3635.

SNCF. 3635; www.voyages-sncf.com.

TGV. www.tgv.com.