Green Traveller's Guide to taking the train from London St Pancras International Railway Station to Basel, Switzerland.
With over forty museums dedicated to history, art and architecture, Basel is the cultural capital of Switzerland. On the border with both Germany and France, in the north of the country, Basel is much more cosmopolitan than Zurich, not as spick and span, yet more laid back. It is also one of the country's greenest cities - the city's entire energy supply comes from renewable sources and the local government has long promoted the idea of a '2000 watt society', aiming to reduce the population's overall energy use from 6,000 to 2,000 watts.
Basel is about 6 hours by train from London, and a great base from which to go exploring the Swiss Alps. For information about where to stay and eat and local visitor attractions, see our
Journey Time: from 6 hours 25 minutes
Sample timetable: Depart London 09.31am, arrive Basel 5.26pm
Changes: 1
Transfer: Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Gare de Lyon
Frequency of Departures: 21/day
Carbon emissions: 12.1kg (flight would be 190.3kg)*
Train tickets provided by Trainline:
What's the journey like?
You have to change stations in Paris from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, which can take about half an hour on the Paris RER line (it's only two stops, though we recommend you leave at least 50 minutes for the entire transfer - you have about an hour and a quarter to get the connection). See our guide to How to transfer between train stations across Paris. At Gare de Lyon, you board a TGV high speed train to Basel station.
Stopover hotels to break the journey in Paris
If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Paris while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay near both Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently near these stations:
Miss your connection in Paris?
Don’t panic. Railteam’s ‘Hop on the Next Available Train’ service means that if you have missed your connection between high speed trains because of a delay on the preceding leg of your journey, you’ll automatically be put on the next available high-speed TGV train. NB Remember to get your ticket stamped by your Train Manager. Whenever you’re connecting, always remember to validate your onward train ticket at the machine on the platform before departing (these are often coloured yellow).
On arrival at Basel station
Bienvenue à Basel! There are lots of great hotels near to the arrival railway station, see below.
Hotels near Basel Railway Station We recommend hotel this reservation service for checking availability and booking a stopover hotel because you can read hundreds of reviews from people who have recently stayed in these hotels, slept in the rooms and eaten in the nearby restaurants. We've tried it out ourselves and found it makes choosing and booking a stopover hotel a doddle. We hope you do too.
Bon Voyage!
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