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Gare du Nord Paris – Guide To The Busiest Train Station In Europe

The facade of Gare du Nord at sunset

Brussels? London? Frankfurt? Trains leaving from the Gare du Nord in the 10th Arrondissement can get you there and other places in France and northern Europe. The gare teems with life, which makes sense since it's the busiest train station on the continent.

700,000 travelers pass through the station daily, where they board trains heading to destinations near and far. Serviced by the Metro, the RER (Regional Express Railway), Eurostar, and hundreds of high-speed trains, the 19th-century mammoth iron-and-glass structure is framed with a classical facade, finished with statues representing destinations from Calais to Arras.

High-Speed is the Only Speed on Eurostar

Buy tickets for the high-speed Eurostar train

It's no wonder the Gare du Nord is so popular — it transports millions of passengers a year to and from some of the biggest centers in Europe. Cologne and Brussels come to mine. The most famous of the high-speed trains terminating at Gare du Nord is the Eurostar with direct, rapid access to another European capital, London. Courtesy of the Channel Tunnel passengers can ride in comfort and arrive only two hours later.

As a hub of local and international travel, Gare du Nord in the 10th Arrondissement of Paris also connects the Metro, the RER, and local buses with intercity trains. It's where you go to reach London on the Eurostar, but the majority of the millions of passengers are commuters on their way to and from jobs in the city.

Gare du Nord High-Speed Train Destination Highlights

• London
• Amiens
• Lille
• Brussels
• Amsterdam
• Cologne
• Essen

Connecting to the Rest of Paris

As we noted, Gare du Nord is also well connected to the RER urban trains. RER Line B transports you to Charles de Gaulle airport in less than thirty minutes and it also serves Orly airport. Then there's Line D, providing a rapid link to Paris' next busiest station, Gare de Lyon. Both Lines B and D get you to Stade de France for the big football match. RER B runs every seven to fifteen minutes from 5 AM to midnight.

As far as the Paris Metro goes, Gare du Nord connects directly to Lines 4 and 5, and Line 2 is a short walk away. Then there's Bus 65 that takes you to Gare de Lyon, Gare St Lazare, and Gare de l'Est.

Gare du Nord Services

There is no shortage of shopping at Gare du Nord. As you might expect, with so many travelers there's a complete range of stores like chocolatiers, florists, even fashion outlets, grocers, and wine and cheese shops. Luckily (for us at least), chocolate is well-represented with shops by Jeff de Bruges and Le Chocolate by Alain Ducasse. (Ducasse's shop is only accessible to passengers going to London on the Eurostar.)

Our technique — if you can call it that — is to arrive at the station a little early (about forty-five minutes before departure time), peruse the sandwich selection at the various kiosks, and choose the best fromage beurre with a bottle of water for our journey. It may happen that a chocolate or two also sneaks into our shopping bag.

History of Gare du Nord Paris

Train travel was growing so rapidly in the mid-19th century that by the time the original gare on this site was completed in 1846 it was already too small. So, by 1860 a new, bigger station was underway. The façade of the 1846 station was dismantled and moved to Lille while the rest of it was demolished. (In Lille a second story as well as a large clock were added to the original façade.)

In Paris the new design focused on a triumphal arch — the main cast-iron support beam is from Glasgow, the location of the only foundry large enough for the task. The 1860 plan included a monumental boulevard leading to Gare du Nord, cutting a path through the maze of ancient streets (courtesy of Baron Haussmann), but that never was built.

Disruption and renewal has been a way of life for this Parisian gare. In 1884 more tracks were added; in 1889 the interior was rebuilt and then renovated in every decade of the 20th century. In 1994, the Eurostar launched its high-speed train service between London and Paris, requiring further changes. Today, in the evening, the Gare du Nord's neoclassical exterior is lit up, adding sparkle to this chic/shabby district of Paris.

Gare du Nord & the Paris Olympic Games

Already the busiest station in Europe, Gare du Nord got busier. To better receive the thousands arriving in Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games the station tripled in size. The stated goal was to "transform the station into an urban complex" and turn it into a leading example of "a new type of gare for the 21st century".

Thus, the largest European train station grew from 36,000 square metres to 110,000. The original hall remained visually identical, but the main entrance was moved to a new building on the east side of the historic station, giving access to an inner street, 300 meters long, covered by a glass roof.

Where to Eat Nearby

Terminus Nord Brasserie

A little bit Art Nouveau, a little bit Art Deco, a little bit rock and roll, this bustling brasserie has been welcoming diners to the City of Gares since 1925. Just steps away (a one minute walk, to be exact) from Gare du Nord, the brasserie serves up fresh oysters from Brittany, seafood platters, smoked Atlantic salmon with blinis and sour cream, plump escargots in garlic butter, authentic bouillabaisse, and all the luscious French desserts you'd expect — baba au rhum, crepes Suzette and profiteroles with Valrhona chocolate sauce. Classic French food aside, you'll be dazzled by the soaring ceilings, chandeliers, stained glass and Mucha decorative mirrors.

• 23 rue de Dunkerque, 75010
• Open 7 Days a Week
• Website…

Chez Michel & Chez Casimir

Although the immediate neighborhood tends to be a bit scruffy and the traffic around the station a bit of a nightmare, you can find good, traditional French food in close vicinity to Gare du Nord. If you have some time before your departure, or if you've arrived in the evening, we recommend Chez Michel or Chez Casimir. They're side by side, a seven-minute walk from the station.

• CHEZ MICHEL
  10 Rue de Belzunce, 75010
  01 44 53 06 20
  Website…
• CHEZ CASIMIR
  6 Rue de Belzunce, 75010
  01 48 78 28 80
  Website…

Gare du Nord Paris FAQs

WHERE IS GARE DU NORD AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Gare du Nord is located in the 10th Arrondissement of Paris and is the busiest train station in Europe, with around 700,000 travelers passing through daily on their way to destinations in France and northern Europe.

WHICH TRAINS AND TRANSPORT LINES SERVE GARE DU NORD?
Gare du Nord is served by high-speed trains, the Eurostar to London, regional trains, Paris Metro lines 4 and 5, RER lines B and D, and local buses including Bus 65, which links to Gare de Lyon, Gare Saint-Lazare, and Gare de l'Est.

WHAT SERVICES AND AMENITIES ARE AVAILABLE AT GARE DU NORD?
Gare du Nord offers a wide range of traveler services, including shops, cafés, and restaurants, as well as ticket offices, information desks, and connections to Metro, RER, and buses for onward travel across Paris and beyond.

Gare du Nord Resources

• Entrances at 112 Rue de Maubeuge and 18 Rue Dunkerque
• 10th Arrondissement
• Metro Lines 4 & 5
• RER Lines B & D

• Boutiques & Food Services at Gare du Nord…