Overnight train from Paris to Toulouse

Is there even an overnight train on that route? Personally, I'd just take the day train or fly, if that's your preference (wouldn't be mine). It's only a little over 4 hrs on the TGV train.

I haven't taken a French overnight train in ages, if ever. My experience in couchette carriages was never great, and on the most recent occasion (southern Italy) I didn't sleep at all. As a result, I slept through much of the next day and had the equivalent of jetlag. It was a miserable experience.

Although the schedule could certainly change after the worst of the pandemic abates, the SNCF schedule currently does show a night train on that route, though not necessarily every day of the week. It has both couchettes and "sleeperettes", which I guess is the French term for the more comfortable (and expensive) sleeping compartments. The train leaves Austerlitz Station at 10:12 PM and reaches Toulouse at 6 AM. I normally warn people about all the sleep-destroying stops along the way, but in this case there's only one, at 11:26 PM, so that aspect of the trip isn't a problem, and perhaps the passenger would be able to sleep reasonably well. Still, what does one do in Toulouse at 6 AM? Timeanddate.com indicates that it could be quite cool out on the streets of Toulouse at that time of day, with temperatures possibly in the low 50s F.

Much as I hate getting up early, I'd much prefer to take the 6:47 AM train that gets to Toulouse at 11:09 AM rather than a night train.

We have taken overnight trains, though not recently. Last time was in 2012. For a 4 hour ride I agree with acraven and would go in the morning. If you are trying to save on the price of a hotel room for the night, i don’t believe it is worth it. With a couchette you may have other people with you and therefore security is questionable. In a private sleeperette you would be alone but they can be expensive. We have done both and prefer the private car. But our times were more like 10 hour train rides.

As always, The Man in Seat 61 has answers: https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/intercites-de-nuit.htm

Overnight trains are in general a great way of travel as they save both time and money. The drawback or this train is an early arrival in Toulouse, but apart from that it can be a good option. On the other hand, it is only 4 hours by TGV.

Taking an overnight train would wipe me out for 2+ days until I caught up with what I had lost, so I would avoid them like the plague, particularly for such a short journey. It’s a false economy for me. Just take the TGV.

I saw a recent article talking about how night trains are making a comeback, with new routes planned. Personally, I was not impressed. It comes down to how you handle sleeping in a moving object. I do not sleep much on planes, trains, or ferries; so the idea of being put on a slow train for a "relaxing" ride through the countryside, slumbering and waking up in the center of a new city doesn't sell, since I know that it will just, for me, be a long uncomfortable sleepless night, dropped off in a new city ungodly early, needing to find a place to store my bags until the next hotel will even let you in the door.

Saving a nights hotel cost and eeking a few more hours to cram in sights does not fit in my travel style, I would rather get a good nights sleep, enjoy a good coffee and something to eat, then board a train (or plane), enjoying the ride to my new city.

We once did Rome to Paris because we had 70 pounds of books we needed to take with us and you can't fly with that weight. We had a private compartment for two with bunks and it was reasonably comfortable. BUT these trains are fairly filthy and the bathrooms are beyond gross by about 2 am -- there is no janitorial service en route. they also have the reputation for being very insecure -- certainly anyone so inclined could easily enter the compartment at night and steal stuff -- the door lock is a joke. I anchored the camera bag at the foot of my bed and slept with the money belt. We knew someone who had his wallet and her purse stolen in a train compartment overnight years ago. They heard nothing and the flimsy lock is easily manipulated by a skilled thief and there were rumors of complicity by train staff.

For such a short trip I cannot see any advantage of a night train -- you won't get a 'night's sleep' -- the couchettes are awful -- you sleep on a small ledge with several people you've never met -- the private compartments are comfortable but there isn't enough time to really sleep and you arrive at the crack of dawn when your hotel room will probably not be accessible for most of the day. Take the TGV.

My experience is only with Air France from Orly. The flight to Toulouse was about 50 euro and takes a little over an hour. Orly is closer to Paris than CDG, so takes less time to get to. Plus it's significantly smaller so easier/quicker to navigate security and to your gate.

My rule of thumb is to keep transportation legs to under four hours. If I can't drive in under four hours, I consider a train. If a train takes more than four hours, I take a flight.

On that particular trip I rented a car in Toulouse, drove around Languedoc, Lot and Dordogne valleys, then trained back to Paris direct from Bordeaux.

Night trains--it could be time to get an update.

When I took them last century, in my youth, those slow-moving, lumbering hunks of metal had post office cars where clerks sorted mail all night. The trains stopped in towns along the way, the clerks threw the bags off, then spent time chatting with the locals working on the tracks because over the weeks and years of sorting on the same trains, they all knew each other. Of course, if the screeching brakes hadn't awakened us, the conversations outside the train window at 2 a.m. would. Then the train would jerk again as it started up, lumbering off to the next town, where the screech, halt, conversations, and start up were repeated. Meanwhile, we'd be either sweating on a plastic-covered platform with only a crumpled sheet under us, or freezing because someone in one of the bunks wanted a window open.
This was before the TGV and it did save us from a 12-hour day trip in the train, which is now fortunately down to 6. I could sleep on anything, but my poor husband suffered.

Maybe someone should try it and report back (but not me, no, no, no). That Paris-Toulouse plane looks good to me.

There are those that like night trains and those that can't stand them, so the threads about night trains can be a bit divided. It is also remember that you should not tar all night trains with the same brush, they are different in different countries and depending on the operator and the booking class.

Whether it is a good choice for you depends on how well you sleep on a train, your planned schedule and how well you handle getting up early in the morning. Taking the night train will give you a whole day to discover Toulouse, but if you are too tired to actually use that day the night train would be a waste of time.

I'm one of those who like night trains as a way of getting around. But to be honest, if it was my trip I would probably take the TGV.

Yes, board the TGV in Paris Montparnasse at 6:40 am and arrive Toulouse 11:09 am. You now have the whole afternoon and stayed in a comfortable hotel room and not in one that shakes and screeches all night for a similar amount of money.