From Marseille to London By train for a sightseeing route?

I am looking at making my way to London by train from through Marseille to Paris to London.

I know there is a TGV train that goes to from Marseille to Paris. Then from Paris to London. Does anyone know if there are any train changes between Marseille and London and how long of a layover thee would be in Paris to get the London train? I am hoping to get a chance to see the south and perhaps other cities in France on this route. Will the train stop at many cities or towns where you may have some time to get out and look around for a while? Thanks for any advice/suggestions.

There are two main connection from Marseille to London.
The TGV - This train go fast nd have only short stops on the way. The whole trip need about 3 to 3.5 hours. The TGV did not go by the tunnel to France or the UK. You need to change the station and train (TGV first, Eurostar next) in Paris.

The Eurostar - This train (like a TGV) don’t use the same stations on the way and goes directly from Marseille to London - have a look here http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/whatsnew - it is said the trip need 5.5 hours.

http://www.seat61.com/eurostar-to-lyon-avignon-marseille.htm

Thank you for this info. I am flying out of Mallorca. Going to try to get to Marseille from here directly or to Barcelona then Marseille. I thought I'd hang around Marseille check it out maybe stay for a night or so. Then take that fast TGV to London. Do you need to buy a ticket well in advanced for that TGV train or can you buy it on the fly? Just curious as I'd like to know if I should buy it now. I'm looking to leave by Sunday or so this weekend.

TGV prices are at the most interesting 3 months before. By now, there are probably no cheap tickets left, so buying today or tomorrow won't make much difference. You do have to buy at least half an hour before because seat reservations are obligatory on high speed trains, so you may as well do so now.

Yes I expected it may be steep

If you are just getting a fast train via Paris and not really stopping, I would just fly from Marseille. Especially with the issues on the Eurotunnel. If you want to stop in Paris for a couple of nights then just buy separate tickets one to Paris one to London.

Rich. Yes I considered that, just thought the driect eurostar train would allow some views of nice scenary.

If your main priority is to see towns along your route, then you might consider using a "normal" train from Marseilles to Paris, and you'd be able to make stops along the way. The high-speed trains, such as the TGV, make relatively few stops, and the stations are often located some distance from the towns. Examples include Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, and Valence. Either the "normal" trains or TGV will arrive in Paris at the Gare de Lyon, and you would need to go to Gare du Nord for Eurostar departures to London. You can make that connection in roughly a half-hour via the metro, but I'd allow at least an hour to make that connection.
You can find train schedules in several places: Bahn.de or SNCF ( which will show schedules and prices). Finally, you can find more accurate information about connecting time between Gare de Lyon and Gare du Nord by checking on RATP, which is the site for the Paris Metro.
Be sure to plan to make reservations for the TGV or Eurostar, since reservations are required on those trains, but generally not needed on " normal" trains.
You'll have to decide if your main priority is speed of transport or ability to make stops along the way. There are many towns worth spending time in--- to name just a few along the route, Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Orange, Lyon, Beaune, Dijon.

Back to your question if the train stop in many towns. It depend. If you use the TGV (or Eurostar) the answer is no. If you use the TER = regional trains it is possible under one condition. For TER trains you don’t need a reservation and after buying your ticket before taking the train you need to put it inside a yellow machine to valid it (composter in French). Then you get on your ticket an stamp with the date and time. Now the ticket is valid from the moment on until the next day at midnight what gives you the possibility to leave the TER for some time and visit a Village or town on your way before entering into the next TER to continue.

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