I have a somewhat romantic view of overnight train journeys. I imagine settling down to a good night’s sleep, trundling across the country and arriving refreshed and ready for the day ahead.
But I’ve also travelled on enough overnight trains to know this is not the reality! Despite this, it still appears on my 60 things to do before I’m 60 list, as I love the idea of them and it’s much better for the environment than flying.
So, when I managed to book a cheap Eurostar ticket to Paris, it was with a view to travelling on somewhere else in France. ‘Somewhere’ turned out to be Narbonne. Why Narbonne? Easy, the cost of the overnight train ticket from Paris, including fees and a couchette was £27! It costs me more to travel to London, a 45 minute trip from my home than it does to travel 500 miles to the south of France.
Paris to Narbonne
After a straightforward Eurostar and metro journey I arrived at Gare D’Austerlitz in Paris with a couple of hours spare to read my book.
The train was ready for boarding about 20 minutes before departure. The compartment had six berths; mine was the middle one. You store your bag at the end of the bed so I was glad I was travelling light. The couchette comes with a pillow, thin sheet/blanket, a bottle of water and a small overnight kit. There’s an individual light and charger point.
I’d booked a woman only couchette as I was convinced I’d end up sharing with either party lads or snoring men. Instead I had a coughing lady. Oh well. After a discussion between the other travellers (in French) the window was partially opened, and left this way all night.
As it was already quite late I read for a while and then tried to sleep. However, the open window wasn’t ideal. It was cold, noisy and windy in the carriage. I barely got any sleep and spent most of the night trying to keep warm. Was it better than catching whatever the lady had? I guess so.
The train arrived into Narbonne exactly on time, 7:43 am. As I couldn’t get into my accommodation until 5pm I stored my luggage and headed to the nearest open cafe for a pain au chocolat and cappuccino. Bliss.
I spent the next four days sightseeing in and around Narbonne. My brief thoughts on the places I visited are below.
Narbonne
Narbonne was a great base. As a lone traveller I felt safe, it was clean and whilst there were things to see it wasn’t overrun with tourists. My Airbnb flat was in a central location, near the food market, and the city had a thriving pavement cafe culture.
Narbonne (well, its predecessor Narbo Martius) was established by the Romans. It has a relatively new museum a little out of town, Narbo Via museum, which details the history of this period; I highly recommend it. I bought a combined entrance ticket which also allowed me to visit the Horreum, Roman storage tunnels under the centre of town.
More recent sights included an unfinished cathedral, a palace (with tower to climb) and the Canal de la Robine. But, what I enjoyed most was sitting with an ice cream in the main square or drinking a kir in a bar and watching the world go by.
Gruissan
Gruissan is a coastal village, 14 km and a 1.20€ bus trip from Narbonne. It’s popular with French tourists, and boasts a long sandy beach. I don’t do beaches so contented myself with the other sights. My favourite was Tour Barberousse (Redbeard Tower), the remains of a castle built in the 10th Century. There are also salt flats to visit, but the guided tour is only in French. My French isn’t good enough so I just enjoyed the views and bought some garlic flavoured salt in the on-site shop.
Salses
Salses lies between Narbonne and Perpignan. I took the train, which passes through salt flats, complete with flamingoes! In Salses I visited the fortress, a few minutes walk away from the railway station. Built in the 15th century it once guarded the border between Catalonia and France, and was later used as a refuge in the Spanish Civil War. Some parts are only accessible on a guide tour; this is included in the entry price but once again is only in French.
Lagrasse
Lagrasse was the highlight of my trip for an unexpected reason. The Narbonne tourist office suggested visiting the village (deemed one of the most beautiful in France) and its abbey. Surprisingly I was the only passenger on the 2€ bus journey, which wound up through vineyards and sunflower fields to the village. I dutifully visited the abbey, which was fine but not really my kind of thing. I then started out on a walk but as it was extremely hot I decided it was safer to potter along the river bank instead. Imagine my excitement, joy and incredulity when I spotted hoopoes, a Camberwell Beauty butterfly, a kingfisher, lots of big fish and numerous dragonflies all with 200 metres or so. Paradise for me!
Back in the village I enjoyed an amazing vegetarian lunch of cheeses, bread, dips, various vegetables and fruit. Combined with the view from my table and a sneaky gelato it made for a fabulous lunch.
Carcassone
Having heard barely a word of English in Narbonne it was a shock arriving in Carcassonne. English and American accents dominated the town.
I’ve wanted to visit Carcassonne, a World Heritage Site, for many years. Did it meet my expectations? You can probably guess my answer. The citadel is impressive and I enjoyed the walk around the ramparts. But it’s extremely touristy, with loads of tourist shops catering to the many visitors.
My highlight was watching a crane manoeuvre out of the castle walls, moving a few centimetres at a time. It took about 20 minutes and the driver received a round of applause at the end.
Toulouse
My immediate impression of Toulouse wasn’t favourable; the area around the station felt seedy and dirty compared to Narbonne. As I was only in the city for a few hours I heeded the advice of the tourist office and joined a sightseeing train trip around the city. I’ve always dismissed these as being for children but it was fun, and gave me a good overview of the city in a short time.
Afterwards I wandered around a bit and found a great cafe serving the most incredible focaccia. As I walked back to the railway station the sun was setting and it seemed every resident was eating in an outdoor cafe. Toulouse grew on me in the short time I was there and it felt like somewhere I’d like to return to and explore properly.
Toulouse to Paris
My return train from Toulouse to Paris didn’t leave until 10.23pm so I spent an hour or so in the station waiting. There were a lot of homeless people begging inside, including a man who looked like he’d come direct from a hospital bed. A sad situation to be in.
I thought I’d booked another woman only carriage for the return journey, but there were already three men in the couchette when I arrived. Whoops! As expected, the snoring levels were high but the window remained closed and I managed a few hours of sleep.
The train arrived into Paris, once again dead on time. I had a couple of hours to waste before my Eurostar check-in so after a final pain au chocolat I walked around the gardens next to Gare d’Austerlitz. I’m sure the park gardeners were wringing their hands in despair, but I loved watching the parakeets demolish the sunflower heads.
The remaining journey had its moments. My metro ticket wouldn’t let me out of the barrier at Gare du Nord and there were no station staff to ask for help. Fortunately a French teen invited me go through the barrier with her, obviously not allowed but I did have a valid ticket. The Eurostar was then delayed an hour due to problems on the English side (surprise). We finally arrived into London 59 minutes late, a minute before they’d have to pay compensation.
Overall I loved my trip to Narbonne, and the overnight trains were bearable. Perhaps next time I’ll splash out on a private cabin!
Challenge complete
Take an overnight train – completed August 2024. Pop over to see the rest of my 60 things to do before I’m 60 list.
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