--- title: "Train stations in Strasbourg: which one you actually need" date: 2026-06-21 author: "Johan E. Johansson" featured_image: "https://everyrail.com/wp-content/uploads/strasbourg.jpg" categories: - name: "Destinations" url: "/destinations.md" --- # Train stations in Strasbourg: which one you actually need If your booking screen just says “Strasbourg” and you have not opened the train details, you are almost certainly looking at Strasbourg-Ville, the city’s main station. Strasbourg has one practical answer for nearly every traveller, but you may also see a TER halt at the airport and two regional stops inside the city limits on a booking screen. This guide covers which one to use. ## Which Strasbourg train station you actually need For almost every trip, book Strasbourg-Ville. The station is also written Gare de Strasbourg and Gare de Strasbourg-Ville, and the city’s TGV inOui, Ouigo, the direct TGV inOui to Brussels-South, ICE and joint ICE/TGV services to Germany, DB Fernverkehr trains, every TER Grand Est regional train and the Ortenau-S-Bahn to Kehl and Offenburg all use it. Choose Entzheim-Aéroport only if you are catching a flight at Strasbourg Airport and want the rail link into the city, or you are arriving by air and need the quickest way to Strasbourg-Ville. Choose Strasbourg-Roethig or Krimmeri-Meinau only if your trip is a TER regional service that genuinely calls there and you live or stay nearby. If your booking just shows “Strasbourg”, open the train details and confirm the exact arrival station before you pay. ## Strasbourg's train stations at a glance Most travellers only need to recognise four station names: the main long-distance station and three smaller TER stops. StationWhat it isChoose it whenStrasbourg-Ville (Gare de Strasbourg)The main long-distance station, 20 Place de la Gare in central Strasbourg; nearly every TGV inOui, Ouigo, ICE/TGV, DB Fernverkehr, TER Grand Est and Ortenau-S-Bahn service uses itYou want central Strasbourg, the city centre, or any long-distance French, German, Swiss or Belgian trainEntzheim-Aéroport (Strasbourg-Entzheim)The TER halt at Strasbourg Airport, on the line towards Molsheim, served only by TER Grand Est regional trainsYou are flying into or out of Strasbourg Airport and want the rail link to Strasbourg-VilleStrasbourg-RoethigA small TER halt in the west of Strasbourg, on the line towards MolsheimYour TER regional train calls there and you live or stay nearbyKrimmeri-MeinauA TER halt in the Neudorf quarter of Strasbourg, last passenger stop before the German border on the Appenweier-Strasbourg lineA TER Grand Est or Ortenau-S-Bahn regional service calls there and you are in that part of the cityThe rest of this guide focuses on Strasbourg-Ville, with a separate section on the airport rail link and a short pass-and-reservation block. ## Gare de Strasbourg (Strasbourg-Ville), the main station Strasbourg-Ville is the station nearly everyone wants. It is owned by SNCF, sits at 20 Place de la Gare in the city centre, and has 13 tracks. Strasbourg handled 24.5 million passengers in 2024, which puts it among the busiest railway stations in France outside the Île-de-France region. The historical façade was built between 1878 and 1883 by the German architect Johann Eduard Jacobsthal. Ahead of the LGV Est opening in 2007, the station was refurbished by architect Jean-Marie Duthilleul, who added a huge glass canopy that entirely covers the historical building. The modernisation won a Brunel Award in 2008, and the original façade has been classified as a Monument historique (type “inscrit”) since 28 December 1984. The glass canopy is the part you see first when you arrive. From Strasbourg-Ville you can board a TGV inOui to Paris-Est, a TGV inOui to Lille, Brussels-South, Bordeaux, Nantes, Rennes, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier or Nice, a Ouigo to Paris-Est, an ICE or joint ICE/TGV service to Karlsruhe, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich and Berlin, a DB Fernverkehr ICE/TGV joint service to Frankfurt or Karlsruhe, a TER Grand Est regional train to Saverne, Sélestat, Colmar, Mulhouse, Basel SBB, Haguenau, Wissembourg, Niederbronn-les-Bains, Sarreguemines, Saarbrücken Hbf, Metz, Nancy, Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, Épinal, Lauterbourg or Kehl, or an Ortenau-S-Bahn (operated by SWEG) towards Kehl and Offenburg. Combined air-and-rail tickets via Paris CDG and Frankfurt FRA use the airline code XWG for the station. For practical facilities, Strasbourg-Ville has a travel-information desk, left luggage (consigne), a first-class lounge and a tourism information point, plus a bus station, car hire and a taxi rank on Place de la Gare. The trams enter the building on a lower level. You do not have to walk back outside to switch from a TGV to the tram. ## Strasbourg airport: the Entzheim-Aéroport rail link Strasbourg Airport (IATA SXB) is not on the high-speed line. There is no airport TGV station and no airport tram. The rail link is a small TER halt called Entzheim-Aéroport, on the Strasbourg-Molsheim line about 200 metres from the terminal. TER Grand Est regional trains from Entzheim-Aéroport reach Strasbourg-Ville in 7 to 12 minutes, and the same trains carry on towards Sélestat or Épinal in the opposite direction. Book the rail leg as part of your trip. The station name in booking systems is “Strasbourg-Entzheim” or “Entzheim-Aéroport”, and you can buy a TER ticket on the spot if you have not booked in advance. CTS bus lines 42, 43 and 44 also serve the station, but they do not run directly to Strasbourg city centre and there is no tram line to the airport, so the TER is the realistic option for almost everyone. If you are flying out, allow time for one short connection at Strasbourg-Ville rather than expecting a direct service from anywhere in France. From most parts of France, the route is a TGV inOui to Strasbourg-Ville, then a single TER to Entzheim-Aéroport. ## Strasbourg-Roethig and Krimmeri-Meinau, the regional halts Strasbourg-Roethig sits in the west of the city, on the Molsheim line (TER A18). It exists for regional commuters, not for visitors picking a station for a TGV trip. If your booking screen shows Strasbourg-Roethig for a long-distance trip, that is almost certainly the wrong choice. Switch the search to Strasbourg-Ville. Krimmeri-Meinau is in the Neudorf quarter, the last passenger station before the German border on the Appenweier-Strasbourg railway. The stop opened in 2003 and is served by TER Grand Est and by the Ortenau-S-Bahn (operated by SWEG) on line RS 4 between Strasbourg-Ville, Kehl and Offenburg. Both sides of the border are inside the Schengen Area, so there are no passport checks. As with Roethig, the only reason to book Krimmeri-Meinau is a regional Kehl/Offenburg trip where the stop is genuinely closer to your destination than the main station. ## Paris Gare de l'Est is not in Strasbourg Paris Gare de l’Est is the Paris terminus for Paris-Strasbourg TGV inOui and for the direct France-Germany ICE/TGV joint services that call at Strasbourg on the way to Karlsruhe, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich and Berlin. It is in Paris, not Strasbourg. If your ticket says “Paris Gare de l’Est to Strasbourg”, you are looking at the standard Paris-Strasbourg TGV. If it says only “Gare de l’Est”, check whether the surrounding fields show Paris or Strasbourg before you commit. Paris-Strasbourg is not sold from Paris Gare de Lyon or Paris Gare du Nord. ## Rail passes and reservations at Strasbourg Interrail and Eurail Passes cover the long-distance trains that use Strasbourg-Ville, but most of them need a separate reservation that you must book in advance. TGV inOui from Paris-Est and the direct TGV inOui to Brussels-South both require a paid pass-holder seat reservation, with a limited quota per train that can sell out on Friday evenings, Sunday returns and busy holiday weeks. On direct France-Germany ICE/TGV joint services (Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich, Karlsruhe and the daily Berlin ICE3), the full ticket always includes a reservation. For pass holders the equivalent is a paid pass-holder reservation that must be booked in advance. Booking Strasbourg-Frankfurt or Strasbourg-Berlin without that reservation is not enough to board. Ouigo is the opposite: it is sold as its own full-fare ticket and is not part of the SNCF system that accepts Interrail or Eurail. You cannot use a pass for Ouigo, even though Ouigo trains use Strasbourg-Ville and the same TGV equipment. TER Grand Est services are the easy ones. Walk on with a valid pass and there is no separate reservation, no quota and no seat number. That includes the Basel TER, the Colmar-Mulhouse run, the Haguenau and Saverne services, the airport TER to Entzheim-Aéroport and the cross-border TER to Kehl and Offenburg. For orientation, the Paris-Strasbourg TGV inOui runs as little as 1h46, and fares can start from around EUR 20, rising towards EUR 90 to 100 close to departure. The Strasbourg-Basel TER takes 1h18 with a fixed full fare of EUR 29.70 plus cheaper advance fares from around EUR 10. The daily direct Paris-Strasbourg-Berlin ICE3 leaves Strasbourg at 13:09 and reaches Berlin Hbf at 18:54, with fares from EUR 39.99 in 2nd class. Treat these as orientation, not as promises for every departure, and check the live operator page when you book. ## Getting from Gare de Strasbourg into the city centre Strasbourg’s historic centre sits on the Grande Île, about a 15 to 20 minute walk from the station across the Pont Kuss. For the cathedral, Petite France and the main shopping streets, walking out of the station and over the bridge is the simplest option. For everything further out, take the tram. Tram A and Tram D stop in an underground tram station beneath the building, opened on 25 November 1994 together with Line A. Tram A runs towards Homme de Fer and the city centre. Tram D continues east towards the German border at Kehl. Tram C, added in 2010, stops overground on Place de la Gare and runs across the city towards Esplanade. CTS bus lines 2 and 10 and BRT lines G and H also stop at the station, but the trams cover almost every visitor destination. If you are heading on to Strasbourg Airport for a flight, drop your bag and pick up the next TER from the main concourse for the 7 to 12 minute run to Entzheim-Aéroport.