Le Train Bleu

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Above the train tracks of Gare de Lyon sits one of my favorite places in Paris. Le Train Bleu. It is a tradition of ours to have a drink there when arriving from the south of France.

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Le Train Blue has an amazing history. But I like to dream– That the only train going from Paris to the mediterrianne’s blue coastline, is called "The Blue Train" and not PML or TGV.

Both the train and the restaurant take you to an enchanting place to dream.

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Once inside you are struck with its fascinating display of art. The entire ceiling is sculpted and romantically painted. Entering Le Train Bleu is like stepping back into the belle epoque.

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With its captivating history surrounding you, it is easy to miss your train while waiting inside.

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Imagine April in Paris…do you want to meet me for tea?

Photos: Le Train Bleu, Paris.



Comments

56 responses to “Le Train Bleu”

  1. Paris Parfait

    These days with the weird weather, the “April in Paris” mentioned in the song doesn’t exist. But I think we create our own magic. And if you come to Paris in April, let’s meet at Le Train Bleu! You’re right, it’s a gorgeous place. Wishing you a safe journey to California and back!

  2. Corey,
    Le Train Blue is on my list for a drink next time I visit. I won’t be able to be there in April, but I will take a raincheck for….hopefully September!

  3. Oh I can see why you could miss the train. This is a gorgeous place to meet for a drink if in Paris the month of April or any other month. Last weekend Garden Boys children came to celebrate their Dads birthday and part of their gift was 5 books on travel in France. We are thinking of taking a trip to France next year so maybe we will have that drink or a pot of tea at Le Train Bleu.

  4. I am so there, Corey.

  5. Absolutely!!!! Can we hang around for dessert?? Le Train Bleau is beautiful!!!

  6. Who cares about missing the train, I’d want to spend my whole visit right there at Le Train Bleu. Another cup of tea anyone?

  7. Europe has such beauty in it’s architecture! I had a Eurail pass for 1 month once (1985) and just rode the trains throughout Europe – never did make it to Paris though!
    I DO enjoy looking at your pictures!

  8. Marie-Noëlle

    Any day, any time…
    You will easily spot me: I shall wear a “béret” and hold a “baguette”!

  9. Just tell me what time, and I’ll be there! would love to meet you, Corey, someday.

  10. Tea time? Sounds divine. This Train Bleu puts a spell on me.

  11. Thank you for these fabulous photos! .. Magnifique! I cannot wait til my trip to Paris materializes out of thin air! ha!

  12. Such beauty grace and elegance you are blessed with.
    I am watching Marie Antionette on DVD
    Sharing love and sending joy
    Everything you share is divine.
    I am so blessed you are a friend of mine.
    Love you
    Jeanne
    Ash Wednesday today
    I give up all sweets!

  13. A beautiful spot, without a doubt, but for now I will meet you somewhere in the California valley.

  14. sounds wonderful!

  15. Corey what a complete fantasy for the eyes and soul. The beauty must just seep into your body.
    Lovely post!
    XO
    Kristen

  16. I’ll be the one with a rose in my hat! What a dreamy space…
    Hugs to you!

  17. Amazing visuals!
    I would love to meet you for tea! Marco Polo?

  18. merci Corey de parler aussi bien des beautés de la France !
    je suis d’accord avec vous :dire “le train bleu” c’est plus joli que TGV ou RER, n’est-ce pas ?
    si seulement tous les trains avaient un nom aussi poétique !

  19. April in Paris. Too nice. Le Train Bleu looks great to me.

  20. Wow- what is there to say? Incredible!

  21. oh corey. i’m furiously taking notes on what to do, see, eat, drink for my first trip to paris in june. this one is a must do!

  22. yes, yes and yes! i remember April in Paris so well..the rain/sleet/snow/sunshine all in one afternoon; the flowers starting to burst everywhere; the cherry blossoms on the tree in the jardin; my neighbors starting to have dinner parties on their tiny back patio/porch/deck; walks in the woods with half of the rest of the population; more tourists (LOL – yes when i lived there i could spot American tourists 6 blocks away….wasn’t i a snoot!?! LOL)
    ::sigh:: i miss it so much – must.get.back.to.Paris.

  23. Yes! Oh Corey, thank you for all the beauty and love you pour into this world. It needs is badly.

  24. thank you for posting actual photos of le train bleu! it is magnificent! we decided we would have breakfast here before heading to the south during our may trip!
    xo, h

  25. Only IF they allow loitering…

  26. Corey, c’est trop belle! Et l’idee de quatres-heures avec vous est magnifique aussi!

  27. Oh wow…and you gave us such great pics that we CAN meet you for tea….yes, book the table..I`ll be there
    Chamara

  28. One day….yes?
    Our ritual was café-crème at the Gare de l’Est while waiting for the train home. Very suburban!!!!

  29. I would love to sit down at The Blue Train with you Corey and keep on our talk……

  30. Such a beautiful place! Wish I could meet you there! Beautiful pictures!
    The Railway Train
    I like to see it lap the miles,
    And lick the valleys up,
    And stop to feed itself at tanks;
    And then, prodigious, step
    Around a pile of mountains,
    And, supercilious, peer
    In shanties by the sides of roads;
    And then a quarry pare
    To fit its sides, and crawl between,
    Complaining all the while
    In horrid, hooting stanza;
    Then chase itself down hill
    And neigh like Boanerges;
    Then, punctual as a star,
    Stop–docile and omnipotent–
    At its own stable door.
    Emily Dickinson

  31. What an amazing place, absolutely beautiful (how can one even consider leaving that place and taking the train?) One of my favourite places in the city is also a train station (now an exhibition centre). Although it doesn’t have the grandeur of your photos, there’s something lovely about its dome shape and a clock outside that has me dreaming of the once busy station.

  32. Cousin Linda

    Ursula and I went through Le Train Bleu when we visited you in 1996 (or was is 1995). Anyway, I remembered you said have a drink while waiting for your train. It happened to be lunch time, so we went in for lunch. Big surprise — it was Tres Expensive — that’s why you had said “have a drink.” Cost be damned — the memory of the meal Ursula and I shared in that beautiful place will be with me for a lifetime.

  33. Ton blog est tout simplement magnifique : un immense bravo.

  34. That sounds lovely, Corey. And everything sounds better in blue. (La rue Bleue, le train bleu…) I am looking forward to trying it.

  35. Such grand accommodations. This is a place where I could truly lose track of time.
    Safe journeys as you continue “home.”

  36. Oh Corey,
    This place is gorgeous. What breathtaking beauty. I would love to join you for tea! But I think I would be staring at the walls and ceiling the entire time!
    Lorene

  37. Trudy Pellizzari

    Hello, Corey!
    I was fortunate enough to have dinner at Train Bleu in 2005 when I was part of a group tour of France.
    Our guide had arranged for the restaurant to prepare a special meal just for the 20-or so of us. Aside from the stifling heat (June!), it was a wonderful experience. We felt like royalty!
    I continue to enjoy your blog each day. Thank you!
    Trudy Pellizzari

  38. Quand tu veux pour le thé Corey … Marco Polo bien entendu !

  39. Thank you so much for this Corey. I am off to Paris in a few weeks to visit my daughter and I have often wanted to visit this place but I was a bit worried it might be a bit of a tourist trap. I will visit this time thanks to you.

  40. Such amazing photos! What an unimaginably wonderful place to dine!

  41. absolutely breathtaking……I can do April!

  42. Oh my!
    I think we’re going to take over the whole establishment!
    Please add my name to the guest list for tea.
    Beautifully dreamy..
    merci…

  43. Pour another cup for me, please.

  44. Oui! but of course I want to meet you for tea. So sad though, the train from here, will not get me there. I will dream for a while more… then maybe one day… In a trace of my roots… I will walk up to a beautiful door, and proclaim my arrival.

  45. OF COURSE i’ll meet you for tea in Paris!!!! What an absolutely beautiful place. If that’s what’s in store for me in France. Bring it on!

  46. Yes, for sure – Gare de Lyon is our arrival station from Beaune. Make a date and I’ll be there.

  47. What an experience that would be, how wonderful your life is!! Enjoy, my friend!

  48. I’ve always wanted to go to Paris, maybe someday I’ll get my wish and you can show me around! 🙂

  49. wow! eventhough this is so breathtaking…so exquisite…for me, and don’t get me wrong…i’d love to see this one day…but,if i had to choose…i’d choose being in your dad’s barn tossin’ back a cold one…then jumping on a bike and going for a ride to the coast! i guess you just can’t take the texas out of this girl! lucky you to be able to experience both…i am feeling a bit sad the past couple of days…my dad’s birthday was the 20th…he would’ve been 77! i miss him terribly! maybe that’s where this comment drifted off to….sorry…i usually don’t get too sappy!

  50. One of my favorite places in Paris for a touch of what travel was like so many years ago. I wouldn’t have liked wearing long skirts, hats or bustles but I’d like to time travel for a few hours and sit in that room.

  51. what a beautiful place! i would love to meet you in paris or anywhere for that matter.

  52. Stunning……just stunning!

  53. OHMYGOD! How gorgeous! That place is a destination in itself!

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