- Use this
form to buy Eurostar tickets from London to Paris,
Lille or Brussels direct with
www.eurostar.com, with no booking fees.
- St Pancras
is Eurostar's London station. You can also buy
train tickets to Paris or Brussels starting in 130 UK towns & cities,
or buy a special connecting
train ticket to London from most British railway
stations.
- You simply
print out your own ticket, or collect it at the station
in London, Lille, Paris or Brussels.
- This form
is set up for journeys starting in the UK, to book a
journey starting in Paris or Brussels,
click here.
- Eurostar
bookings open
120 days before departure.
- Business
Premier & Standard Premier = 1st class, fare includes drinks &
meals. Standard = 2nd class.
- For through
tickets to Amsterdam, Cologne & any station in France,
also try
www.raileurope.co.uk.
Eurostar first class. On each train,
some 1st class cars are allocated to business
travellers (Business Premier) others for
leisure users (Standard Premier
with cheaper inflexible tickets).
360° photo
Eurostar
standard class. Only cars 5 & 14 have
power sockets for laptops. Cars 1 & 18 are the
family-friendly cars with baby-changing rooms.
More
information.
Tips for choosing your seat.
The Eurostar cafe-bar:
Each Eurostar train has two café-bars (cars 6 & 13) serving drinks &
snacks...
Standard Premier complimentary meals:
In Standard Premier (1st class for leisure),
the fare includes a
simple but tasty cold tray meal with wine, beer or
soft drinks, tea or coffee. This is dinner...
... and this is breakfast.
Business Premier complimentary meals: In Business Premier
(1st class for business), the fare includes a
more extensive airline-style tray meal with cooked
hot dishes & wine and/or champagne...
Eurostar is the
high-speed passenger train from London to Paris via the
Channel Tunnel, taking as little as 2 hours 15 minutes for
the 495 km (307 mile) journey. Eurostar trains travel
up to 186 mph, leaving from St Pancras station in central
London almost every hour and arriving at the Gare du Nord in
central Paris. Eurostar also run trains from London to
Brussels taking as little as 1 hour 55 minutes for the 373
km (232 miles). Eurostar trains are run by Eurostar International
Limited, a company owned
55% by SNCF (French national railways), 5% by SNCB (Belgian
national railways) & 40% by London & Continental
Railways (a company owned by the UK government).
The Eurostar trains do not carry cars, only passengers, so don't
confuse Eurostar with Eurotunnel, the company which owns the
Channel Tunnel whose car-carrying trains shuttle cars,
lorries & coaches from one side of the Channel to the other.
Eurostar first started running in 1994. This page explains all
you need to know about taking a Eurostar train from London to Paris, Lille or
Brussels.
Eurostar
trains link London to Paris every hour or so, 7 days a
week all year round except Christmas Day, fastest journey
time just 2 hours 15 minutes non-stop. Only a brief 20
minutes of the Eurostar journey is actually spent in the
Channel Tunnel, the rest is spent speeding through the
countryside of Kent and northern France at up to 186 mph.
Some Eurostar trains stop to pick up passengers at Ebbsfleet
International near the M25 & a handful stop at Ashford
International in Kent. To check Eurostar
train times from London to Paris, use the
online booking form above or
download
the complete Eurostar timetable in .pdf format.
Eurostar
train times from London to Lille & Brussels...
Eurostar also runs trains from London to Brussels every
couple of hours or so, fastest journey time 1 hour 55
minutes. Most Brussels-bound Eurostars call at Lille
in northern France, the interchange for French TGV
high-speed trains to destinations all over France, see the
London to France page. To check Eurostar
train times from London to Lille or Brussels, use the
online booking form above or
download
the current Eurostar timetable in .pdf format.
Eurostar fares from London to Paris or Brussels start at £39 one-way
or £69 return in 2nd class, assuming you book in advance.
In 1st class (Standard Premier) fares start at £107 one-way, £189 return. Eurostar fares
vary like airline fares, increasing as the cheaper
seats are sold, so book early, up to a maximum of 120 days
before departure. The cheap fares are non-changeable, non-refundable.
Check fares
& train times at
www.eurostar.com or use the
online booking form
above.
How to find the cheapest Eurostar
tickets: For the cheapest fares, book 1 to 4 months in
advance (maximum 120 days ahead) and avoid Friday or Sunday
afternoon trains when there are fewer cheap seats. Don't buy a ticket
on the day of travel unless you have to. A ticket bought
in advance might be £39, a full-price ticket bought
on the day could cost £140 to £179.
Eurostar fares from London to Paris or
Brussels...
Standard
class
(2nd class)
Standard Premier
(1st class for leisure)
Business Premier
(1st class for business)
One-way
Return
One-way
Return
One-way
Return
Adult
From £39
From £69
From £107
From £189
£260 or £329
£450 or £570
Child under 12
From
£29
From
£49
From £70
From £123
-
-
Child under 4
Free, if they don't occupy their own seat
Youth 12-25
From £38
From £66
-
-
-
-
Senior (over 60)
From £38
From £66
-
-
-
-
Railpass holder (limited
quota)
£57
£100
£102
£180
-
-
Wheelchair user
£35
£69
£35
£69
-
-
What does 'From' £39 mean? Eurostar train
fares
work like air fares. Book early on an off-peak
train and your ticket may cost £39, but book a popular date or time
or book closer to the
day of travel, and it might cost £50, £73, £89, anything up
to £179 full price.
The fares shown without a 'from' do not
increase like this, and are what you'll pay as long as there are
seats left. '£260 or £329' means the price could be
either £260 or £329 depending on availability.
Before June 2009 there was a problem
with one-way fares on Eurostar, as a one-way ticket from
London to Paris was usually more
expensive than a return! But in June 2009 Eurostar
introduced sensible one-way fares right across their price
range, in other words, one-way fares that are always cheaper than
the equivalent return. So the problem should now
have been solved.
Open-jaw journeys (e.g. outward
train from London
to Paris, back from
Brussels to London)...
There are no fares for 'open
jaw' return journeys, for example using an outward train from London to Paris
but returning from Brussels
to London. This is a shame
as these would be useful for circular journeys or travel to
(for example) Germany or Austria where some connections are
best via Paris, others via Brussels. So either
travel out and back via the same city, or buy two one-way tickets.
Buy Eurostar
tickets by phone (UK callers): 08432 186 186
Eurostar
bookings for the Olympics are open now, 16 July - 15 August
2012!
Eurostar bookings
normally open 120 days (4 months) before
departure. If you're only
taking the train from London to Paris or Brussels, the easiest &
cheapest way to buy Eurostar tickets is online direct with Eurostar at
www.eurostar.com, just use the
online booking form above.
You print your tickets using your own PC printer, or you can
choose to pick up tickets at the station
before departure from the e-ticket machines if you prefer.
Alternatively, tickets can be sent to any UK,
French or Belgian address, but tickets cannot be sent
overseas. You can also book by calling Eurostar on
08432 186 186 (+44 1233 617575 from outside the UK).
Debit cards are free, but there's a small charge for paying by
credit card. Tips on
choosing a specific seat on Eurostar.
Buying Eurostar tickets if you're
travelling beyond Paris or
Brussels...
If you are taking onward trains beyond Paris or
Brussels, for example from London to Spain, Italy or the south of France,
it's best to
book your train from London to Paris or Brussels and your
onward train tickets together at the same time, either from a European train
ticketing agency or online as explained on the
relevant page of this website. Although Eurostar
bookings open 120 days before departure, reservations for most
other trains in western Europe only open 90 days ahead. I
strongly recommend waiting until 90 days before your
travel date so you can book the Eurostar & onward train tickets
together. That's because timings for onward trains sometimes change due to
engineering work, requiring a different Eurostar
connection. Unless you're travelling on a peak date such
as Christmas Eve, you'll still find affordable Eurostar
tickets available 90 days ahead, they won't have sold out.
See the Train travel to
Europe page for more information about how to buy
European train tickets.
Changing trains &
stations in Paris by metro or taxi.
Changing trains in
Brussels.
Buying UK train tickets
to connect with Eurostar...
In partnership
with other UK train companies, Eurostar offers through
tickets to Paris, Lille or Brussels from
over 130 UK towns & cities,
just use the booking form
above to see the list of stations and to buy tickets
online. This is usually the cheapest option.
Alternatively, you can buy your UK
train tickets to London separately from your Eurostar
ticket from London to Paris. There are
special fares from most stations in Britain to a destination called 'London International'
specifically designed for use with Eurostar tickets, which
you can buy online here. Most stations can
sell these tickets, though they seem a well-kept secret
and staff aren't always familiar with them! These
fares have few or no time restrictions, so you can travel
in the Monday-Friday peaks at an affordable fare, they also
ensure that international conditions of carriage (the CIV)
apply to your whole journey, so you are covered if you
miss your Eurostar because the UK train is late or vice
versa.
Full details & advice for
buying UK train tickets to connect with Eurostar.
Eurostar's direct trains from London to Avignon (summer) & French Alps (winter)...
As well as its
regular trains from London to Paris, Lille & Brussels, Eurostar runs
a weekly direct train from London to Avignon on summer
Saturdays, and a ski train from London to the
French Alps on Friday nights & Saturdays in the winter
skiing season from December to April. See the London
to France page or
www.eurostar.com for details.
Eurostar train arrival information &
passenger assistance: 020
7928 0660
Bikes &
registered baggage service: 0844 822 5822 (from outside the UK
call +44 207843 7554).
Faster & more
reliable than flying...
Back in 2008, 92.4% of Eurostar
trains arrived on time or within 15 minutes, compared with a
mere 65% of competing short-haul flights. In 2009,
Eurostar exceeded 95% on time or within 15 minutes.
From central London to central Paris, Eurostar is faster
than flying, as well as more comfortable and convenient.
Not surprisingly, Eurostar has now captured over 70% of the
London-Paris market from the airlines. Remember that
you can check all European train times using the journey
planner at
www.bahn.de.
The environmentally sound way to travel...
Eurostar has
commissioned independent research estimating that a
Eurostar train from London to Paris emits 11Kg of CO2 per
passenger, over 90% less than the 122Kg per
passenger emitted by a London to Paris flight. In
addition, planes emit the CO2 directly into the upper
atmosphere, where it is thought to do around 2.7 times the damage of the same
CO2 emitted at ground level. Another good reason for
treating yourself to a train journey! Eurostar has
committed itself to reducing its emissions by 35% by 2012,
and from 2007 they have been offsetting all their emissions free
of charge to passengers, making Eurostar train travel carbon
neutral. See
www.eurostar.com/environment for more information.
Eurostar trains now leave from London St Pancras...
The final
section of the UK high speed line opened in November
2007, and the Eurostar trains switched from their original
terminal at Waterloo to the new St Pancras
International Station. Trains from London
to Paris now take just 2 hours 15 minutes, city centre to
city centre.
St Pancras International station: Its Victorian
Gothic facade has been a landmark
for 140 years...
Lower level concourse: You enter
St Pancras from the Underground or off the street
onto the lower level concourse. In
this photo, the Eurostar ticket office is on the
left, the Eurostar departures check-in is in a
passageway along and to the right.
Upper level
concourse: Go up one level for great
views of the station, and for Europe's longest
Champagne Bar, just visible on the left alongside the
Eurostar train.
Ticket collection?
If you need to collect your Eurostar ticket at the
station, simply put your credit card into
a machines and enter your booking reference...
Check-in for
Eurostar: You check in just off the main lower
level concourse, by putting your Eurostar ticket into these
automatic gates. Immediately after
the gates is an easy
X-ray security check then passport control...
Eurostar departure lounge:
Once through check-in, security and
passport control, you're in the departure
lounge underneath the tracks....
In the departure lounge:
Inside the lounge you'll find a cafe, bar,
newsagents, information desk and comfortable
seating. There's also a 'laptop bar' with
stools, desk, and power-points to recharge your
laptop, mobile or camera...
Business Premier lounge:
If you've a Business Premier 1st class ticket (but
not a Standard Premier one), you can
use the business lounge, with complimentary drinks
and snacks...
Boarding your
Eurostar train to Paris:
A boarding announcement is made around 15 minutes
before each train leaves, and you head up the travelator to
the platforms to board your train...
Eurostar trains to Paris & Brussels now leave from the new St Pancras International station in London, opened on 14
November 2007. They no longer
leave from Waterloo. St Pancras International
isn't a mere airport terminal for trains, it's a
spectacularly-restored piece of history that will
take your breath away...
London
St Pancras station facilities...
St Pancras International station has been designed as
a destination in its own right, with shops of all
kinds, newsagents & cafes. As well as public
toilets, other facilities include:
Europe's longest champagne bar: Before
checking-in for your train to Paris, you can raise a toast to your journey at
Europe's longest champagne bar, 96 metres long and on
the upper level underneath the magnificent
glass-and-steel trainshed. It's level with and
alongside the Eurostar platforms, separated from
departing Eurostars by no more than a glass screen.
Left luggage: Run by the Excess Baggage
Company, you can deposit items here for £6.50 per 24
hours or part thereof. Open 06:00-22:00
Monday-Saturday, 07:00-22:00 Sunday. Bags are
X-rayed before deposit.
Eurostar & domestic ticket offices: The
Eurostar ticket office is on the lower level on the
left as you enter from the street or Underground.
The domestic ticket office is at the far end of the
lower level shopping lane, along with the left luggage
and toilets.
European train ticketing & reservations desk:
Unfortunately, the Eurostar ticket office can only sell Eurostar tickets
from London to Paris, Lille or Brussels.
However, ticketing agency Trains Europe (www.trainseurope.co.uk) has opened a
European train ticketing desk at St Pancras which can sell tickets
& railpasses for almost any train journey in Europe and make European
seat, couchette & sleeper reservations. It's
located in the domestic travel centre (signed
'National Rail Tickets') at the far end
of the lower shopping level, under platforms 1-4.
It's open 09:30-17:30 Mondays to Fridays, 10:30-16:30
Saturdays.
Eurostar departures: The row of check-in
gates is in a wide passageway to the right, off the
main shopping lane.
Free WiFi internet access: Eurostar has
now installed WiFi throughout St Pancras International
station (August 2008), both in the departure lounge
and elsewhere in the station, available to everyone
free of charge (yes, really!). The WiFi at Paris
Nord & Brussels Midi still needs to be paid for.
WiFi internet access on board Eurostar is still being
developed.
The St Pancras hotel: St Pancras station
now includes a 5-star luxury hotel, opened in March
2011 in the beautifully-restored building that once
housed the 1873 Midland Grand Hotel. See the
St Pancras Renaissance London Hotel.
You can learn more about St Pancras facilities and
shopping opportunities, at
www.stpancras.com.
About St Pancras...
St Pancras was opened by the Midland Railway in 1868,
as the London terminal for their trains heading north
from London to Leicester, Nottingham, Derby &
Sheffield. Trains to these destinations still
leave from St Pancras, though they're now relegated to
new platforms 1-4 outside the old trainshed. If
you've time, walk outside onto the street to gaze at
the ornate Victorian Gothic station building, designed
by Sir Gilbert Scott and built 1868-1876. This
was the old Midland Hotel, closed in 1935, derelict
for many years, has now been restored and returned to
its intended purpose, as a stylish modern 5-star hotel.
A true London landmark...
But the most awe-inspiring sight is inside the
station. It's the spectacular glass-and-steel
trainshed, designed by William Henry Barlow
and completed in 1868. 243 feet wide, 689 feet
long and 100 feet high, when it was opened it created
the largest enclosed space in the world. The
trainshed has been totally renovated and returned to
its original sky-blue. The original station
clock has been found in a Nottinghamshire garden,
faithfully reproduced by its original
manufacturers, Dent, and put in its place of
honour at the apex of the trainshed. Under the
clock stands a 9 metre high statue of two lovers
embracing, titles 'The Meeting Place', by sculptor
Paul Day.
You can learn more about St Pancras station and its
history at
www.stpancras.com.
Unlike other British and European trains, Eurostar
operates a check-in system.
You
must check in for your Eurostar train to Paris, Lille
or Brussels at least 30 minutes before
departure (10 minutes for Business Premier
passengers, 60 minutes for the direct Eurostar trains to the Alps
or Avignon). The check-in gates at St Pancras
are in a passageway just off the lower concourse, one
level down from the Eurostar trains themselves. Check-in normally opens just over an
hour before each train departure, and you check in by putting
your ticket into the automatic ticket gates at the
entrance to the departure lounge, or (if you've
a print-at-home ticket) placing the ticket barcode
against the small scanner screen on the ticket gate. Alternatively, there
are staffed check-in kiosks. If for any reason you
want to change your allocated seat (for example, to
make sure you're facing forward), ask at one of these
kiosks on check-in. Make sure all your bags are
labelled with your name. Immediately after
passing through the check-in gates there is an
airline-style security check with X-ray and metal detectors,
but this is both quicker and easier than airport
security. You'll be inside the departure lounge
in a few minutes.
Eurostar website check-in information.
Inside the Eurostar terminal...
Once inside the Eurostar departure lounge, there is a café, bar,
small shop,
toilets, and a Eurostar information desk. The
Eurostar information desk can provide you with Eurostar
information, a free map of Paris, a 'carnet' of 10
Paris metro tickets or Paris visitor metro passes. The
six Eurostar platforms at St Pancras (platforms
5-10) are directly
above the departure lounge, and an announcement will
be made when your
train is ready for boarding, usually about 15
minutes before departure. There are two
gently-sloping moving walkways up to each platform, plus a lift.
If your reservation is in cars 1-5, you use one
walkway, if your reservation is in cars 6-18 you use
the other.
Eurostar trains
are
completely non-smoking. All Eurostar trains were completely
refurbished with a new interior by designer Philippe Starck between autumn 2004
and autumn 2005, you can see a virtual tour inside a Eurostar
train at
www.eurostar.com. Italian design firm Pininfarina
(of Ferrari fame) have been engaged for Eurostar's next
interior refresh, starting in 2011-12.
Eurostar
trains have
3 classes:
Standard
class (= 2nd class). Standard class
passengers have access to the two cafe-bar cars, or may
bring their own food & drink on board.
Standard
Premier (= 1st class for leisure travel).
Standard Premier offers first class seating with more
affordable but inflexible fares for upmarket leisure travellers,
or budget-conscious business travellers.
The tickets are non-changeable & non-refundable,
there's a 30-minute minimum check-in and no access to
executive lounges. A complimentary cold tray meal and
one round of alcoholic & non-alcoholic drinks are served at
your seat. Although confusingly including the word
'Standard' in its brand name to help attract business
travellers whose companies don't officially allow first
class travel, make no mistake, this is indeed first class!
'Standard Premier' replaced 'Leisure Select' (which had the
same hot meal & drinks service as Business Premier) from 1 September
2010.
Business
Premier (= 1st class for business travel).
Fully-flexible & refundable tickets, access to executive
lounges at stations and a 10 minute minimum check-in.
The fare includes a complimentary hot airline-style meal,
champagne, wine, beer & soft drinks served at your seat.
First class
leisure passengers in Standard Premier and first
class business travellers in Business Premier are
accommodated in separate first class carriages but the
seating layout is the same in both types of first class,
with a spacious '2-abreast-aisle-1-abreast configuration
across the width of the train. The
allocation of first class cars on each train between these
two classes varies according to demand. 1st class seats have
extra legroom compared to the higher-density seating in
Standard class which has a 2-abreast-aisle-2-abreast seating
configuration. See the
Tips for choosing your
seat section below for a Eurostar seating plan.
Food & drink
on Eurostar...
Business Premier includes an excellent
complimentary hot airline-style 3-course meal with
champagne & wine. Standard Premier includes a
simpler cold tray meal & one round of free alcoholic &
non-alcoholic drinks. All
passengers have access to two bar cars, located in cars 6 &
13, serving tea, coffee, hot chocolate, beer, wine, spirits,
sandwiches, crisps and a few hot snacks. The bar
accepts credit cards as well as cash. You can eat and
drink in the bar area (standing space only, there are no
seats) or take your purchases back to your seat. Feel free to take
your own food and drink if you like, even your own bottle of
wine, there are no rules against this on trains!
All Eurostar
tickets include a specific reserved seat. There's a
detailed seating plan at
www.eurostar.com/pdf/seat_plan/seat_plan_UK.pdf,
showing which seats face forwards, which line up with
a window, which are airline-style face-to-back and which are
arranged in bays around a table. You might then
understand why this website is called The Man in Seat
Sixty-One! If you book your Eurostar ticket at
www.eurostar.com, the 'Seating preferences' section
initially only allows you to choose 'aisle' or 'window', but
later in the booking process you are now offered a section
called 'Want to choose your exact seat?'. Using
this you can choose exactly which number seat in which
number car you
want, using a detailed seating plan. If you book
through any other agency or website (for example, Rail
Europe) you can usually choose a specific seat if you book
by phone, but not if you book online. Here are some
tips for choosing the best seats on Eurostar:
If you want a
power socket for a mobile or laptop, choose cars 5 or 14
in standard class. In first class, all cars have
these.
If you've small
children, book seats in cars 1 or 18 (standard class) as
these are near the baby-changing room, and are at each end
of the train so have less people walking through them to the
bar. These cars have lots of bays of 4 seats (with or
without a table, your choice), which are much better for
families than face-to-back airline-style seating.
If you're
travelling as a group of 3 or 4 people, choose seats
around a table as opposed to airline-style pairs all facing
the same way, as this is much more sociable.
If you're a
couple in first class, choose a pair of seats facing
across an intimate table-for-two.
If you want
seats facing forward, this can be seen on the plan (look
closely at the train diagram!).
If you prefer a
window seat which lines up with the window (rather than one next to a blank bit of wall between the windows),
look carefully at the plan. The pale blue bits in the
coach walls on the plan are the windows.
In standard class,
a seat in the car next to the bar car makes it easier to
fetch food and drink, which might be a consideration.
If you've a
tight connection in Brussels (or for that matter,
Paris), book a seat at the front of the Eurostar train (i.e.
in coach 17 or 18), as you'll get off the platform ahead of
everyone else and with less of a walk, saving a few vital
minutes!
Note that the
'choose your exact seat' facility at
www.eurostar.com is 'clever'. If you are travelling
alone, it will show all bays
of 4 seats around a table (and in 1st class, all bays of 2
seats) as already taken, even if those seats are
in fact available. It only shows them as available if you are
a group of 2, 3 or 4 people travelling together. If
you're travelling alone and want a seat facing another seat
across a table (one without a seat back in your face!), you
will need to book by phone. If I'm travelling solo I
have to book seat 61 by phone rather than online (it's one
of two around a table), and I usually do a dummy online
booking for 2 people first to prove that the seat is free.
Power outlets
for laptops & mobiles...
There are UK and
European power sockets (240/110 volts AC) for laptops and mobiles in all
Eurostar 1st
class cars and in 2nd class cars 5 & 14. Other
2nd class cars do not have power outlets, so make
sure you book seats in car 5 or 14 if you need one.
WiFi access
on Eurostar...
There is no WiFi
internet access on board Eurostar trains yet, although a
contract was let in September 2011 which will see Eurostar
trains progressively fitted with WiFi internet as they are
refurbished between 2013 and 2014. In the meantime,
there's WiFi internet access at St Pancras International
station for everyone, free of charge. WiFi access at
Paris & Brussels is also available, but must be paid for.
Unlike
travelling by air, you don't check in your bags when
travelling by train. You keep them with you,
placing small or medium size bags (up to backpack-size) on the luggage
racks above your head and larger items on the big suitcase racks at the end
of the coach just inside the entrance doors. In
principle at least, Eurostar limits luggage to two large
items per passenger (maximum 85cm in any one dimension),
plus a small item of hand luggage. There's no weight
limit, so you can pretty much pack what you like, and (again
unlike anal-retentive airports and airlines) nobody actually
measures your bags or even worries if you have an extra
carrier bag or two, as long as they all fit through the
X-ray machines and don't cause any problems.
However, you must label your bags with your name
(first name and surname), you'll find free paper labels at
the terminal if you've forgotten. For information
about luggage limits on Eurostar & other European trains,
see the luggage section on the
Europe by train page.
Prohibited items that can
catch you out: As well as the obvious prohibited items
such as firearms or explosives, Eurostar prohibits ice axes
(mountaineers take note!) and any knife with a blade over 3",
which catches out people returning to London with a nice set of
Sabatier kitchen knives they bought in Paris! Eurostar offer a
checked baggage service for extra large items,
which costs extra, see the
Eurostar website baggage information page.
Left luggage
lockers in London, Paris & Brussels...
London St
Pancras has a left luggage office run by the Excess
Baggage Company, where you can deposit items here for £8
per item for the first 24 hours, then £4 for each of the
next 24 hour periods. Open 06:00-22:00
Monday-Saturday, 07:00-22:00 Sunday. Bags are X-rayed
before deposit.
Paris Gare du Nord has left luggage lockers ('consigne'
in French) downstairs under the main concourse just off the
end of the Eurostar platforms. Open 06:15 to 23:15
daily. At the Gare du Nord and other stations in
Paris, expect to have your bags X-rayed before entering the
locker area. In Paris, a small locker costs 4.50
euros, a back-pack or suitcase-sized locker around 7.50
euros for 24 hours, and a larger locker for two backpacks
around 9.50 euros. There's a change machine which can
convert 10, 20 or 50 euro banknotes into the coins needed
for the lockers.
Brussels Midi
has both luggage lockers and a staffed left luggage facility
near the Eurostar check-in and Thalys reception. Both
are open 24 hours a day, the staffed facility costs 3.80
euros per item per calendar day, the three sizes of lockers
cost 3 euros, 3.50 euros, 4 euros per 24 hours.
Taking a
bicycle on Eurostar trains...
Bicycles can be
taken on Eurostar trains either free of charge as hand luggage in a zip-up bike
bag not exceeding 120cm x 90cm (available from bike shops), with pedals and saddle removed and
handlebars turned, or you can take it with you in the
luggage van for £30 each way. See the
Taking your bike page for information
about taking bikes on Eurostar and other European trains.
Taking dogs &
pets on Eurostar trains...
This is a
significant problem. Unfortunately, you cannot
take dogs or other pets on Eurostar trains, except for guide dogs.
To get round this (other than pretending to be blind, tricky
if you have a Yorkshire terrier), you'll need to switch to
train+ferry from London to Paris and possibly get a friend
to drive you to Calais and drop you at the station. See the
taking your dog or pet section for more information
& advice.
Children &
babies...
Unlike airlines,
children under 4 go free on Eurostar, and a special child fare
applies to children from 4 to 11 inclusive.
Children 12 & over travel at the youth fare. All
children under 12 must travel accompanied by an adult, and
unaccompanied children from 12 to 16 require a consent form
signed by their parent or guardian. See
www.eurostar.com for more details. If you're travelling with young
children in 2nd class, ask for a family area seat - this is at the end of
the train in cars 1 and 18, with seats around tables where children can play
(see the
Eurostar seating plan). Eurostar has
baby-changing facilities in cars 1 & 18, at each
end of the long 18-car Eurostar train. These are 2nd
class cars,
a long walk from the 1st class in the centre of the train,
especially when carrying a smelly and dripping baby! The baby changing
rooms have sink, soap, changing table and disposable
changing table covers. Bar car staff will heat baby
bottles if asked. There are more tips for travelling
by train with babies and children in the
Travelling with children
section.
Travellers
with disabilities on Eurostar...
Eurostar can provide assistance to passengers with special
needs travelling from London to Paris, Lille or Brussels.
If you are confined to a wheelchair, there are wheelchair
spaces and wheelchair-friendly toilets on each Eurostar
train. There are also special fares for people
travelling in wheelchairs and a travelling companion.
Electric-powered scooters can also be carried, subject to
some maximum dimensions, in the baggage area on each train. For more information
about travel with disabilities specifically on Eurostar, see
www.eurostar.com. For more information about
travelling by train throughout Europe if you have a
disability, see the
Travelling with Disabilities section on the Europe page.
The magnificent (and
freshly renovated) façade
of the Gare du Nord, completed in 1865. The
first Gare du Nord was built in 1846, but being too
small was moved to Lille in 1860 to become Lille
Flandres station.
Arrival at Paris Gare
du Nord. Eurostar trains from London arrive at platforms 3-6.
On arrival, you simply get off the train, walk off
the platform onto the concourse & out onto the
street, as all the passport & ticket checks were
completed in London...
Departure from Paris
Nord: For Eurostar trains to London, follow the Eurostar signs up the steps or
escalator to the first floor Eurostar check-in and
departure lounge. Trains depart from platforms
3-6.
The train leaves St Pancras...
The train manager makes his announcement that your
Eurostar train to Paris is about to leave, the door alarm sounds and
the doors then hiss shut. As you settle into your
seat, the brakes hiss off and the Eurostar
gently eases itself out of the magnificent arched
trainshed of St Pancras International Station. At
this stage, the train is heading north, but almost
immediately it makes a sharp right-hand turn past the
huge steel gasometers that have been a familiar sight
behind Kings Cross/St Pancras for years and which are
now, believe it or not, listed structures. Within
a minute or two the Eurostar enters a covered bridge
across the tracks leading out of adjacent Kings Cross
station, which becomes a long tunnel under east London
taking the Eurostar east and south.
...East London & the Dartford Crossing...
About 5 minutes after leaving St Pancras, you'll see a
glimpse of daylight and the platforms of Stratford
International station, due to open in time for the
London Olympics in 2012. Around 8 minutes after
leaving St Pancras, the Eurostar train finally emerges from
the tunnel and starts crossing the wastelands of east
London, past warehouses and run-down housing estates.
Just 10-12 minutes from St Pancras you'll see the
impressive Queen Elizabeth II suspension bridge on the
right, which carries the M25 London orbital motorway
across the River Thames at the Dartford Crossing.
The Eurostar now plunges back into a short tunnel for
its own crossing underneath the Thames, emerging the other side
in the county of Kent. Some Eurostar trains now call at
Ebbsfleet station in north Kent, near the M25 motorway.
...over the
Medway Viaduct...
The Eurostar
train is
now running at its full service speed of 186mph (300
km/h), with traffic on the adjacent London-Dover M2
motorway almost standing still in comparison. Just
15-20 minutes after leaving London, the train crosses
the most dramatic structure on the new high-speed line,
the viaduct high over the River Medway. To the
right of the train as it crosses the viaduct, you'll see
small boats moored on the muddy riverbanks far below you.
To the left of the train, over the top of the adjacent
M2 motorway bridge, you can see Rochester Cathedral and
Rochester Castle in the distance.
...across
rural Kent...
Now at last
you're in green and pleasant rural Kent, with villages
nestling at the foot of the chalky hills to the left.
A few Eurostars still call at
Ashford International station, a major railway junction in
east Kent, but most Eurostars now 'fly' over the town on
a huge flyover, with the station way below you, the town
centre to the left and the old Southern Railway Ashford
works to your right.
...into the Channel Tunnel...
Just 35 minutes from St Pancras, the fields and
hedgerows of east Kent give way to the roadways and
check-in lanes of the Folkestone Eurotunnel terminal.
This is where cars and lorries are put on the Eurotunnel
car-carrying shuttle trains to go through the tunnel to
France. Your Eurostar train passes through the middle of
the terminal non-stop, and the train manager announces
that you are about to enter the Channel Tunnel.
Passing through the Channel Tunnel takes just 20
minutes, and is something of an anti-climax. The
Channel Tunnel (sometimes called the "Chunnel",
usually by Americans) is just
like any other rail tunnel, only a bit longer. As
a precaution, the yellow fire safety doors between each
pair of coaches are closed during the tunnel transit,
but you can still pass through freely if you want.
...welcome to northern France...
The
Eurostar emerges into France at up to 100 mph, and you'll
see the French terminal for the car-carrying trains away to your
left. If you look to the horizon on the left, you can
just see the distinctive clock tower of Calais town hall. A
handful of
Eurostar trains call at
Calais-Fréthun, a few miles from Calais town centre, but
others just
start accelerating onto the French high speed line. Unlike
conventional railways, the high speed line follows the
contours of the land more like a motorway, and you will feel
the Eurostar rising onto the hills and settling into the dips.
The area of Northern France crossed by Eurostar is
largely flat farmland, dotted with villages built around
ancient stone churches. The variety of church
spires you can see is remarkable!
The
Eurostar may call at Lille or simply pass through on the
centre tracks. The line to Brussels and the line to
Paris diverge just after Lille Europe station. Paris
is now less than an hour away...
...your train arrives in Paris!
The high-speed line to Paris
ends just short of Paris Gare du Nord, and the Eurostar
passes seamlessly onto a short stretch of conventional
line to complete its journey into Paris Gare du Nord, the historic terminus where the
traditional boat trains from Calais or Boulogne used to
arrive. The Gare du Nord is also the station for trains
to Brussels, Amsterdam, and Cologne in Germany, and you will see red and
silver Thalys trains arriving and departing from these
places.
When you
arrive in Paris at the Gare du Nord, you get off the
train and walk forward straight off the end of
the platform onto the main station concourse, and
either out into the streets of Paris, or turn left and
head downstairs to the metro. There are no more
checks or other formalities to go through, you just walk
off the train into central Paris, it's that easy!
For the taxi rank, walk off the end of the platform onto
the concourse, turn left and walk out of the side
entrance.
Changing trains in Paris or Brussels...
Changing trains & stations in Paris:
See the Paris metro page...
Eurostar trains from London
to Paris arrive at the Gare du Nord, but your connecting
train will probably leave from one of the other Paris
stations. The Gare de l'Est is a 10-minute walk from
the Gare du Nord, but to get to any of the other Paris
stations you'll need to take the metro or RER (Express
Metro) across Paris.
See the guide to changing trains & stations in Paris by metro
or taxi.
In Brussels, all
long-distance trains including Eurostar use Brussels Midi station
(Brussel Zuid in Flemish, Brussels South in English), so changing trains is easy. These recommended times are the
minimum. Left luggage lockers and a staffed left
luggage office are available at Brussels Midi (24 hours).
Recommended
connection times in Brussels...
The connection
times shown here are the minimum amount of time you
should allow between the scheduled arrival of your train
in Brussels and the scheduled departure time of your
connecting train from Brussels.
Travelling from London
If you're connecting in
Brussels with a local or non-reserved InterCity train,
where missing it simply means catching the next one:
20 minutes.
If you're connecting in
Brussels with a Thalys or ICE train, where you have a
train-specific ticket and reservation:
25 minutes, but preferably
a bit more - if you miss it because the Eurostar is late
they should let you catch the next one, as long as seats
are available.
If you're ultimately
connecting in Cologne with a long-distance sleeper train which you
cannot afford to miss:
60 minutes, preferably 90
minutes.
Travelling to London
Any connection in Brussels onto Eurostar bound for
London...
40 minutes
minimum, which includes the compulsory 30-minute
Eurostar check-in time.
if you miss your Eurostar
because your train is late the Eurostar staff should let
you catch the next one, as long as seats are available.
You can still travel from London to Paris by train and ferry if
you want. It takes 9 hours and is no longer
particularly convenient as you have to make your own way by
bus, taxi or on foot between Dover Priory station and the
Eastern Docks in Dover, and between Calais ferry terminal
and Calais Ville station in Calais. The original
train/ferry interchange stations at Dover Western Docks and
Calais Maritime closed in the 1990s when Eurostar started.
London to Paris by train & ferry is also likely to cost more
than a cheap Eurostar ticket booked in advance.
However, train & ferry can be cheaper if you
need to travel at short notice when all the cheap Eurostar
fares are sold out, and of course you get to see the White
Cliffs of Dover on the way. You can substitute
train+ferry+train for Eurostar London-Paris in any of the
journeys routed via Paris shown on this website, but you'll
need to buy separate train and ferry tickets. Times,
fares and information for travelling from London to Paris by
train+ferry+train are shown
here.
London to Amsterdam, Germany, Eastern Europe & Scandinavia via
the Harwich-Hoek van Holland ferry...
If you're heading for northern or eastern Europe and there are
major problems affecting Eurostar services, or you need to
travel at short notice when Eurostar can be expensive, you
can buy a cheap inclusive 'Dutch Flyer' ticket from London
to Amsterdam or anywhere in the Netherlands using Stena
Line's overnight Harwich-Hoek luxury superferry, including a
comfortable private cabin with toilet & shower, free WiFi
and satellite TV. Indeed, this can be a good
alternative even with Eurostar running normally, see the
London to Amsterdam page for
details. You can then use
www.bahn.de
to book a separate onward ticket from Amsterdam to Berlin,
Cologne, Munich, Prague, Copenhagen, Zurich or Warsaw.
Northern England & Scotland to mainland Europe by ferry...
www.dfds.co.uk
sail from Newcastle to IJmuiden (the port of Amsterdam)
overnight, and
www.poferries.com sail from Hull to Rotterdam. It's
then easy to take trains from Amsterdam or Rotterdam to Antwerp or Brussels,
to Berlin or Cologne, or direct sleeper trains from
Amsterdam to Prague, Switzerland, Southern Germany, Denmark
or Poland.
The Thomas Cook European Timetable
The
Thomas Cook European timetable
has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency
& climate
information. Published since 1873, it costs £13.99.
It's essential for any serious traveller
and an inspiration for armchair travellers. Still
not convinced you need one? More information
on what the Thomas Cook Timetable contains. You can
buy the latest monthly edition online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com with worldwide delivery or
buy it in person from any UK branch of Thomas Cook (ask at the
bureau de change), or from W H Smiths in Victoria or Kings
Cross stations in London.
Or
buy the twice-yearly independent traveller's edition with
laminated cover from Amazon.co.uk:
Winter/Spring 2011/12 edition (Dec 2011 to June 2012) or
(when available)
Summer/Autumn 2012 edition (June to Dec 2012)
The Thomas Cook Rail Map of
Europe is the best and most comprehensive
map of train routes right across Europe, from Portugal in the
west to Istanbul, Moscow & Ukraine in the east, from Finland
in the north to Sicily & Crete in the south. High speed
&
scenic routes are highlighted. Highly recommended!
Buy online
at
www.amazon.co.uk
(worldwide delivery).
See an extract from
the map.
www.hotelscombined.com
is probably the best hotel search system I've seen, a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites (Opodo, Expedia,
Booking.com, Hotels.com, AsiaRooms, Travelocity, LateRooms and
others) to find the cheapest hotel rates. Set up in
2005, it's probably the best place to start for booking any
hotel online in any country, worldwide.
Tripadvisor hotel reviews...
www.tripadvisor.com is a good place
to find independent travellers' reviews of the main hotels.
It also has the low-down on all the sights & attractions too.
Special hotels for a romantic break in Paris...
There's the famous & flashy
Paris Ritz in the Place Vendôme (over 490
euros a night) or the similarly-priced
Le Meurice, but if you want a really special hotel for a
luxury break or romantic weekend and can afford around 280 euros a night, I'd recommend the small, sumptuous
and intimate
L'Hotel. It's on the bohemian left bank, walking
distance from the Seine, the Ile de la Cité & Notre Dame.
Oscar Wilde spent the last days of his life here in room 16,
and the hotel has been used by many famous people from
Sinatra to Mick Jagger. Rooms are on the cosy side,
but they are beautifully decorated and have character that
bigger and flashier hotels lack.
Hotels near the Gare du Nord & other Paris stations...
If you need to stop over between trains,
there are several good-quality
Accor group hotels (including their mid-range 'Ibis' brand
hotels and the more upmarket 'Mercure' brand) near the Gare du
Nord, Gare de l'Est, Gare d'Austerlitz & Gare de Lyon.
Accor also run the most upmarket hotel, the Mercure Terminus
Nord, right opposite the Gare du Nord. Alternatively, try the
Hotel Picardy Gare du Nord (opposite Gare du Nord, about
65 euros per night), the
Comfort Hotel Gare de l'Est, from 67 euros per night,
Campanile Hotel Gare du Nord (95 euros per night) or the
Art Hotel (130 euros weekdays, 95 euros Fri/Sat/Sun).
New 5-star hotel at London St Pancras, right where the Eurostar
trains arrive...
Hot news for March 2011 is the opening of the luxurious,
expensive and beautifully-restored 5-star
St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. Designed by the
renowned architect Sir George Gilbert-Scott, it first opened
in 1873 as The Midland Grand Hotel, a railway hotel built
into the Victorian architectural masterpiece that is St
Pancras station. The hotel closed its doors in 1935,
considered too large and outdated to continue as a hotel,
and after a period of being used as railway offices, this
beautiful landmark building was left derelict and slowly
decaying. However, its fortunes have now been totally
reversed. High-speed Eurostar trains to Paris leave
from St Pancras station's magnificently-restored 1868
trainshed designed by William Barlow, and the once derelict
Midland Grand Hotel has been reborn as a glorious 5-star
hotel,
St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. No expense has been
spared in recreating and restoring this Grade 1 listed
building to its former glory. Rooms described using
the term 'Barlow' are in the newly-built Barlow House wing
at the side, these start at around £250 a night. Other
rooms (including rooms described using the word 'chambers')
are in the original building, where rooms start at £550 a
night, rising to suites costing several thousand. You
can of course, just have a drink in the bar or meal in the
restaurant, accessible from the south west corner of the
upper level concourse, the same level as the Eurostar
trains. The bar-restaurant is housed in what was once
St Pancras station's booking office, the Grade 1 listed
wood-panelled booking windows are still there behind the
bar, and it still says 'Booking office' in the stones above
the entrance doors. The hotel lobby has been built in
what was once the station's taxi rank.
