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EUROSTAR HIGH SPEED LONDON - PARIS
St. Pancras Terminal "Chunnel" Train To Paris or Brussels

You roll along smooth and breathlessly quiet past fields of green and yellow as the world races past at about 185 miles an hour. Then, the scenery goes dark for about 20 minutes as you pass under the English Channel, then more green fields, then the outlying streets of Paris. You’ve just taken the Eurostar high speed “Chunnel” train from London to Paris. The Eurostar high speed train runs its trans-channel service between London and Paris and Brussels from the newly refurbished St. Pancras station international rail terminal (moved from the former Waterloo Terminal). Located on the north side of London, St. Pancras was one of the grand old stations in Victorian England. departed from Waterloo Station. A massive rebuilding effort has turned St. Pancras into an International modern rail terminal. St Pancras' old track platforms doubled for King’s Cross Station in the Harry Potter movies, but a new glass arched ceiling adds light to the central concourse with new upscale shops and restaurants. Entertain yourself while waiting for your train at the interactive consoles in the tables - a clue - look under the discarded newspapers. The Gare du Nord remains the Paris terminal of the high speed line. A trip from St. Pancras to the Gare du Nord takes about two and a quarter hours. A trip from London to Brussels will take just under 2 hours.

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Why take the Eurostar instead of flying? Convenience and comfort. A chance to chat with your friends, family and others on your journey. Check-in for the high speed train is 30 minutes, a little more if you have a lot of baggage. You get on in one city and get off in the middle of the other, a short cab or subway ride to your hotel. No need for airport transfer bus or rail trips. There are more seats available. The Eurostar has a 91% on-time performance. And for those environmentally conscious "green" travelers the Eurostar boasts that its "carbon neutral". Each passenger on Eurostar is allowed 2 pieces of luggage and 1 carry-on bag.

What about ticket cost?

The Eurostar has four price classes they call Economy, Freedom, Comfort and Premier, which are basically Second Class or First Class with non-refundable "restricted" and refundable full fare (flexible) tickets. If budget travel is your main concern there are a few things to consider - a restricted ticket is like an economy air ticket. A flexible ticket means you can change the time or date. Cost for a Eurostar London to Paris ticket in dollars ranges currently from a low of $98 for economy in advance if available, to $425 for Premier First Class Service including a meal. Prices can vary significantly depending on time of year, time of train (rush hour) advance reservation and occupancy. A Round Trip ticket is not much more than one way as a lot of passengers only go one way. If you are willing to be flexible with your travel times, cheaper tickets are available for less popular travel times.

Discounts are available if you have a Rail Pass (see How Rail Passes Work). There aren't really ticket discounters. If you’re traveling for vacation and pleasure look for a train outside of business rush hours for a cheaper ticket. Seating is all reserved on the Eurostar so the more in advance you get a ticket the more seats will be available. You can get a ticket at the ticket window, but don’t expect the cheapest price.

Though St. Pancras may be a more convenient terminal for Eurostar international trains to connect to trains from St. Pancras and Kings Cross stations to points north of London, it is a little bit north of the central heart of the city. The tube stop for St Pancras is the underground station at King’s Cross Station across the street and a few tube stops before arriving at the heart of tourist London.

There are a number of small budget private tourist class hotels in the neighborhood, located in two streets to the south of Euston Road. A Tourist Information booth is across the street with room vacancies for a short stopover. A Premier Travel Inn is located a few blocks away on Euston Road and the Novotel London Euston provides a business class hotel environment two block west of Kings Cross.

Compared to Flying

An airline ticket from London to Paris on British Airways from Heathrow to Charles DeGaule will cost currently between $120 and $190 for Economy, but there are baggage weight restrictions for checked baggage at the lower economy price and it is non-refundable, so if you have a lot of luggage add more for the air ticket or if you want change dates, tough. The flight is an hour, but getting to the airports on both ends and boarding times, plan about 4 hours, and add transfer costs of about $40-60. A discount flight from an airport like Stansted add another 30 minutes, and with new airport fees the ticket price will be about $70-110 but add more transfer costs and beware of tighter baggage restrictions. (See Discount Airlines). © Bargain Travel Europe

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See Also:

THE REAL "BIRTH" OF FRANKENSTEIN
Mary Shelly Touring Sights Near St. Pancras

LONDON PUB TOUR
Historic Drinking Spots of Ole London Town

PARIS ELEGANCE ON A 3-STAR BUDGET
Paris Hotel Richmond Opera

LONDON'S SECRET GARDEN
Kensington Rooftop Gardens

DIJON CENTRAL HOTELS
Bargain Hotels close to TGV Rail in Historic Old Dijon

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