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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.
Book
Tickets from Eurostar
Booking Center 
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
Rail
Europe Eurostar
Booking Center
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These
articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel Europe
and WLPV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted without permission.
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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