nvl325

we'll be making a rez for the Eurostar in May, from London to Paris- but then we want to immediately train on to Tours- the chateaux are calling! Don't worry, will be visiting Paris after that.

How best to do this? (I want to book the Eurostar soon- just checked our date in May- the exact day we need- the cheapest tickets are going fast. Wouldn't you know, the other days around that date are more widely available.)

So what I want to know is if I should also try to book the Paris to Tours tickets now. And is that in some way part of the Eurostar booking? thanks!

skatterfly

I probably would book ahead, but then again I like to plan ahead and have a confirmed seat so I can make all my connections. (Don't forget you lose an hour going to Paris because of the time change from London to Paris).

Also, your Eurostar will let you out at Gare du Nord. The TGV to Tours St Pierre des Corps leaves from Gare Montparnasse. So you'll need to give yourself enough time to get from one Gare to the other... metro, taxi, whatever. Luckily there are TGV to Tours every hour, so that's not a problem.

You'd just get e-tickets from SNCF.com for the Paris-Tours route. (I'm assuming you're doing e-tickets for the Eurostar?) They wouldn't be connected to your Eurostar tickets.

Next, if you're picking up a car at Tours, also keep in mind that the car rental places (at least Europcar does) is closed for lunch, I think from 12:00-14:00... so you might want to plan your arrival around then. And they probably close by 6pm (maybe 7pm), and earlier on a Saturday.

And... don't travel there on a Sunday (or national holiday, which takes Sunday hours) because the regional offices are closed.

nvl325

Thank you. Actually you can purchase the whole route from Eurostar, but not yet- I would need to wait 4 days from now until it's within 90 days. If I just get the London- Paris portion by itself, I can do that now. Price is much better to get the whole routing, but in 4 days who knows what will be available.

If I buy both segments from Eurostar, they allow a little over an hr to go between stations. Is that enough time? Still makes me nervous! Husband is not good with stairs and rushing, so not sure what to do... thoughts?

So if I do buy the tickets separately, how much time should I allow to change stations? Thanks!!

skatterfly

Hmmm... I haven't made that specific connection before (because I usually stay in Paris before venturing on to the Loire). But to me, an hour, doesn't really seem like enough time. Others maybe can chime in on this... but I'd probably bake in 1.5 hours at a minimum to feel comfortable. You'd have to decide if you're going to take a taxi (what I'd probably do with luggage) or metro (which I probably would not do with luggage or if stairs--or pokey spouses--are an issue.)

And I'd probably wait the 4 days to see what kind of pricing you can get buying the seats separately.

Have you looked at the SNCF.com website to see what the departure times are from Gare Montparnasse? Some hours, there are 2 trains an hour.

Where will you be staying once in the Loire? Also keep in mind how long it will take for you to get to your accommodation after picking up your car.

Love the Loire. Have a nice trip!

flanneruk

There's no real reason for messing about with cross-Paris connections: there are a couple of cross-platform connections at Lille every day which save a bit of time, and a huge amount of stress.

There is no easy way of getting from the Gare du Nord to Montparnasse, except by buying a ticket carnet at St Pancras for the Metro: queues for taxis at the Gare du Nord are even worse than at its Metro ticket offices. I would definitely at least two hours for a cross-Paris connection - but I'd move heaven and earth to avoid one altogether. I'd even get the direct Ryanair flight from London to Tours, which is faster, cheaper and a great deal more reliable.

Lille-Europe is almost as charm-free as the two Paris stations (or Stansted airport.) But, like Stansted, it's efficient.

nvl325

I had just read about the possibility of taking Eurostar to Lille (on that other forum) and then going on to Tours- was going to ask about it, and here you mention it, Flanner- thanks.

So- I would get a Eurostar ticket London- Lille, then another ticket from scnf for Lille to Tours? How much time between arrival and departure would you suggest? And I do buy the Lille-Tours tickets ahead for a specific train, yes?

Skatter- no car- we will stay somewhere right in town, near to the tourist office for the mimi-bus tours. thanks again.

nvl325

what the heck! I just looked at the Eurostar site and the tickets London to Lille are the same price as London to Paris. And then add on the scnf ticket Lille to Tours for another 35-40 or so euro.

This approach is way more $$$!

Sarastro

Why would you not book London to Tours Centre? It makes no sense to book twice; London to Lille and then Lille to Tours, if you are not going to Paris.

chartley

The advantage in booking the whole journey on a single ticket is that you have some protection if there is a delay on the journey. This certainly applies if you book via Paris, because there is a quoted through fare London - Tours on the U.K. Eurostar website.

Which Eurostar website are you using?

Sarastro

The single ticket purchase will optionally connect in Lille for a direct train to St Pierre des Corps/Tours. There is probably no need to definitely connect in Paris.

The big advantage in booking directly to Tours Centre is that it will cost a lot less than purchasing two separate tickets.

skatterfly

You are getting good advice from people who are more familiar with all the ticketing options. I didn't know you could buy connecting trains through the Eurostar website... I always buy Eurostar first to take advantage of the best pricing, because their dates open up before SNCF does. And I never even thought about transferring at Lille... Clever workaround. But looking at SNCF shows there are only a couple of direct trains from Lille to Tours... One that requires leaving London very early, or leaving London midday and arriving in Tours in he late evening. Looks like there is another option that has you transferring at Marne La Valee TGV to a train for Tours St pierre that has a shorter layover, too. All others still require a transfer in Paris. But I guess if you book the entire route on one ticket (such as through SNCF) then you do have some protection if you don't make your connection, whichever way you slice it.

I hate to spend that long traveling in a day (and I have kids with us now) so I break up the journey and go to Paris first, then the Loire. But that's not what you want to do. (Though I probably would have considered that Marne La Valee option if I had seen it before my tickets were booked.)

Btw... I know you didn't ask for advice about this... But is there a reason you aren't renting a car?

Anyway... Good luck.

skatterfly

Hmm... wierd. Looking more at SNCF and the option to transfer at Marne La Valee isn't there on Saturday... and not even each week day. Sorry if that added a confusing piece of information.

Tulips

It's only the UK site for Eurostar that lets you book a through ticket to Tours, or other cities in France. I learned about that on Fodors too, when I needed a ticket Brussels/York. I cannot book that on the Belgian site, but can on the UK site.

Looks like the London - Tours route on Eurostar makes you change trains in Paris though. Not sure how to get a change in Lille.

nvl325

<<Looks like the London - Tours route on Eurostar makes you change trains in Paris though. Not sure how to get a change in Lille.>>

exactly! I can't get a single-purchase ticket London to Tours to come up on either the Eurostar site or the scnf site without going through Paris- none of the choices go through Lille.

(I know now to choose UK on the Eurostar site vs US for Tours to even come up as a destination.)

So is it true if I do not want to go through Paris I need to book one ticket to Lille, and then another Lille-Tours? Don't see how I can do a single-ticket purchase... do you all?

wow just looked at scnf- am I crazy or are the only trains leaving Lille at 7am or 9am? I'm beginning to think this will never work : (

Sarastro

There are a number of possibilities for connections to Tours, including via Marne-la-Vallée. It´s rather all academic unless the OP provides a specific travel date.

nvl325, what day in May do you want to travel?

nvl325

Tues May 12. thanks for the help.

Cathinjoetown

www.voyages-sncf let me book a through ticket via Lille to Saint Pierre des Corps, the TGV station for Tours. This screen capture is messy but gives you an idea. So, start with the sncf site, not eurostar.



Mer 18 Fév. Durée 06h01 Départ à : 12h58 DE LA GARE DE ONDRES ST-PANCRAS TRANSPORTEUR : EUROSTAR Numéro du train :
9132
Confort2e classe
Services à bord
Période
- Réservation de place obligatoire
Arrivée à :15h30 A la gare de ILLE EUROPE Départ à : 16h49 De la gare de ILLE FLANDRES TRANSPORTEUR : TGV Numéro du train :
5240
Confort2e classe
Services à bord
Période
Période normale
- Réservation de place obligatoire
Arrivée à :19h59 A la gare de AINT PIERRE DES CORPS A QUATRE KM DE TOURS

99.50 €
Plus de détails
Conditions tarifaires TANDARD : Billet échangeable avant le départ avec une retenue de 40 € par trajet et par personne ainsi que le paiement de la différence de prix entre le tarif initial échangé et le nouveau. Billet non remboursable.
Dernières places disponibles à ce prix !
VOYAGEZ EN 1E CLASSE !

134.00 €
Plus de détails
Conditions tarifaires TANDARD PREMIER : Billet échangeable avant le départ avec une retenue de 40 € par trajet et par personne ainsi que le paiement de la différence de prix entre le tarif initial échangé et le nouveau. Billet non remboursable.
Dernières places disponibles à ce prix !

Cathinjoetown

Can't explain the emoticons!

MaineGG

The Eurostar arrives at the Gare de Lille Europe and the train to SPDC departs from the Gare de Lille Flandres. Wikipedia says 500m walking distance between the two stations. Just something else to consider.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gare_de_Lille_Europe

Sarastro

As 12 May is not yet available for sale, I checked for 5 May, a week earlier on the same day of the week. I used http://www.voyages-sncf.com/

On this date, trains connected various ways, from Paris Nord to either Austerlitz or Montparnasse or from Marne la Vallée to Tours Centre. All trains terminated at Tours Centre (which is what you want).

Prices started a 55€ per person (that´s London to Tours) and went up from there to just over 100€. En route time was approximately 5 hours.