crsobe

We will be leaving Edinburgh traveling to Paris. We would like to take the Chunnel. I have looked at the Eurostar and Rail Europe sites and cannot figure out how to book. It seems you could book a thru ticket but it looks to me that you have to book seperate - E - L then L - P. Am I missing something? Also, I have read here about booking early at less rates yet it seems that the sites won't let me book but two months out. Any help or suggesttions would be appreciated

alanRow

Try going through the NXEC website who run the trains to London from Edinburgh

http://www.nationalexpresseastcoast....rostarBooking/

But it's probably cheaper to book each leg separately

caroline_edinburgh

Each to his own but to me this is a ridiculous way of getting from Edinburgh to Paris. Flying is much quicker and cheaper - the route is served by Easyjet, BA & Air France.

What date would this be ?

flanneruk

Caroline's not pointed out that the thing about the Tunnel is that there isn't anything to see.

At least in big road tunnels, there are signs telling you to slow down, and other cars. On the train to Paris, you're just in a train, it slows down a bit, the outside world disappears for half an hour, the light comes back and it speeds up again. That's it. You can't see the White Cliffs or the Channel. Or even the Tunnel entrance.

Caroline's right: it's an awful lot of time, cost and hassle to find out what a non-event it is. Personally, I'd fly, then use the time I'd saved for a TGV day out from Paris to somewhere interesting and bizarrely distant.

W9London

Edinburgh to London Kings Cross is about 5hrs as I recall. London St Pancras (which is right across Kings X) to Paris is 2.5hrs so including connection, the whole trip would take at least 8-8.5hrs.

Flying between the two cities are 1.5hrs, takes less than half the time including check-in time and transport to/from the airports.

Going under the Ch<b>a</b>nnel is a non-event as flanneruk mentioned, as the train tracks are surrounded by high concrete walls to avoid illegal immigrants trying to sneak in. Even outside of the tunnel, sceneries are nothing I would consider beautiful. Just field and some motorways, the usual ugly urban sprawl as you approach paris/london.

crsobe

thanks all, very interesting

dfr4848

I don't disagree with any of the above comments. Having said that, we love taking Eurostar. Very relaxed, civilized way to travel and I like having a glass of wine while the countryside flies by at 300km/hr. (yes, full disclosure - I'm a train buff and we certainly don't have anything like them in the States). Scenery isn't particularly interesing, but it's better than what I see at 30,000 feet. It's actually fun, and I certainly can't remember the last time I came close to having fun with the flying experience. It absolutely makes sense to fly from Edinburgh to Paris. It's totally irrational, but I'd put the train on my list of ways to get to Paris. Just my 2 cents.

TimS

If you want to do the whole route by train, consider taking the First ScotRail Caledonian Sleeper from Edinburgh to London Euston. Depart at 23:00 and arrive at 07:00. (No service on Saturday nights.) If you book well in advance you can get cheap bargain berths. See here: http://tinyurl.com/6ygxwf. Book your Eurostar tickets up to four months in advance at www.eurostar.com.

SoundDiva

Above posters are correct. Not much at all to see ... BUT, if you just want the experience, go for it. We took Eurostar from London to Paris last year and it was fun. Husband is a train buff and he specifically requested that we take Eurostar. Of course, the champagne tended to make the trip a LOT more interesting ...lol.


SoundDiva

PalenQ

Weird thing about the Chunnel - you go in with the train on one side of the two-tracked railway and in the tunnel the tracks flip over and you come out in France on the other side, in accordance with the side of the rights of way trains take in each respectively country.

I think the whole London-Paris Eurostar train is rather scenic except of course for the Chunnel itself

First bucolic Kent, the Garden of England and then the signature French church-steeple dotted French countryside - see the land by train - fly and see airports and little else.

flanneruk

&quot;and in the tunnel the tracks flip over and you come out in France on the other side, in accordance with the side of the rights of way trains &quot;

He's on the paint again. French trains drive on the proper side - as they do practically everywhere else there's a significant train-using population.

caroline_edinburgh

I agree the Euirostar would likely be a fun experience, but there's a always a chance that the train from Edinburgh to London could be a hellish experience - late, overcrowded, seat reservations in a mess...

caroline_edinburgh

P.S. And the sleeper doesn't have showers.

PalenQ

flimflan: Trains in Germany, Norway, Denmark and holland run on the right as do some lines of the paris metro and RER

and all these countries, esp Holland and Germany have 'significant train using populations'

i'll have to research why the tracks do flip over in the Chunnel before admitting error, always possible with the paint you know

flanneruk

Anyone who thinks Denmark's got a significant population of anything has to have had his early morning B&amp;Q Matt Finish already.

Britain, France, Italy, China, India... Just about anywhere outside Germany with more than three train passengers a year drives their trains the way we taught 'em.

There's no flipping in the Channel Tunnel. Trains enter on the left (on both sides) and stay that way throughout their journey.

stfc

The train, every time. No faffing around for hours at airports, and no travel to and from city centres. You'll be spat out in the middle of Paris. Eurostar, love it.

PalenQ

Well call me a flip-flopper - how can i dare dispute the world's foremost authority?

PalenQ

&lt;There's no flipping in the Channel Tunnel. Trains enter on the left (on both sides) and stay that way throughout their journey.&gt;

Thinking about taking the moniker of the World's Foremost Authority away flanneur after your statement

because it is not correct, at least not in every case as Chunnel trains do have the capability of switching to the other side tracks in the other tunnel when in the Chunnel and at times certainly do

I have been on a train that entered the Chunnel on one side and came out on the other - maybe this is why i thought they always did it, which was flat out wrong.

But in case one side of the Chunnel is blocked for some reason trains can switch sides at high-speed in the Chunnel itself (Googled a Guardian article that explained all how it works)

But i was wrong in what i thought but as it turns out not always wrong

janisj

Train from Edinburgh to London - great. Train from London to Paris - great. Comfortable way to travel for 2-4.5 hours

Train from Edinburgh to Paris - one hellacious long ride through a mostly scenery-free zone.

You get a bit of nice scenery on the northern 1/3 of the Edinburgh &gt; London route. But that is about it. (the glue sniffing/paint drinking PQ thinks you can see beautiful things from the train - - - can't)

The teensy bit of the Kent countryside is not scenic (unless you live in a concrete jungle w/o any trees). There is LOTS that is scenic in Kent - you just can't see it from the train. You will see a few cones of oast houses in the distance - but none up close.

No water, no white cliffs, no Dover Castle - nada.

And on it French side it is flat, pretty featureless and boring. The approach to Paris is downright butt ugly . . . . . .

PalenQ

Janis is sadly jaded by her many U.K. travels - for someone who has not seen the British countryside it will be very scenic or at least interesting - the sheep dotted hills - the awesome bridge over the river at Newcastle - and yes Kent is even bucolic from the train - note the many conical Oast (sp?) houses used to cure hops in one of Europe's rare hop-growing areas and the French countryside is very pleasant IMO - always an old village with a church steeple protruding and also the thrill of riding a train that goes up to near 190 mph

I feel sad for folks so jaded by many travels that they forget what first-time folks feel when they see the English and French countryside - fly and you'll see airports and cities - by rail you'll see the lay of the land.

Train from Edinburgh comes into Kings Cross, right next to Eurostar station of St Pancras. (But build ample time between trains as British trains are endemically late running IME)