rcartinc

I'm booking our Eurostar trip from Paris to London, and in a quandary about where to sit? There are still quite a few seats available and having choices just makes it harder!

We want to be able to rest on the trip and don't want to buy a Premier ticket.
I know I want a forward-facing seat and I think I want to be close to the entrance or exit at the stations.

Is it loud near the front of the train. Is it noisy next to the buffet coach.

Thanks for any tips.

jamikins

I dont think there is much difference. Anybody can be seated in the same carriage and be noisy. We like to be front-seating, near the doors. I think I would prefer to be away from the buffet carriage as people will be walking through but I've never taken note of that when booking. I honestly wouldnt worry too much, there really isnt that much difference.

For example - last time we left at 10am on a Friday morning and were seated in a carriage with a group of VERY loud English men on some sort of boys weekend and they started drinking the minute we sat down. No chance of sleeping! They were trashed by the time we got to Lille...these are the things you cant control.

kerouac

There is definitely no guarantee that you will be able to find a quiet spot, as jamikins aptly points out, but during a two hour trip, you are rarely going to get much rest anyway.

rcartinc

Wow - what quick replies! I still have my reservation open, so I'll just take first front-facing seats near a door. Thanks so much! I expect that the trains WILL be crowded and noisy in July.

rcartinc

One more thing, how much time should we allow once we arrive at the train station in Paris until we can get into a cab to our destination? Do we have to go through customs?

We are arriving around 6:20 pm (18:20) and have to check in by 7:00pm - 15 minutes from the train station.

jamikins

You go through immigration in London (passport control) and should be at St Pancras 30 - 60 mins before the train - we always give ourselves an hour.

Customs is really non-existent at Gare du Nord, you just get off the train and walk out.

How long to get a taxi depends on when your train comes in and what other trains are coming in at the same time. If the lines for the taxis are long you could be late - no real way to tell...

qwovadis

Seat61.com good info

My wife and I prefer to sit across from each other

At a window seat always

Wise husbands know it is polite to let the spouse ride forward

So I do a lot of backward riding

But at least I do not have to stare at folks you do not know the whole way.

avalon

They are leaving from Gare de Nord and going to London St Pancras. They say 30 minutes but we always allow 1 hour. YOu go thru Customs in Paris before boarding the train.Make sure you fill out the Landing Card for the UK. Ours came with our tickets

jamikins

Sorry misread your post - you will go through immigration in Gare du Nord and customs in London. When you leave the train in London you walk through the customs area, but you likely wont even notice. They will pull over anyone that looks suspicious but if you are not declaring anything (and I doubt you would be) and look like everyone else you will just walk out into the train station.

FoFoBT

If you want a window seat with an actual window and you're traveling in second class, avoid seats with the number 22 and 52. There's little to no window, just the wall of the train.