Can anyone tell me how long is the trip from London to Paris via the Chunnel train. Also interested in classes of seating and cost and opinions as to value. I've found first-class train service in the U.K. to be much less impressive than it was 15 years ago. Thanks!

Kat - we took the chunnel last Oct and found the second class to be comfortable. It's only 3 hours n it would be better (in my opinion ) to spend the $ on something else. The ride is smooth, not much scenery n clean.

The actual trip through the chunnel is about 21 - 26 minutes long. You race through the english countryside at a snails pace, and really seem to go through the french countryside at 300 km/hour. I consider the english countryside nice; the french countryside tends to be more small towns with the central point being churches - not as welcome a sight as the english countryside. I sat in the cheap section and for that, I got to buy cold sandwiches from a cart - there was also a meal car. All in all, I think the hype is more than the actual experience, but it is better than taking a boat across the channel and, I think, less stressful than flying. A word of note - Waterloo station in London is beautiful, but Gare du Nord is run down, and the area, although close to Montmatre, looks very seedy. I would definitely watch my luggage at Gare du Nord - and expect to get hit by pigeons.

There's a whole website about the Chunnel. Just search for 'Eurostar' and you can find all the info you need for schedules and prices.