adamsparks

I need some basic help with the EuroStar. I feel like everything I am reading in books and online is two steps ahead of where I am.

I want to take the EuroStar to France. Does that mean Paris only? Or does it stop before Paris also?

I want to get down to Caen or Rouen to rent a car. Is the station in Paris that the EuroStar go to the same one I can get a train to Caen or Rouen? If not, how does one get from one station to the next?

Also thinking of going to Belgium after Normandy, then back to London? Is there a EuroStar from Belgium? And if not, then what.

Robespierre

Most of your questions are answered at the eurostar.com site. Some trains from London stop at Calais or Lille before Paris, and some go on from there to the Switzerland or the south of France. Here's the route map:

<b>http://www.eurostar.com/dctm/download/uk/eurostarconnections.pdf</b>

The Eurostar station in Paris is Gare du Nord; trains to Normandy depart from Gare St-Lazare, nearby but too far to walk. If you have luggage, a taxi is probably most convenient, but the regional train (RER) also serves both stations. For less climbing up and down than required for the underground train, the city bus offers door-to-door service.

There are no direct trains between Normandy and Belgium as the rail network is a hub-and-spoke arrangement centered on Paris. The high-speed train service to Belgium is called Thalys, and takes about an hour and a half.

If I wanted to do Normandy and Paris and Belgium, I'd take the Eurostar to Brussels, then go to Paris and Normandy from there. Saves some backtracking.

ira

Hi adam,

Go to www.eurostar.com for train schedules and tickets.

Go to www.sncf.com for train schedules and tickets in France.

Go to http://www.ratp.info/informer/anglais/index.php
for directions between any two points in Paris.

There will be a midterm and a final exam.

flanneruk

Not all trains stop at the same places.But a large proportion of Eurostars stop at Calais and/or Lille before Paris.

Getting a train to Normandy from mthese intermediate stations is a real pain: you'vre really got to go into Paris, cross Paris, then get a train out.

But why not hire a car from Calais? The motorways from Calais down the coast are now joined up, and the journey time by car to Rouen is likely to be quicker than the V-shaped train journey.

Yes, there's a Eurostar from Brussels to London.

GeoffHamer

Eurostar trains have a very limited range of destinations. Some trains to Paris stop at Calais but not Lille. Some trains to Brussels stop at Lille. If you want to get from London to Caen, the most direct route is to take Brittany Ferries' overnight sailing from Portsmouth (www.brittany-ferries.com). The ships are French, have good restaurants and cabins, and allow you to leave London in the evening and be in Normandy the next morning.

Robespierre

Forgot to mention: the bus from Gare du Nord to Gare St-Lazare is the #26 (Direction Gare St-Lazare).

The train is RER E1 (Direction Haussmann St-Lazare).

Both of these lines terminate at St-Lazare, so there's no ambiguity about the return direction.

PalQ

For all those perplexed by eurostar fares, stations, etc., i'd call BETS (800-441-9413) as i and others have often mentioned in this forum these are the experts and will answer all your questions without obligation - and they book too of course but really are exceptional at being able to talk to someone who will answer all your questions. The web is great but it's often easier to talk to someone. I second the idea of getting off at Calais-Frethun eurostar station, at the French end of the tunnel, and renting a car to drive the short distance to Rouen or Caen. Or take the Eurostar to Lille where there is decent rail service to Rouen. Round trips on eurostar are often the same as one-way (from $90 r.t. for certain trains on certain days) but these require round trip to the same destination. Thus if you wish to return from Belgium but arrive in France you should write your ticket round trip to Lille, from where you can rail to Rouen (or rent a car in Lille) and then return your car to Lille to get the return portion of your Eurostar ticket to London. Lille is on the Belgium border.

adamsparks

Thanks to all, for the information---tho' to ira I say I am not sure I will pass either the midterm or final.

A son that has to be back to Oxford on Monday is messing up my plans, and so I am trying to re-think them taking a bullet train down to Rennes from Paris, picking up a car there, and then working my way up from there by way of Dinan and St. Michel to Bayeux and D-Day beaches. Putting my son on a train late Sunday from Caen, and then meandering my solo way up to Rouen over a couple, three days and then leaving the car there and head into Paris for a few days. Does this make sense to you? I have never had so much trouble with an itinerary and then I realized it was because of my son's surprise that he had to get back to Oxford in the middle of a Normandy tour leaving me either rushing or double backing. I'm looking at about 5, maybe 6 days in Normandy. What do you think?