Ed

Was searching all over the Eurostar website and couldn't find out about customs.. We're going from Paris to London, and was wondering how early must we be at the station; where we Americans clear customs, etc... <BR> <BR>Any help is appreciated.

Michael

Hi! <BR> <BR>I took the train in the opposite direction from Waterloo Station in London to Gare Nord in Paris. I had to go through passport control in London. I also believe I had to place my luggage on the machine - it's the same as boarding a plane. Try and take the mid morning train. I'd suggest an hour or hour and a half arrival at Gare Nord ahead of departure time. <BR> <BR>In London, entree to to the train is in a secured area, your seats are reserved whether first class or coach. And one more thing - it is just three hours - you do not need first class - coach is fine. When I arrived in Paris - there was no pasport control or customs - I exited the train and just walked and blended into the normal rr station crowds and boarded a Metro to the neighborhood where my hotel was. I assume it would be the same upon arrival in London. Also I bought my tickets in New York before leaving. I found the experience very worthwhile. <BR> <BR>The train travels overland in France at about 180 mph. The trackbed is not near anything. There are no place at all where cars might cross the tracks - and I believe no places where roads pass below the tracks. So with nothing to whiz by you you really havent much of a sensation of high speed. It is only when a train passes going in the opposite direction do you notice the speed. The French countryside is quite pretty and all the towns are off in the distance - you don't see much of the towns themselves but there is a nice church spire in every town or village. The church is always the tallest building. <BR> <BR>In England, the terrain is different - more hilly and wooded - this means that the train will not travel as fast, Maybe 120 mph tops. <BR> <BR>The only part of the trip that is boring is the twenty minutes or so when you are in the chunnel itself. <BR> <BR>Given the time to get to Orly or C.deG from Paris and the wait time for a plane and then arriving at the British airport out in the burbs...you basically break even on the time...and its downtown Paris to Waterloo Station in London. Could be better. Have fun. <BR> <BR>Michael

Holland Thomas

Don't go an hour and a half or even an hour before leaving!! You don't need that much time. This isn't a plane here, and that's one of the reasons the Eurostar is so attractive: You don't have to wait for hours before you go! Customs won't take long to get through. And since this is relatively new, the time for boarding and getting on the train is really quite efficient. I am so impressed with the Eurostar service.

s.fowler

My recent experience has been that once you enter an EU country travel, to a second EU country is treated as domestic travel. <BR> <BR>We went through a lot of hoops when we took the Eurstar from Ashbury to Paris in '98, but that was more because we had a handwritten paper ticket rather than one their machines could read. I honestyly can't remember whether they asked for passports or not. It was too early in the morning <BR> <BR>When we flew into Brussels on our way to CDG last year we went through immigration in Brussels, but then our flight to Paris could have been Chicago-DesMoines for all the attention paid to country of origin.

Ben Haines

Fodors <BR> <BR>There's security check, they look at your passport at Paris North station (Gare du Nord), and that's it. The check-in time is 20 minutes minimum, but 30 feels more comfortable. 60 or 90 minutes early arrival would probably let you take the earlier train ! If you have something to declare I suppose you could tell the Eurostar staff, but I can't see how you can have: this is a customs union. <BR> <BR>Welcome to the European Union <BR> <BR>Ben Haines, London <BR>

Vincent

Being a Frenchman living in London, I often take this train, and I can tell you that Ben is right: 20 mn is the official time limit, but I have seen people boarding 10 mn before. And,yes, since I travel from my Paris flat to Gare du Nord by bus, I have to give myself some leeway and I would often have been able to take the previous one (unfortunately impossible with the cheapest tickets ! ).

Jerald

Watch you times, the Eurostar is great but it is not perfect. On April 23rd, We were on the 9:10 out of Paris. Comming out of the Chunnel where the train switches from overhead electricity to rail, the train came to a screeching halt! For over 3 hours we could not get off the train because the UK. did not have any immigration in the area. After all of the local Bobbies came we were allowed to exit to the platform & eventually cross over the bridge to the other side of the track & get on the Brussells to London train that was over 1/2 full. Some had to stand! We arrived in London approx. 6:30 & had to wait in long non-Euro lines to go through immigration. Eurostar gave us free water & has offered to refund our ticket price. I am glad we came back a day early for our flight back to the US!