can someone tell me what the differences between the classes really is? we are traveling between paris & london in aug and i am trying to decide which class tikcet. are the meals worth the upgrade? can the porters put your luggage on the train for you? thanks so much!

Can't remember the class names but it's basically as follows:-

Standard = seat only.
Leisure Select = bigger seat + meal + drinks + magazines + newspapers.
Business = as above + use of business lounge with internet access etc etc.

Leisure select is worth it if you can afford it, but standard class is fine - ie comfortable seats and footrests, plenty of room, if you can't.

PS meals are fairly decent actually - with champers if you wish, no matter what the time of day ie even at breakfast. You sort out your own luggage.

thanks for the info!

it is such a short train ride I personally would not spring for 1st unless money was no object. You have to handle your own luggage whichever . . .

I follow the advice I saw embroidered on a throw pillow in my friend Joan the Travel Agent's office:

<b>Travel First Class. Your heirs will.</b>

If your travel time coincides with meal time, and if you otherwise would be bored on the train ride, and if you like wine (liberally supplied) first class may be worth it

I rode first class for the first time after many trips in standard class.

there is a world of difference - much bigger seats and a really wonderful meal with all the wine i wanted.

would i do it again - no - but only because of the cost and i'm a low budget traveler. just did it once to see really how it was.

If i was paying $100/nite or more for hotels i'd definitely go first class on Eurostars - apply the same standards to this as your hotel i say.

seats in standard class are smaller than normal trains on the Continent simply because,i've been told, Eurostar train sets are narrower than Continental trains because the bridges they go under in UK require more narrow cars - don't know about this but the seats are much more cramped. Thus is you're tall or physically challenged or plain old fat go first class.

And at times first class may not cost much more than standard. say cheap standard seats are sold out there may be some cheap first class seats available at little more or even sometimes less than the cheapest standard class tickets available.

Palenque - the rail gauge UK vs continent is different, and the UK has some low bridges that mean we can't have double-decker trains. However, to my knowledge (and having travelled the European rail network fairly extensively) Eurostar does not have narrower seats than other European trains. Certainly not noticably so.

rail gauge is the same in each country that's why eurostar with static wheel bases can travel on both systems.

Though as i said i wasn't sure about what i've heard more than once from good sources about the trains being narrower to accommodate narrower bridge clearances in UK i do not for after riding in 2nd class Eurostar seats many times they are smaller and more cramped than normal trains in Europe. I've ridden literally 1000s of trains in Europe and these are the most uncomfortable seats in 2nd class i've ever seen - whether they are in fact narrower or not.

But gauges are the same and have been since Stephenson popularized the mode of transport and British trains were sold on the Continent which built their tracks to fit the British trains. At least this is what i've understood to be so - could be a bit off.

except Spain, Portugal, Finland and Russia where broad gauge rules and not British standard gauge as in the rest of Europe.

First class is nice, especially the use of lounge, ONLY IF someone else is paying for the ticket. I find standard class to be perfectly acceptable.

Gare du Nord lounge can actually get quite crowded, and you can have a good feast if you remember to stock up nice deli fares in Paris. I found meals are ok but just a notch or two above airline food. (OK, I admit they serve good selection of wines). On the other hand, I wouldn't rely on cafe cars if you're travelling standard. The food there is average/mediocre microwaved food at inflated price. The only other advantage is the location of the cars--first class cars are closer to escalators.

RM67 - i'll have my ruler with me next time just to check - again i'm not sure it just that they seem significantly tinier.

On the Eurostar website it says Bar-Buffet- Light snacks are part of the standard ticket. Is that not so?

No. In standard (second) class, you can certainly go to the bar car to buy yourself a light snack and take it back to your seat, but no meal is served at your seat. And the food sold at the bar car is different from what is served to pax traveling in Leisure Select/Business (the two types of first class).
Either or my husband (sometimes both) are on Eurostar almost every week and 90% of our trips are made in Leisure Select (the discounted first class). We like having more room, the cars are usually quieter, we like the meal and drinks service at our seat (and we do like those chocolate truffles they pass around). Because we frequently book fairly last minue, the difference between leisure select and standard class is not much different (there are times when the standard class tickets left for our dates actually cost MORE than the leisure select first class tickets). You are more likely to find groups traveling in standard class.
Whether the upgrade is &quot;worth it&quot; to the OP is something we can't know. But my general rule of thumb is that if traveling first class means I'd have to cut back on some other part of the trip--hotels, meals, sightseeing, shopping--then no, it's worth it. But if upgrading to first has only a negligible impact on your overall travel budget, then go for it. And if someone else is willing to pick up the tab, then DEFINITELY go for first class!

sorry, if going first class means cutting back elsewhere, then no, it's NOT worth it.

If you travel Eurostar often enough, you can get a Carte Blanche frequent traveler card which allows you to use the lounges whether you're traveling in first or second class.

&quot;<i> . . . Bar-Buffet- Light snacks are part of the standard ticket. Is that not so?</i>&quot;

A bar/buffet car is included - but the food is not &quot;included&quot;. You can buy snacks, sandwiches, beverages - but none are included w/ your ticket.

I think BTilke spelled it out best - if it means cutting back on anything else, first class is not worth it.

I think the point about first class (Leisure select) not being significantly more expensive than standard is a good one. Many of us can't afford to fly business or first because the flights are (with the exception of the fairly recent arivals Silverjet and Maxjet) usually an order of magnitude above the economy fare. On Eurostar the difference is tens of pounds, not hundreds or thousands, so is an affordable treat to many. That's why I say go for it, if you can afford it....

And just to reiterate, the lounge is usally for business class only, not first/leisure select.

PalenQ - I look forard to your new publication 'RailEurope Seat Stats' ! 8-)

RM - maybe it's my rear that's getting bigger rather than seats smaller but now am just curious to see and again i'm not sure just have read several times about UK bridges being narrower dictating thinner trains. Come to think of it huge freight cars take the Chunnel so now i'm re-examining this theory. Anyway with launch of new CTRL in November bridge widths will not be a possible hindrance.

In the UK, bridges over railway lines are about two feet lower than on the continent. However, TGVs have a smaller cross-section than ordinary trains (except, of course, for double-decker, duplex TGVs). Eurostar trains are, I think, the same size as TGVs. Some of the spare Eurostar trains are used by SNCF - I've been in one from Paris to Lille Flandres.

The Eurostar train sets Paris-Lille use were i believe earmarked for thru Eurostar Paris to north of London running which never was realized - to Birmingham, etc. for some reason - maybe because cheap airlines took over the Birmingham-Paris routes?

still seems that 2nd class Eurostar seats are more cramped than those on proper TGVs i've been on.