lesm

Anyone taken the Eurostar from London to Paris? Eurostar.com says you can only book 60 days in advance. Is there another way to get takes more in advance?

First class is a very minor upcharge, is it worth it? Is the train nice in general?

How long from Gard de Nord to the Arc de Triumph?

Thanks!

PalQ

You can book up to 9 months in advance, at least that's what the folks at BETS (800-441-2387) tell me - i always recommend them for their expertise - cheapest ticket thru RailEurope (BETS is an agent of them but doesn't charge some of their mailing fees) is $90 one way or return, on Mon-Thu or use to $150 on weekends - there are special fares for seniors 60 and over and youths under 26.

PatrickLondon

I don't know what sort of trains you're used to, but Eurostar trains are of the same standard as long-distance trains more or less anywhere in western Europe. Standard class seats are in pairs either side of the aisle, with a foldout foot-rest and a drop-down table. Some are in a group of four round a table.

First class seats are a bit larger with a bit more space, one on one side of the aisle and a pair on the other. All first class seats are arranged round tables. You get a cooked meal served at your table.

You can see pictures here:
http://www.seat61.com/Europe.htm#Tra...0by%20Eurostar

But standard class is perfectly OK. The food in the buffet car is indifferent.

But the journey is only a couple of hours and you can get up and walk around a little bit.

xyz123

Right now the trip is posted at 2 hours 35 minutes and will be cut to 2 hours 15 minutes when the last segment of dedicated high speed track is completed in the London area sometime in 2007 at which time Eurostar will be moving from Waterloo to St. Pancreas...

Since first class costs much more, I simply don't think it is worth it for a trip of such short duration and usually the first class car arrives at basically the same time as the second class cars....

Lori

Personally I do not think First Class is worth any extra charges on a short trip like this. The trains are very nice, seats comfortable with plenty of leg room in standard class. An attendant with a food trolly came through several times selling snacks, drinks, etc. There is also a separate car where you can go and purchase food. The food was nothing to get excited about and it is perfectly OK to bring your own sandwich/whatever.

Fares vary greatly - read the rules for each fare carefully. Some fares are as low as $45 one way, altho most are higher, but you may need to play with your times/dates.

TimS

Actually, you can book up to 120 days in advance at eurostar.com. And the sooner you book, the better chance you have of getting a discount seat. Note: A return (roundtrip) ticket can be cheaper than a single (one-way) ticket. If all you need is a single, buy the return and throw away the portion you don't use.

Take either the RER B or RER D from Gare du Nord to Chatlelet Les Halles. Transfer there to the RER A and take it to Charles de Gaulle Etoile. Total time: about 25 minutes.

grantop

Can you reserve the seating that is a group of 4 with the table?

david_west

Yes. At least you can on the Eurostar site

PalQ

When Eurostar fares are high, such as during the two-week Easter period when all cheap fares seem nonexistant as Eurostar is apparently trying to sell at higher prices you still may be able to get a passholder fare - available with any pass valid in UK, France or Belgium - these cost $75 each way and at times can be booked even when all the other cheap fares cannot. Thus if you buy a LondonPlus pass, good for two days of travel in an 8-day period in Southeast UK - about a 100 mile radius around London for $70, this qualifies you for the passholder fare - so this is an angle to be used if you find only expensive fares for the date you want to travel. and you may well be able to use the London Plus pass - day trip to Stonehenge, Oxford, Cambridge, etc., or to Gatwick Airport (but not valid on Heathrow Express). so if good fares are exhausted ask about booking passholder fare and buy London pass (see BETS above for great service)- even if you throw the pass away it may be cheaper than paying full fare at peak times on Eurostar. for example the two weeks around Easter there seem to be no cheap Eurostar tickets at all but my sources say passholder fares can at times be booked then. The 1st class passholder fare of $135 also can be booked easier than the $75 standard class passholder fare. It seems Eurostar is blocking out cheap tickets in hopes of selling at higher rates during these two heavy trafficked weeks - at times cheaper seats may reappear as the train time gets closer if it appears Eurostar won't fill them with more expensive tickets.

BTilke

Patrick London is not correct--in first class, all seats are NOT around tables. There are solo seats that face the back of another solo seat, not the front. Same for the "duo" seats. They are not grouped around tables; however the seats that aren't grouped around a table have a drop down tray table (see the seating chart for cars 7, 8, 11 & 12--only in Premium First are they all grouped around tables and oddly enough, we found Premium First less comfortable than regular first).
My husband and I ride Eurostar frequently, sometimes more than once a week. Generally, we prefer to ride in first, esp. on the busiest trains. They tend to be less crowded and quieter. If the upgrade is minor (to you anyway), then you will probably enjoy traveling in first. However, the cheaper first class tickets do not allow you to use the First Class Lounge--you need to be traveling on either a business first ticket or be a Carte Blanche Eurostar frequent traveler for access to the lounge. Second class if perfectly acceptable, although if you want a window seat, check the seating plans--some "window" seats in second class don't have actually have windows.

The regular waiting area for Eurostar (after checkin) has a few snack stands (I'm rather fond of the bagel stand), a press shop, souvenir shop, etc. It's easy to pass the waiting time.

grantop

BTilke, can a table and seating for 4 be reserved for second class?

Neopolitan

I always hate to get into the "is it worth it?" debates, but on one trip by Eurostar from Brussels to London, four of us carefully reserved one of those tables for four in first class. We ended up being the ONLY ones in the entire car! The attendant who served us lunch treated us like royalty (he had nothing else to do), and kept pouring more and more wine for us to go with our very nice but simple lunch. I checked out the next car which was second class and it was completely filled and the air conditioning seemed not to be working. There were a couple of screaming babies as well.

Was first class worth it to us that day? You guess!

BTilke

I don't know. We never have any problems ordering solo or duo seats in first class. I prefer not to have a table because when you ride facing another passenger, you don't have a foot rest and IMHO, you end up with less leg room.

ipod_robbie

xyz,
Last time I took Eurostar the 1st class arived in the station ahead of the 2nd class. Not by much, but if time is that critical for you then 1st class may be worth the price.

IR

PalQ

I believe first class also has a shorter required pre-boarding time??

xyz123

ipod...

the first class cars are in the middle of the train so guess what...

some of the 2nd class cars arrive before the 1st class and other 2nd class cars arrive after the 1st class!

PalQ

I believe the first class cars are at the end of the train - in any case many of the former first class cars have been converted to second class cars due to demand.

letour

My recollection was that the 1st class seats on the Eurostar were quite a bit more expensive, but I was traveling with a couple of young children, a spouse and a ton of luggage, so I opted to take 1st class tickets throughout Europe several years ago. We all loved the Eurostar experience! The food and service were terrific. I am not sure that too much added expense is worth it for such a short trip, but I am glad that I did it at least once.

The return from Paris to London was a whole other matter, however, as apparently there were a few stowaways who had jumped off a train that had preceded ours...they were suspected as having been terrorists and there was a lookout for them in the chunnel that dropped the entire system into a standstill. Everyone, 1st and 2nd classes alike, ate bag lunches on that return trip! Quite a disappointment after our first experience on the way over. Tant pis!

Woody0070

I don't know what the official policy is - but I booked four return tickets London-Paris last week for travel in mid-August which jives with the 120 days policy mentioned already.

PalQ

Yes can book six months in advance on Eurostar and be guaranteed the fare. And for cheap tickets you should book far in advance as their availability is harder and harder to come by i've heard as Eurostar, esp on Paris run is attracting more and more people thus they can charge more and have less lower fares.
I think what the post above about first class being only a little more than 2nd is what can happen - many cheap 2nd (standard) class fares are sold out but the cheaper first class fares are not - not unusual for a specific train or date to find the cheapest fare available to be a first class fare.