Eurostar London-Paris 1st or 2nd class?
 

There is a great price difference but is it really worth it? My husband loves traveling 1st class but this seems silly. Help!

You get a meal (or snack depending on the time of day, free newspapers and the seating arrangments are a little different to 2nd class. There are even 2 types of 1st class (the highest has priority check in, WiFi access, executive lounges, reclining seats, etc) but such a short journey, 2nd class on the Eurostar is perfectly fine if you don't want to pay the large price difference. Seats are still comfortable (request forward-facing seats), meal car is fine but you can take your own pre-bought snacks/food on board, and overall it's a perfectly pleasant way to travel.

i took 2nd class and it was fine for me. I would pay a little extra to have flexible times/dates though. I took the last train back and wish I had not stretched it so thin; what if i had missed it? I wish I had gotten the pricier option to be able to change my time.

I agree with madamtrashheap. On a normal 2 hour journey, it wouldn't be worth it for me. In first class, you get more space around your seat, and a meal (not bad, the only time I had it, as part of a package deal). In second, you're a bit closer to your neighbours, and they <i>might</i> include some noisy and ill-mannered members of the hoi polloi (but most likely not - and you can always get up to walk to the buffet car).

I'd never pay the extra to go 1st class. Have done it and it really is not worth it for a 2 hour journey. I can buy my own paper or read the Eurostar magazine. I can go 2 hours without eating.

We took 2nd class as well, perfectly fine. Take a picnic, sit back and enjoy the journey. Some folks near us even had champagne that they had with them, glass flutes as well! Wish I had thought of that.

Look on seatguru.com to check out the seating plans and get sound advice.

Eurostar seating layouts:
http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisur...ating_plan.jsp

What you get in each class:
http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisur...el_classes.jsp

I see a number of people have posted videos of their journeys on Youtube.

Oh good grief, its not seatguru its the man in seat 61, here's the site:
http://www.seat61.com/Europe-train-travel.htm

Sorry for the confusion.

I do it occasionally if the cheaper economy seats have gone, and there isn't much difference between the remaining economy fares and first.

The food is decent, you get booze, and newspapers and magazines to read. I consider it an affordeable treat, since I could never run to a first class flight out of my own pocket. Also, if you are doing a day trip or on business, getting breakfast on the way out and dinner on the way back means you don't eat into valuable time stopping for meals, other than say, a light lunch or coffee.

In terms of the seating/space there isn't a huge difference between the two classes.

Be aware that the business lounges are for business class passengers only (which is actually more expensive than 1st). They change the names of the classes fairly frequently - I think it used to be Standard, Leisure Select and Business in ascending order of cost/swishness!

<i>I consider it an affordeable treat, since I could never run to a first class flight out of my own pocket.</i>

ditto to RM67

2nd class is fine for this relatively short journey. Have done 1st class a couple of times as well (sometimes they do upgrades as special deals). 1st class is certainly a bit more comfortable - but so often full of annoying "suits" braying meaningless buzzwords into their mobile phones about the outcome of their meetings.

We generally prefer 1st class too, but since such a short ride, we went 2nd. Unfortunately, this was during the Dec 11 winter storm, so it turned into an 8 hour ride. Resolved to pay for 1st if it's within 100E!

In reality though, it wasn't that bad even for an extended time.