Family of four (2 adults, 11YO, 3YO) traveling to Paris and London early summer. Interests are history, architecture, gardens, kid friendly ideas. We have been to Paris and London prior so we are somewhat familiar. More so Paris than London.

We are traveling the last week of May and the first week of June. Flight is Orlando straight to London with no layovers. In an effort to save on the plane tickets (found the best deal we have seen in a while!) we are arriving and leaving through London.

We land in London at 7:05am and will take the train straight to Paris for 6 days. We have done this route before, but not the same day as landing. This may seem like a horrible idea but we saved hundreds on tickets and we figured without the normal layover it might be ok. We will see!!

Question at this point is what it the best, fastest, cheapest way to get from Gatwick to St Pancras Station? How long will the total trip from airport to St Pancras take? We plan to carry on our luggage, as we always do, but just in case that plan falls through we need to give ourselves enough time to deplane, gather bags and get to St Pancras Station. Any information on this point would be MUCH appreciated. We have always landed in the Heathrow airport so we are not familiar with Gatwick.

The rest of the trip is still being planned other than accommodations.
In Paris we have rented an apartment for 6 nights. I have yet to plan a detailed itinerary but we mainly would like to re-visit some sites and just enjoy the city. We have no major agenda other than one day we would like to get to Versailles.

After Paris we will take the train back to London for 4 nights and again I have not planned a detailed itinerary yet, I will do so soon but it will too be a relaxed one.

It has been about 2 years since we have been to either Paris or London so if there is anything new and exciting for the kids, or something that you have stumbled across that your kids enjoyed please share.

Any input on sites or suggestions with the airport-train question is much appreciated!

There's a train every 30 mins taking about 45 mins from Gatwick to St Pancras.

Runs, like all trains, from Gatwick's south terminal. The train to it from the north terminal's being rebuilt at present, so allow about 20 mins to get to the station by bus if you're arriving at the north terminal.

At present the direct train doesn't run to St P at weekends because a bit of that line's being rebuilt too. If that's the case when you arrive (check nearer the day at www.nationalrail.co.uk) get off at London Bridge andget the Northern Line tube to St P, allowing an hour for the Gatwick-St P journey)

Whilst it's not what I would do - too many things could go wrong leaving you stuck in the UK - you shouldn't book the Eurostar before Midday.

On a weekday your chances of getting a train from Gatwick to St Pancras before 9:30am is pretty low as the trains will be full of commuters. You can get the Gatwick Express to Victoria before then but then you'd be trying to get a taxi or Tube from Victoria whilst millions of others are doing exactly the same

My advice is don't head straight for the train but spend a night in London first and get an early train to Paris

"On a weekday your chances of getting a train from Gatwick to St Pancras before 9:30am is pretty low "

??????

On a weekday your chances of getting a train before 0930 are as near as damnit 100%.

There's a reasonable chance that train will be crowded for the first 30 mins. But not that high, since most commuters from Brighton (where the train starts) will be getting faster trains into London.

So what? Millions (literally) of us live with that twice a day: millions of us DON'T get taxis. Only obsessive misanthropes would faff about with overnight hotel stays to avoid the awful possibilty there might be other people on the same train.

Milder misanthropes might want to get the slightly emptier and costlier Gaatwick Express to Victoris, then queue up with a few dozen others for 10 mins or so for a taxi to St P. Not quite obsessive (but, IMHO, still deranged) misanthropes might want to have a cup of dreadful coffee at Gatwick, or an overpriced breakfast in the Gatwick Hilton, then get a train about 1000 when the risk of proximity to other humans is less.

I wouldn't do an overnight stay in London because I am a misanthrope, but because 4 walk-up Eurostar tickets are pretty darn expensive. It's not that rare for a flight to be 2, 3, or 4 hours late.

That, plus any time in London is never wasted.

Even a nervous Nellie like me, though, would probably feel okay about a late afternoon train, but then the day is broken up quite a bit.

Or, I might feel okay about the following plan, even though I'd hope the backup option wouldn't be necessary. Set a generous amount of time between the scheduled landing time and the train to Paris (say 4-5 hours). If the plane is horribly delayed, know that you can get a quite cheap, if too long, coach ride to Paris from London (not sure if there are any stops on the way near Gatwick), and I think you'd likely be able to get walk-up tickets for that.

Keep in mind that the Eurostar has time requirements for check-in and security, so find out what those are.

I wouldn't worry about standing on the train to St Pancras. You'll have been sitting for hours, so time for a break, right?

I do that same itinerary MCO-LGW-Paris-LGW.

I prefer to spend the first day in London so that I can be outside and get over jet lag and have dinner at my favorite restaurant in the world. Then take the Eurostar the next day and get back to London a few days before departure.

If you already have your apt in Paris booked for the arrival day, then I would make sure to book a train for sometime around noon or 1 PM. You can take your time getting to St P without any panic . There are nice places there to have a late breakfast or early lunch. There are several shops to wander through while waiting. You do have to be at Eurostar departure area 30 minutes before departure to go thru customs at the station.

I know it costs a bit more but I prefer to book my tickets as far out in advance with RailEurope. I like having them in hand

<<< On a weekday your chances of getting a train before 0930 are as near as damnit 100%. >>>

On a weekday the trains will be packed solid when they reach Gatwick, so the likelyhood of a family getting on them with luggage is pretty low. Even the early morning Gatwick Express isn't immune from it as a number of services start before Gatwick.

And if they do get a GEX to Victoria there's the problem of getting Tube / taxi to St Pancras at a time when commuters are doing exactly the same.

So don't book the Eurostar before midday

Actually with 4 people you could probably book a private car shuttle to pick you up at Gatwick and take you directly to St. P for just a bit more money. If you take the GEX to Victoria then a taxi, the shuttle might even be less expensive

Thank you!! I knew there would be experienced travelers here to help as always!!

Thanks Flanneruk , I did not realize there was construction going on. Just went on the website and saw that information. That does add to the time and makes a difference.

I should have mentioned the day of the week, did not realize that would make a difference but of course it would be being it is morning and all the people would be commuting. Vacation brain I guess.

We will be landing 7:05am Monday, so it will be a week day.

Can someone tell me about what time the commuters have cleared the trains a bit???? I don’t think it will be a huge deal but that information may be helpful.

As WillTravel pointed out, standing will not be an issue.

Paris apartment is already reserved , besides I think this is possible, I just need to figure the smartest way to go about it. That is where the experienced Fodorites come into play!!

Avalon – I like your plan of getting there and just catching our breath prior to departing on the train. And I will definitely look into the private car shuttle to pick us up at Gatwick and take us to St. Pancras. Convenience may over weigh cost in this case.

We are purchasing train tickets while in the states. We initially thought it would be best to buy the tickets for a departing time close to 12:00, but I was thinking it would be overkill. Seems the best choice though. We may choose to get something closer to 1:00 or 2:00 just to be sure. We will lose a whole day in transit it seems but knowing we were not familiar with this route we planned for more time in Paris than London, so seems like that was a good plan.

Thanks again!! You guys always come through!!

NO!! A a car service from LGW to St Pancras at 8:00 on a Monday morning is a crazy idea. It would cost a fortune and take <u>forever</u>. LGW is 30+ miles from St Pancras and the drive could easily take 2+ hours.

avalon: can you share your favorite restaurant in the world? I'll be in London in May and would love a great recommendation. Thanks!