Left Luggage at Gare du Nord
 

Hi all - I'll be in Paris in a few weeks and would like to leave my luggage at Gare du Nord on the day I take the chunnel train to London. Plan is to check out of hotel in a.m., which is in Invalides area, take up luggage and pick up tickets for train, sightsee all day, and take 6 p.m. train. (Yep, tickets are already reserved.) I can't find any RECENT info as to whether or not left luggage is still open at Gare du Nord. Don't care what it costs - just want to know if it's still open. Anyone know? Thanks in advance!

Yes there is, or at least was in Dec when i looked and has always been - in the basement at west end of main terminal right by the Eurostar check-in on the 2nd level - can leave for 48 hours for about 3 euros per locker - airline type security screening to go thru.

There are escalators going down to the rental car and luggage locker level. Just follow the signs.

If you are planning to store a full size suitcase, count on having luck strongly on your side. There are only a handful of lockers big enough to hold a 26" or bigger suitcase and I have never been in the left luggage section at GdN when there were any available. You'd have far better luck trying to store two 19" in suitcases...there are plenty of lockers that can handle those.
IF you are traveling with a larger suitcase, better to leave it at the hotel, do your sightseeing, pick it up around 4:15 pm, then head up to GdN to pick up your ticket and catch the train.

Thanks for the input on the lockers. I thought I read somewhere that you can also check it at a desk if they're out of lockers (which of course costs more) - anyone know if this is an option as well?

Dépôt et retrait de bagages : Tous les jours de 7h30 à 22h00
Consignes automatiques : Tous les jours de 6h15a.m. à 23h15.
Les services bagages sont susceptibles d'être neutralisés, sur décision préfectorale, en application du plan " Vigipirate ".

From the SNCF site - indicating that you can leave bags from 7.30a.m. to 10p.m. or put them in the automatic locker, from 6.15 to 11.15 p.m. The 'Vigipirate' program which involves increased security measures is not currently in effect, and so generally the Consigne Bagages people will Xray your bags and then let them through.

Carlux, thanks so much for the translation! I found the SNCF site earlier today, but the work firewall wouldn't let me translate it through Babelfish. Exactly what I needed! Thanks!

the Vigipirate edict, to combat terrorism stemming from pre-911 terrorists bombings of the metro is still the reason most left-luggages and baggage lockers in France are still shuttered except for some key stations with metal detectors and security screening. If for some weird reason the lockers at Nord were full hop next door to the Gare de l'Est where they are much more likely to be available. (For folks wishing to leave luggage up to 72 hours - the Nord lockers have usually had a 48 hour max period whilst the Est station lockers have had 72 hours.)

Interesting PalQ that some stations are not yet equipped to XRay bags. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to leave bags at the Consigne bagages at the station in Toulouse in January, but they had facilities, which made life easier. We were making our way to Cape Town, and took the train to Toulouse for a flight to Frankfurt, but had 4 or 5 hours in between. So left the bags, had lunch in our favourite restaurant, walked around Toulouse, then picked them up and proceeded to the airport. Thereby avoided having to eat the airline food as well.

Carlux - some major stations like Nice apparently do not have left luggage currently according to SNCF info i've read but most towns like Toulouse, Bordeaux, etc. do but nearly no non-major stations.