darcey

I'm wondering if we should take our daughters on the Chunnel (Eurostar) to get from London to Paris and then back again in a week. How do you get to and from the Chunnel in these two cities. Does the Tube in London or the Metro in Paris take you to the Eurostar?

taggie

Your question isn't that clear to me. You want to go from London to Paris for a week? Or you are in London for a week and want to go to Paris during that time, for a shorter trip?
You can easily get transport in either city to the stations where the trains depart.

janis

Both rail stations (Waterloo and Gare du Nord) are in the centers of the cities and are also tube/metro stations. Could not be easier to get to/from either station.

Are you going to London first and then Paris for a week - is that what you mean? If so, I would fly open jaw to London and home from Paris and take the Eurostar one way from London to Paris. Doing this means you don't have to backtrack to London just to fly out.

if your itinerary is something different - give us more detail and we can be of more help.

darcey

I'm sorry I didn't explain myself very well. We are traveling to London from Phoenix, AZ and will be in London for 11 days, then traveling to Paris for a week and then flying home to Phoenix. If I fly back to Phoenix from Paris they all seem to be via London; therefore, I was looking into using the Chunnel to get us back and forth from London and Paris and just do a round trip flight from London. However, as I've researched, the Eurostar from London to Paris isn't cheap.

I was wondering if we could take the closest Tube stop (South Kensington) straight to the Eurostar and head off to Paris or does the Tube not actually intersect with the Tube? And the same question for Paris, does the Metro intersect with the Eurostar or do I need a cab to get me to the Eurostar?

Sorry to sound so confusing. Thanks for any help. We are first timers in London and Paris (not counting a trip there with my mom over 10 yrs. ago!)

Darcey

darcey

Correction on last post...
Does the Tube not actually intersect with the Eurostar?

taggie

Yes both rail stations are service by tube/metro (as janis mentioned).
The Eurostar departs from Waterloo station in London. To get there from South Kensington via tube take the District/Circle line heading east, then transfer to the Jubliee line heading south at Westminster. You will see it clearly if you look on a tube map (http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/colormap.pdf).
In Paris the Eurostar alights at Gare du Nord which is serviced by the metro. You would need to choose the line which stops nearest your hotel there.
It's very simple.

nytraveler

This advice is fine if you have limited luggage. However, if you have substantial luggage and 2 kids you might be better off with a cab at each end. (Both subway and Metro have many stations with stairs/or fsatmoving escaltors and sometimes long walks - depending in the stations involved - not something I would care to do with 2 small kids and a lot of luggage.)

BMiller

The Eurostar fares aren't that bad if you book in advance and choose the right type of ticket. Check out www.raileurope.com I'm not sure how old your kids are but they can travel as low as $45 one way (Canadian Funds) as long as you can travel on certain weekdays between certain hours and the same for adults. You do not need to travel Ist class.

PalQ

Raileurope charges $76 r.t. for kids less than 12; otherwise they have a $90 round trip if you take trains between 11am and 3pm Mon-Thur or $120 any trains Mon-Thur or $150 any trains any day; plus a $15 booking fee and a $15 mailing fee. Some RailEurope agents don't charge the $15 mailing fee, such as Budget Europe, who i've bought railpasses and Eurostar tickets from for years - they're Eurostar experts and can answer all your questions and book your trains (800-441-9413); consult www.eurostar.com for UK prices but currently RailEurope's are significantly cheaper than those in UK or France due to depreciation of the dollar recently. You'll see this if you compare on the Eurostar site i think.

kswl

Agree not to bother with first class, as coach carriages are extremely comfortable. Still not exactly sure what your plans are, but if you're planning to take Eurostar from London to Paris and then fly back from Paris (not sure why they'd route you through London, plenty of flights direct from Paris?) you can save money on the train tickets by booking as day trippers on the train. Just get a roundtrip as though you're coming back the same day, then just don't use the return portion of your ticket. It can be cheaper that way.

darcey

Thanks for the help. Good point about all the luggage, etc. and 4 kids, not 2. Sounds painful. After reading your responses I checked into flights into Paris and they're not too bad. I may save us the 3 hours on the train and just fly us over.

Darcey

Nancy45

Darcy, did you decide to fly or take the eurostar? I'm also travelling with a family of six and torn with the decision. Flying is cheaper on the surface, but I don't know how much the taxi will be from VictoriaStation to the Luton airport and from CDG to the hotel in Le Marais Paris. I'm just curious what you decided to do since you have a large group too. Thanks!

janis

darcey: Hope we aren't too late here, but -

"I may save us the 3 hours on the train and just fly us over."

Flying may save you money but it will NOT save you time. It actually takes longer to fly -- you have to travel outside of London to the airport and check in a minimum 90 mins before your flight. then you have to get into paris from the airport.

Whereas if you take the train, you show up a Waterloo station right in the center of London about 30 mins before departure and less than 3 hours later you are at Gare du Nord in the center of Paris.