Trains from London to Paris

I arrived at London St. Pancras station 45 minutes before my Eurostar train was due to departure, as check-in closes 30 minutes before. The Eurostar terminal is located about a five-minute walk from King’s Cross - St. Pancras tube station and is easy to find as it’s in the centre of the station and well signposted.

Eurostar check-in

There are three border controls to go through at the Eurostar check-in which took around 15 minutes - first I had to scan the bar code on my ticket (which I printed at home), then pass through a metal detector and finally go through passport control (if you’re an EU citizen ID cards are accepted if you don’t have a passport). Note that there are two different document check areas – ID cards on the left and passports on the right. Before leaving home, I checked online if I could bring liquids with me through security but couldn’t find an answer. So, I decided to roll the dice and bought a 1L OJ from the Marks & Spencer next to departures – I can now confirm that you can bring liquids with you. I also discovered that you can bring a maximum of two pieces of large luggage (max dimensions 85 cm x 85 cm) and there are no weight limitations. Unfortunately, you can’t bring any type of animal on Eurostar trains.

Once you’re through security, you’ll find yourself in a wide hall with airport-style seats, three bars, a WHSmith and free toilets. Just like at an airport, there’s a sort of boarding gate that opens about 20 minutes before departure. When the gate is open, intercom will announce the departure platform in English and French (usually platform 9 or 10) and you’ll need to take the escalators to go upstairs. All the seats on Eurostar trains are assigned so you’ll have to find your carriage before boarding. There are up to 22 coaches on a Eurostar train, so it can be quite a walk to reach your carriage.

The train itself

In Standard class the seats are wide and comfortable, I was surprised by how much leg room I had. Every seat has a reclining table and magazine holder – between the seats, there’s a power socket with the UK and European pins. Every carriage has dedicated luggage space and overhead storage, with bathrooms in the middle of every other carriage – all with infant changing facilities. Coaches 6 and 13 (or 9 and 16 on some trains) are restaurant carriages where you can find the “Café Metropole” for sandwiches, snacks and beverages. The Café is quite expensive – €3 for an espresso, around €5.50 for a sandwich and a sandwich + soft drink + snack meal deal for €9.80 (November 2017 prices). Because of the train’s speed and numerous curves, I found it a bit challenging to walk up and down the train – it requires some balancing skills!

I’d suggest checking out the site onboard.eurostar.com – you can see a map of where you are, how fast you’re travelling, how long you have left and (a nice touch) what’s around you. For example, through this website, I discovered that the train passes through where the famous Battle of the Somme took place. This onboard website works even if the WiFi signal is weak (more on this later).

At first sight, entering the Eurotunnel is like entering any other mountain tunnel but you’ll soon notice a drop in temperature in the carriage. In its deepest part, the tunnel is 75 meters deep (the length of 107 baguettes in a line 🥖) and 50 km long! You won’t pass another train in the tunnel as there are actually two separate tunnels, one for each direction.

Arriving in Paris

The Eurostar trains always arrive at the Paris North station (Paris Gare du Nord),  located in the north-east part of the city near Montmartre and the Louvre. It’s the busiest railway station in Europe with 214 million passengers a year! When you arrive in Paris you don’t need to show your travel documents again as a check by the French police already took place in London. The station is served by several tube lines and it’s easy to reach all of Paris’ major attractions from here. If you need to take another train to other destinations in France or towards Italy and Switzerland, you’ll have to transfer to another station. Thello trains to Milan and Venice depart from Gare de Lyon, in the south-east of the city – hop on tube line D in the direction of Melun or Melesherbes and you’ll be there in around 30 minutes. If you need to take the tube, you can buy the tickets onboard the Eurostar at the Café Metropole. Remember that, before boarding on a French train, you need to validate your ticket at one of the yellow machines located on the platforms. If you’re at risk of losing a connection train because your Eurostar train was delayed, remember to have your ticket stamped by one of the Eurostar controllers – you can then jump on the next available train to your desired destination without the need to change your original ticket.

About Federica

Federica is one of our trusted, hand-picked travel writers. The information for this article was recorded first-hand, based on her own genuine experience of the journey.