London St Pancras International (London)

The journey from London to Aachen by train involves making a connection at Bruxelles-Midi station, which is also known as Brussel Zuid station.
Eurostar is the sole provider of the train service between London and Bruxelles/Brussels but both ICE and Eurostar Thalys trains are available between Bruxelles and Aachen
Which of these two train services you take when travelling on to Aachen matters, to both the end-to-end journey time and when booking tickets.

There are two options for making the journey by high speed trains from London to Aix-en-Provence TGV station:

1: travelling via Paris can be a cheaper option, but you will need to make the transfer across the French capital between the Gare Du Nord, which is where the Eurostar will arrive, and the Gare De Lyon, the departure station of the TGV train.

2: Or if you make the connection in Lille, you can make the transfer within Lille Europe station.

Rather wonderfully there are now direct Eurostar trains from London to Amsterdam; but if the timings of those trains don't suit, another option is travel via Bruxelles and make a connection at Midi/Zuid station.

There are two options for making the journey by high speed trains from London to Angers:

1: travelling via Paris can be a cheaper option, but you will need to make the transfer across the French capital between the Gare Du Nord, which is where the Eurostar will arrive, and the Gare Montparnasse, the departure station of the TGV train.

2: Or if you make the connection in Lille, you can make the transfer within Lille Europe station.

There are currently three options for making the journey by train from London to Antibes; two daytime options which involve travelling solely on high-speed trains; plus an overnight option.

1: travelling via Paris can be a cheaper option, but you will need to make the transfer across the French capital between the Gare Du Nord, which is where the Eurostar will arrive, and the Gare De Lyon, the departure station of the TGV train.

2: Or if you make the connection in Lille, you can make the transfer within Lille Europe station, but you will also now have to make a second connection in Avignon (the direct Lille to Nice trains are no longer available).

3. Or you can arrive in Antibes at breakfast time, by taking an overnight train on from Paris.

The Eurostar train(s) from London to Amsterdam pass through the station in Antwerp without calling there, so when taking this rail journey a connection in Bruxelles is required.

Though what makes things less complicated than the norm are:

1. Eurostar sells any 'Any Belgian station' tickets, which can be used on any onward train from Bruxelles on your day of travel.
2. So you won't need to be concerned about making a connection on to Antwerp against the clock.

There are currently three options for making the journey by high speed trains from London to Avignon:

1. Travelling via Paris can be a cheaper option, but you will need to make the transfer across the French capital between the Gare Du Nord, which is where the Eurostar will arrive, and the Gare De Lyon, the departure station of the train on to Avignon TGV station - which is on the edge of the city.

2. Or make the connection in Paris and take a train on from the Gare De Lyon to Avignon Center station - which lives up to its name with a convenient location in the city.

3. Or if you make the connection in Lille, you can make the transfer within Lille Europe station and avoid the cross Paris transfer, but you will be arriving at Avignon TGV station.

Now that the Lyon to Barcelona direct train is once again available daily, there are multiple options available for taking a journey by train from London to Barcelona.

There are three options for making a journey by train from London to Basel:

1. The quickest option is to make only one 'connection' in Paris, but this routing involves having to make a transfer between stations across the city centre.

2. Taking that journey across Paris from the Gare Du Nord to the Gare De Lyon can be avoided, by taking on train on to Strasbourg from the Gare de l'Est in Paris.
   Though another connection between trains will be required in Strasbourg.

3. Avoid having to make a transfer between stations in Paris by travelling via Lille and Strasbourg.

When travelling by train from London to Berlin and departing the UK on Monday, Wednesday and Friday there is a choice between:

• making the journey by day on a string of three high speed trains
• connecting in Bruxelles for an overnight train.
  Though from December 13th this choice between travelling by day or overnight will also be available when heading to Berlin from London by train on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

When travelling from London to Béziers on any day but Saturday, the easiest option for making the journey is to travel via Paris
Though you will need to make the transfer across the French capital between the Gare Du Nord, which is where the Eurostar will arrive, and the Gare De Lyon, the departure station of the TGV train.
However, if you will be making the journey on a Saturday, you can most easily avoid the transfer across Paris by changing trains in Lille instead.

Taking the train from London to Biarritz involves travelling across Paris city centre between two of the city's main stations.

There are usually three options available for taking a journey by train from London to Bordeaux:

Making the transfer across central Paris from the Gare Du Nord, which is where the Eurostar will arrive, and the Gare Montparnasse, and then taking either:

1. a regular TGV InOui train on to Bordeaux or,
2. a more basic Ouigo train.
   (If you will be travelling with a Eurail or InterRail pass you won't be able to travel on a Ouigo service).
3. Or avoid the transfer between stations across Paris by making the much simpler transfer between stations in Lille.

Bruges/Brugge is one of the easiest locations to access when travelling from London to Europe by train.
Simply take the Eurostar to Bruxelles and then hop on one of the frequent trains from the Belgian capital to Brugge.

How to buy tickets, what's on board the trains, how to use the stations, plus tips for making the journey

There are currently three options for making the journey by train from London to Cannes; two daytime options which involve travelling solely on high-speed trains; plus an overnight option.

1: travelling via Paris can be the cheaper daytime option, but you will need to make the transfer across the French capital between the Gare Du Nord, which is where the Eurostar will arrive, and the Gare De Lyon, the departure station of the TGV train.

2: Or if you make the connection in Lille, you can make the transfer within Lille Europe station, but you will also now have to make a second connection in Avignon (the direct Lille to Cannes trains are no longer available).

3. Or you can arrive in Cannes at breakfast time, by taking an overnight train on from Paris.

There is a choice of three options for taking a journey by train from London to Canterbury, all of which are operated by Southeastern.

1. Taking a hi-speed service from St Pancras International station to Canterbury West (these trains share the high speed route between London and Ashford with the Eurostar services).

2. Canterbury West also has direct trains which commence their journeys at Charing Cross station and then call at Waterloo (East) and London Bridge stations.
   If the starting point of your journey is convenient to these stations (particularly London Bridge) the speed advantage of the trains from St Pancras becomes less of a factor.

3. There are also trains from Victoria station, which is on the opposite side of central London to St Pancras, which head to Canterbury East station.

All that’s good to know about taking the train from London to The Hague with easy access to ticket, train and station info.

Making a transfer between trains in Bruxelles seems to be the best option for a journey by train from London to Frankfurt (Main) - the Eurostar from London and the ICE train on to Germany use the same station in the Belgian capital.
However, the trains on to Frankfurt typically depart around 20 mins or less after the arrival of the Eurostar -so the options sold by the ticket agents include this combination of trains, which enable the fastest possible end-to-end journey time.
Though if you would rather book an end-to-end journey option, with more time between trains, the ticket agents typically package together journeys which involve having to transfer between different stations in Paris
The Eurostar from London will arrive at Paris Nord and the trains on to Frankfurt will depart from Paris Est.

There are currently two options for making the journey by high speed trains from London to Geneve/Geneva

1: travelling via Paris is the cheaper option and it can be faster too, but you will need to make the transfer across the French capital between the Gare Du Nord, which is where the Eurostar will arrive, and the Gare De Lyon, the departure station of the Lyria trains which link the French capital to Switzerland.

2: Or if you make the connection in Lille, you can make the transfer within Lille Europe station, but will then have to make a second connection in Lyon.

Gent/Ghent is one of the easiest locations to access when travelling from London to Europe by train.
Simply take the Eurostar to Bruxelles and then hop on one of the frequent trains from the Belgian capital to Gent/Ghent

How to buy tickets, what's on board the trains, how to use the stations, plus tips for making the journey

The journey from London to Köln / Cologne / Koeln by train involves making a connection at Bruxelles-Midi station, which is also known as Brussel Zuid station.
Eurostar is the sole provider of the train service between London and Bruxelles/Brussels but both ICE and Eurotar Thalys trains are available between Bruxelles and Köln.
Which of these two train services you take when travelling on to Köln matters to both the end-to-end journey time and when booking tickets.

How to buy tickets, what's on board the trains, how to use the stations, plus tips for making the most of the journey

Lille Europe station typically offers an opportunity to make onward connections to a swathe of French destinations served by TGV trains including Avignon, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Rennes and Strasbourg; a useful alternative to having to cross Paris between its stations.

Luxembourg is easily accessed from London by train, as there are hourly connections on from Bruxelles
When using tickets and rail passes it doesn't matter which of these onward trains you take - which takes the pressure of making the connection at Midi/Zuid station.

There are four options for making the journey by high speed trains from London to Lyon.

Travelling via Paris can be a cheaper option, but you will need to make the transfer across the French capital between the Gare Du Nord, which is where the Eurostar will arrive, and the Gare De Lyon -which lives up to its name as it the departure station of the trains on to Lyon.
1: You can opt to travel on to Lyon by a full service TGV InOui or Frecciarossa train.
2: Or you can opt to travel on by a more basic, but 'low cost' Ouigo service.

If you make the connection in Lille, you can avoid having to make the transfer between stations across Paris.
3: You can opt to travel on to Lyon by a full service TGV InOui from Lille Europe station - which is where the Eurostar from London will arrive.
4: Or you can opt to travel on by a more basic, but 'low cost' Ouigo service, but it will depart from Lille Flandres station.

There are four options for making the journey by high speed trains from London to Marseille.

Travelling via Paris can be a cheaper option, but you will need to make the transfer across the French capital between the Gare Du Nord, which is where the Eurostar will arrive, and the Gare De Lyon -which is departure station of the trains on to Marseille.
1: You can opt to travel on to Marseille by a full service TGV InOui train.
2: Or you can opt to travel on by a more basic, but 'low cost' Ouigo service.

If you make the connection in Lille, you can avoid having to make the transfer between stations across Paris.
3: You can opt to travel on to Marseille by a full service TGV InOui from Lille Europe station - which is where the Eurostar from London will arrive.
4: Or you can opt to travel on by a more basic, but 'low cost' Ouigo service which will depart from Lille Flandres station.

It is entirely feasible to make a journey by train during the day from London to Milan.

Though the route taken by the Paris to Milano trains has been closed until summer 2024, due to damage caused by a landslide.
Replacement bus services have now made available for international journeys along the closed section of the route, from a train which departs Paris daily at 14:48 - departing London at 09:31 allows two hours to cross Paris and make the connection.

The alternative routes, which are currently the only options, involve travelling via Switzerland and Milano, with at least two connections and a journey time of more than 12 hours.

The timings allow plenty of time to cross Paris, so you won't be rushing from the onward connection against the clock..

What isn't now an option is taking the Eurostar to Paris and then the overnight train to Milano, as the night train between Paris and Italy was withdrawn a few years ago.

There are currently two routes available for making the journey by high speed trains from London to Montpellier:

1: travelling via Paris can be a cheaper option, but you will need to make the transfer across the French capital between the Gare Du Nord, which is where the Eurostar will arrive, and the Gare De Lyon, the departure station of the TGV train.

2: Or if you make the connection in Lille, you can make the transfer within Lille Europe station.

There are two optimum routes when taking a train from London to Munich / München during the day:
1, Travelling by day via Paris
2. Travelling by day via Bruxelles

The daytime connections via Paris are sold as end-to-end journeys by ticket agents, but the daytime route via Bruxelles can be a good option if you will making this journey with a Eurail or InterRail pass; or if won't mind booking separate tickets for different parts of the journey.
Making the effort to do so can be worth it if you'd rather avoid what can be an awkward transfer between stations in the French capital.

Though on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays it is possible to take the 14:31 Eurostar from London and connect into the Nightjet train which typically departs from Paris at 19:58; though think twice, as the train is due into Munchen Ost station (and not the main station) before 06:00.

There are currently three options for making the journey by train from London to Nice; two daytime options which involve travelling solely on high-speed trains; plus an overnight option.

1: travelling via Paris can be a cheaper option, but you will need to make the transfer across the French capital between the Gare Du Nord, which is where the Eurostar will arrive, and the Gare De Lyon, the departure station of the TGV train.

2: Or if you make the connection in Lille, you can make the transfer within Lille Europe station, but you will also now have to make a second connection in Avignon (the direct Lille to Nice trains are no longer available).

3. Or you can arrive in Nice at breakfast time, by taking an overnight train on from Paris.

There are currently two routes available for making the journey by high speed trains from London to Nîmes:

1: travelling via Paris can be a cheaper option, but you will need to make the transfer across the French capital between the Gare Du Nord, which is where the Eurostar will arrive, and the Gare De Lyon, the departure station of the TGV train.

2: Or if you make the connection in Lille, you can make the transfer within Lille Europe station.

How to buy tickets, what's on board the trains, how to use the stations, plus tips for making the most of the journey

There are two options for making the journey by high speed trains from London to Rennes:

1: travelling via Paris can be a cheaper option, but you will need to make the transfer across the French capital between the Gare Du Nord, which is where the Eurostar will arrive, and the Gare Montparnasse, the departure station of the TGV train.

2: Or if you make the connection in Lille, you can make the transfer within Lille Europe station.

Rather wonderfully there are now direct Eurostar trains from London to Rotterdam; but if the timings of those trains don't suit, another option is travel via Bruxelles and make a connection at Midi/Zuid station.

There are typically two options for making the journey by high speed trains from London to Strasbourg:

1: travelling via Paris can be a cheaper option, but you will need to make the transfer across the French capital between the Gare Du Nord, which is where the Eurostar will arrive, and the Gare de l'est the departure station of the TGV train.

2: Or if you make the connection in Lille, you can make the transfer within Lille Europe station.

The route taken by the Paris to Torino / Turin trains has been closed until summer 2024, due to damage caused by a landslide.
Replacement bus services have now made available for international journeys along the closed section of the route, from a train which departs Paris daily at 14:48 - departing London at 09:31 allows two hours to cross Paris and make the connection.
The alternative route, involves travelling via Switzerland and Milano, with at least three connections and a journey time of more than 12 hours.

So the info below is currently not relevant!

It is usually entirely feasible to make a journey by train during the day from London to Torino/Turin.
The timings allow plenty of time to cross Paris, so you won't be rushing from the onward connection against the clock.

How to buy tickets, what's on board the trains, how to use the stations, plus tips for making the most of the journey

There are four options available for taking a journey by train from London to Vienna/Wien:

1. Making the end-to-end journey by day.

2. If you will be leaving London on a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday then it's possible to take a Eurostar to Bruxelles and then a night train on from there to Wien/Vienna.

3. Or if you will be leaving London on the other days of the week, an option is to make a connection of around 2hr 20 mins in Bruxelles in to a train on to Koln/Cologne, where around 4 hours after arriving there, an overnight train will depart for Wien/Vienna.

There are two journey options for a taking a train from London to Zurich:

1: The usual most obvious route to take if you will be booking tickets is to travel via Paris on a combination of Eurostar and Lyria trains.

2. The other option involves making connections in Brussels and Frankfurt (Main).
   This route avoid the needs to make a transfer between railway stations across Paris, but SMTJ doesn't ordinarily recommend it, because it involves making a connection at Midi/Zuid station in Brussels of only 20 mins.
   Though if you will be travelling with a Eurail or InterRail pass it is worth taking the chance.
   It will save money because rail pass users don't have to make reservations on the combination of required ICE trains between Brussels and Zurich
   In contrast the rail pass reservation fees on the Lyria services from Paris are some of the most expensive charged to pass users.

Due to reconstruction work at Amsterdam Centraal station, which will temporarily close down its Eurostar check-in area, there will be no direct services from Amsterdam to London until February 10th!

According to the European Rail Timetable, 'guaranteed connections' will be available between trains at Bruxelles-Midi station.
When looking up the journey on the Eurostar website, the minimum transfer time in Midi station will be 44 mins.
Time enough for the international check-in / customs procedure to be carried out in Bruxelles instead of at Amsterdam Centraal.

Check-in won't be required when boarding the connecting trains in Amsterdam Centraal, as they will be the regular Amsterdam to Paris 'Eurostar' trains.
As there will therefore no need to at Amsterdam Centraal at least 45 mins prior to departure, the total end-to-end transit time will be little different to taking the direct trains.

Look up the journey on the ticket agents and this indirect journey will involve taking a high speed Thalys trains to Bruxelles and connecting into a Eurostar.

Though if you will be making this journey with a Eurail or InterRail pass and can't book a rail pass reservations on a direct train, you will save money if you take an Intercity train to Bruxelles instead of a Thalys.

The significant advantage of the direct trains are that they avoid what can be an awkward connection at Midi station in Bruxelles, where the timing of the arrival of the train from Amsterdam needs to be factored into the need to check in for the Eurostar departure.

It's possible to take a journey by train in a single day by train from Barcelona to London with the options of travelling via Paris having lots of time available to make the cross-city connection.
Though alternative options of travelling via Lille are also available, that avoid the need to transfer between stations across Paris city centre.

Connections are available at Basel SBB when travelling from a swathe of other Swiss destinations including Bern, Biel, Luzern and Interlaken.

From the timetable change on December 10th 2023, on any day, but Saturday, you choose between:
1 - travelling by day from Berlin to London on a combination of high speed trains
2 - travel overnight to Amsterdam or Bruxelles and make just one connection into a Eurostar

The option of travelling overnight when leaving the German capital on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday is already available.
It is the soon to be introduced Nightjet service, which will be departing on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

When departing Berlin on a Saturday, travelling by the day trains on to London is the only option.

How to buy tickets, what's on board the trains and how to use the stations, plus tips for making the most of the journey

Use this journey guide to access good to know info for the stations, trains and tickets.

The only viable route involves crossing Paris city centre to make the transfer from one high speed train to another.

This end-to-end journey is less complicated than you might have supposed, with only two easily timed connections required.
Though travelling overnight is not an option on this route.

Use this journey guide to access good to know info for the stations, trains and tickets.

The journey by train from Cologne/Köln to London involves making a transfer between high speed trains at Bruxelles-Midi station.
Eurostar provides the services on to London from the Belgian capital, but ICE and Thalys trains share the route between Köln and Bruxelles.
The split between these two services impacts on the end-to-end journey times and the ticketing; in terms of price, availability and if a delayed arrival into Bruxelles causes a missed connection into the booked Eurostar.

There are two options for making the journey by train from Lyon to London.

1. The most frequent option is to travel via Paris and make the cross-city transfer between terminals in French capital.
2. Though there is also the option to travel via Lille and thereby avoid the cross Paris transfer.

There are two options for making the journey by train from Marseille to London.

1. The most frequent option is to travel via Paris and make the cross-city transfer between terminals in French capital.
2. Though there is also the option to travel via Lille and thereby avoid the cross Paris transfer.

Due to the landslide which has damaged the railway used by the direct trains from Milano to Paris, ticket sales by this route have had to be inevitably suspended until further notice.

Hence the only Milan to London rail journeys which are currently on sale are the journey options which involve travelling via Switzerland and require two connections between trains.
Though when the option of taking the trains which avoid Switzerland is available to book, there can still be worth considering.
The departure / arrival times may be more convenient and the journey is more scenic too.

There are two optimum route options for a journey by train from Munich/München to London:

1. Make two transfers between trains and travel via Bruxelles, thereby avoiding having to make a transfer between stations in Paris.
   On this routing the optimum end-to-end journey involves having to make the connection between trains in Koln/Cologne.

2. Travelling via Paris (not available on Saturdays) on the direct train from München to the Gare de l'Est, then heading to the Gare du Nord in order to take the Eurostar on to London.

Or if you will be departing on Monday, Thursday and Saturday, you can take the relatively new Nightjet service to the Gare de l'Est and head over Gare du Nord for the Eurostar

All that’s good to know about taking the train from Paris to London with easy access to ticket, train and station info.

A casual glance at the European Rail Map would lead to a correct assumption that Torino/Turin is the Italian city with the easiest access to London by train.
So if you'll be making a rail journey to the UK from the south of Italy, an overnight stay in Torino can be a good option.

Though due to the landslide which has damaged the railway used by the direct trains from Torino to Paris, ticket sales by this route have had to be inevitably suspended until further notice.

Hence the only Torino to London rail journeys which are currently on sale are the journey options which involve travelling via Switzerland and require three connections between trains.

The info on this page needs to be updated - and it will be as soon as the usual service is resumed,

There are four options available when taking a journey by train from Wien/Vienna to London:

1. It is possible by day with only two changes of train required.

2. On Mon/Thurs and Saturday a relatively new option is to travel overnight to Paris to connect into a Eurostar from there to London.
   Though a transfer between railway terminals in Paris is required.

3. The simplest option for a rail journey between the Austrian and UK capital cities which involves just two trains and no need to make an inter-station transfer; involves the night train to Bruxelles and the Eurostar on to London.
   The night train departs Wien Hbf on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evening, but spending around 3hrs between trains in Bruxelles is required.

4. That three hours between trains is also required on the evenings when the Wien to Bruxelles train isn't available.

The quickest option for a Zurich to London journey by train is to take a combination of a Lyria train + a Eurostar train and travel via Paris.
Though this route via the French capital involves making a cross-city transfer between stations.
This transfer can be avoided by taking a much longer route via Frankfurt and Bruxelles, but this journey option isn't typically sold by the ticket agents - hence a lack of agents being available when clicking its Purchase Tickets button.