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Paris to London by train
How to take the thrilling high speed rail journey from the French to the UK capital cities
All that’s good to know about taking the train from Paris to London with easy access to ticket, train and station info.
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Routes
From Paris Gare Du Nord/Paris Nord to London St Pancras International
Journey Summary
2hr 16min - 2hr 25min
Daily
Travel Information
As a consequence of the Covid-19 crisis Eurostar is operating limited timetable for the time being, further information is available on Eurostar.com
Note that these trains depart from the Gare Du Nord in Paris.
Final Destination: London St Pancras
Note that these trains will no longer be calling at Ashford International or Ebbsfleet International, until an unspecified date likely to be in 2025 at the earlies
Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind; so when looking at a timetable the journey will look as though it's an hour shorter.
Our guide to arriving by Eurostar in London is here.
Until January 7th:
Mon to Thurs = 13 x trains per day
Friday = 14 x trains
Saturday = 11 x trains
Sunday = 14 x trains
Jan 8th - February 4th:
Mon and Fri = 12 x trains per day
Tues to Thurs = 11 x trains per day
Saturday = 10 x trains
Sunday = 13 x trains
Usual timetable (pre-pandemic)
Mon = 15 x trains
Tues - Thurs = 14 x trains per day
Fri = 17 x trains
Sat = 13 x trains
Sun = 17 x trains
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: up to 330 days ahead of the travel date.
The price shown below is the standard one way Standard Class price.
Eurostar frequently offers special fare/deals promotions, so the price you see on the home page of the Eurostar website MAY be cheaper.
But check the terms and conditions of these deals BEFORE making a booking. The special deals MAY depend on additional factors such as the need to book a return trip and/or MAY not be available when making day trips.
The booking path on the Eurostar website is comparatively straightforward and an advantage of booking direct with Eurostar, is that it offers its ticket purchasers the ability to choose specific seats from a seating plan (after the booking has been made).
As the fabulous Seat 61 explains here in detail (scroll down to 'Choosing A Seat') some seats on Eurostar services are better than others.
The different types of ticket summarised
Also worth knowing is that when travelling by Eurostar you can choose between three classes of service, and this also impacts on the exchanges and refunds of what Eurostar refers to as 'Flexible tickets'
If you book Standard or Standard Premier tickets, you can exchange them if need be, to an alternative departure on your booked route; but if you want to transfer your ticket to a new departure less than 7 days before your travel date, you will need to pay an admin fee of £30 for Standard Class tickets, £40 for Standard Premier tickets PLUS the price difference with the new ticket you will be booking.
What's new, in response to the pandemic, is that these £30/40 charges aren't applied if you want to transfer to an alternative departure more than seven days before your travel date.
Business Premier tickets are less restrictive, in response to the pandemic they can now be refunded and they can be exchanged to alternative departures without paying the admin fee, or the price difference.
Eurostar's full ticket terms and conditions are here
Using Rail Passes on Eurostar:
Rail pass users can now pay reservation fees to travel on Eurostar trains, in a similar manner to other international European high speed trains.
The new rail pass reservation fees are similar to the cheapest single journey ticket prices, but as those cheapest tickets can sell out quickly, it's likely that the rail pass reservation fees will save money.
You can purchase these online with no booking fees via B-Europe - or they ARE now available on the Eurostar website.
Booking in advance is recommended as it's not unknown for rail pass reservations on Eurostar services to sell out days or weeks in advance, there is evidently limited availability per departure.
You can obtain a rail pass reservations without paying a booking fee at Eurostar stations.
However, if you want to do this on the day of travel be prepared to be flexible re: the train you will take.
If you are a UK resident, your rail pass + reservation is only valid if you take a train from the UK on the first day that your pass is valid for and return to the UK on the final day that you will be using a pass.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Eurostar | from £44 | |
| Trainline | from £44 | |
| B-Europe | from €50 (approx) | |
| SNCF Connect | from €50 (approx) | |
| Omio | from €50 (approx) | |
| SNCF Connect | from €50 (approx) |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Eurostar is currently recommending that that Standard Class And Standard Premier ticket holders should be at the Eurostar departure area 90-120 mins before departure; and that Business Premier ticket holders should be there 45-60mins prior to departure.
The departure gates will close 30 mins prior to departure for Standard Class And Standard Premier ticket holders; and 15 mins prior to departure for Business Premier ticket holders.
At Gare Du Nord the check in and waiting area for the Eurostar (the 'Hall Du Londres') is at an upper level, above the main concourse.
The access to this upper level is some distance from the voie/platforms/tracks that the Eurostars depart from.
The escalators leading up to Eurostar departures are located at the rear wall of the station building; on the opposite side of the concourse to voies/platforms/tracks 14 - 15.
Travelling with bicycles
Eurostar has also resumed it's boxed bike service for non-folding standard sized bicycles on the Paris to London route.
It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with distinct phases and highlights:
1: There is little to see from the high speed lines in France, particularly after Lille (the trains to Paris will rush through Lille Europe station).
2: The train will slow down as it approaches The Channel Tunnel.
Announcements are no longer made that the train is about to enter the tunnel.
The journey through the tunnel will take around 22 mins.
3: As the train nears Ebbsfleet International station, comes the scenic highlight of the journey - the crossing of the River Medway on a high bridge.
4: After Ebbsfleet International (which can only be seen from the right) the train will enter a tunnel under the River Thames.
As the train exits this tunnel, from the left, the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge can be seen.
5: For most of the final 8 -10 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to enter London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).
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