Eurostar train tickets from London to Paris/Lille/Brussels

	Study, work or travel in the UK. British culture and life.
Homepage	Search	A-Z index	Message Board	Contact us
Britain	Course	Life	Work	Links
English	Prepare	Personal	Travel	Ideas






< Up	Shop / Company / Eurostar
Buy train tickets from London to France, Belgium or the Netherlands


Sections:	Introduction
	UK Eurostar stations
	European destinations
	Fares
	Links

INTRODUCTION

Eurostar provides high-speed train services from London to Paris and Brussels. Going by Eurostar is normally the fastest way to travel on these routes, because services start and finish in the city centres and because the check-in process is simpler and faster than at airports [it also creates less carbon dioxide than air travel]. Going by coach to Paris or Brussels may be cheaper than going by Eurostar (see: Shop/Company/Eurolines), but journey times are much longer.

Eurostar train

UK EUROSTAR STATIONS

From 14 November 2007 Eurostar services from London start at St Pancras International (near King's Cross station): map. From 9 December 2007 about half of trains stop at Ebbsfleet International in North Kent (this station is linked by high-frequency buses to the train stations at Dartford, Northfleet and Gravesend). A few services stop at Ashford International. At a future date there will be a new stop at Stratford International (in East London).

Eurostar route through England
(from 14 November 2007)

You should check in at the station more than 45 minutes before the departure time (business class customers can check in later than this).
If you are travelling to St Pancras International by public transport, check bus/Tube timetables and information about any engineering works or service delays before you travel. See: http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk
After checking in, you will need to have baggage/security and passport checks before you can go to the departure lounge.
You can board the train from about 15 minutes before the departure time. Note that it takes 5-10 minutes to walk to your train carriage from the departure lounge. Make sure that you choose the correct exit for your carriage number.

Back to top

EUROPEAN DESTINATIONS

You can use buy Eurostar train tickets to the following European destinations:
[important note: if you are not from an EU country you should check if you need to apply for a visa (Schengen visa) before travelling from the UK to continental Europe: it may take several weeks to apply for this].

Belgium

Eurostar offers regular direct train services to/from Brussels (this is the English name for the city Bruxelles)
From London (St Pancras International) the fastest trains to Brussels take 1 hour 50 minutes.

You can use your ticket to travel by train to/from any Belgian station at no extra cost. For example, you can continue your journey to Bruges (known also as Brugge), Ghent (known also as Gand or Gent), Antwerp (known also as Antwerpen or Anvers) or Liege. You have 24 hours to complete each half of your return journey, so you can stay overnight in Brussels if you want.

Click on this link to buy train tickets (select the destination "Brussels Any Belgian Station").

For photos and information about visiting Belgium, see: Travel/Tours/Belgium

Atomium, Brussels

Belgian chocolates

France

Eurostar offers regular direct train services to/from Lille (Lille Flandres station) and Paris. Some services stop at Calais. There are also some direct services to Disneyland Resort (near Paris) and these stations in the French Alps: Moûtiers, Aime La Plagne, Bourg St Maurice (these ski trains operate at weekends from late December until April). For other destinations you will need to change to a different train to complete your journey.

The destination station within Paris is called Gare du Nord. This is located in the northern area of central Paris.

From London (St Pancras International) the fastest trains to Lille takes 1 hour 20 minutes, and to Paris take 2 hours 15 minutes.

Eurostar terminal at Gare du Nord, Paris

Main entrance to Gare du Nord

You can buy train tickets to the following destinations in France:

Agen, Aime La Plagne, Aix En Provence Tgv, Angers, Angouleme, Annecy, Antibes, Avignon, Basel, Belfort, Besancon, Biarritz, Bordeaux, Bourg St Maurice, Brest, Caen, Calais, Cannes, Chalon Sur Saone, Chalons En Champagne, Charleville Mezieres, Cherbourg, Clermont Ferrand, Dijon, Disneyland Resort [also known as Disneyland Paris], Epernay, Grenoble, La Rochelle, Laval, Le Creusot Montceau Montchanin, Le Havre, Le Mans, Les Aubrais Orleans, Libourne, Lille, Limoges, Lorient, Lourdes, Lyon [also known as Lyons], Lyon Saint Exupery Tgv, Marseille [also known as Marseilles], Metz, Montpellier, Moutiers Salins Brides Les Bains, Mulhouse, Nancy, Nantes, Nice, Nimes, Orleans, Paris, Perpignan, Poitiers, Quimper, Reims, Rennes, Rouen Rive Droite, St Pierre Des Corps, St Raphael Valescure, Strasbourg, Tarbes, Toulon, Toulouse, Tours, Trouville Deauville, Troyes, Valence, Vannes

For photos and information about visiting France, see: Travel/Tours/France

Eiffel Tower, Paris

Arc de Triomphe, Paris

Metro station, Paris

Netherlands

There are no direct Eurostar services to the Netherlands, but you can take the Eurostar train to Brussels and then change to a different train to complete your journey.

You can buy train tickets to the following destinations in the Netherlands (Holland):

Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Schiphol, The Hague [also known as 's-Gravenhage]

For photos and information about visiting the Netherlands, see: Travel/Tours/Netherlands

Flower market, Amsterdam

Van Goch Museum, Amsterdam

Knights Hall, The Hague

FARES

The fare structure for Eurostar tickets is quite complicated. It is easiest to find the cheapest price by booking online.
When you buy a return ticket you need to add the cost of the outbound journey to the cost of the inbound journey (the price for each of these journeys is shown separately).

The following guidelines may help you to choose your ticket [check the terms and conditions for your ticket carefully before you buy]:

Class of travel	Standard tickets are the cheapest (ordinary seats; no meal is served but there is access to a buffet car) Leisure Select tickets are more expensive (seats are more comfortable, and a meal is served) Business Premier tickets are the most expensive (check in is faster, a meal is served, and there is wireless access to the internet)
Passenger type	The price depends on your age on the day of travel Child: aged between 4 and 11 (over 3 and under 12) Youth: aged between 12 and 25 (over 11 and under 26) Adult: aged between 26 and 59 (over 25 and under 60) Senior: Senior fares are available for a passenger who is 60 or older (over 59) A child under 4 on the first day of travel can travel free if he/she does not occupy a seat There is no extra discount for students
Single fares	If you are a child, the single fare is half the cost of the return fare. If you are a youth, the single fare is usually about a third less than the cost of the return fare. If you are an adult or senior, the single fare is expensive: in some cases it may be cheaper to buy a return ticket.
Flexibility	Fully flexible tickets can be exchanged or refunded, but are an expensive type of ticket. Semi-flexible tickets allow you to exchange the ticket once (before departure) to change the date. Non-flexible tickets cannot be changed but are the cheapest available fares. There are only a limited number of tickets available at the cheaper fares, so try to book early (for example, 3 weeks or more beforehand), especially at busy times.
Passholder	There is a special semi-flexible passholder ticket which can be bought by holders of Eurail, Interail or BritRail passes. This cannot be booked online (to buy it call 08705 186 186). Note that this is not necessarily the cheapest available fare: you may want to check first to see if there is a cheaper ticket available online.
Buying in advance	If you are an adult, if possible buy the ticket at least 3 weeks in advance (this is not necessary for day-trips on Saturdays, Sundays or Bank Holidays, or for return journeys which include a Saturday night away)
Time & day	The price depends on the time and day of travel. There can be big differences from one hour to the next. Before you book, check the cost of journeys at other times before and after the time you first consider. The following may make the ticket cheaper: - travel at less popular times of the day (eg: very early in the morning, mid-morning or late evening) - avoiding travelling out of the UK on Friday afternoon/evening or Sunday afternoon/evening - avoiding returning to the UK on Saturday afternoon/evening or Sunday afternoon/evening - include a Saturday night stay before your return journey (especially if you are not booking at least 3 weeks in advance) - if possible, avoid travelling on busy travel days (eg Easter, May or August bank holidays and Christmas)
Hotel	Booking a hotel at the same time as the Eurostar ticket can be cheaper than booking each separately. Combined hotel/ticket deals are available from the Eurostar website.

For full details of the various Eurostar fares from the UK, click here

Back to top

LINKS

Train travel: Travel/Transport/Train
Brussels: Travel/Tours/Belgium/Brussels
Paris: Travel/Tours/Paris
Lille: Travel/Tours/France/Lille
Calais: Travel/Tours/France/Calais

Home page: Home

Back to top

© UK Student Life 2002-2009

* Search this website (www.ukstudentlife.com) or the web: