I%26#39;ve searched the forum and am struggling to find current information on the best and cheapest way to book train fare from London to Paris.
Our trip is in April. We are flying in to London then taking the train same day from London to Paris. I understand there are several websites other than Eurail and Eurostar, but I can%26#39;t figure out which is best, cheapest, etc., or how to get around the requirement that the tickets be collected in France.
I am very familiar with London, as this will be my third trip in less than a year, but have never been to France and do not speak French.
My goals:
1) Book lowest fare on the fastest train into central Paris
2) Collect tickets on arrival in London or have them mailed to U.S.
Any help would be appreciated.
If anyone can direct me to a CURRENT and specific thread, I welcome the redirection. I have tried searching on my own and have found that many threads are quite old, some originating in 2005 and 2006.
Thank you again,
Victoria
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I have done this, and very cheaply too!
First are days flexible, ( obvioulsy if you have booked your flight already into London then, no, they aren%26#39;t. Cheapest tickets are for tues, wed, and thurs , during non rush hours. Apparently business people often use the Eurostar to commute, so cheaper times are off rush hour.
Second , book tickets on Eurostar if you can, apparently if you go to a Eurostar site but enter an American address the site then shunts you over to RailEurope pricing. I did not have this happen to me as I entered a London address( stayed with friends and they told me to) but apparently this is what happens. Often ( no always ) people have found RailEurope prices higher.
Yes, it is cheaper to arrange to pick up tickets, and when you buy online they email a printed confirmation you just take into station, it was easy.
Also book tickets as far in advance as site will allow, when I did it I could not book online till 90 days out, so I waited and booked on the 90 th day out, LOL. Cheap tickets are first come first served.
The Eurostar is best way to go city center to city center, no having to arrange transport from airport to citys centers, and you only have to arrive 30 minutes ahead ,and security is a breeze. Once in Paris you arrive at Gare Du Nord , there is a taxi stand right outside, most hotels in central Paris are no more then 10 -15 euro ride away, and some are cheaper.
anywasy play on the sites for Eurostar and see what you can come up with, and btw , if booking a one way , don%26#39;t , book a return they are sometimes cheaper then one ways.
Good luck.
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should be %26quot;often ( NOT always) , not %26quot;often ( no always),in regards to RailEurope pricing.
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Hello Victoria,
Here is some guidance:
1. Book your tickets on Eurostar.com. No one else has lower prices. The lowest fares are in the midweek (Tues-Thurs) outside of rush hour.
2. The default option is to pick the tickets up at a Eurostar or French train station, in other words, people pick up their tickets at London St. Pancras, Paris Gare du Nord, or an SNCF rail station. No need to worry, your departure train station has a handy machine, probably by the boarding gate. All you have to do it insert your card (for recognition purposes only) / enter your reservation code and voilà! Your tickets are printed. When I took the Eurostar from Paris, I printed my tickets a few days earlier so I wouldn%26#39;t have to worry about it when I was leaving.
If you need any more information, reply with your request.
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Thank you both so very, very much.
This is exactly what I needed to know.
Victoria
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Actually, because you are from the US you almost certainly won%26#39;t be able to get your ticket from a machine (because they recognize only European cards, which have a chip as well as a PIN). You still should book online, however. Just take a printout of your confirmation and the same card you used for payment, and go to any ticket window, and a clerk will print the tickets for you (this happened to me in France in May). It won%26#39;t be a problem.
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The Eurostar machines (at least, the ones in Paris) accept American style credit cards. The SNCF machines do not.
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Thanks for that bit of information - it was indeed a TGV station where I was trying to use an automatic machine!
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If you haven%26#39;t already, check out www.seat61.com, a web site that helped me with nuts and bolts information about taking an Artesia night train. The web site is designed to help travelers going by train or ferry from the UK to the continent, and can probably point you in the right direction if you don%26#39;t find the precise answer you%26#39;re looking for - there are several links to other helpful sites.
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I booked twice now on RailEurope.com and the tickets were cheap. I compared them with the Eurostar web site and they were the same each time I checked.
I received the tickets at home and they worked!
I just got some this week for the same route you are planning and I put in the wrong date. RailEurope allows one free change, on their tickets, even non-refundable. I just called and they changed them for me and I only payed shipping again, back with the old tickets and for the new ones to be shipped.
If you want the tickets and a guaranteed seat it is the way to go. However, I am aware there are other options that can be cheaper accessible in Europe.
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I was afraid to order ticket delivery, not just for the waste of delivery fee, but I was afraid it was just one more important %26quot;piece of paper%26quot; I could lose, you know , like passport and CC. Thats why I like electronic ticketing for flights, all I need is confirmation, and same with Eurostar, I just showed them the CC I needed to get my ticket.( I had printed out the confirmation too, but they seemed more interested in the CC, LOL )
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