Venice to London: Question about Changing Trains in Paris

[sfvoyager]

I am still considering taking the overnight train from Venice to London. Is there a complicated change of trains in Paris? I will have quite a bit of luggage after a 16 day cruise.

[Ine]

You better check the Paris trainstations first, as there are a few.

You might have to go from from station to the other. (by cab?)

[DonLou]

I am still considering taking the overnight train from Venice to London. Is there a complicated change of trains in Paris? I will have quite a bit of luggage after a 16 day cruise.

This change is not for the faint of heart.

The normal route is to arrive in Paris at the Paris Lyon station. From here you have the following options:

 

1.) Go outside the station and hail a cab to take you to the Gare du Nord station which is where the Paris-London Eurostar terminal is located.

2.) Take the train to Gare du Nord from Paris Lyon. This means getting off the train at Paris Lyon, walking through steps and "turnstiles" for about 15 minutes. Board a local train to Chatellet/Les Halles. From there, take a local train to the Gare du Nord station (the train rides will take a total of about 1/2 hour). Then walk for about ten minutes through steps and "turnstiles" until you arrive at the Eurostar terminal.

 

We took option 2 because we were with a French friend who knew her way around and she also helped with our luggage. Costwise, option 2 is much cheaper but it is also a nightmare if you are unfamiliar with the station dynamics in Paris.

[Globaliser]

The normal route is to arrive in Paris at the Paris Lyon station.

The current timetable (taken from http://www.bahn.de) shows the overnight direct sleeper from Venice going only to Paris Bercy, which is one Metro stop further from central Paris than the Gare de Lyon. In some ways this is a pity, because there ought to be a direct RER train from the Gare de Lyon to the Gare du Nord - but the Metro and the RER aren't really viable for someone with a lot of cruise luggage.

 

In fact, if sfvoyager has a lot of cruise luggage and doesn't want to go to Paris, I'm really struggling to see what benefit there is in taking the train to London (about 24 hours end-to-end) rather than flying (more like 3-4 hours end-to-end).

[DonLou]

The current timetable (taken from www.bahn.de) shows the overnight direct sleeper from Venice going only to Paris Bercy...

 

In fact, if sfvoyager has a lot of cruise luggage and doesn't want to go to Paris, I'm really struggling to see what benefit there is in taking the train to London (about 24 hours end-to-end) rather than flying (more like 3-4 hours end-to-end).

 

Your are right on both points, Globaliser. In addition to the time savings, the plane has a significant cost advantage over the trains. Also, there is nothing to do on a sleeper train (too dark to see anything outside) other than to try to go to sleep (not an easy chore with the noise and intermittent pulling and jerking of the train).

[sfvoyager]

Wow! Thank you for this extremely valuable information!!! I thought the worst case scenario would have to be to navigate between tracks within Bercy...not to go through stairs, and turnstiles, and cabs! And yes, there would be significant luggage involved.

 

I was just envisioning 5 extra hours in Venice, and romantic train travel. I am aware of the Orient Express, but $2500 for a one night train trip is beyond my budget.

 

It's the plane for me now!

[smeyer418]

and remember that since this is an intra Europe flight, you free luggage allowance will be very limited....

[Globaliser]

and remember that since this is an intra Europe flight, you free luggage allowance will be very limited....

I'd be willing to bet that the excess luggage charge (if any) will be rather less than the money saved by flying ...

 

In any case, sfvoyager might want to see whetherthe Venice-London sector can be combined on to the same ticket as the international sectors, which would then apply the higher piece count allowance to the entire journey.

[smeyer418]

I'd be willing to bet that the excess luggage charge (if any) will be rather less than the money saved by flying ...

 

In any case, sfvoyager might want to see whetherthe Venice-London sector can be combined on to the same ticket as the international sectors, which would then apply the higher piece count allowance to the entire journey.

 

 

I don't disagree---if you have it on one through ticket the international weight limits apply, and I have no problem paying for the extra, I just don't like surprises...

[sfvoyager]

I never fail to be amazed at how helpful this board can be, even with non cruise issues. I am going to start asking questions about home improvements as well! :)

 

At any rate, I will call United. I already booked my flights on United, and I wonder since they are on the same Star Alliance with Lufthansa, the flight I will take from Venice to London, if they will allow the international luggage standard.

[Debbierpof]

sfvoyager - I'm also making my arrangements for post-cruise (just posted a new thread on this). There are economy airlines out there (Ryan Air, Easy Jet, My Air, and others). I guess they are the equivalent of our Southwest or AirTran. You may want to look into those if you are on a budget.

[Mike Andrews]

http://WWW.easjet.com fly from Venice Marco Polo into London Gatwick and http://WWW.ryanair.com fly from Venice Treviso into London Stansted but both have smaller luggage allowances than scheduled Airlines but their cheap fares might make it attractive to you.

[Globaliser]

http://WWW.easjet.com fly from Venice Marco Polo into London Gatwick and http://WWW.ryanair.com fly from Venice Treviso into London Stansted but both have smaller luggage allowances than scheduled Airlines but their cheap fares might make it attractive to you.

OK, if we're listing airlines, this is the collection:-

 

From Venice Marco Polo:-

bmi to London Heathrow (Lufthansa also sells this flight under its own code) (about once daily)

British Airways to London Gatwick (about 3 times daily)

easyJet to London Gatwick (about twice daily)

 

From "Venice" Treviso:-

Ryanair to London Stansted (about 3 times daily)

 

Ryanair's "free" baggage allowance will increase to 20 kg for tickets sold from 16 March. This will be the same as most scheduled carriers. However, they are also simultaneously introducing a per bag fee for each checked bag, so in effect there will be no completely free checked baggage allowance any more. The per bag fee will be different depending on whether you pay it in advance or at the airport.

 

easyJet's free baggage allowance has always been 20 kg, which is the same as most scheduled airlines.

 

These two airlines' fares are not necesarily any lower than BA's or bmi's, so it's always worth checking all the airlines every time.

[sfvoyager]

I booked my flight on bmi on the United.com website from London to Venice. It is interesting because it is a Lufthansa flight operated by bmi. One annoyance is when I tried to ask for seat selection on United, they referred me to Lufthansa, who referred me to bmi who referred me to Lufthansa who insisted it was bmi!

 

Finally, the last person I spoke with on bmi said I have to do seat selection at the airport in Venice. Needless to say, I am not confident that was the correct answer.

 

Any opinions about who actually could assign seats for me in advance?

[Globaliser]

Finally, the last person I spoke with on bmi said I have to do seat selection at the airport in Venice. Needless to say, I am not confident that was the correct answer.

 

Any opinions about who actually could assign seats for me in advance?

That last answer was probably correct. I'm not often on bmi, but it wouldn't surprise me if bmi have no advance seat assignment on shorthaul flights or limit it to higher-tier frequent flyers. This is what one would normally expect on shorthaul flights.

 

The American system of pre-allocating all seats on an aircraft at the time of booking is, fortunately, not one which has been universally adopted elsewhere.

[Debbierpof]

Okay, I have made my reservations on MyAir after reading the following article. I probably would have preferred flying EasyJet or RyanAir, but MyAir had the most convenient time and airports. Just thought it might interest some of you.

 

 

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/moneymag_archive/2005/03/01/8251196/index.htm

[Mike Andrews]

Okay, I have made my reservations on MyAir after reading the following article. I probably would have preferred flying EasyJet or RyanAir, but MyAir had the most convenient time and airports. Just thought it might interest some of you.

 

 

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/moneymag_archive/2005/03/01/8251196/index.htm

 

Good article,thanks for sharing.