Train London to Paris pre-cruise

[tulok]

After all the train talk we decided to fly into London for a few days before our Paris (Normandy) river cruise in August. We have gone to Paris many times but London only once and the Eurostar 2.5 hour trip sounds exciting.  Would you recommend taking the train the day of the cruise or spend the night in Paris the night before it leaves? If anyone has done this, I would love your expertise.

[Gourmet Gal]

I would never miss a chance to spend a night or multiple nights in Paris!  What exactly is your reason for hesitating?

[Host Jazzbeau]

(1) I love Paris, so a night there would be welcome in any case, but even more importantly:

(2) Strikes – you never know when the French will decide to have another go at their national sport

[tulok]

7 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

I would never miss a chance to spend a night or multiple nights in Paris!  What exactly is your reason for hesitating?

We have been to Paris numerous times and love the city. I have always wanted to take the chunnel so thought this would be a great time to check that box. Plus we have only been to London one time and feel we have so much yet to see. With a 115.00 train fare (at this time), why not? I read from Seat61 that french strikes do not affect Eurostar travel. Not sure if that is true. Right now we have 2 days pre-cruise in Paris but we can change to 3 days London.

I have too much time to think about this trip. Usually we only book a couple months ahead because of scheduling.

[Gourmet Gal]

Well, sounds like you’re short on time. I tend to stay multiple weeks whenever I go there.  I would need 3 days in each city.

[Kristelle]

we are doing similar before our Scenic cruise in early September - 3 nights in London (family more than touristy) then catch train to Paris, 2 nights in Paris then train to Amsterdam and start cruise.

We have a package in Paris that does Eiffel tower, than dinner and Moulin Rouge.

[jpalbny]

Tough choice! We love both cities so IMO you should concentrate on the place that you've not been.

 

For London, have a look at the Hotel St. Pancras. I think it's a Renaissance property (or it was when we stayed there). The building is gorgeous and it's on top of the train station so catching the Eurostar is very simple. In fact if you book some room categories, they include an escort to the train station by hotel staff, who will put you in an express line to clear immigration faster.

 

King's Cross - Saint Pancras is a major hub for the London Underground so you can get anywhere else in London very conveniently from there.

 

When we took the Eurostar to Paris pre-cruise in 2018 we stayed at that hotel and enjoyed it. We went from London to Paris in the afternoon, leaving after a (late) checkout and arriving in Paris maybe 6PM. We had a nice dinner then flew out of CDG early to get to our cruise. But it would be just as easy to take the train in same-day.

 

The Gard du Nord area (where the Eurostar arrives in Paris) isn't the nicest neighborhood but it was OK for one night. 

 

Enjoy whichever choice you settle on - it would be hard to make a bad choice here.

[tulok]

@jpalbny Thank you for the information. In Paris, we will stay at the Hotel 31, it is our favorite boutique hotel and not by the train station. 

Thank you for the recommendation for the hotel at St Pancras. That looks like a great hotel so I believe that will be our choice. We will spend 2-3 days in London and 1-2 days in Paris. My nerves won’t take using the train the day of the cruise. And it gives me time to shop at a couple of my favorite stores in Paris.
 

[pontac]

You have made a wise choice not relying on JIT (just in time) travel. It's not only strikes, there are delays at French immigration (which takes place at St Pancras) and it's not unknown for train breakdowns to delay travel.

 

I'm not in the camp that finds train travel exciting (having commuted by trains for too many years) but as you enter the tunnel the trains picks up speed and 20 minutes later you'll be whizzing at high speed through the French countryside.

 

And you'll arrive in Paris with no queuing for immigration or customs but be ready to go.

 

Enjoy!

 

I understand the documentary series Emily in Paris tells you all you need to know about life in France 😉