Eurostar/Paris Tips
 

I am going to be in London the end of September and want to visit Paris on the Eurostar. Any tips for getting good prices on the Eurostar, plus reasonable rates in a reasonable Hotel in Paris (that is Eurostar travller friendly)?

Thanks in advance!

I've been on Eurostar a couple of times.. 1st was back in '95 from London-Paris; and just last July London-Calais (yes, Calais- business related, beleive me!) It was user friendly, everything was well marked. It comes into Nord Station in Paris, so if you're connecting to another train, be sure it's leaving from Nord and not another station.

I think that if you buy your RT through Rail Europe, you get a discount. Each fare has individual restrictions....

$218RT Leisure fare - Standard class

$190RT Passholder-Standard Class, if you purchase with add'l rail pass like Eurailpass, britrail, etc.

See the following link: http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/eu...ndon_paris.htm

I'll be doing Paris & London in September or October as well, but if October I'll probably fly between the cities in order to add a qualifying flight for OneWorld's 25,000 bonus. With advance purchase and a Saturday stayover, round trip air is actually less expensive than the train!

Still, it would be nice to do the Chunnel one direction and a ferry the other, since I've never done either one.

See http://www.eurostar.com for a complete listing of fares. They have currently been advertising discounted (£69 per person for 2 traveling together, 7 day advance) tickets to Paris.

I took the Eurostar to Brussels several weeks ago. For some reason my originally scheduled outbound from London train was cancelled, and there was NO customer service to help. All of the standard class passengers had to stand in a line served by 1 agent to be rebooked on the next train. As a result, they did give out vouchers for 50% off an RT or a free 1W for future travel, though. Don't we all wish the airlines did THAT!

The trip itself was very pleasant, smooth, and efficient.

I believe that one can now get miles on UAL for Eurostar travel as well at least in certain ticket classes.

Check out http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/001461.html

Thanks for the hints!

Unsolicited Paris advice: Make sure you go to Ile St. Louis for the Bertillon (sp?) ice cream, called the best in the world by Esquire magazine some years back. And we like a little restaurant, La Bucherie, on Rue La Bucherie, right across the Seine from Notre Dame. Call ahead and make a dinner reservation and ask for a window table. Then, at night, when the Bateaux Moche (sp? again) boats come by with their searchlights and light up the Cathedral, you get a fantastic view of Notre Dame every 20 minutes or so in the night.

Djlawman

"mouche" http://talk.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Reasonable rates have quickly become a thing of the past in Paris! Marriott just opened a new Courtyard which is just a little out of town and quite reasonable (US $100. w/e, 125. m/w) as a result. I think it's in Neuilly! Have a great trip. Paris is no place to save money however! Just to Enjoy!

For great budget accomodations in Paris, check out the Libertel chain. Not only will you get clean, comfortable, and modern rooms, but you'll get United Mileage Plus miles! I stayed at the Libertel Lyon Bercy, near the Gare de Lyon. It was very convenient and the staff was friendly. They also had a great petite dejuner.

Check out <http://www.libertel-hotels.com/>.

They have two star, three star, and four star properties. Also, they own and operate the Westins in Paris, if you are looking for luxury.

[This message has been edited by TransWorldOne (edited 08-14-1999).]

As a big fan of Berthillon ice cream (which you can't get anywhere else in the world) I must warn you: the flavors are incredibly intense, which earned it its well-deserved reputation and praise, but Americans used to top US ice creams will find the texture less creamy than they might want, almost like sherbet.

Berthillon is wonderful, but I can get good ice cream here...so I skip the cream and go for their sorbets. Incredibly intense flavors, andnon-fat!

any new hints for discounted fares on the eurostar for travel in December 2000.

Thanks

DR

For a REALLY discounted trip - claim a RT freebie from UA for 10,000 miles.

Trip time London to Nord - three hours 8 minutes...