Travelling to Paris - France and Channel Hopping Discussion, Holiday Forums

Travelling to Paris

Pippy

2009-12-05 11:55:12

I'll be travelling to Paris on Thursday the 10th of June, returning on Sunday the 13th of June. Dates aren't flexible and I'd like to arrive in Paris by about midday (certainly not much later) on the Thursday and not leave until late afternoon on the Sunday to allow time for sightseeing on those two days.

Both the Friday and Saturday daytime will be taken up queueing early for the gigs I'm attending both evenings at the Stade de France.

I'll be meeting up with and staying with a couple of French friends (along with a load of other people) who are going to show me around Paris! Never been before so really looking forward to it!

We've booked accommodation HERE, not in the most salubrious of areas but very handy for the stadium. All we want is a bed to sleep in! The girls who know the area have said we'll travel on the Metro to a nicer part of the city for dinner on the Thursday night as we'll be having a forum meet so want it to be special.

So my accommodation is sorted but what I'd like advice on please is the cheapest way to get there! Ferry/driving is not an option. My obvious choice would be to travel on the Eurostar which I believe can't be booked until three moths before the date of travel??

I was wondering however if any of the budget airlines fly from Gatwick (would have to be Gatwick, not any of the other London airports, as travelling/parking would make it more hassle than it's worth because I live in West Sussex) to Paris and if so, would they fit in with my dates and times?

I've been told the cheapest return fare London to Paris on the Eurostar is £60, is that about right?

Many thanks for any help given!

Alsacienne

2009-12-05 12:56:30

Re: Travelling to Paris

It seems always to be cheaper to book travel on Eurostar - and on the ferries - by starting your journey in the UK and paying in sterling!

Have you considered the Eurolines coach service from London (think it's Victoria) to Paris? It may be cheaper than the train, but if you could get a Eurostar return for £60 it seems very reasonable.

I'm not too hot on my geography of southern England, but if there were ferries to France from Weymouth or even Portsmouth to Le Havre or Cherbourg, you might find that this plus a domestic rail ticket might be cheaper but take longer in terms of time.

Unfortunately the SNCF website is very unreliable, but you might get some help from the RailEurope website (whose address I'm sorry I don't have to hand).

Having thought about the Eurolines coach, you might be able to connect with it at Dover itself, if there is a convenient rail service between your home town and Dover, or even drive there or to an intermediate stop and leave your car ...........

Pippy

2009-12-05 13:18:53

Re: Travelling to Paris

Thanks for your reply!

Unfortunately anything which involves ferry or coach travel is going to make the journey too long (I'll be working on the Wednesday evening so can't begin my journey until the Thursday morning) so I'm left with either Eurostar or flying as the only viable options :think

I'm right on the south coast, not far from Brighton and just a fairly short train journey from Gatwick airport and London Victoria. Driving to Dover would take at least a couple of hours in rush hour traffic so isn't an option either :duh

I think if Eurostar really is as cheap as £60 return (assuming I'm able to get a cheap fare by booking at the earliest opportunity) then that is going to be the method I use. I've had a look at some of the budget airline websites and can't see a flight from Gatwick to Paris which will tie-in with my times unfortunately but I may be missing something as I'm no expert at hunting these things down!

steve8482

2009-12-16 20:00:30

Re: Travelling to Paris

Eurostar's reservation limit is about 3 months and Sunday evening is one of their busiest times so you will have to in there quick to get the cheapest ticket. It's worth having a mooch round their site and finding how to work it. If you click the "List all stations" link and then UK you can ask for a through fare from Brighton. This is more useful than you'd think - if anything goes wrong on the way to London they have to honour the ticket on a later connection. If you buy seperately they don't. Don't forget that they now go from St Pancras and you need to be there early for the security check (at least 30 minutes).

There is a ferry option but it's not as easy as when I was younger - Newhaven! Closest option to you but only 2 sailings a day. The catch is that you say you will be working Wednesday evening and it leaves at 22:30, arrives Dieppe 03:30, train leaves at 05:30 and gets to Paris at 07:28 Thursday morning (change at Rouen). You'd have 20 min walk from ferry to station but they'll be plenty of others doing it. I can remember when the train went from the quayside, through the streets and then straight to Paris - so much for progress! The morning sailing on Thursday is probably too late for you.

The Sunday return sailing might be useful, leave Paris at 13:50 to get back to Newhaven by 21:00. You could go out by Eurostar and come back on this.

Pippy

2009-12-17 12:05:47

Re: Travelling to Paris

Thanks for your post Steve, all very useful information :tup

I've got a brand new computer which is running wonderfully fast and I've got a 20mbs broadband connection so I should be ok with the Eurostar website and will hopefully bag myself a good price! This is a woman who has NEVER failed to get pre-sale gig tickets for a very popular rock band! I'm well used to beating the clock and other customers!

I will have a good, long look at their website well before the time and that's a great tip about the Brighton ticket, thank you!

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