What you need to know if travelling on Eurostar

How to go from London to Paris and more, with ease

Ready for an adventure? Pic: Frederic Koberl/Unsplash

I’m a big fan of Eurostar and in its 30^th anniversary year, I check out how easy it still is, to travel from London to Paris. I remember when it first opened in 1994 and the excitement of being able to board the train at London’s Waterloo and speed off to Paris for a day. The joy of travelling by train, not plane, hasn’t diminished over the years and last week I took another trip to France on the service.

Now merged with Thalys and departing from London’s St Pancras, if everything works, it’s still a breeze to get to Paris and in my opinion, much easier than the kerfuffle of checking in at the airport and then having the long transfer at the other end. Note – there have been a series of issues in recent times with huge queues, thanks to new border requirements, strikes and flooding, meaning cancelled services - but when I travelled in February, the trains were full and lines short. The joy of arriving in Paris’ Gare du Nord is still there – it’s absolutely brilliant to be able to walk out in the middle of Paris and get to your hotel quickly and easily.

So, having travelled at the start of the service and now, 30 years later, here’s what you need to know when going by Eurostar:

1)    Don’t forget your passport

Right at the start of the service, when I was young and silly, I did this, once. Never again. It might be by train, but you still need your passport.

2)    Check the check-in times

They are longer in the UK than in Paris – it asks you to be there 60 - 90 mins before in London and 45 - 60 mins, in Paris. I have been in London when there are long queues, but to be honest, this time it was easy at both ends. There are slower lines because of more border controls, post Brexit - with new gates coming this year, too - but it’s still pretty easy, in my opinion.

The lovely concourse at St Pancras outside of the Eurostar gates. Pic: Kevin Grieve/Unsplash

3)    Get your food before you go through security at London

Last time I travelled, there were shops in the departure lounge in London, this time there were none, due to redevelopments. Outside of the terminal, however, is a huge row of eateries and coffee shops, including an M&S Food, so stock up before you go through the gates. There are no restrictions on liquids, so you can take coffee.

4)    However, there is food on board

Desperate for a coffee, I did have one on board and it wasn’t too bad. There is a very rocky restaurant car serving food and drink.

5)    If you upgrade, you get a free meal

Last time I went Standard Premier and enjoyed a free meal and drink and more comfortable seats and you get to board in the nearest carriages. This time, I went Standard. There are offers to upgrade, so if it’s not much more, then I’d say it is worth it. However, Standard is still pretty comfortable and it’s not a long journey.

6)    The Paris departure lounge is way better than the British one

When you go through security in Paris, there’s an upper platform of shops, cafes, duty-free and places to sit. So, you can wait there in comfort and get last-minute gifts. The UK end is rubbish.

7)    It still doesn’t stop at Ashford or Ebbsfleet

In lockdown, Eurostar closed its Ashford and Ebbsfleet stations and to date, has not re-opened them, citing costs. For anyone who lives in the South East, this is an absolute disgrace and super-annoying, because it adds on hours and unnecessary miles. My journey took two hours longer than it would have done had we stopped at the station we whizzed through. When and if the stations do re-open, I highly recommend using them, for anyone in the south, because they are (or used to be) much easier and quieter, than having to go to London. Considering Eurostar transported 18.6 million passengers in 2023, back to pre-Covid levels, it’s time! Come on, Eurostar!

8) And it stopped the direct service to Disneyland Paris

This was a bad, bad, call. Again, citing cost-savings post lockdown, anyone going to Disneyland Paris now has to change at Lille. This is NOT GOOD with little kids. I have done one-way direct and one-way with a change and it wasn’t that enjoyable dragging little children and cases up and down escalators, then cramming on an already-packed train. If we went again, we would drive.

9) The trains could do with a pep-up

Both trains I took were clean and comfortable, but the one back was a bit tired and still had outdated bits of paper stuck in its windows saying it was a service to Ashford (see fury, above). So, the service could probably do with a bit of sparkle, for its birthday.

10) There are rival cross-channel trains in the works

There’s a new train joining the tracks – Evolyn is a high-speed start-up vying to challenge Eurostar’s crown by offering an alternative service, reportedly from next year. Virgin is also looking into a service, and Heuro reportedly starting services from 2028.

However, I still recommend taking Eurostar to Paris – or Amsterdam, Brussels and more, plus connections across Europe. There’s even a Ski Train in winter. It’s so easy and when it works, it really works. For booking information, visit Eurostar.com

Bon voyage.