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St Pancras was first opened by the Midland Railway in 1868 and
even today still has trains going to places such as Sheffield and Leicester, however this
beautiful Victorian building has been renovated to incorporate the high speed Eurostar and
provide a great travel experience in own its right, which will make the start of your holiday in France even more memorable.
The building is spectacular from the outside with its Gothic style architecture, but the
most incredible feature is the glass and steel train shed that was designed by William
Henry Barlow and when it was opened, it was actually the largest enclosed space in the
world.
And it is underneath this glass and steel structure that you will be able to enjoy a drink
at the longest Champagne bar in Europe that is on the upper level of the station where you
can see the Eurostar trains departing.
But as well this, there are numerous other shops and cafes at the St Pancras International
station along with free WiFi connection plus in the departure lounge there is comfortable
seating, stools, desks and power points for recharging items such as laptops, and again
free WiFi. However, as of 2008 there is no WiFi access on the train itself and you
are charged for this facility in the Gare du Nord station in Paris.
When you are thinking of booking your tickets for the Eurostar you can have these sent to
an address in the UK or in France, or you can arrange to collect these from the ticket
office just prior to departure especially if you need to book at the last minute, but, if
you do book early, which is up to four months in advance, then you are more likely to get
the seats you want.
Yes, you read correctly, you can actually choose what seats you would like, not just
whether you would like First Class with drink and meal included or Second Class that is
known as Standard. So if you are travelling with young children, then you may wish
to be near to either end of the train as this is where the baby changing facilities are
located.
Also, the type of seating is different in the different cars and be airline style or
facing each other. Some have tables and other do not, but if you are travelling to Paris as a family or with
friends, then choosing seats that are facing each other and having a table can be far more
enjoyable for children, and definitely more sociable!
You can look at a detailed plan of the seating arrangements of the Eurostar trains where
every seat and car is numbered, which is great to decide on exactly what you want.
This is especially handy if you also want to have a window seat, so that you can see the
Kent countryside and then the country side in Northern France, because you will only
actually be going through the Channel Tunnel for around twenty minutes. But do bear
in mind that if you are not going directly through Eurostar, some of the booking sites
will not give you the option of being able to choose your exact seats.
You can also choose what day and what time you wish to travel to Paris on the Eurostar, as
the trains run every day of the week except for the 25th December and are on an average
every hour, however, you can also utilise the Eurostar to get to Brussels and this journey
normally stops at the city of Lille, which is the capital of the Nord-Pas de Calais region in France.
We would always suggest that you arrive at least half an hour prior to your check in time,
but the good thing about going by Eurostar, rather than plane, is the fact that you do not
have weight restrictions on your luggage and even though you still have to go through
passport control, etc, check in is a lot quicker, but you do keep your luggage with you at
all times.
When you arrive at the Paris Gare du Nord station, you will be arriving at a historical
terminal that used to have the traditional boat trains from Calais and Boulogne arriving,
but this is the station where you can also travel on to many other places such as
Germany.
Upon departing, you can either go through the main concourse and onto the streets in the
10th arrondissement of Paris and take a walk or go to the taxi stand just outside the
station, alternatively if you go downstairs you will be at the Metro station ready to take
you to another part of Paris.
And so, thanks to Eurostar and the Channel Tunnel, the journey between London and Paris is
a convenient and comfortable way to travel between these two great cities, whether it is
for business or for pleasure.
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