Since I was tiny, my family and I always travelled to Europe by train. I remember taking the taxi from Paddington to St. Pancras, seeing the people play the piano, stopping for a coffee and then, finally, boarding the Eurostar. Whilst nowadays my husband and I mostly travel by plane, sometimes a train is just easier. Travelling to Paris by Eurostar is super easy and affordable, but there are some top tips I wanted to share with you to get the most out of your holiday.
Travelling to Paris by Eurostar
Booking Your Tickets
The tickets for Eurostar are available months in advance. At the time of writing (August), I can go all the way up to May 2027.
Like any form of transport, the earlier you book it, the cheaper it is. For a standard ticket, you can expect to pay anywhere between £40-60, depending on the day and time of year. The Eurostar website is, from experience, easy enough to use. However, you need to make sure that you shop for the best bargains.
If you go onto the website, the tickets for the evening are always cheaper. Whilst this may seem good, remember that you will need to fork out for a hotel for that extra night. I would recommend travelling mid-morning (after the London rush hour). Early afternoon can also work, but you miss out on some time in Paris.
Lastly, when you confirm your seats, make sure you are near the front of the train at St. Pancras. That way, you can make a speedy exit in Paris and avoid the rush for taxis and the Metro.
There are also 3 different classes of seat to choose from; Standard, Plus and Premier. I’ve trialed all except for Premier and have written a bit about each experience to help you decide.
Standard
This is the class of seat which I most frequently take. You get no added benefits; you get assigned a seat and it works very much like any other long distance train.
What I would say though is that it is infinitely more comfortable and spacious than a plane’s economy class. You get much more legroom, the seat can recline without annoying people, and there is room to walk about to stretch your legs. You also get free charging on board and the carriages are (generally) quiet in terms of noise.
All carriages on the Eurostar has ample room for a suitcase. I’ve always found that Standard gives you more than enough room to store a carry-on bag above you. This also continues into Plus.
Unlike Plus (see below), you don’t get brought any extra food with Standard. The café is in the centre of the train and serves good food.
Plus
During our most recent trip to France we thought that we’d pay a little extra and book Plus Tickets. I wanted to see whether it was worth the additional money and what exactly you received. If you don’t know, this is the mid-tier Eurostar ticket. It is more premium than standard, but it does not grant you access to the lounge like a Premier ticket does.
From the start, it was a very different Eurostar experience. We were greeted by our carriage host who personally escorted us to our seats. The layout was also different; the seats were further apart and most consisted of either stand-alone chairs or two chairs opposite one another. There were also far fewer people in the carriage.
Our train left Paris at 09:00am and it wasn’t long until we were served a breakfast. We each received a pain au chocolat (though there was a choice of two meals), cherries, orange juice and unlimited coffee / water as part of the service. The food was really good and fresh and was probably equivalent to a short-haul Business Class flight.
My one slight complaint was that the seats were in Carriage 16. Other Plus seats are available, but it meant that on this journey we were right at the back of the train (from London to Paris it would be at the front). Not a massive issue, but still. Equally there was no priority boarding which you’d possibly expect if you make the Business Class comparison.
Overall, for the difference in price, I’d say it is worth it should you want a quieter, more peaceful journey. However, I’m not quite convinced that it is a must-do way to travel. Standard Eurostar is still very nice and is my usual go-to.
St. Pancras
St. Pancras is always the first stop for anyone travelling to Paris by Eurostar. Getting to St. Pancras is easy in London. The tube station has plenty of links to other lines (Circle, Hammersmith and City, Metropolitan, Northern, Victoria, Piccadilly) and is really accessible. Most of the time though I take a taxi from Paddington – it usually takes 20-30 minutes, it is easy and costs around £25-30.
The gates for the lounge usually open two hours before the train departs. Be aware that you will need to pass customs and luggage checks and that this process can take a while. I would suggest that you arrive a bit before this, if you can. Firstly, there is always a large queue before customs and everyone has the same idea about arriving two hours before departure. This has gotten worse in 2026 with the arrival of new European Passport Control systems. The shops around St. Pancras are also quite nice. I like grabbing a coffee and a pastry before so I can unwind.
Once you pass through the chaos of customs, you are then in the lounge. If you have not been here before, do not think that it is going to be like Heathrow Terminal 2. There is one shop and one cafe and the seats are not exactly comfy. Stock up on food and drink before you get in to save money.
If you can, find seats by the escalators which are in the central part of the atrium. This means that you can make a speedy entrance on the train and avoid (somewhat) the rush that is about to take place…
On the Train
When you take your seats on the train, there is not a lot more you can do to make your journey easier. I always find it a really nice and comfortable experience regardless of the seat class.
One top tip I do have though is to purchase Metro tickets on the Eurostar. For some odd reason, nobody seems to know about this… On the most recent journey (2026) they made the announcement an hour or so in, but you can buy them as soon as you board. You can buy them at the cafe and they are the same price as what you get in Paris. It means that you can then prepare for your onward journey into Paris.
Speaking of the café, I actually think that the food is decent and they have a good selection of food and drink (another reason why Plus may not be worth it). Whilst it is pricey, it is a good alternative if you haven’t prepared lunch.
Final Thoughts | Travelling to Paris by Eurostar
Travelling to Paris by Eurostar is really easy and I would dare say easier than taking a plane. Plus, trains mean that you can sit back and enjoy the views out of the window as you enter France. The entire journey takes just over two hours, which is longer than by plane, but the Eurostar places you right in central Paris.
