Train from London to Reims

There won't be many departures that get you there in time. You have to be checked in at St. Pancras by 7:30 a.m. in order to catch this departure. You can see Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est on Google Maps. You'll walk about 3 blocks between them. Train schedules suggest that you can make this connection in 35 minutes but actually allow you almost 2 hours to do it.

London St. Pancras International We, 03.05.17 dep 07:55 EST 9008

Paris Nord Eurostar We, 03.05.17 arr 11:17

transfer 35 min.
walking distance 800 m

Paris Est We, 03.05.17 dep 13:06 TGV 2733

Reims We, 03.05.17 arr 13:53
 
The next departure with only one connection arrives to Reims just before 16:00 (4 p.m.).

Yes, do buy both reserved tickets in advance in order to get the best price. They will be nonrefundable and the second leg nonchangable. Check availability in about a month. Sold through Voyages-sncf.com (may be harder to get credit card approval, trainline.eu (should be the same euro rates), or raileurope.com (US agent).

From Gare du Nord the station at which the EuroStar stops in Paris to Gare de l'Est where you take the train to Reims, you'll enter on Rue Alsace, after coming down the stairs, go pass the waiting room. Destinations/Departure times are indicated on the blue electronic board. Getting there on the same day as you prefer can be easily done. Check if your train from Est is a regional train or the TGV to Reims. The regional one will take ca hour or so.

As a compulsive worrier about these sorts of details myself, I can assure you that after you finish you will look back and think this was trivial :) I have actually done this myself.

The two train stations in question are so close together that Google Maps almost makes them look like one station till you zoom in close. I suspect that a quick look at Google Maps will relieve any apprehension you might have about changing stations. Since you are going on a RS tour you will have so little luggage that a taxi would be way overkill.

Direct trains to Reims can be viewed at https://www.trainline.eu/ and do not require reservation, so you can purchase at the station from an attended booth, a machine with English text, or advance online at the same website. Being a worrier, I suggest advance purchase for the best price and peace of mind.

Check the same website to estimate how much connection time makes you comfortable.

Also, take a look at www.seat61.com as regards French trains. A very good resource.

BJ, Fred and Laura, thank you all for your information and assurance. I read the Seat61 Blog last night and found that very helpful also. We have purchased tickets on the Eurostar leg of the journey from www.eurostar.com site. When we were at the site this evening, it said that for the 8:19 departing train (first train on Sunday), it will get to Gare de Nord at 11:47. There were only four seat available at the Standard fare so we bought the tickets even though the Seat61 blog suggested that we should buy the TGV train to Reims first. We plan to buy the Paris to Reims leg 90 days before May 7. I hope that shouldn't be a problem. BJ is right, I (Dick's wife, here) might be worrying too much and sweat the details. But thanks to you guys, I am feeling a lot better.

I am selfishly hoping you'll post either a trip report or thoughts after your trip. We are scheduled for the mid-August departure for this tour.

Have fun!

@ Dick's wife....Keep in mind that when the EuroStar arrives at Gare du Nord, you lose one hour due to the time difference between western/central Europe and the UK. I've been caught at that myself. When exiting Nord, you turn left to go to Est, go to the end of the block (stop signal), across the street should the Hotel Albert 1. Cross and you should walk pass the car repair shop. The BMW sign is pretty noticeable. There is one more street before you reach the stair case down to Est.

At the bottom of the stairs, you may run into the "petition types asking your name" scam. Don't stop, don't pay them (there are more than one of them) any attention. Keep going, watch you valuables. Get to the bottom of the stairs. I carry two pieces of luggage going down those stairs, cumbersome, which makes you at your most vulnerable when you encounter these jokers. If you're lucky, they won't be there, and other tourists with luggage will be using the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs is the entrance to Est, ie Rue Alsace. (two steps away). The entire walk door to door (Nord to Est) should take less than 10 mins, including time to navigate that stair case. Once you enter Est a magazine shop is on your right, the "waiting room" is to your left. The train platforms closest to the Waiting Room go to Germany or Lorraine, ie Metz or Forbach, Saarbrücken, Mannheim, etc. Regional trains from Est to Reims run frequently. There are both electronic boards and TV screens to indicate which platform.

Have a plan b when you try to join a tour the same day you leave another country. You will probably make it, but have a plan b. We always come in the day before when we have a high stakes connection - tour or flight. But if you don't then know what you need to do so you don't have to worry if something goes awry. (we were once on a Thalys from Amsterdam to Paris that came in 5 hours late; we hit and killed someone by Rotterdam and were delayed. We have taken the Eurostar twice; it was an hour late once and half an hour late the other time. Stuff happens.) So know what you have to do to catch up with your tour if it does proceed without you.

Thank you all for your reply. We have booked tickets for the first train out of London and should be in Paris by mid day. Now I, (Dick's wife) know the Gare de l'Est is within walking distance abating the presence of stairs and scamming characters. We are now forewarned.

The Tour does not leave Reims until Day 3. As much as we do not want to miss any part of Day 1, meeting up with the group a bit later is our Plan B. Good advice to always have a plan B. We normally arrive the Day 1 city two days earlier and add an extended trip at the end. This time, we decided to do the London visit before the trip. We will see how that works out for us.

Dear Dick and wife, It is too late for you, but I would book this as one ticket, not two separate bookings. The advantage is if the first train is late and you miss the second train (unusual, but it has happened to me) if you have one booking they are obliged to put you on the next train without surcharge.
The Eurostar website does do some through bookings to places in France, but I would recommend https://loco2.com/ which does through bookings to just about anywhere (and from anywhere in the UK).

The Eurostar journey time is 2h15 to 2h30, but there is a one hour time difference, so depart 08:19 (UK time), arrive 11:47 (French time) is correct. I have seen confused non-European tourists at Gare du Nord "Is this Paris? Why are we an hour early?"
Don't forget to check in at St Pancras AT LEAST 30 minutes before departure.
Gare du Nord to Gare de l'Est is an easy 10 minute walk. If you are at the back of the Eurostar you will walk nearly as far to get off the platform! Click here for map: http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=16/48.8793/2.3553

Thank you for the Street Map link and the pointers for our next trip. Much oblige!

BJ's and Fred's mentions of direct, unreserved regional trains between Paris Est and Reims may not be described quite correctly. Choices are either a) direct, reserved TGVs taking 48 minutes, b) unreserved regional trains with one connection, taking 2 hours with a change at Epernay or 3 hours via Chalon, or c) a TGV as far Champagne-Ardennes station with just a short regional train connection for the last 8 km. There's no deadline to purchase a reserved TGV ticket, but they are cheaper in advance.

Yes, onboard the Eurostar train, do reset your watch to French time, as you're probably used to doing when arriving by air.

www.parisbytrain.com has useful advice about Paris train stations, including photo tours. I would use Google Maps to print out the (short) route between Paris Nord and Gare de l'est. Those who are more adept electronically may be able to use a smartphone or other modern gizmo.

Laura, thanks for your pointers on the different options we have for the Paris to Reims segment of the train trip. Yes, we will also reset our watches to local time while we are on the train.
Southam, thanks for the link. I also find the Tips section of the site extremely helpful.

Thank you, everyone. This forum is amazing.