US to London, same day plane or train to Paris?

If you are going to go to Paris immediately, can you just add the Paris segment onto your plane itinerary? Or fly directly to Paris?

The Eurostar is excellent if you are in the city center to start with. Since you'll be at the airport you'll add another layer of complexity of getting in to town, changing from the train station where the Heathrow Express ends at to the International train station, St Pancras. There is a check in time ahead of the Eurostar and you'll go thru French border formalities before you board. Eurostar prices are cheaper if bought well ahead...but what happens if your plane is delayed?

IF you were staying in London for a few days, then definitely YES to the Eurostar as transport to Paris.

I do this a lot and I already have reservations to do it next spring. I’ll go into London and take the Eurostar to Paris. In one of the two cities you’ve got to get into the city and it’s easier and nicer to do it in London than it is in Paris in my opinion

Now anyway you do allow at least four hours between your connections. So what I generally do is take the tube or the Heathrow express into London, find a pub have lunch and then go to the train station. If I’m running low on time because somethings late or a connection problem then I can skip lunch. On the return, if you do this you need to at least give yourself a night in London before your flight. I was once at the Paris train station watching a woman cry hysterically because the trains had been delayed and she and her family were not going to get back to London before the flight took off much less make it to Heathrow.

The other nice thing about the train is that if the airline changes your flight it’s very easy to change the train to a different train it’s not always that easy with the airlines

And why would I do this? Well I’m flying business class to London for what a coach seat cost to Paris. I prefer to sit in the front of the plane 😂. I will be in London for several days before I leave because I’m going to go sit in a park and hopefully watch a big screen TV of the coronation.

Thanks Pam! I have not booked anything yet and am playing with variables, i.e. round trip, open jaw... I thought I would ask some people with experience to see if it was troublesome or totally worth it.

I wouldn’t want to risk getting delayed on your inward bound flight and then missing your Eurostar train. You have to be at the station at least an hour ahead of your train.

Which airport? You need to allow at least an hour to get through the airport - maybe 90 minutes. Allow at least an hour to get to St Pancras International (hope there are no rail strikes or other delays) and at least an hour for check in. Plus a margin of error - allow at least 4 hours.

I would try to book a through flight to Paris. Far less stress.

I really don't see why you would not fly directly to Paris. The recommendation to take the train to Paris from London is for people who are already in London not for people who are flying to London to then get to central London from the airport to take a train. Either fly directly to Paris or connect with a flight from Heathrow to CDG. Are you planning on spending any time in London? If so, then yes fly into London, have your fun there and then go to Paris and depart from there for home. It will be cheaper than the other way around. But if you are flying to London just to take the train to Paris, I really don't see how that makes any sense unless you got some kind of ridiculously low fare to London. And in that case, fly to Paris from Heathrow, the Eurostar is just a train. It's no more fun than any other train and it certainly is not fun getting from Heathrow to London. It's not awful but, it's not fun. I mean no shade on the areas between Calais and Paris and between London and the shore, but it's not like the scenery of the train ride is wonderful. It's really quite boring.

I watch a lot of train vlogs and the Chunnel route is covered quite often. I don't know that it's especially fun, you'll see some countryside, go underwater for a half hour, and see some more countryside. The real question is costwise and logistics-wise, which do you prefer? Apparently the Eurostar has gotten quite expensive and the lines at St. Pancras can be unpleasant (Brexit).

Watch some youtube vlogs and see what you think. There are some where people have a "race" to see whether the train or plane is better; I admit to having a pro-train bias but surprisingly flying can sometimes be better, just keep in mind the train takes you right to the heart of town and a plane trip requires a train or taxi or bus into the city.

IMO, there would have to be a very compelling reason to fly into LHR and then either fly or take the train to Paris vs just flying to Paris. Fly on a multicity ticket if you will start in one place and end in another, and save in both time and money.

Why unnecessarily add all the extra time and complexity to an already long, jet lagged, day? Of course the Eurostar makes sense getting between London and Paris, but only if you're already there.

However if you do decide to embark on this scheme, allow a minimum of 4 hours. Take the Picadilly tube - it goes to Kings Cross and then its a quick walk to St Pancras for the train. There are plenty of places for lunch in and around either station.

Thanks everyone! I was reading so many post about how great the train was and avoiding CDG at all costs, I think I confused myself.

Trying to avoid CDG at all costs doesn't make sense if you are traveling to Paris. I know people who avoid it for connections and my niece flies into Iceland so she can avoid going through passport control at CDG (and because there are cheap flight from her airport on Iceland Air) but for a person flying to Paris from the US, avoiding CDG is way more trouble than it is worth.

I've flown in to CDG a lot and I don't really find it bad at all. I try to make a comfort stop before I get to the immigration lines, lol and then be ready to wait. Last April I had a very short wait at Immigration - maybe 15 minutes or so. I just transited there 3 weeks ago and it was actually awesome. I like the direct flight from Seattle to Paris on Delta.

I DO enjoy taking the Eurostar but that's from city center to city center. In fact, I'm planning to do the Eurostar from Paris to London next April.

TBH, this year air travel was pretty screwed up and who knows how it will be next year. For myself I am trying to go with the least complex arrangements I can so that there are fewer "moving parts" to go wrong so to speak.

It's good to explore all possibilities though and work out what works best for your needs.

Andria, I'm glad Pam posted with a west-coast perspective. Please research flights to Paris, especially since Brexit. Even changing flights in Chicago or NY is better than getting to the train in London. Some posters say the Eurostar mandatory check-in time is up to 90 minutes early, and you can't board if you miss the deadline.

I have taken the Brussels-London Eurostar several times, and once it was delayed 8 hours. Admittedly unusual.

I did this route once, that is , flying from SFO to London LHR, then connecting to CDG. No problem but somewhat anxious at LHR over missing to connecting flight to Paris. We didn't, even though we had luggage in tow. I would have preferred taking the EuroStar.

If the finally destination is Paris, I much rather prefer SFO to CDG non-stop.

Both Delta and Air France fly nonstop Seattle to Paris. Delta has a daily flight and Air France has a nonstop several days a week - I’d choose one of those. We flew Delta to and from Paris this past spring with no significant issues on either end. Definitely give yourself the recommended three hours pre-flight arrival to get through check in and security on both ends and pay attention to any airport specific updates or alerts that come up. Have a fantastic trip!

The Eurostar is old and worn and stinky and not a great experience; it is okay public transport but not fun -- and the food available is gross. After once with that we always packed our own.

If you are going to London and Paris then fly into one and out of the other. Why would you fly to London if Paris is your destination? If doing both then the Eurostar makes sense to get between. Fly into London and out of Paris open jawed as the airport fees for departure are higher in London.

If you are traveling round trip to London and can't change that, then it makes sense to take the train to Paris and then back to London to finish and fly home.

One issue with same day Eurostar is that you have to get from the airport into London and check in for the Eurostar is like for an airplane with ample time in advance since emigration AND immigration and customs are handled in London for France. When we did this, lines were long and then there was very little in the way of comfortable waiting room.

You need a cushion in case the plane is late.

All sorts of airfare sales right now from west coast to Europe. Look at Delta, Air France. Some fares $500 RT through spring.