Hi. The 1st week of March my friend and I will be going to London for 5 nights. We have 3 more nights to spend elsewhere. We just arent sure which town we would like to visit next. We would prefer to fly, rather than take a train. We are stuck between Edinburgh, Paris, Madrid, or even somewhere else. (I have been to Paris recently, she has never been. ) We love history, but arent too interested in art. Any suggestions?
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33846 posts
What kind of history? Medieval? World War II? Napoleonic Wars? It would depend for where you go. But 3 nights isn't much when you have to get there and get back. Dunno why you would want to fly if train is faster. Edinburgh is quicker and so is Paris, by train when you include getting to the airport, from the other one, and check in and security time.
Posted by
OP
Raleigh
17 posts
Hi- We like Medieval history. We have looked around at pricing and it seems that flying is cheaper than the train- so that is why we were looking into flying rather than a train.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Listen to Nigel. Regarding flying: The cost of flying on the budgets is not as cheap as it first appears. The first price you see is probably about half of what it will wind up costing. Plus, there's going to be some expense getting to and from the airports. Regarding rail: Time is money. If the train is faster, you'll be able to do more at the destination. Forgetting that a budget carrier's airport might not be anywhere close to the city center (or served by frequent transportation), London to Edinburgh is three hundred straight-line miles. By the time you add departure vectors, arrival sequencing, reduced speed for climbs, etc (plus taxing around on the tarmac), the airplane is going to be burning engines for close to two hours. You've got to be at the airport a couple of hours prior, get to the departure airport, and from the arrival airport. There's no way that doesn't add up to close to six hours. A wild guess for the train is quite a bit less than five hours and you go pretty much city center to city center.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15788 posts
Definitely Eurostar is the way to go. If you buy early non-refundable tickets, they aren't so expensive. If money is an issue, Paris is probably too dear. What about Belgium? You can stay 3 nights in Ghent, day trip to Bruges for one day and to Brussels for another. Lots of medieval there.
Posted by
OP
Raleigh
17 posts
Hi. Thanks for the replies. We are just trying to hash out possibilities, as we only know for sure that London is a go for 5 nights at least. I do have another question everyone may be able to help me out with- the rail system. We know nothing about it or the tickets. If we were to do a day trip to Paris from London via the chunnel... then take a train from London to Edinburgh.. can you book those together, possibly getting a discounted rate as opposed to booking each seperatly?
Which website would we use?
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33846 posts
If we were to do a day trip to Paris from London via the chunnel... You need to use Eurostar for trains to Paris. There is no recognition of the term "chunnel" in Britain or France. The tunnel is the Channel Tunnel; the train company is Eurostar, the drive on/drive off shuttle is Eurotunnel. The Eurostar goes from St Pancras station in London to Gare de Nord in Paris. You need to get your tickets ASAP, the prices go up as the tickets sell. They never go down. You MUST check in more than 30 minutes in advance of travel time or you WILL be barred from travel. then take a train from London to Edinburgh .. That would probably be via East Coast trains which run from Kings Cross Station (adjacent to St Pancras) to Edinburgh. Its also possible to go via the West Coast line via Glasgow and provided by Virgin Trains, but slower and possibly more expensive, or via Virgin or London Midland or Chiltern to Birmingham then Cross Country. Reservations are not required but Advance tickets will be cheaper but non-refundable. can you book those together, possibly getting a discounted rate as opposed to booking each seperatly? No, they are not related companies. Which website would we use? See above for specifics. Use National Rail for times and general pricing.