Greetings to all...Summer 2010: We land at 0730/Heathrow and need to get to Epinal asap as we have a Le Boat rental awaiting us. Does anyone have any routing suggestions starting with our unfamiliarity on getting from Heathrow to the Eurostar departure station - then from Paris to Epinal? Many thanks and safe travels to all!
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
From Heathrow to Paris if speed is of the essence:
Take a Heathrow Express train to Paddington. (Heathrow Connect trains are cheaper but slower.) At Paddington go straight ahead and down the stairs to the Underground station. Buy a single ticket and go to the eastbound Circle/District Line platforms. All trains from here now go only one stop to Edgware Road. Follow instructions there to cross to the eastbound platform and take any train to Kings Cross Saint Pancras.
At Kings Cross Saint Pancras go up the stairs towards Saint Pancras International. Go through the ticket barrier, go up the stairs or lift to your left, and turn right through the doors into the main line station. The check-in to Eurostar is about half way down the mall on your right.
Remember when you book your Eurostar tickets (book about four months in advance for cheapest fares) that there is a minimum thirty minute check-in before departure. If you are arriving at 0730 I would recommend that you not pick a train earlier than about 11:00.
I hope someone with more experience knows the best route to Epinal.
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
The easiest train route to Epinal will be from Gare de l'Est in Paris. Eurostar arrives at Gare du Nord, which is about a quarter of a mile from Gare de l'Est. There is a metro line between the two but queues to buy metro tickets at Gare du Nord are notorious and unless you are very infirm or heavily loaded it will be faster as well as cheaper to walk between the two stations. Here is a map.
The entrance to the Gare de l'Est is by the green arrow. Beware that what looks like the short route past the spot labelled "Hotel Albert Premier" has some steps on it that are not in the best of repair, and you may prefer to follow the Boulevard de Magenta.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
I assume that you are planning to fly roundtrip: home-London and London-home.
If I'm correct, then I suggest that you consider flying open jaw (multi-city): home-Paris and London-home. You will save yourself a lot of time--and possibly some money since you won't have to buy London-Paris Eurostar tickets. Open jaw tickets often aren't much more than roundtrip tickets.