Traveling between London and Paris: plane or train?

Train. Much quicker than flying when you factor in getting to and from the airports, going through security, passport control (England is not Schengen) and baggage claim if you check bags. Book early enough and its not obscenely expensive either.

Take the train as it leaves from the center of London and arrives in the center of Paris and vice versa. Just be sure to buy the ticket as soon as it is available to get the cheapest price otherwise the closer you get to the date you want you will see that flights from London to Paris will cost cheaper than the train. In most cities the airports are built far from the city center requiring you to fly in and then take another form of transportation.

Taking the train to Paris instead of flying cuts CO2 emissions per passenger by a staggering 90%.

https://www.seat61.com/CO2flights.htm

That's the biggest pro

If you're convinced, know that Eurostar tickets go on sale (www.eurostar.com) about 6 months before the date of travel and you'll get the least expensive fares then. The fare classes sell out so the prices only go up. Put this on your calendar so you can book your ticket early. Sometimes the 1st class tickets are only a couple of Euro/Pounds more than the 2nd class tickets and you have a smidge more room (although in the 2nd class seats you still have more room than on an airplane).

I've done Eurostar solo a number of times and find it so much less hassle than a plane flight. I generally get to St Pancras about 1.5 hours before my train departure. That gives me time to go into one (or several) of the food shops in the station to get snacks for my trip then hit the ticket barrier an hour ahead. There is no limit on liquids altho your bag has to go thru a scanner (as do you).

Plan to do your international journey open jaw - in to London, out of Paris so you don't have to backtrack.

Highly recommend training on the Eurostar as it is much less hassle, etc. than by plane. We have used the Eurotar multiple times and it is a very nice experience.

Unless it is much cheaper to fly, if the fare is the same, I would take the train for the ease and comfort of travel plus the convenience of starting and ending your travel in the middle of both cities.

Train, trainer, it's a no-brainer.

Train: city to city, more space, more comfortable seats, not expensive if you buy early. Eurostar is so much fun as it swishes through the tunnel under the channel. I have done this trip 3 times and loved it every time.

Did anyone mention that the train is the better choice?

Did anyone mention that the train is the better choice?

Hmmmmm, everybody in the posts above has given her or his advice. Did you miss that? ;-)

If you want to pay more, travel twice the hours, be confined to a cylindrical germ infested tube then by all means fly.

Otherwise be smart and take the train.

I'm kinda getting the idea that most of you are loving the train. It looks like I will be booking a train ride in the future. Thanks for the responses.

The one occasion when you might want to fly between London or Paris is if you are making the trip immediately before or after a transatlantic flight from/to the same airport - that way you avoid travel from the city centre to the airport.

My benchmark is in the range of five to six hours. If the train is going to take more than the 5 or 6 hours of travel, then I will consider a flight. If you are at the airport, booking a flight might make more sense but the comfort and convenience of train travel for exceeds the hassle of security lines and tight seats.

Everyone has said the pros of the train which I agree with but no one has mentioned the downside of the Paris airport, which is a total cluster. I try to avoid the Paris airport if at all possible.