⭐️ Price correction: $156 total (about $78 each) Hope you enjoyed this adventure ☺️ Let us know if you’ve taken the train between London and Paris before! What do you think, is it the best way to travel?!
I have taken the Eurostar quite a few times, including when it used to go from Waterloo rather than St Pancras. If you live in or near London it is the easiest and quickest way to get to Paris or Brussels. When I worked in London a colleague of mine who was French used to commute weekly from Paris to London and back on Eurostar, (that was when it went to Waterloo). Since the high speed line was built in the U.K. ( and the Eurostar then going from St Pancras), it cut the total journey time by approximately 35 mins.
Tip: it's only an 8 minute walk from Euston Station to St Pancras on the street. Highly advise just walk, it's quicker than going down into the underground and back up.
@@lightplane good to know for future reference or for anyone else traveling from that station. Always remembering that taking wrong turns or going the long way is just part of this adventure sometimes! 😅
TIP.. if you are making a connecting journey from a UK National Rail station to Paris or another Eurostar destination, buy a ticket to "London International" NOT "London St. Pancras". They're usually a similar price to a regular off-peak ticket to London, but with more generous peak restrictions if you need to leave early on a Monday-Friday and with CIV protection for missed connections with Eurostar if your UK train runs late. So if a UK train delay or cancellation means you are too late for check in, Eurostar will put you on the next service with a vacant seat(s).
Best thing about going to France by train is that it takes you from and to the centre of the cities. It's not so clear cut for those of us who live in the north of England or Scotland. We have to get down to London first (as you did!). It's only an hour's flight to Paris and Amsterdam from airports like Manchester. But I lived in France for a while before the chunnel was built and I remember getting the train from Gare du Nord to go home and it just took you to the port where you got the boat. So going straight to London is amazing. My wife and I are going to take the train down and spend a couple of days in Lille soon. The train is a good option because otherwise we'd probably have to fly to Paris or Brussels and then get a train.
That’s such a great point, being able to travel straight to the heart of the cities makes such a difference! That hour long flight to Paris or Amsterdam from Manchester sounds like a good option, but it must really be nice to skip the ferry trip now. Funny enough, we also planned a weekend in Lille, then off to Brussels and Amsterdam where we'll fly back to the UK! Wishing you both a wonderful trip and safe travels!
@@Paul_Allaker8450 we were surprised how many people were on it! After now flying back, agree it’s the best way to travel. Thanks for enjoying with us ☺️
The Eurostar is the best way to travel between the UK and France. I have friends that visit the UK pretty often and they're all unanimous : long live the Eurostar, it's the most convenient and comfortable way to travel !
I would not say it's "the best way between UK and France." Depends entirely where you are in the UK. Eurostar is best for those living in London and the South East region. Originally the plan was to have regional Eurostar trains (these would run from Wales, the Northwest and Scotland) by passing London. But the plan was cancelled at the last minute because, at that time, the budget airlines (with their lower fares) appeared on the scene.
@@DW-zg3xx Yep! We received an email notification from Eurostar telling us to be there at least an hour early for check-in, customs, and to send our luggage through security.
The great plus of Eurostar is once you are on it, you have a good long travel period. Going by air the travel is broken up into lots of smaller chunks like getting out of London to Heathrow or Gatwick, which I find more stressful. Also you get to see the change in landscape. It's always crazy for me that 45 mins out from St Pancras you are already in the north of France. (I can remember doing this journey by ferry and train in the 1980s and it took 8 hours!)
Just to be clear, you going under ground not under water 😁😁 I really enjoyed this, I was working in Paris for 6 months so used the Eurostar a few weekends back to London going out with friends and then back early Monday mornings. It's a brilliant way to travel... The vehicle train is even weirder, you drive onto the train with your car/motorbike and then sit there till you get the other side then drive off it.... BTW, I'm with you Andrew, I can't sit facing the opposite of travel direction, it messes with my mind... Then again if the train crashes you would be better off by not becoming a javelin flying down the train... BTW, its got dedicated tracks and tunnels created especially for it to get out of London, so the result of this is that its almost never late on arrival or departure. No traffic to compete with... It is a brilliant way to travel as I've said before but a shame it can't go full speed in the UK, not allowed to... So think about the fact that flying you need to be there 2-3 hours before the flight and you need to travel to the airport, so no including your flight time, that's the same as the travel time on the Eurostar. I was up in Edinburgh last week for work and flew EasyJet, 25 min late going up and 1h10 late coming back. So having a train that's on time and not delayed is a great alternative to flying to Paris and way more greener...
Thanks for sharing your experience! We loved how seamless the journey from the heart of London to the center of Paris was on the Eurostar, so much easier than flying in our opinion. That vehicle train sounds like something we'll have to experience one day! And I’m glad I’m not the only one who struggles with sitting backwards. Although you make a good point about the javelin effect... something I hadn’t thought about. It’s such a shame it can’t hit full speed in the UK, but the reliability and avoiding airport hassle definitely make up for it. Your EasyJet experience is convincing me to use the Eurostar every time now!
Door to door, Eurostar is by far the quickest way from London to Paris. Also when you were trying to decide which tube line to take from Euston, due to a quirk of the tube map, the Northern line goes south but the Victoria line goes north
Wow, this may sound odd but I was struck immediately by how you said London and Paris. You didn't say London, England and Paris, France the way Americans normally do. And which I find slightly irritating for some reason. It made me check out what your channel is and it looks fascinating. Subscribed. Can't wait to see what you thought of Manchester (sorry, I mean Manchester, England 😉) where I live. It gets a bad press but I like it.
@@barrysteven5964 well we are glad you’re here! We have fond feelings around Manchester, we’ve stopped through a few times. It’s always been a stop through though, so sounds like we need to give it a proper full stay!
@barrysteven5964 I'm not a Mancunian. But always Loved Traveling to Manchester. I always went when Anyone put a Bus List up for a Night out or Weekend. Don't know why anyone should call it .
Did the people on the train think you were crazy people, with your camera and microphones? Kettle burns... that's proper Brit stuff that, you qualify for a UK passport 😂 Did we pop out in France... 😂😂😂😂 oh dear me! ❤ from Northeast England ❤️
@@oopsdidItypethatoutloud I’m pretty sure that people think we’re crazy everywhere with our cameras and microphones 😆 But we especially got some strange looks on the train! I will gladly accept my UK passport for the burn 😂 Thanks for your kind words and enjoying with us! ❤️
Could you let me know how long the customs process typically takes? I understand that US passport holders do not require a visa-can you please confirm this?
@@kalelangovan874 it took us 30 minutes but I’m sure it could be more with a long line. As of 2024 we didn’t need a visa (US citizen as well). Though I know there’s a new EU Visa starting in 2025, so if you’re planning to travel then, I’d look into that!
As a former Londoner of course I would have walked from Euston to St P but if your not local you probably wouldnt know. Paris isnt my favorite city but well worth a visit. I get motion sickness on a car or bus if facing backwards but always fine on trains.
@@jasonsmart3482 thank you for understanding our miss there 😆 We feel a little silly running about all chaotic now! Paris feels like a place you just have to see at least once.
I came across this TH-cam purely by chance and I do like your entertaining style. Yes Eurostar is worth trying at least once purely to say you've been through the Tunnel or if you are staying in or near London. But really from Crewe it would be far less expensive and would cost less were you to take one of the many daily flights from Manchester to Paris. (Manchester airport is near Crewe and there are direct trains taking just over 30 mins) Also Eurostar is an expensive train and, if booked near departure, the one-way fare would easily cost GBP150 to GBP250. (GBP1 = USD1.30) It's all down to the pandemic. Eurostar lost lots of money during this time and it needs to recoup lost revenue.
Glad to have you here! Yes, we went back and forth on whether to fly or take the train, but ultimately Megan really wanted to travel through the Chunnel. Next time we'll have to each take a different mode of transportation and race each other.
@@AndrewandMegan Thanks for the reply. Yes you both made the correct decision. Taking Eurostar (although it has its faults) is something every visitor must do.
Oh sweeties...literally 5 min walk from Kings Cross to St Pancras...just across the road,.. .🙄🙄 never mind...you were doing your very best. I live near the Tunnel, been through numerous times, i remember when my daughter first went through at about 6 she thought she'd be able to see the fish outside, she was so looking for Nemo..😂😂😂....travelling by car is great but you dont have to stay in your car .
@@Aoife24601 😂 our best is all we can do along the way! That would be so fun to take it often. I think your daughter is onto something and they should have windows in it. Thanks for dropping by!
@@DaChaGee well as 2 Americans we do continue to find train travel unique, we wish we had more of it at home. But I think the tunnel under a sea bed into another country is the unique aspect for this!
The experience on the Eurostar is just that of a normal high speed train with passport control. It's far more exciting (for a transport geek) to take a car on Le Shuttle. But, as you said, taking a hire car involves more bureaucracy. However there are coaches that make the trip and give you that experience.
For the record, if you take your car through the Chunnel you don't have to sit in it all the time. You can get out and walk about, (use the loos if required), but as you're in a double-decker tin tube full of cars it isn't the most exciting of experiences.
You can book seats facing forward then there's no travel sickness (same as aisle, table or window seats)....unless they were not available/sold out as I would imagine they are the most popular.
I travelled on Eurostar a couple of times in the '90s. The first time a business partner was paying, the destination was Disney Land Paris for a conference. Something went wrong with the booking. Then, by the time it was fixed, only "First Class" (not sure it was called that) tickets were available. Our business partner paid, including 3-course dinner on the train. The main course was a delicious chateaubriand. One of the best meals I've had during a journey. Sorry to see your scald. I hope you got some ointment to sooth it and help healing. It's often worth checking locations on a London surface map. I'd have been very tempted to go to the Euston taxi rank and catch a cab to St Pancras International. Google maps thinks it's 4 minutes. Best Wishes. ☮
@@gbulmer wow! That sounds like a train journey to remember! We’ll have to look into the first class next time. Thanks for the healing words. We found some ointments in Paris that worked great! See you on the next adventure!
@@AndrewandMegan I'm glad you got some treatment for the scald. I've scalded myself, and it was amazingly sore and painful. France has a National Health service with a reasonable reputation, so you were likely OK if it were more serious. I haven't used the French Health Service, but I have used the Dutch Health Service when the UK was still in the EU. It was superb, and cost nothing. I imagine the food I had on Eurostar was good because it was only a few years after the Chunnel was opened, and they were probably trying to build a reputation for a quality comparable to first on an aeroplane. I think the ticket prices were comparable. Back in the '90s, getting an aeroplane had much less security around it, and hence was quicker. Also, back then, IIRC they recommended Chunnel passengers arrive at least 15 minutes before scheduled departure. I can't remember if they even closed boarding then. I have a feeling not. I've just checked, and they have Raymond Blanc as consultant for Eurostar menu and food. Blanc is well known from TV cooking shows (eg as a judge). His Oxfordshire restaurant has 2 Michelin stars. So I imagine food on the Eurostar is fine. If you use the Chunnel again, you might consider some other destination, like Amsterdam or Brussels. Or get a high-speed connecting train to other destinations including German cities. The French SNCF travel at 320km/h, almost 200mph. I think the German ICE is also 320km/h, but I've seen claims of some parts doing 350km/h, over 215mp/h, which might be a hoot. Best Wishes. ☮
@@gbulmer Thank you for all the information! Someone else said that I was now an honorary Brit since having been scalded by a kettle haha. The French were very helpful in the treatment and they said the good thing is that France is known for its skin products so they had plenty of recommendations for healing and avoiding scarring. Fingers crossed! The food from the cafe was good. As we had never eaten on a train, we didn't have any expectations, but it sounds like Eurostar takes pride in their food if they're being consulted by a Michelin Star chef! We'll be taking the Eurostar from Lille to Amsterdam next, so looking forward to it! Thanks again for sharing!
My most fun and adventurous way of travelling to Amsterdam from London, was to travel to Dover by train, cross the channel to Dunkirk as a foot passenger, then ride the rest of the way on my bicycle to Amsterdam, following much of the coastline with a couple of stopovers along the way, including Knokke-Heist, a rather nice resort town. Did this a while ago one spring when the weather was warm. Knokke beach is actually really nice 👍
@@EdgyNumber1 that sounds like an epic adventure! How far was the bike ride?! We looked at taking the ferry from the Netherlands to England but we were having trouble figuring out how to easily get around in Harwich, England where that particular ferry dropped off.
@@AndrewandMegan About 200 miles but obviously you don't do it all in one go. In total I managed it with about 18 hours total riding (I can ride 20mph constant, on flat ground) but I broke it up into stops, with a two night rest, halfway, in the resort town Knokke, got some beach time and a spa massage. I recommend doing it in a warm spring time or in September. From the Netherlands it was ferry to Harwich and train ride home - I felt that riding back would've been too much lol. As for Harwich Terminal, just take the train from London Liverpool Street. There's a link between the station and ferry terminal. One thing I will say is that preparation is everything: Bike, panniers, bags, clothes, GPS map, phone, tools🔧 Wake up to ride, break at lunch, arrive in the afternoon, dinner then rest
I was just watching somebody else's video from 2 years ago in Nantwich and spotted you both at exactly 35.00mins th-cam.com/video/Gr9BEINyOAY/w-d-xo.html I thought 'I know these people!!' 😀
you should have walked between Euston and St Pancras - it must be a 12 minute walk max down Euston road. Kings Cross also has one of the longest tunnels to get to an exit (but you wouldn't have known that)
Living in Manchester and having family in Rural Ireland myself, I wish they would just get on and build the high-speed rail tunnel under the Irish Sea from Holyhead to Dublin and just stop messing about, even aside from the failure of HS2 in the U.K. - currently, I get the SailRail via Chester and Holyhead to Dublin, but coming from Manchester, I’d prefer to sail from Liverpool to Dublin (itself a historical route for sailing ships) as I dislike flying - on top of a massive investment programme on Irish railways, the Irish government is also planning to comply with EU “climate change” directives and ban “short-haul” flights between the U.K. and Ireland
Wow, I feel like you gave such a unique insight on UK/Ireland travel, as we had no idea they were thinking of building an Irish Sea tunnel. You also just sent Andrew down a rabbit hole as he's now reading all about the proposed plans ha. We didn't know about the Sailrail option either. We're always looking for unique ways to travel outside of flying as it normally offers a different experience, and I have a bit of anxiety around flying. Neither one of us can imagine short haul flights being banned between the 2 countries, because they're so convenient and fast for most. With all the talk of rail improvements and EU climate goals, it’ll be interesting to see how things evolve. Fingers crossed for better travel links!
@@AndrewandMegan the Holyhead to Dublin route is a trading route across the Irish Sea that dates back to Roman times - also, regardless of Brexit, the U.K. and Ireland are in a Common Travel Area, so even though I’ve lived 23 years in the U.K., being proudly Irish, I’ve always held and renewed an Irish passport - every time they start new ferry routes across the Irish Sea, they rapidly fill up to capacity with ever bigger ferries (you should see Holyhead Port at Midnight to 3am) - Dublin Port has also been expanded to take cruise ships in recent years, but the Channel in the River Liffey is still very narrow and has not been very deep, where all the Bridges further upstream towards Dublin City do not allow ships to pass underneath
@@davidwatts-hw2dh that would be quite the trip, but visiting your family’s farm in Wisconsin could definitely make for an interesting story. Buy that ticket and travel safe! Ha
@@AndrewandMegan It all started in 1944 when mum's sister fell for a GI based in England. He took her home after the war to the farm in the middle of nowhere. Fortunateley my family were old westcountry folks so could milk a cow and pluck a chicken.😄
The trains are very very very long and Have a ton of additional fire-protection measures built-in. Their length ensures that if the train stops in tunnel, then at least part of the train is abreast of a evacuation route into the safety. tunnel.
@@AndrewandMegan Amazing bit of engineering. I remember watching the news footage of the French Team and British Team meeting in the middle and shaking hands for the first time through a small hole in the rock face.
@@JamesMCross-w7j The really impressive thing is how they started digging in parallel, with the UK and France tunnelling about 25km each and navigating into the rock from their own end, and when they met in the middle, the alignment of the two was only out by about a foot!
@@JamesMCross-w7j some tunnels are on the bed. A55 Conwy tunnel in North Wales, for example was floated out in pieces which were allowed to sink to the bed.
Sorry you had a delay.You can get a percentage of your fare refunded apply online. If you don’t have a bank account you can have rail vouchers or the money can be donated to a suicide prevention charity.
@@realman6ft6 oh wow! We didn’t know that about the charity. Thank you for sharing. We’ve faced a few UK rail delays so we’ll keep this in mind for sure!
@@stephentaylor1476 Well if you'd like to join in, there is a large debate about this in the comments of our ferry video. th-cam.com/video/uors2HERb8o/w-d-xo.htmlsi=6gArEm2oSM5tYqJg
@@AndrewandMegan I just mean the damn station is next door! 15 min walk. Never take the underground if you are going to Heathrow or Gatwick or anything else use the bus or walk
@@billybooger1 it’s was a regret 😂 We had all Of our hiking gear with us because of an adventure to come so our bags got a little out of control this trip.
Oh, we didn't know there was an official name for this type of loft, but yes, we are! It's in a great neighborhood and surrounded by plenty of boulangeries, so we're happy.
How cute! You actually called it the "Chunnel", LOL. How funny! No one, absolutely no one, calls it the Chunnel! That's like saying the Underground Railway is called the Underway! Or the Black Cab is called a Blab or the Double Decker is called the Douker.
I worked down the Channel tunnel on the service tunnel, M18 -M49 pump stations, crossover and the pressure relief ducts and most people used the word Chunnel back then. Chunnel is still common around my area Folkestone, Dover, Canterbury and the villages between. I suppose it being close by kept the name going.
How cute! You're so young, you don't know it was called the "Chunnel" for years, even on TV. Yes, people call it the Chunnel. That's what it was called in the '90s, and there's a natural hold-over. I used it in the '90s. "Chunnel" is also quick to say. Who says "the Underground Railway"? It's the Underground or Tube.. Best Wishes. ☮
Maybe some still refer to it as the Chunnel, but "most" haven't called it that for the best part of 30 years! The only time I ever hear the word used these days is in American travel vlogs! Most people these days just refer to it by the means they use to pass through it, either the Eurostar or the Shuttle, or if referring to the tunnel itself, they just call it "The Channel Tunnel". Even if you Google whether anyone still calls it the Chunnel, you'll see that the term was used when it was being built, and in its first couple of years of operation, but that the usage of the term has now mainly died out. It was officially branded the "Eurotunnel" until fairly recently.
@@andybaker2456 There is an *_enormous_* difference between _"No one, absolutely no one, calls it the Chunnel!"_ which you initially asserted, and your new claim, less than _"most"._ AFAICT, none of the replies you've received claimed "Chunnel" is the most popular term. So changing from _"No one, absolutely no one"_ to less than _"most"_ agrees with my comment, and my reading of the other replies. So well done for accepting our comments, and modifying your claim from 0% of people with no margin for error, to less than 50% of people. What search terms did you use with Google? Best Wishes. ☮
Erm . . Why do you think you would see the water through the windows?? Lol. The railway tunnel isn't going through the sea - it's going under the sea bed.
@@johnfrancismaglinchey4192 we’ve found most Europeans to be extraordinarily welcoming and excited to teach us about their culture. You’re welcome to the US anytime!
@@seyley2901 There’s nothing embarrassing about trying something new and making mistakes along the way. In fact, one of our goals here on this channel is to show people it’s okay to make mistakes as you go! It’s a fear that stops a lot of people from traveling. We’ve actually never been on the Amtrak! We don’t have a lot of access to trains where we live. Hence the excitement of something that seems like a very normal experience for you. Thanks for joining us on this new adventure!
amazing comment at 5:32..'oh no we're going backwards!' correct me if i'm wrong but a train at a terminus on buffers can only go one way out unless you expected it to go down Euston road High street past Mc Donalds. surely A mericans can figure this out without studying Einsteins theory of relativity or Newton's law of gravity. if you face toward the station terminus buildings guess what?....you WILL go backwards DUH
@@peterwhitaker4038 Yes, you are correct. We could figure out what direction we were going to be moving in before moving. Not sure that it has much to do with us being American. That was more of an exclamation of emotion than a revelation of information.
@@AndrewandMegan no problem from me folks just a light hearted English comment at our American cousins. had you been French or German the comments would be a lot more severe i assure you. and if you had been italian well? there would be no end of comments {jokes} about going backwards. maybe i need to explain that one sometime. take care friends
![ปฏิเสธไม่ไหว (Crush on you) - LIPTA feat. No One Else [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/NBw1jF342vw/mqdefault.jpg)
⭐️ Price correction: $156 total (about $78 each) Hope you enjoyed this adventure ☺️ Let us know if you’ve taken the train between London and Paris before! What do you think, is it the best way to travel?!
I have taken the Eurostar quite a few times, including when it used to go from Waterloo rather than St Pancras. If you live in or near London it is the easiest and quickest way to get to Paris or Brussels. When I worked in London a colleague of mine who was French used to commute weekly from Paris to London and back on Eurostar, (that was when it went to Waterloo). Since the high speed line was built in the U.K. ( and the Eurostar then going from St Pancras), it cut the total journey time by approximately 35 mins.
Tip: it's only an 8 minute walk from Euston Station to St Pancras on the street. Highly advise just walk, it's quicker than going down into the underground and back up.
@@lightplane good to know for future reference or for anyone else traveling from that station. Always remembering that taking wrong turns or going the long way is just part of this adventure sometimes! 😅
@@AndrewandMegan
Can't get found if we don't lost every now and then 😊
❤ from Northeast England ❤️
The pedestrian route from Euston to Kings Cross and to St Pancras is well signposted - it’s difficult to get lost.
@@NicholasNA we’ll keep an eye out for it next time!
@@AndrewandMegan It's just along the main road.
TIP.. if you are making a connecting journey from a UK National Rail station to Paris or another Eurostar destination, buy a ticket to "London International" NOT "London St. Pancras". They're usually a similar price to a regular off-peak ticket to London, but with more generous peak restrictions if you need to leave early on a Monday-Friday and with CIV protection for missed connections with Eurostar if your UK train runs late. So if a UK train delay or cancellation means you are too late for check in, Eurostar will put you on the next service with a vacant seat(s).
@@dariengoodwin wow! This is a great tip, thank you for sharing with us. I’m sure we’ll take this again! We hadn’t read this one anywhere!
Best thing about going to France by train is that it takes you from and to the centre of the cities. It's not so clear cut for those of us who live in the north of England or Scotland. We have to get down to London first (as you did!). It's only an hour's flight to Paris and Amsterdam from airports like Manchester. But I lived in France for a while before the chunnel was built and I remember getting the train from Gare du Nord to go home and it just took you to the port where you got the boat. So going straight to London is amazing. My wife and I are going to take the train down and spend a couple of days in Lille soon. The train is a good option because otherwise we'd probably have to fly to Paris or Brussels and then get a train.
You make a good point. I mean it is a short journey from Crewe to Manchester airport from where there are multiple Paris flights daily.
That’s such a great point, being able to travel straight to the heart of the cities makes such a difference! That hour long flight to Paris or Amsterdam from Manchester sounds like a good option, but it must really be nice to skip the ferry trip now.
Funny enough, we also planned a weekend in Lille, then off to Brussels and Amsterdam where we'll fly back to the UK! Wishing you both a wonderful trip and safe travels!
We've used the Euro Tunnel for our travel to France using the car train, takes about 40mins, best way to travel to the continent. Great video guys. 👏🏻
@@Paul_Allaker8450 we were surprised how many people were on it! After now flying back, agree it’s the best way to travel. Thanks for enjoying with us ☺️
@@AndrewandMegan The car train is a different thing again.
The Eurostar is the best way to travel between the UK and France. I have friends that visit the UK pretty often and they're all unanimous : long live the Eurostar, it's the most convenient and comfortable way to travel !
I was a bit confused on when to get there for check in. Check in closes an hour before departure?
I would not say it's "the best way between UK and France." Depends entirely where you are in the UK. Eurostar is best for those living in London and the South East region. Originally the plan was to have regional Eurostar trains (these would run from Wales, the Northwest and Scotland) by passing London. But the plan was cancelled at the last minute because, at that time, the budget airlines (with their lower fares) appeared on the scene.
@@DW-zg3xx Yep! We received an email notification from Eurostar telling us to be there at least an hour early for check-in, customs, and to send our luggage through security.
Oh Megan, to see your face light up in the Chunnel! Soooo funny. It's the little things eh! Lol😂❤
@@oggie1967 I’m all about the little things in life 😆 Thanks for enjoying with us!
The great thing about taking the Eurostar is that if the train breaks down under the Channel, Sylvester Stallone comes to rescue you.
@@scottredding7357 Andrew thought that would be very comforting to tell me while under the English Channel 😂
Was that called Daylight???
@@robertelkins5928 Yep! That's the one
@@robertelkins5928 Yep! That's the one
@@robertelkins5928 Yep! That's the one
The great plus of Eurostar is once you are on it, you have a good long travel period. Going by air the travel is broken up into lots of smaller chunks like getting out of London to Heathrow or Gatwick, which I find more stressful. Also you get to see the change in landscape. It's always crazy for me that 45 mins out from St Pancras you are already in the north of France. (I can remember doing this journey by ferry and train in the 1980s and it took 8 hours!)
We would agree! And wow, 2 hours compared to 8 hours is quite the difference. But we do want to experience the ferry one day!
The walk from Euston to St Pancras is about 5 minutes!!!
@@keith1222 well…. that probably would have been a better way to go 😆
Exactly. In fact the tube takes longer by the time you negotiate all the passages, escalators etc.
Just to be clear, you going under ground not under water 😁😁 I really enjoyed this, I was working in Paris for 6 months so used the Eurostar a few weekends back to London going out with friends and then back early Monday mornings. It's a brilliant way to travel... The vehicle train is even weirder, you drive onto the train with your car/motorbike and then sit there till you get the other side then drive off it....
BTW, I'm with you Andrew, I can't sit facing the opposite of travel direction, it messes with my mind... Then again if the train crashes you would be better off by not becoming a javelin flying down the train...
BTW, its got dedicated tracks and tunnels created especially for it to get out of London, so the result of this is that its almost never late on arrival or departure. No traffic to compete with... It is a brilliant way to travel as I've said before but a shame it can't go full speed in the UK, not allowed to... So think about the fact that flying you need to be there 2-3 hours before the flight and you need to travel to the airport, so no including your flight time, that's the same as the travel time on the Eurostar. I was up in Edinburgh last week for work and flew EasyJet, 25 min late going up and 1h10 late coming back. So having a train that's on time and not delayed is a great alternative to flying to Paris and way more greener...
Thanks for sharing your experience! We loved how seamless the journey from the heart of London to the center of Paris was on the Eurostar, so much easier than flying in our opinion. That vehicle train sounds like something we'll have to experience one day!
And I’m glad I’m not the only one who struggles with sitting backwards. Although you make a good point about the javelin effect... something I hadn’t thought about.
It’s such a shame it can’t hit full speed in the UK, but the reliability and avoiding airport hassle definitely make up for it. Your EasyJet experience is convincing me to use the Eurostar every time now!
I wish you had traveled to Burbank, CA, and talked about the town there!
We haven't been there, but maybe we'll visit in the future!
Door to door, Eurostar is by far the quickest way from London to Paris. Also when you were trying to decide which tube line to take from Euston, due to a quirk of the tube map, the Northern line goes south but the Victoria line goes north
@@howardscott1556 the northern line goes south?! It’s like they tried to make it confusing 😂
hopefully next august
Hope you make it, and enjoy your trip!
13:15 welcome to france, those staircases are my nightmare
@@TellyMan200 😂 a workout, a nightmare… what more could you ask for?!
Wow, this may sound odd but I was struck immediately by how you said London and Paris. You didn't say London, England and Paris, France the way Americans normally do. And which I find slightly irritating for some reason. It made me check out what your channel is and it looks fascinating. Subscribed. Can't wait to see what you thought of Manchester (sorry, I mean Manchester, England 😉) where I live. It gets a bad press but I like it.
@@barrysteven5964 well we are glad you’re here! We have fond feelings around Manchester, we’ve stopped through a few times. It’s always been a stop through though, so sounds like we need to give it a proper full stay!
@barrysteven5964 I'm not a Mancunian. But always Loved Traveling to Manchester. I always went when Anyone put a Bus List up for a Night out or Weekend. Don't know why anyone should call it .
Did the people on the train think you were crazy people, with your camera and microphones?
Kettle burns... that's proper Brit stuff that, you qualify for a UK passport 😂
Did we pop out in France... 😂😂😂😂 oh dear me!
❤ from Northeast England ❤️
@@oopsdidItypethatoutloud I’m pretty sure that people think we’re crazy everywhere with our cameras and microphones 😆 But we especially got some strange looks on the train! I will gladly accept my UK passport for the burn 😂 Thanks for your kind words and enjoying with us! ❤️
I’m impressed, moving through the station, great job. The train looked very comfortable. Would like to try it some time.
@@J.Seamansthe train was nice! We’ll take you on it next Europe trip 😊
I used to Cross on the Hovercraft it took 35 minutes to Cross the English Channel. It was Massive.
@@MaxwellMoore-d1u that is so cool. Wish we could have had a chance to do that
@AndrewandMegan There is a Smaller Hovercraft that still operates between Southampton and the Isle of White I think.
The Victoria Line is always boiling hot. It's about time they sorted it.
@@Muswell couldn’t imagine taking it regularly!
When you book Eurostar tickets you have the option to choose your seats for free so you could've chose seats facing forward.
Helpful for next time or for anyone else booking!
Could you let me know how long the customs process typically takes? I understand that US passport holders do not require a visa-can you please confirm this?
@@kalelangovan874 it took us 30 minutes but I’m sure it could be more with a long line. As of 2024 we didn’t need a visa (US citizen as well). Though I know there’s a new EU Visa starting in 2025, so if you’re planning to travel then, I’d look into that!
@@AndrewandMegan - Thanks for the response.
As a former Londoner of course I would have walked from Euston to St P but if your not local you probably wouldnt know. Paris isnt my favorite city but well worth a visit. I get motion sickness on a car or bus if facing backwards but always fine on trains.
@@jasonsmart3482 thank you for understanding our miss there 😆 We feel a little silly running about all chaotic now! Paris feels like a place you just have to see at least once.
I came across this TH-cam purely by chance and I do like your entertaining style. Yes Eurostar is worth trying at least once purely to say you've been through the Tunnel or if you are staying in or near London. But really from Crewe it would be far less expensive and would cost less were you to take one of the many daily flights from Manchester to Paris. (Manchester airport is near Crewe and there are direct trains taking just over 30 mins) Also Eurostar is an expensive train and, if booked near departure, the one-way fare would easily cost GBP150 to GBP250. (GBP1 = USD1.30) It's all down to the pandemic. Eurostar lost lots of money during this time and it needs to recoup lost revenue.
Glad to have you here! Yes, we went back and forth on whether to fly or take the train, but ultimately Megan really wanted to travel through the Chunnel. Next time we'll have to each take a different mode of transportation and race each other.
@@AndrewandMegan Thanks for the reply. Yes you both made the correct decision. Taking Eurostar (although it has its faults) is something every visitor must do.
Oh sweeties...literally 5 min walk from Kings Cross to St Pancras...just across the road,..
.🙄🙄 never mind...you were doing your very best.
I live near the Tunnel, been through numerous times, i remember when my daughter first went through at about 6 she thought she'd be able to see the fish outside, she was so looking for Nemo..😂😂😂....travelling by car is great but you dont have to stay in your car .
@@Aoife24601 😂 our best is all we can do along the way! That would be so fun to take it often. I think your daughter is onto something and they should have windows in it. Thanks for dropping by!
What's unique about it? Traveling by train in general or traveling under sea aspect?
@@DaChaGee well as 2 Americans we do continue to find train travel unique, we wish we had more of it at home. But I think the tunnel under a sea bed into another country is the unique aspect for this!
You are so pretty megan
The experience on the Eurostar is just that of a normal high speed train with passport control. It's far more exciting (for a transport geek) to take a car on Le Shuttle. But, as you said, taking a hire car involves more bureaucracy. However there are coaches that make the trip and give you that experience.
@@tibsiei think we’ll just have to suck it up and hire a car. Le Shuttle sounds too good to miss!
But the coach journey is much longer and can be grim.
For the record, if you take your car through the Chunnel you don't have to sit in it all the time. You can get out and walk about, (use the loos if required), but as you're in a double-decker tin tube full of cars it isn't the most exciting of experiences.
@@davidjones332 that’s neat! We thought you were just trapped in there.
More room in the narrowboat 😂
haha absolutely!
Are we there yet?😂
😂😂😂 glad you enjoyed that!
You can book seats facing forward then there's no travel sickness (same as aisle, table or window seats)....unless they were not available/sold out as I would imagine they are the most popular.
I bet they are the most popular. Not something we even thought about when booking, but will do this next time. Thanks!
Common error … the Chunnel is only the channel tunnel (car carrying train), not the Eurostar.
I travelled on Eurostar a couple of times in the '90s. The first time a business partner was paying, the destination was Disney Land Paris for a conference. Something went wrong with the booking. Then, by the time it was fixed, only "First Class" (not sure it was called that) tickets were available. Our business partner paid, including 3-course dinner on the train. The main course was a delicious chateaubriand. One of the best meals I've had during a journey. Sorry to see your scald. I hope you got some ointment to sooth it and help healing.
It's often worth checking locations on a London surface map. I'd have been very tempted to go to the Euston taxi rank and catch a cab to St Pancras International. Google maps thinks it's 4 minutes.
Best Wishes. ☮
@@gbulmer wow! That sounds like a train journey to remember! We’ll have to look into the first class next time.
Thanks for the healing words. We found some ointments in Paris that worked great!
See you on the next adventure!
@@AndrewandMegan I'm glad you got some treatment for the scald. I've scalded myself, and it was amazingly sore and painful. France has a National Health service with a reasonable reputation, so you were likely OK if it were more serious. I haven't used the French Health Service, but I have used the Dutch Health Service when the UK was still in the EU. It was superb, and cost nothing.
I imagine the food I had on Eurostar was good because it was only a few years after the Chunnel was opened, and they were probably trying to build a reputation for a quality comparable to first on an aeroplane. I think the ticket prices were comparable. Back in the '90s, getting an aeroplane had much less security around it, and hence was quicker. Also, back then, IIRC they recommended Chunnel passengers arrive at least 15 minutes before scheduled departure. I can't remember if they even closed boarding then. I have a feeling not.
I've just checked, and they have Raymond Blanc as consultant for Eurostar menu and food. Blanc is well known from TV cooking shows (eg as a judge). His Oxfordshire restaurant has 2 Michelin stars. So I imagine food on the Eurostar is fine.
If you use the Chunnel again, you might consider some other destination, like Amsterdam or Brussels. Or get a high-speed connecting train to other destinations including German cities. The French SNCF travel at 320km/h, almost 200mph. I think the German ICE is also 320km/h, but I've seen claims of some parts doing 350km/h, over 215mp/h, which might be a hoot.
Best Wishes. ☮
@@gbulmer Thank you for all the information! Someone else said that I was now an honorary Brit since having been scalded by a kettle haha. The French were very helpful in the treatment and they said the good thing is that France is known for its skin products so they had plenty of recommendations for healing and avoiding scarring. Fingers crossed!
The food from the cafe was good. As we had never eaten on a train, we didn't have any expectations, but it sounds like Eurostar takes pride in their food if they're being consulted by a Michelin Star chef!
We'll be taking the Eurostar from Lille to Amsterdam next, so looking forward to it!
Thanks again for sharing!
Euston and St Pancras are next door to each other..yes a 5 minutes walk 🚶♂️
@@tonyllewellyn6433 lol. We now feel a little silly for our panic 😂 I suppose you’re always learning when traveling!
@AndrewandMegan id probably be the same in the USA 🇺🇸 😂..keep the videos coming it's good entertainment !
My most fun and adventurous way of travelling to Amsterdam from London, was to travel to Dover by train, cross the channel to Dunkirk as a foot passenger, then ride the rest of the way on my bicycle to Amsterdam, following much of the coastline with a couple of stopovers along the way, including Knokke-Heist, a rather nice resort town. Did this a while ago one spring when the weather was warm. Knokke beach is actually really nice 👍
@@EdgyNumber1 that sounds like an epic adventure! How far was the bike ride?!
We looked at taking the ferry from the Netherlands to England but we were having trouble figuring out how to easily get around in Harwich, England where that particular ferry dropped off.
@@AndrewandMegan About 200 miles but obviously you don't do it all in one go. In total I managed it with about 18 hours total riding (I can ride 20mph constant, on flat ground) but I broke it up into stops, with a two night rest, halfway, in the resort town Knokke, got some beach time and a spa massage. I recommend doing it in a warm spring time or in September.
From the Netherlands it was ferry to Harwich and train ride home - I felt that riding back would've been too much lol. As for Harwich Terminal, just take the train from London Liverpool Street. There's a link between the station and ferry terminal.
One thing I will say is that preparation is everything: Bike, panniers, bags, clothes, GPS map, phone, tools🔧 Wake up to ride, break at lunch, arrive in the afternoon, dinner then rest
How much were the tickets been trying to get some thank you
@@KirstyKentfield-b8o the prices vary, but when we got them they were £59 each ($78 USD)
@@AndrewandMegan thank you what's the website please 🙏 thinking of taking my boys next year
@@KirstyKentfield-b8o we booked through the Trainline app. Hope you and your boys enjoy your trip!
@@AndrewandMegan thank you
It takes over 20 million passengers per year !
@@Muswell so cool!!! What a great way to get around!
I was just watching somebody else's video from 2 years ago in Nantwich and spotted you both at exactly 35.00mins th-cam.com/video/Gr9BEINyOAY/w-d-xo.html I thought 'I know these people!!' 😀
@@quinnerefc wow, you have such a good eye! That was a great food festival!
you should have walked between Euston and St Pancras - it must be a 12 minute walk max down Euston road. Kings Cross also has one of the longest tunnels to get to an exit (but you wouldn't have known that)
@@AndyKing1963 we know for next time though, so that counts!
Living in Manchester and having family in Rural Ireland myself, I wish they would just get on and build the high-speed rail tunnel under the Irish Sea from Holyhead to Dublin and just stop messing about, even aside from the failure of HS2 in the U.K. - currently, I get the SailRail via Chester and Holyhead to Dublin, but coming from Manchester, I’d prefer to sail from Liverpool to Dublin (itself a historical route for sailing ships) as I dislike flying - on top of a massive investment programme on Irish railways, the Irish government is also planning to comply with EU “climate change” directives and ban “short-haul” flights between the U.K. and Ireland
Wow, I feel like you gave such a unique insight on UK/Ireland travel, as we had no idea they were thinking of building an Irish Sea tunnel. You also just sent Andrew down a rabbit hole as he's now reading all about the proposed plans ha. We didn't know about the Sailrail option either. We're always looking for unique ways to travel outside of flying as it normally offers a different experience, and I have a bit of anxiety around flying. Neither one of us can imagine short haul flights being banned between the 2 countries, because they're so convenient and fast for most. With all the talk of rail improvements and EU climate goals, it’ll be interesting to see how things evolve. Fingers crossed for better travel links!
@@AndrewandMegan the Holyhead to Dublin route is a trading route across the Irish Sea that dates back to Roman times - also, regardless of Brexit, the U.K. and Ireland are in a Common Travel Area, so even though I’ve lived 23 years in the U.K., being proudly Irish, I’ve always held and renewed an Irish passport - every time they start new ferry routes across the Irish Sea, they rapidly fill up to capacity with ever bigger ferries (you should see Holyhead Port at Midnight to 3am) - Dublin Port has also been expanded to take cruise ships in recent years, but the Channel in the River Liffey is still very narrow and has not been very deep, where all the Bridges further upstream towards Dublin City do not allow ships to pass underneath
Ha ha.. Don't worry guys, never been anywhere abroad in my life. Rather you than me.😃
Well if you ever decide to travel abroad hopefully you can learn from all our mistakes haha
@@AndrewandMegan My family in the USA have asked me for years, to 'go see them'. Quite a trip I would imagine out to Wisconsin on the farm.
@@davidwatts-hw2dh that would be quite the trip, but visiting your family’s farm in Wisconsin could definitely make for an interesting story. Buy that ticket and travel safe! Ha
@@AndrewandMegan It all started in 1944 when mum's sister fell for a GI based in England. He took her home after the war to the farm in the middle of nowhere. Fortunateley my family were old westcountry folks so could milk a cow and pluck a chicken.😄
walk to st.pancras down euston road! takes 8 mins! and its free ;-)
@@richardtaylor8363 We feel like Google maps led us the wrong way for this one 😂
خیلی خوب بود متشکرم.مواظب دستت باش.
Thank you so much! We really appreciate it. I’ll be sure to take care of my hand!
The trains are very very very long and
Have a ton of additional fire-protection measures built-in. Their length ensures that if the train stops in tunnel, then at least part of the train is abreast of a evacuation route into the safety. tunnel.
@@user-ky6vw5up9m that is very fascinating. I tried to not think about that while we were in the tunnel 😆
St pancreas is less than 500 meters from Euston... Why take the tube?
You probably walked 1000+ meters by going on the tube
@@jca111 we fully blame Google maps for this one 😂 No but really, now we know. A lesson for the next Chunnel adventure!
@@AndrewandMegan You had google maps open and didn't see?
Pretty sure you're not in a tunnel on the bed of the sea, but a tunnel under the sea bed.
@@JamesMCross-w7j yes, that’s right! They dug through the chalk.
@@AndrewandMegan Amazing bit of engineering. I remember watching the news footage of the French Team and British Team meeting in the middle and shaking hands for the first time through a small hole in the rock face.
@@JamesMCross-w7j The really impressive thing is how they started digging in parallel, with the UK and France tunnelling about 25km each and navigating into the rock from their own end, and when they met in the middle, the alignment of the two was only out by about a foot!
@@JamesMCross-w7j some tunnels are on the bed. A55 Conwy tunnel in North Wales, for example was floated out in pieces which were allowed to sink to the bed.
I also hate going backwards!
I feel seen. 😅
Sorry you had a delay.You can get a percentage of your fare refunded apply online. If you don’t have a bank account you can have rail vouchers or the money can be donated to a suicide prevention charity.
@@realman6ft6 oh wow! We didn’t know that about the charity. Thank you for sharing. We’ve faced a few UK rail delays so we’ll keep this in mind for sure!
Northern Ireland and Scotland are two different countries
@@stephentaylor1476 Well if you'd like to join in, there is a large debate about this in the comments of our ferry video. th-cam.com/video/uors2HERb8o/w-d-xo.htmlsi=6gArEm2oSM5tYqJg
You could hire a wide boat and do the Canal du Midi between Bordeaux and the Med...
@@andyonions7864 Andrew has now googled this and is planning a trip back to France for it 😂
Omg they took the underground oh dear
@@sashamellon822 barely made it out alive. Phew.
@@AndrewandMegan I just mean the damn station is next door! 15 min walk. Never take the underground if you are going to Heathrow or Gatwick or anything else use the bus or walk
@@sashamellon822 so try to avoid the underground at all costs 😂
chunnel??
@@elie568 the channel tunnel aka Chunnel!
Tbh, walking from Euston to St. Pancras is less than 10 minutes.
With the help of many viewers such as your elf we've since discovered that option is indeed much faster and easier. We blame Google maps! ha
Travel light.
@@billybooger1 it’s was a regret 😂 We had all
Of our hiking gear with us because of an adventure to come so our bags got a little out of control this trip.
Are you enjoying your “chambre de bonne” in Paris?
Oh, we didn't know there was an official name for this type of loft, but yes, we are! It's in a great neighborhood and surrounded by plenty of boulangeries, so we're happy.
should walk ten min
Thanks! We've since learned this. Google maps failed us! ha
How cute! You actually called it the "Chunnel", LOL.
How funny!
No one, absolutely no one, calls it the Chunnel! That's like saying the Underground Railway is called the Underway!
Or the Black Cab is called a Blab or the Double Decker is called the Douker.
I worked down the Channel tunnel on the service tunnel, M18 -M49 pump stations, crossover and the pressure relief ducts and most people used the word Chunnel back then. Chunnel is still common around my area Folkestone, Dover, Canterbury and the villages between. I suppose it being close by kept the name going.
I live near Dover and plenty of people still call it the chunnel. Not as many as used to but it's not something weird to hear.
How cute! You're so young, you don't know it was called the "Chunnel" for years, even on TV.
Yes, people call it the Chunnel. That's what it was called in the '90s, and there's a natural hold-over. I used it in the '90s.
"Chunnel" is also quick to say. Who says "the Underground Railway"? It's the Underground or Tube..
Best Wishes. ☮
Maybe some still refer to it as the Chunnel, but "most" haven't called it that for the best part of 30 years! The only time I ever hear the word used these days is in American travel vlogs! Most people these days just refer to it by the means they use to pass through it, either the Eurostar or the Shuttle, or if referring to the tunnel itself, they just call it "The Channel Tunnel".
Even if you Google whether anyone still calls it the Chunnel, you'll see that the term was used when it was being built, and in its first couple of years of operation, but that the usage of the term has now mainly died out. It was officially branded the "Eurotunnel" until fairly recently.
@@andybaker2456 There is an *_enormous_* difference between _"No one, absolutely no one, calls it the Chunnel!"_ which you initially asserted, and your new claim, less than _"most"._
AFAICT, none of the replies you've received claimed "Chunnel" is the most popular term. So changing from _"No one, absolutely no one"_ to less than _"most"_ agrees with my comment, and my reading of the other replies.
So well done for accepting our comments, and modifying your claim from 0% of people with no margin for error, to less than 50% of people.
What search terms did you use with Google?
Best Wishes. ☮
By the way - it's Parisien, not Pareeshjen. An "S" - there aren't any letters in the alphabet for the sound you're using. Sorry. Just saying.
No need to apologize. We welcome pronunciation corrections. Thanks for watching!
Erm . . Why do you think you would see the water through the windows?? Lol.
The railway tunnel isn't going through the sea - it's going under the sea bed.
@@Muswell 😆 lol, it was just a joke. We knew it would be completely dark the whole time.
I always go by car through the Chunnel.
@@peckelhaze6934 well just rub it in 😂 Just kidding of course… but really, we’re just going to have to figure out how to hire a car for next time
Much quicker to fly from Manchester.
@@jamesbottomley2596 but then you miss the Chunnel!!!
Thirty minute delay at the start? Typical British Snail unfortunately. 🙄
@@leematthews6812 we’ve faced a few British rail delays, we should have known better!
Most people any where in Europe,,,,,we would prefer you stand at home
@@johnfrancismaglinchey4192 we’ve found most Europeans to be extraordinarily welcoming and excited to teach us about their culture. You’re welcome to the US anytime!
No a/c? Man up.
@@legend9335 well… this is awkward.
You two need to stick to Amtrak...embarrassing.
@@seyley2901 There’s nothing embarrassing about trying something new and making mistakes along the way. In fact, one of our goals here on this channel is to show people it’s okay to make mistakes as you go! It’s a fear that stops a lot of people from traveling.
We’ve actually never been on the Amtrak! We don’t have a lot of access to trains where we live. Hence the excitement of something that seems like a very normal experience for you.
Thanks for joining us on this new adventure!
amazing comment at 5:32..'oh no we're going backwards!' correct me if i'm wrong but a train at a terminus on buffers can only go one way out unless you expected it to go down Euston road High street past Mc Donalds. surely A mericans can figure this out without studying Einsteins theory of relativity or Newton's law of gravity. if you face toward the station terminus buildings guess what?....you WILL go backwards DUH
@@peterwhitaker4038 Yes, you are correct. We could figure out what direction we were going to be moving in before moving. Not sure that it has much to do with us being American. That was more of an exclamation of emotion than a revelation of information.
@@AndrewandMegan no problem from me folks just a light hearted English comment at our American cousins. had you been French or German the comments would be a lot more severe i assure you. and if you had been italian well? there would be no end of comments {jokes} about going backwards. maybe i need to explain that one sometime. take care friends