In reality the vast majority of people travelling city centre to city centre choose the Eurostar train service. As the fastest and most stress free option it is with good reason.

HOW TO TRAVEL FROM LANDON TO PARIS

If you'd like to travel by train along additional routes and extend your trip beyond Paris, then a Eurail Pass will make your journeys a whole lot easier.

What is a Eurail Pass and why get one?

How does a Eurail Pass get you from Paris to London?

However the Eurostar trains are not the cheapest way to travel between the two cities, by some way. That honor goes to the low cost coach services that we cover on this page.

While the Eurostar trains whisk you city centre to city centre in just over 2 hours, the fastest coaches that use the tunnel between England and France rather than the ferry services take 7.5 hours to do the same journey.

Eurostar fares are also highly volatile. At popular times and dates or if you buy tickets at very short notice fares can be eye watering and make air travel an option to consider in addition to the coach services.

The airlines that fly between London and Paris tend to be either the national carriers like British Airways and Air France feeding transit passengers into long distance flights rather than those travelling city centre to centre, or low cost budget airlines like easyJet that again tend not to be aimed at those flying city centre to city centre.

Easyjet fly to Charles De Gaulle airport from Luton or Gatwick. Other budget airlines such as Vueling fly from Gatwick airport. Iberia offer return flights from Charles De Gaulle in Paris to London Gatwick.

Eurostar trains

The Eurostar train service takes just two hours and 15 minutes to Paris, so with an early start its possible, and many people do, take a day trip to Paris. There are even day return fares to encourage you to do this.

The Eurostar trains start at London's St Pancras station and terminate in the centre of Paris at the Gare du Nord. Hop-on, hop-off buses visit Gare du Nord or you can very easily independently travel around on the Paris Metro.

Eurostar trains run at minimum hourly frequencies between London and Paris. There are no overnight services, first services start very early morning, last departure is mid/late evening. Scheduled journey times are 2 hours 15 minutes to Paris.

Eurostar offers 3 different classes of seat to meet your needs and seat numbers are allocated. You’re allowed 2 medium-sized items with a maximum length of 85cm, plus 1 item of hand luggage. You need to check in at least 30 minutes prior to departure.

Paris to London on Eurostar

Eurostar fares
Eurostar is a reservations only service – you can book up to 4 months in advance. The further ahead that you book, the more likely you’ll be able to pick up the best fare. Non-flexible tickets (i.e. no exchanges or refunds allowed) are cheaper than tickets with fewer restrictions.

Eurostar fares are dynamic, there will be different fares for different schedules on the same day. Fares can be eye watering if you book late or are trying to travel when an event is on at your destination so do try and plan well ahead.

Eurolines coach services - cheapest way between London and Paris

If you want to go Paris cheaply and are in no hurry then using the coach services may be your preferred solution.
Eurolines run daily services year round both day time and overnight.

Eurolines use modern air conditioned coaches, some with free wi-fi and are backed by a global corporate parent company. Victoria Coach Station is the terminus in London.

Victoria Coach Station is quite central, 5 minutes walk from Buckingham Palace and Victoria Railway and London Underground Station.

Victoria is also a major London hotel district with accommodation options for all sectors of the market.

Some coach services use the ferry across the English Channel, some use the tunnel. The fastest schedules are around 7.5 hours compared to 2 hours of the Eurostar trains. There are both daytime and overnight schedules year round.

The Eurolines Paris terminus is Gallieni, a purpose built coach station integrated with a Paris Metro station but not as central as Victoria in London.

The Megabus terminus is Porte Maillot, more central near the Champs Elysees & Arc de Triomphe but is little more than an open air strip of tarmac reserved for coaches.

VIDEO TRAIN TOUR FROM PARIS TO LANDON