Travel To Paris From London

[mikey4444]

I am trying to win an argument with a friend, about the time it would take to get from central London to central Paris, by air and Eurostar. I reckon it would be quicker by Eurostar, as it doesn't require all that faffing about airports but my friend says the opposite. What does everybody else think ?

[BlackadderV]

Eurostar, when you consider you have to be at the airport 2 hours before flight and then 40 mins to central Paris. Eurostar takes just under 3 hours.

[Maydup]

Might it depend on the starting point mikey? We went to Paris on the Eurostar last month and it took about 2 hours 20 minutes with a 20minutes checkin.

Getting to an airport could take that time alone without the check in and flight so I say Eurostar anyday, but you might disagree of you lived in Staines for example.

[Spotty Dog]

Good question, that! We went once with National Express from Manchester, down to London, where we had an hour-a-half wait, then by Eurotunnel to Paris. Very fast, yes, but the coach left us at their depot, and we had to find our own way into central Paris. Being the first time we used the Metro, it was a bit of a nightmare. However, I would agree that, overall, it's probably faster.

[mikey4444]

I think you are right Blackadder, but he won't have it !

[janbee]

If I lived in London, I would go via Eurostar. Much quicker and much more civilised

[mushroom25]

you need to agree a starting point, you also need to agree a finish point, and the method of getting to either St Pancras or Heathrow, and getting to your end point from Paris Nord or CDG. only when you've done that can you definitively say.

but as a guide:-
marble arch to heathrow, 35-43mn, to st pancras 17mn.
min check-in for Eurostar 30mn, for a BA European flight 45mn.
Eurostar London-paris 2hr20mn
flight LHR-CDG 1hr15mn
RER/Metro Paris Nord to Cite (notre dame) 16mn
RER/Metro CDG2 to Cite 46mn

these of course take no account of waiting for your luggage to arrive at CDG, or the time it takes to reach the RER/Metro on arrival at Paris, or walking from the train/tube to either St Pancras Eurostar or Terminal 1 LHR.

[mushroom25]

....and I haven't included the indeterminates, like:-

Eurostar trains are so long that if you're travelling in the rear, it can take you up to 15mn to walk off the platform in paris, not to mention walking from one side of the station to the other to reach the metro/rer

arrival times of flights = touchdown, not engines off at the gate; so if the wind's in the wrong direction you'll land away from the terminal and it could take the plane 15mn to taxi round to it.

etc, etc

[mikey4444]

I think we are agreed that if you were starting from Trafalgar Square and wanted to end up at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, it has to be the train.

Thanks everybody !

[New Judge]

As long ago as 1959 the journey between Marble Arch and the Arc de Triomphe was covered in a fraction over 40 minutes. Mind you, you did need the use of high speed motorcycles, helicopters and an RAF Hunter jet fighter:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/air-force-obituaries/6932787/Air-Vice-Marshal-Charles-Maughan.html

I also seem to remember a couple of air races in the1960's involving a Harrier jump jet taking off from the disused Somers Town goods yard near St Pancras. I know one race was from the Post Office Tower (as it then was called) to the Empire State Building but I seem to have it in mind that the "Arch to Arc" journey was also involved. I remember seeing film of the Harrier taking off and blowing a hundred years of accumulated coal dust over Euston Road.

Back to the real world I think most of this has been covered except to say that I agree that it depends very much where you're starting from (and where abouts in Paris you are going to). Many flights at London City airport can be taken with just a 30min check in and the flight takes about 35mins, but I would imagine that the train shades it for city centre to city centre travel.

[mushroom25]

NJ, the harrier took off from St Pancras as part of the Daily Mail's trans-atlantic air race in May 1969, and was piloted by sqn ldr Tom Lecky-Thompson; he won the race with a time of just over 6 hours.