Quizzes & Puzzles7 mins ago
England question
Anybody know if I need a passport to take the chunnel to France? I'm coming from America and am spending my time in England. I'm not really interested in seeing much of France, maybe a day at most. But I do want to ride the chunnel and I could than say I've been to France. Americans view of the french, right or wrong, is very rude and arrogant. England is the country I want to see. It is Americas Mother Country and our main allie. Sometimes it seems like our only allie. Can't depend on France or Canada anymore. Anyway, Americans Love the Brits.(is the term "Brits" okay or would it be considered rude?)
Answers
No best answer has yet been selected by vitobn. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Yes, France is a foreign country and you will need a passport.
The Chunnel is a fantastic piece of engineering - you can take the EuroStar train from Central London [Waterloo station] into Paris or Lille for a day trip and if you search around you should be able to get a fare for around $170, otherwise you take the Le Shuttle drive-on train from Folkestone to Calais - but not much to do in Calais apart from buy cheap alcohol!
You do realise that you will be travelling on a train in a tunnel for most of the journey?
I mention this because just having returned from a 2 week visit to the states (Detroit / Cleveland / Pittsburgh) and having had conversations with a few people during our visit they didn't know that. They like you wanted to use the Chunnel.
Had a wonderful time in your country and I hope you have as good a time here.
(take your passport to France - we have had to show ours everytime we go - twice a year - but they have never been stamped)
Danny, Why would I care if my passport was stamped from France? If you read my question it says, "I want to say I've been to France." It was just a simple question needing a simple answer and you shouldn't take it personal or read into things that aren't there. And what "difficult questions" could I possibly get from having a France stamp on my passport? That statement is very confusing. People would be jealous that I got to go there. I would want my passport stamped by every country I go to prove I've been there. And France is not considered a "non-allie" to the USA or England. North Korea, Iraq, Cuba, etc. are condidered non-allies and yes, no American or Englishmen in their right mind would go to any of those countrys. Americans feel very close to our English friends. We've been through a lot together and continue to go through a lot. We feel more comfortabe there than anywhere in the World, and the reasons for that are obvious. The fact that you speak English sure helps. lol It is probably Americans favorite place to go and feel safe. In a world filled with terrorist there are less and less places to go, no matter what Nationality you are, and feel safe. I don't know where you got that Americans are suspicious of non-allie countrys so we don't travel there. The USA has more world travelers than 99% of the countries and we Love all of them or we wouldn't go. There are probably 100,000 Americans a year going to France regardless of what we think of the people. It's a beautiful country with a lot of history. I would suspect that many English people share my views of the French. Personally, I would rather spend my time in Americas Mother Country, England. I also would rather spend my time in Italy. That is where my family Emigrated from 97 years ago to start new a life in the USA and it is beautiful and rich in history. Thats my opinion, I'm not speaking for all America. Thanks
Hello again, Vitobn.
As you've posted two questions in quick succession, I'll try to answer them both here:
It's already been stated that you need your passport for travel to France. When you leave the UK, it'll be given a cursory glance by French officials in London. (They probably won't stamp it). When you return, it'll be inspected by officials of both nations in Paris. (There are no passport or customs checks to go through when you complete each journey).
Several people have already suggested that you can make big savings by booking rail travel in advance. This applies just as much to trips to France as it does to internal travel. (A walk-up day return fare might cost over US$500 but you might get that down to between US$100 and $200 by pre-booking). To book, go here:
http://www.eurostar.com
For travel around Paris, you can buy a 'Paris Visite' ticket at the Eurostar terminal in Waterloo station. This costs �6 (about $11) and gives you unlimited travel on bus, Metro and RER services throughout central Paris. This saves queuing in Paris although you can save money by buying a ticket in Paris. This is because the 'Paris Visite' covers Zones 1 to 3 of the Paris transport system but you probably don't need Zone 3. If you wait until you get to Paris, you can buy a 2-zone 'Mobilis' ticket for 5.30 euros (about $7).
If you need suggestions for some of the best places to visit on a day trip to Paris (from museums to restaurants), just ask.
I've already posted a link, in a previous post, for B&Bs in York. I see that someone has suggested another site as well. You really shouldn't have any difficulty in finding somewhere suitable if you use those sites. (There are lots of good B&Bs in York. Just don't wait until the last minute to book).
Staying south of London won't necessarily be an advantage if you want to visit more than one resort on the South Coast. This is because the rail lines from London radiate out, like the spokes of a wheel, to serve different destinations. If you stay part way along one 'spoke' you'll be well-placed for the resort at the end of that particular line but it could be time-consuming getting across to a neighbouring 'spoke' to get to another resort. I really believe that you'd be better off by staying at one of the B&Bs, in or around central London, which I linked to in a previous post.
Also, while there are several quite pleasant resorts on the South Coast, I wouldn't say that any of them come close to the splendour of Brighton. Personally, I'd suggest just doing the one seaside visit (to Brighton) from London and also taking a trip to the coast from York. The obvious choice of destination, from York, would have to be Scarborough. This is a complete contrast to Brighton but still a great place to be on a sunny day. (Brighton is a vibrant, student-orientated city with an international feel. Scarborough is a traditional British 'bucket and spade' seaside town with good beaches and an imposing cliff-top castle).
You've already indicated that you don't mind long rail journeys and also that you're considering buying a BritRail pass. With this in mind, I suggest that you should consider a day trip from York, across the Scottish border, to Edinburgh. It's a wonderful city and I can even recommend a pub where they serve great haggis!. (Although Scotland is a different country, it's part of the same nation so you won't need to take your passport!).
Hoping something here helps,
Chris
vitobn - some (and I agree only some, but they are influential) Americans regard the French as 'cheese eating surrender monkeys', I think the phrase was. It might have rubbed off on the occasional US immigration official.
You are in the tunnel for perhaps 25 miles - 10% of the journey if that. Not 'most of the journey'.
If you're really determined to visit a few more South Coast resorts, you might want to consider actually staying in Brighton. It's only about 50 minutes by train from central London. (Many Brighton residents work in London). Some places much closer to London have far longer journey times into the centre of the capital because they're not served by such a good rail service.
Brighton's a fantastic place to stay with a vibrant nightlife. It's also on the coastal rail line which provides links to other resorts both to the east and west.
You can find out more about Brighton, and search the accommodation database, from the official tourism site, here:
http://www.visitbrighton.com/
Chris
When you look through the accommodation lists, on the various websites which have been suggested, you might not find many places listed as 'B&Bs'. The majority of the establishments which used to use this title (or the slightly more up market 'guest house') have now re-branded themselves as 'hotels'.
So don't restrict your searching to places which specifically use the term 'B&B'. Just look for the smaller 'hotels' and you'll find that they're the same friendly, family-run places that they were previously in business as 'B&Bs'.
Chris
If you're into 'country collecting', it might be worth noting that Ryanair have some incredibly cheap flights from London's Stansted Airport. For example, I just checked up on the possibility of a day trip to Dublin on a random date in July. (I don't know when you're travelling). The flight time is only 70 minutes (and there are frequent fast buses into Dublin city centre). There are loads of flights with a fare of just �0.01 (less 2 US cents!) each way. Admittedly, you've got to add on taxes & charges but this still gives a return fare equivalent to about US$30.
Dublin's a fascinating city and well worth a visit. (I live fairly close to Stansted airport and frequently take cheap day trips like that one. I've been to Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Sweden and Spain so far but there are plenty of other options available at really cheap fares).
Chris
I agree with you entirely about not wanting to come into France, it mightn't be very healthy for you, but wanting to brag about being here is beyond me! The french have this thing about being rude and arrogant to those who are rude and arrogant to them... and as I suppose that those americans who have this attitude towards the french speak the language so would know when they were being badly spoken to!!
I'm english and lived in France for over 20 years and I've NEVER found the french arrogant or rude but have seen many transatlantic tourists boast this attitude.
It might be a good idea to get your own experience of countries and people without relying on others...
puppet for big business rather than a clever man with statesmanlike abilities.
In my experience, very few Americans know about France so will not be impressed by your boasting of your visit. Many I have spoken to think the Queen is Jewish, England is joined to the US by land, the English eat squirrels. we all stop to drink tea at 4pm and we do not have toilet paper. That�s why all but a few will not travel outside the immediate US area and, when they do, will do so in a large group with other Americans, eat at McDonalds and stay at the Holiday Inn - they know what they are going to get..
Anyway, hope you enjoy your visit and manage to sleep tight. Remember, Uncle Sam is watching.