London - Paris - London on Eurostar through the Channel Tunnel

This past week I have been in Paris for work. I was staying at the Marriot on the glamorous Champs-Elysees.

I have stayed at this hotel 5 out of the 6 times that I have been to Paris in the last 2 years as that is where we have been meeting. I will post a fuller review of the hotel with some videos of the room. The location is great as it is slap bang on the Champs-Elysees – which it also makes it expensive for the same reason.

I travelled to Paris in the best way to do it, which is on the very wonderful Eurostar service that goes (currently) from Waterloo to Paris Gard De Nord. Next year this will change and it will set off from London St Pancras station (which is more North London and next to Kings Cross).  It is moving there for a bunch of reasons that include that is where the even faster line will go to which cuts another 15 minutes off the trip to about 2 hours 15 minutes. It is also moving there as then it is handy for Kings Cross where the trains heading up to the North / Scotland set off from so provides better feed for travellers.

People get a bit confused sometimes with the "Channel Tunnel" which is basically bankrupt due to the 6 billion dollars of debt it is in from the building, and the "Eurostar" which runs the train services between London/ Paris, London/ Paris Disneyland, London/ Brussels which are very busy and very profitable.

With the recent changes to the security processes at airports, it ahs made getting the train even better as although you do have screening it all goes much faster and much less stressful all in all as you don't have all the hanging about and then you arrive in the centre of Paris.

The train now has 3 classes. A Business carriage designed (not surprisingly) for business travellers that also get you access to some quite funky looking lounges. A "posh" leisure class that is basically like business but without the lounge access and is designed for people on holiday and with kids especially and then the regular class. The Business and "posh" leisure also get drinks and at seat food service, which is pretty much like airline food and not that great but fine.

I don't know why people fly from London to Paris as is much more hassle and especially getting from Paris airports into town. Although can drivers at rush hour hate taking you from central Paris to the Eurostar terminal as they say traffic is busy and they cannot get fares (as they have to join a long queue of cabs to pick up passengers).

Some people say they are worried about being in a tunnel under all that water. This seems a bit crazy to me as you don't have any real sensation of being in a tunnel and at night if they di not tell you that you were entering the tunnel you would have no idea when you were in or out it!

I have made a podcast about the building of the channel tunnel if you are interested in hearing it. It is a chapter in a book I am working on!