eurostar

[belle]

has anyone travelled on the eurostar from Nantes to ebbsfleet, if so how was it, also can you go from Nantes to Lille or do you have to change at Paris, and how does it work out cost wise.

[Baz]

I have always found that the German Railways website is excellent and very easy for obtaining the information you are requesting. With regards to fares asking at your local station is possibly the best method.

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

Baz

[brianagain]

There are  2/3 direct services daily from Nantes to Lille (either Lille Europe or Lille Flandres) taking 4 to 5 hours. Travelling by TGV can be far more rewarding and relaxing than flying especially if you book early enough (prems) and can get cheap first class tickets. Eg. my daughter is travelling next May from Paris to Macon first class return at £47 (second class at the same time was £46). Booking early and being flexible is the key. As Baz says, the DB site is good for checking what services are available but booking online at SNCF (or Raileurope) or your local station (Nantes?) 3 months before travelling will get you the best deal. My advice: if possible go first class TGV to Lille if the price is right then look for the best Eurostar deal to Ebbsfleet (the 15 min from here to St Pancras seems to be mainly underground or industrial wastleland). Having just travelled return Lille/Nimes in first class I am impressed that the first class compartments are pretty much always fully booked (unlike many similar services in the UK).  My wife liked the fact that on Duplex carriages there are separate Ladies and Gents toilets (don't ask!)

Don't know about others arriving in St Pancras at present but I'm not impressed at being offloaded into what appears to be a confusing shopping / food  mall with little clear signage to exits / taxis or other rail services etc.

Brian (again)

[trees]

[quote user="brianagain"]

Don't know about others arriving in St Pancras at present but I'm not impressed at being offloaded into what appears to be a confusing shopping / food  mall with little clear signage to exits / taxis or other rail services etc.

Brian (again)

[/quote]

Exactly what my sis and bro-in-law said last week.

Award winning station? Award winning retail outlet more like. Still, this IS the UK, so what should we have expected? SOMEONE has to pay for it all. SOMEONE has to make a profit. Forget service.

[Judith]

[quote user="brianagain"]

Don't know about others arriving in St Pancras at present but I'm not impressed at being offloaded into what appears to be a confusing shopping / food  mall with little clear signage to exits / taxis or other rail services etc.

Brian (again)

[/quote]

Yes, I recce'd it very well one November afternoon when it first opened, but when I travelled back in the dark later at night, after my Christmas trip, I had no idea where I had been deposited in the building, and, as you say, when you land up in shopping mall, which is badly lit IMHO, for a few moments I could not decide which was the most direct way out of the building to the route I needed to get back to base. Not impressed!