The first Eurostar train departs from St. Pancras station, London at 5:25 am and arrives at Gare du Nord station, Paris at 8:50 am.
The last train departs from St. Pancras station, London at 8:05 pm and arrives at Gare du Nord station, Paris at 11:26 pm.
The journey from London to Paris takes approximately 3 hours 40 minutes, and Eurostar fare for this journey is £39 for one side and £69 including return ticket.
Gare du Nord does not service Loire Valley Destinations
Onward to the Loire Valley:
When you arrive at Gare du Nord, the other mainline stations with access to the Loire Valley are all within easy reach, allow yourself 1 1/2 hours to get to Montparnasse and 30 min to Paris-Austerlitz'
If you want to take the TGV for the next part of you journey you must head for Gare Montparnasse
To get to Gare Montparnasse from Gare du Nord you can either take a taxi or the metro depending on your personal circumstances.
If you can carry/wheel your luggage then you can take in the 'metro experience' which can be interesting depending on the time of day, and remember you may have to negotiate stairs, escalators and turnstiles.
Leave the Eurostar platform, turn left, and follow the signs for Metro line M4.
Metro line M4 takes you directly to 'Montparnasse Bienvenue' - follow signs 'M4 direction Porte d'Orléans'.
Note: The metro will bring you up a 700 metre (750 yard) walk away from the actual railway station. Follow link below to see detailed metro route.
Be sure that you can handle your luggage, if in any doubt, just take the taxi, it should cost around €13.00
Check here for up-to-date taxi price to Gare Montparnasse
This could be your best option - especially with luggage.
If the taxi rank is busy you can call an English speaking cab company 'Taxis G7' on +33 1 41 27 66 99 but they will have to pick you up opposite the front entrance to the station on Boulevard de Denain, outside the 'Hotel Paris Terminus Nord' for example, away from the official rank, due to some French taxi union rules.
Loire Valley from Montparnasse Paris
From Montparnasse you can get the high-speed TGV train to a destination in the Loire Valley (ie Tours or Angers for under 50 euros) either as your final destination or to pick up your hire car for further exploration. You can also catch a standard train over to Chartres. Your ticket can be purchased along with your Eurostar ticket or separately - it should be less expensive (as little as 20 euros) the earlier you purchase it.
When you enter the station from street level you'll find escalators and stairs leading up to the main stations plus access to the metro, lines 4, 6, 12 and 13.
Journey times from Paris Montparnasse (TGV) station.
Tours: (**Saint-Pierre-des-Corps):1hour 15 mins. on the high-speed TGV train
There are some trains that will take you into the main Tours' station - check on the SNCF site for these.
Blois: 1 hour 35 minutes
Bourges: 1 hour 50 minutes
Chateauroux: 2 hours 10 minutes
Chinon: 2hr / 2hr 30min
Orléans: 1 hour
Chartres: 1 hour 15 minutes by TER train
Chatellerault: 1 hour 30 minutes
Poitiers: 1 hour 40 minutes
http://www.sncf.com/en/passengers
Please Note:
**Saint Pierre des Corps is just outside the city of Tours.(3.8km - not 15km as per the Eurostar website!) If you are heading into Tours itself you will find a non TGV train waiting (or arriving shortly) to take you there on your arrival. You can also pick up a hire car from here for onward journey to you destination. There are also trains that do go direct to Tours central station - when enquiring or booking on the SNCF site enter Tours as your destination. You will see some trains require a change at Saint Pierre des Corps and others terminate at Tours.
Although Chatellerault and Poitiers are not in the Loire Valley they provide good links into the Southern Touraine area of the Centre-Val de Loire region.
You can pick up a standard commuter train from any of the above stations to other destinations within the Loire Valley, for example to Loches you would transfer to another train at Tours.
Loire Valley from Austerlitz Paris
To get to Gare Austerlitz from Gare du Nord you can either take a taxi or the metro depending on your personal circumstances.
If you can carry, wheel your luggage then you can take in the 'metro experience' which can be interesting depending on the time of day, and remember you may have to negotiate stairs, escalators and turnstiles.
Leave the Eurostar platform, turn left, and follow the signs for Metro line M5. Metro line 5 takes you directly to the Gare d'Austerlitz, follow signs 'M5 direction Place d'Italie'. The metro train comes out above ground, crosses the Seine and arrives at Gare d'Austerlitz on a high-level platform opposite the mainline station entrance.
If you'd rather take a taxi it should cost just over €13.00
Click here for up-to-date taxi price to Gare d'Austerlitz
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