1st day to paris yesterday from midland station.£77 did any body go? Europe is now opened up by train good thing or bad thing?midland station to Barcelona is it a possibility?

errmmm, where's midland station?

1st day to paris yesterday from midland station.£77 did any body go? Europe is now opened up by train good thing or bad thing?midland station to Barcelona is it a possibility?

Regardless of where you want to end up youll have to change trains in London and if you want to travel further afield, Paris as well. I doubt Paris to Barcelona is a possibility youll probably have to change in the south of france as well. For a journey that long theres no point taking the train, unless you want the travelling to be a part of your experience.

errmmm, where's midland station?

That big thing below the Parkhill flats that trains come in and out of!!

sheffield station? if so why is it called midland station- is that something official or a nickname?

i've just wiki'ed it, cleared up now. I've only been here a few months

Wouldnt quite say that Europe has opened up as you have been able to go to Paris from Sheffield for years, Midland Mainline to St Pancars then tube to Waterloo then Eurostar to Paris.

No doubt its pretty much the same now apart from not having to trek over to Waterloo when you arrive in London.

Is that £77 ticket a through ticket, letting you travel from Sheffield to Paris useing just one ticket ?

And no doubt you still have to check in for the Eurostar when you arrive at St Pancras.

Now with the new CTRL open, a direct Leeds-Sheffield-Lille-Paris Eurostar would be great.

booked in advance 77 quid not bad . one member sent me a p m took son of 3 on euro star this year little boy said going under the tunnel will we see any fish through the window.His dad said hope not but if we do panic!

Regardless of where you want to end up youll have to change trains in London and if you want to travel further afield, Paris as well. I doubt Paris to Barcelona is a possibility youll probably have to change in the south of france as well. For a journey that long theres no point taking the train, unless you want the travelling to be a part of your experience.

direct trains from Paris to Barcelona Madrid Lisbon Rome they have been running for years in fact there is not a european capital you cannot get a direct train to from Gare de Nord You can also get a direct train to Moscow the list is endless

Point is the journey is now simpler and faster. Travel with East Midlands Trains from Sheffield to London St Pancras then change platforms onto a Eurostar to Lille, Paris or Brussells. Ok you have to check in and go through security for Eurostar at St Pancras but this is much less hassle than the procedure at an airport and you can check in up to 30 minutes before departure.

Once at Lille, Paris or Brussells there are high speed train connections to other parts of Europe too.

The DB European journey planner is good for checking such journeys and seeing how feasible they may be: http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

We travelled a few times on a through ticket to brussels and paris , it beats flying anyday ,no travelling to airports and no hassle at the other end as both main stations are central

Incidentally Sheffield to Barcelona returns a 05:20 departure from Sheffield, change at London St Pancras, Lille Europe, Perpignan and Port Bou, arrive Barcelona Sants at 23:10.

Incidentally Sheffield to Barcelona returns a 05:20 departure from Sheffield, change at London St Pancras, Lille Europe, Perpignan and Port Bou, arrive Barcelona Sants at 23:10.

Or lunchtime leaving Sheffield, sleeper from Paris to Barcelona (excellent option), arrive Barcelona early the next morning :)

Or lunchtime leaving Sheffield, sleeper from Paris to Barcelona (excellent option), arrive Barcelona early the next morning :)

Sounds good to me Andy.! :)

Incidentally Sheffield to Barcelona returns a 05:20 departure from Sheffield, change at London St Pancras, Lille Europe, Perpignan and Port Bou, arrive Barcelona Sants at 23:10.

Hmmmm... With four changes and a journey of almost 17 hours, I think I'd rather fly!

Hmmmm... With four changes and a journey of almost 17 hours, I think I'd rather fly!

Well, quite. However if you instead look at a number of the popular destinations in Belgium, France, Holland and Germany it does look a bit more attractive.

For example if you get the 09:27 train from Sheffield to London and transfer onto Eurostar, you can arrive in Brussels at 15:59 local time - 5.5 hour journey city centre to city centre.

Look at the route map on the Eurostar website to see where you can get reasonably beyond that: http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisure/travel_information/before_you_go/route_maps.jsp

This is very interesting.

London to Amsterdam is about £250 return, which is a bit more than a Jet2 flight from leeds BUT cuts out the inhumane prodding and poking you get through customs etc. And you're straight into Centraal with no need to transfer from Schipol.

Only problem is you've got to get to London first, but well worth a try - thanks for the info :thumbsup:

Well, quite. However if you instead look at a number of the popular destinations in Belgium, France, Holland and Germany it does look a bit more attractive.

I quite agree, and I much prefer the train when it's a sensible alternative (and tomorrow I'll be wallowing in nostalgia as Mrs hillsbro and I enjoy a day excursion from Scunthorpe to Chester and back behind 60009 Union of South Africa). But I just wish that whoever plans these things had kept their early-1990s promise to provide through trains from the North of England via the Channel Tunnel to the Continent. This proved to be just a pipe-dream, but it might have provided a viable alternative for someone living, say, a stone's throw from Manchester Airport to travel by train to Paris, Brussels or Cologne instead of going through the ordeal that using a large airport amounts to nowadays.

For short distance trips, the train is now fantastic! Yes, you can fly to Paris from Manchester in a couple of hours, but Charles de Gaulle airport is outside Paris, whereas Eurostar takes you right into the centre of Paris and you only need to allow 45minutes for check in :) I went a couple of years ago, and at 4pm we were wandering down the Champs Elysses, at by 7.30 we were in London! Why fly?

1st day to paris yesterday from midland station.£77 did any body go? Europe is now opened up by train good thing or bad thing?midland station to Barcelona is it a possibility?

Didn't the people who went yesterday have to contend with a transport strike at the French end?

If you're planning a trip to Europe, then use the excellent advice at seat61.com (http://seat61.com/). The guy who runs it used to work in the railways, and has created an awesome travel site that is basically organised around explaining how to get from the UK to virtually anywhere in Europe by train. He explains not only which exact trains to get, but also which websites etc to use to buy the tickets.

I did an Erasmus semester in Strasbourg earlier this year, both before the new Eurostar link to St. Pancras and the TGV Est from Paris - Strasbourg. I reckon London-Strasbourg is easily done in under five hours now.

*j*

I can vouch for the overnight from Paris to Barcelona. The most civilised way to travel - you wake up whilst skirting the North coast of Spain. There's nothing like sitting at Paris Asuterlitz in the evening watching trains depart for every corner of Europe. In fact I feel a booking coming on....

I'm trying the Sheffield to Paris thing tomorrow. :D

I did an Erasmus semester in Strasbourg earlier this year, both before the new Eurostar link to St. Pancras and the TGV Est from Paris - Strasbourg. I reckon London-Strasbourg is easily done in under five hours now.

Easily, especially with France's new LGV Est line towards Strasbourg!

I know someone who went to Brussels for the day and the only problem they encountered with the strike was the train could not stop at Lille. Imagine it was worse for going to Paris though!

I really really want to use this route, but all hols booked up til Easter or Summer, if not later.

The sleeper to Barcelona sounds a great idea. Any more sleeper ideas anyone.

I can't wait to try the champagne bar at St Pancras, I am sure it will beat the Shire pub hands down (anyone remember that hell hole).

The sleeper to Barcelona sounds a great idea. Any more sleeper ideas anyone.

Paris to Milan, Venice, Rome, Munich, Vienna - lots of places really.

Just checked the schedule doing the overnight journey to Barcelona

Dep Sheffield 12:27
arr London St Pancras 14:44

dep London St Pancras 15:30
arr Paris Nord 18:56

Paris Nord to Paris Austerlitz by Metro

dep Paris Austerlitz 20:32
arr Barcelona Estacion de Franca 08:24

For short distance trips, the train is now fantastic! Yes, you can fly to Paris from Manchester in a couple of hours, but Charles de Gaulle airport is outside Paris, whereas Eurostar takes you right into the centre of Paris and you only need to allow 45minutes for check in :) I went a couple of years ago, and at 4pm we were wandering down the Champs Elysses, at by 7.30 we were in London! Why fly?

The trouble is you have to arrive at the airport two hours before the flight then go through the hassle of the security checks throwing away your much needed liquids only to have to re-buy them at the other side of the scanner.
(OK another issue but it adds to the time), then the flight is 1 hour.
Despite this the flight lands at CDG then you have to take the electric train to the railway station after you have traped what seems miles on the escaltors in CDG airport.
Then you are hanging around trying to find out where the train is to Gare De Nord where only one info desk is available usually crammed with other people trying to find out where to get the train.

Once on the train to Gare De Nord its about 45 mins stopping at almost every station in-between.
Then its the metro which is another story.

The Eurostar cuts out the lot and takes you to Gare De nord direct.......I definatly believe the train is the best option even more so for a first timer in Paris.
I go to Paris every year to see the final of the tour De France cycle race and will never fly again because of the obnoxious clowns at the airport so bring it on Eurostar.