Eurostar, St Pancras Station, Weatherspoons (London, Paris)

This was my last day in London before heading to Paris. In this post, I will be covering

-Wetherspoons at Victoria Station

-St Pancras Station

-Eurostar

 

It's my fourth and last day in London. My family and I will be taking the Eurostar to Paris! Our train for Paris departs at 1:30pm. With the remaining time we had in London, we decided to have breakfast at Wetherspoons located in Victoria Station. Weatherspoon's is a British pub chain that owns 900 outlets. The breakfast we had was unfortunately prepared in advance and warmed when it is about to be served. This accounts for items such as scrambled eggs which can be kept warm under an IR lamp. However, the meal was surprisingly good! The sausage used have less salt and fat than your average greasy spoon. There seem to be a great emphasis on nutrition as calories are written next to the items on the menu. Definitely a bold move for a F&B who is serving breakfast that is FRIED.

 

The picture shown below is the Traditional breakfast. Well cooked where the eggs are moist, nice lean sausages and back bacon. Unfortunately, the hash browns were soggy.

Traditional Breakfast (£4.19/S$8.90), Hot Chocolate (£2.35/S$4.98)

The eggs benedict served with a creamy, buttery hollandaise sauce were excellent. It is one of the best buys as it includes a drink! Do consider getting the eggs benedict.

Eggs Benedict with a drink (£4.19/S$8.90)

After breakfast, my family and I went back to the hotel to grab our luggage for Paris! We went back to the Victoria Station taxi stand to grab a cab to St Pancras International. St Pancras International is the home of the Eurostar. It houses the longest champagne bar in Europe, has free wifi and a range of shops. If you intend to travel to Paris from London, the Eurostar is one of the best mode of transport.

Here are reasons why train travel is better!
- The station is conveniently located in town (save money on transport).
- You do not have to pay for baggage and there is no weight limit as long as you can carry it on board. (Take note, there are prohibited items unless you use the checked baggage service which cost extra)
- You do not have to go through the hassle of arriving two hours early before an airplane flight. Just arrive an hour before train departure to check in and you will be fine.

To save more money, book your tickets 120 days in advance for the discounted rates! If you want a power socket to charge your mobile phones and/or laptops, choose cars 5 and 14 in Standard class. Otherwise, first class have these. If you are travelling as groups of 3 or 4 people, choose seats around a table. For more Eurostar tips, click here to visit seat61, a website dedicated to trains.

The interior of St Pancras Station

The interior of St Pancras Station

If you intend to depart during lunch, there are stores at St Pancras that you can take away and bring it on board. I bought some fruits from Simply Food and they were SUPER SWEET. If you see British  Strawberries, they have excellent taste and extremely sweet. They tend to be in plentiful supply through May and peak in June and July. However, if you are late and do not have the time to well the stores at St Pancras, the Eurostar does have bar cars in cars 6 & 13 which sells drinks, sandwiches and simple hot dishes. 

British Strawberries (£5.00 for 2 boxes of fruit)

Bar Buffet Carriages.

Peperoni Pizza (£8.00. €9.90, S$17)

Board the train early to secure some luggage space! The train was comfortable even when it was travelling at its full service speed of 300km/h. The only anti-climax portion of the train ride is the Channel Tunnel. 50.5km of darkness but crossed within 20 minutes by the speedy Eurostar.

Fields of yellow rapeseed from the Eurostar.

Interior of the Eurostar

Luggage racks

Once alighted, there are plenty of photo opportunities with the train! There is no customs at Paris Gare du Nord as you would have cleared it at St Pancras Station. You will get a nice looking chop with a train picture. Walking out of the main platform, turn left for the metro or right for the taxi rank. Just be careful of overly friendly "locals" or students who are asking for help with surveys. For a list of scams, click here. My family decided to buy the Paris Museum Pass at the Gare du Nord. Be sure to get it if you intend to visit the museums! The Paris Museum Pass allows you to skip the lines at the museum. Walk to the alternate queue and flash the pass. You can "activate" the pass anytime you want. Just fill in your name and the date. Children under the age of 16 do not need the pass as entry to most of the museums are free (Gratis).

The Eurostar at Paris Gare du Nord.

What you need to know:
- Wetherspoons serves breakfast from 7am until noon. They have many branches dotted all over London.
- For discounted tickets on the Eurostar, book your tickets 120 days in advance. You will get great leg room and baggage allowance as compared to flying budget. Click here for the official website.
- Get the Paris Museum Pass as it gives you entry to various Paris attractions. To name a few: Tours De Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chapelle and Arc de Tromphe. An added benefit for Louvre Museum and the Musee d'Orsay is a special queue to avoid the long lines into the Museum. For more information on the Paris Museum Pass, click here.

For the rest of Day 4, click here.

Click here to return to the London & Paris overall.

Here is an overview of Day 4 of my London & Paris trip in June 2013. (Best viewed using Google Chrome)

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About Haoming Koo

Koo Haoming. Founder of The Fat Chemist. Currently an undergrad at the National University of Singapore with a burning passion for science! Inspired to start a blog after reading the book, "Napoleon's Buttons, How 17 Molecules Changed History". The book fills the gap between Chemistry and History. Adapting the style of the book, posts written by me highlight the chemistry in the food we eat.