Eurostar Breaks to Paris or Bruges?

The best Eurostar breaks -  to France by Eurostar or to Brussels by Eurostar and TGV?

I often go to France, since I like the atmosphere of the cities there and it's suitable for a short break since it is so accessible. Over the years I have spent several short breaks as well as longer trips in Paris and other french cities such as Lille, Dijon, Marseille and Rheims.

But you know, France can be very similar all over due to the centralised state and homogenous culture. It's lovely, but it's always French. So how about eurostar breaks to Brusses or Bruges or even Amsterdam for a change?

Have your weekend break in Bruges. I was wondering how to spend a weekend and came across this option: Take the Eurostar and have a break in Bruges with all those fantastic waterside vistas and ancient buildings. I aquired a tatse for flemish food when I was in Lille, so this seemed to be the next logical step for us. And there are many other interesting destinations in France and the Benelux.

Eurostar Breaks Lille

Eurostar Breaks Lille
Originally uploaded by AndyRob

When you board the train at Lille-Europe, coming back from Eurostar breaks to Lille, the procedure is slightly different to when you are boarding at the terminus in St Pancras Station London, Gare du Nord Paris or Bruxelles. The Lille-Europe station is enormous because it's a mainline intersection for all sorts of SNCF and TGV trains travelling through France, Belgium, Holland and Germany but the Eurostar section is approached from right at the end of the station usually near the entrance called Access E. You cannot even pass through to the departure lounge until 50 minutes before the expected departure time of the Eurostar to London, but once you do go through the wait is not so long. The idea is to use some of the waiting time to work out which part of the platform you will need to wait at for when the train arrives. To help with this, there is a diagram which matches up the carriage numbers with the designated areas on the platforms.

The walk from the centre of Old Lille, or the big square, to the Eurostar station is only about 10 - 15 minutes, so I would suggest that to get the most out of Eurostar breaks to Lille, you should set off just over an hour before the departure time printed on the Eurostar tickets

Eurostar Breaks to Lille

I booked one of the best Eurostar breaks to Lille to coincide with my birthday later this summer. I was browsing around on the eurostar site and started looking at hotels in Lille when I noticed that the appart'hotel does self catering rooms for a very reasonable price.

So I'm off to the North of France for a weekend to look at the museums and art galleries in trendy Lille and enjoy some fine dining in the restaurants and cafes there. Should be very good.  The Eurostar itself only takes an hour and twenty five minutes from London St Pancras into Lille Europe and as far as I can tell teh hotel is pretty central for the attractions I want to visit while I'm there.

Paris Breaks by Eurostar

Paris - Vue depuis l'Institut du Monde Arabe
Originally uploaded by Añelo de la Krotsche

This picture was taken from the l'Institut du Monde Arabe or the institute of the arab world for the Paris Breaks group by Añelo de la Krotsche, who explains that there are many magic places in Europe and one of them is Paris. Paris breaks by Eurostar from London are still very popular

eurostar breaks after 2009

eurostar breaks

Valentine's Weekend Break Ideas
Valentine's Weekend Break Ideas. Back. 01 January 2010. Valentine's
day falls on a Sunday this year, therefore a great opportunity to take
off to some romantic place on the Eurostar. The obvious choice is
Paris, the lovers' capital but as an alternative you might also
consider Bruges ( via Brussels)

Short Breaks - Two Night Paris Break For Two - £652.00
£652.00 This fantastic short break includes Eurostar travel to and
from Paris as well as two nights accommodation in a three star hotel
plus continental breakfast. So the only thing you will need to worry
about is which of the fantastic parisian restaurants you want to
choose for that special dinner.

Paris Breaks 2010
Paris Breaks for 2010 For Paris breaks, 2010 starts with the aftermath
of the unfortunate Eurostar breakdowns with the bad weather last month
in the North of France.

http://ukparisbreaks.co.uk/

The locals have been setting fire to house-sized effigies (or fallas)
for the past 200 years, and on the final night all hell breaks loose
with the aptly named Gran Crema, or Big Burn, where the effigies are
stuffed with fireworks and blown up .... Naturally, I'll be taking the
train: Eurostar from London to Paris, a snug sleeper on the excellent
City Night Line overnight to Munich, then a slow and scenic daytime
run through the mountains of Austria into Slovenia and Croatia.

Save £3 on all Eurostar Deals | Eurostar Deals
I'm going to explain how you can save £3 per transaction on all
Eurostar Deals and Eurostar Breaks.

Eurostar breaks down in the Tunnel - FAQ

Eurostar has managed to clear the backlog of passengers stranded on both sides of the English Channel after five Eurostar trains broke down and got stuck in the Channel Tunnel on Saturday 19th December 2009. Trains were cancelled for three days leaving up to 75,000 passengers waiting.

A restricted service has now been resumed between London, Paris and Brussels and the backlog from the previous weekend has now been cleared.

"The procedures that were put in place to prioritise passengers have worked well and the backlog of passengers from the weekend has been cleared and all of the available seats for travel today have now been allocated."

Eurostar said they will run services tomorrow as well, and they are confident that there will be enough seats for everyone who wants to travel before Christmas.

Eurostar Breaks questions answered:

What compensation am I entitled to for being left stranded over the weekend?

A Eurostar spokesman confirmed that passengers who were trapped in the Channel Tunnel overnight on Friday will receive £150 compensation, a full refund on their original ticket plus free return Eurostar tickets. Anyone whose train has been cancelled will be offered a full refund on their ticket or they can postpone their journey to a later date. Customers who decide to cancel their travel in line with Eurostar advice will receive a refund but will not have their hotels and other costs paid by the company.

Can I claim my hotel costs or a flight home?

Eurostar have confirmed that they will cover 'reasonable expenses' for any passengers who have been stranded abroad, i.e. a three star hotel, food and taxis. Eurostar will no longer be covering the cost of flights home as the train service is running again.

What is the compensation phone line number?

Eurostar say they will release a number for customers to call at a later date. In the meantime you can download a compensation form on the company's website, which also provides information about their compensation policy at www.eurostar.com

Pantheon

paris-2008
Originally uploaded by sabrimurat2007

This is the Pantheon is a building in the Latin Quarter in Paris, France. It was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve, but after many changes now combines liturgical functions with its role as a famous burial place. It is an early example of Neoclassicism, with a façade modelled on the Pantheon in Rome, surmounted by a dome that owes some of its character to Bramante's "Tempietto". Located in the 5th arrondissement on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, the Panthéon looks out over all of Paris.

Quick Facts
Address: Place du Panthéon, 5e
Phone: 01-44-32-18-00
Metro: Cardinal Lemoine
RER: Luxembourg
Hours: Daily 10am-6pm (last entrance 45 min. before closing)
Cost: 7€ adults, 4.50€ ages 18-25, free for children 17 and under