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Birmingham NS to Paris advice needed please. Never done Paris.

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tom73

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10th August for four days.
Birmingham New Street to Gare Nord.
(Is Gare Nord close to the Eiffel Tower?)
Best hotels closest to Eiffel Tower for four days.
Which is the closest rail station to Eiffel Tower if Gare Nord is some way away?
Thanks in advance for all responses.
 
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4COR

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Gare du Nord is the only option if coming via the Eurostar (or from Calais via another means). There's an RER station not far from the Eiffel Tower, but remember there is an extensive Metro system to get around with even if your hotel is not that close.
 

paul1609

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Down here in Kent post Brexit we now call Gare du Nord, Paris North its to avoid confusion with an apparently more attractive tower and resort in the North of England Blackpool North.
Seriously though The Eifel Tower is about 4 miles walk across Paris from Gare du Nord. You can take RER lines B/D south to St Michel Notre Dame and change to line C east to Gare Champs de Mars Tour Eifel.
 

davetheguard

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Gare du Nord is the only option if coming via the Eurostar (or from Calais via another means). There's an RER station not far from the Eiffel Tower, but remember there is an extensive Metro system to get around with even if your hotel is not that close.

The Paris RER (Regional Express Network) is like Crossrail in London: suburban trains from one side of the city, crossing through the central area, before running out through the suburbs on the other side. Some lines are operated by RATP (Paris Metro operator), some by SNCF (French Railways). Whoever operates them, an ordinary metro ticket is valid for journeys within the central area of Paris. The RER station nearest to the Eifel Tower is called "Champ de Mars Tour Eifel" and is located on RER Line C.

There is also a Metro station near the tower: called Bir Hakeim on Line 6, the line crosses the river Seine on a bridge by the Eifel Tower.

If you want, you can buy packs of 10 Metro tickets -called a Carnet- at St. Pancras before you leave London. They sell them at the information counter in the departure lounge (i.e. the waiting area after you've gone through bag scanning & passport control). They have no date on them, but are validated by the ticket barrier as you use them. Any you don't use you can take home and use on any future trip.
 

30907

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https://www.seat61.com/London-to-Paris-by-train.htm
In terms of Eurostar tickets:
It should be possible to book through tickets on the Eurostar website, but maybe only 3 months ahead.
Alternatively, you can book London-Paris via Eurostar then obtain a return ticket to LONDON INTERNATIONAL CIV which costs the same as the normal Offpeak Return BUT is almost unrestricted (Euston arrive 0941 or later) and doesn't need to be bought in advance. You do, however, have to buy it at a staffed station and show your ES ticket.
A 4-day Interrail (now the shortest period) might be worth it, more likely in 1st class or if you have to buy at short notice.
Can't advise on hotels, sorry.
 

I13

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As per the above post, I'd definitely look at the seat 61 website, lots of great information. Interrail probably shouldn't be your starting point for a fairly simply out-and-back trip quite far in advance, not least when you factor in reservation fees of roughly £60 return on the Eurostar, but it would include travel from Birmingham and as above might be the best option only in certain circumstances (edit: ignore what used to be in brackets, one country passes don't include a domestic journey). But as said, look at seat 61 first.
 
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AlexNL

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I would completely ignore InterRail for a simple return trip, it's way too complicated for a simple journey like that. I'd recommend booking a direct ticket from Birmingham to Paris with Eurostar directly (www.eurostar.com). This way, you'll get the necessary protections (hop on the next train) even when a train is delayed.

For hotels, take a look at Booking.com and read the reviews. "Which hotel to recommend" is a difficult question as everyone has their preferences and values different things.
 

bspahh

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Hotels in Paris are quite expensive, and tickets for public transport are pretty cheap. At a given price point, I prefer to stay somewhere close to an RER station a few stops out from the city centre. The RER trains can be very busy at peak hours, but they are fast and fine off peak.

In the city centre, a lot of hotels are in older buildings, which weren't designed for each room to have an en suite bathroom, and so the rooms are now a bit small, with small lifts.

Recently, I've stayed at the Hilton across the road from Massy Palaiseau RER station (30 minutes direct from Gare du Nord), and the Novotel in Rueil Malmaison, which is about 200m from the RER station. I stayed at the Hôtel Bourgogne & Montana https://www.bourgogne-montana.com/en/hotel which is a bit over a mile from the Eiffel Tower. It has good reviews, and it was fine, but it was >€200 a night.
 

Peter Mugridge

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I would recommend the TimHotel Montmartre; they have some rooms - albeit slightly higher priced - which can be specifically requested and reserved which overlook the whole of Paris including the Eiffel Tower. I have stayed there myself and the view makes it worth it. It's not far from Gare du Nord although it's not on a direct Metro to get to it but it doesn't take long.

The first link below is to Google search results for it. The second link below is the Google Images search results, which include several views from the windows of the rooms I am talking about.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/T...710b!5m2!4m1!1i2!8m2!3d48.8859834!4d2.3376498


https://www.google.com/search?q=tim...VBRhUIHTyBCMMQ_AUoAnoECBgQBA&biw=1366&bih=657
 
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