August 2019
Following my requests in other threads:
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/london-to-nice-by-eurostar.174005/
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/food-in-first-class-on-tgv.188903/#post-4156496
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/questions-about-civ.181153/
I have now returned from Nice, and thought I would share my thoughts and experience.
The journey I took was St Pancras (dep 09.24) - Paris Gare Du Nord (arr 12.47 French time) - Paris Gare de Lyon (dep 14.18) - Nice (arr 20.04). Return was Nice (dep 10.00) (via Marseilles) - Paris Gare de Lyon (arr 16.15) - Gare du Nord (dep 18.13) - St Pancras (arr 19.39 UK time). There were no direct trains, but St Pancras to Marseilles was the closest, but only ran on limited days (Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays).
I was keen to buy a through ticket, to take advantage of CIV protection should any leg of the journey be delayed, and to choose my own seat - only Eurostar themselves offered this, and the tickets go on sale about 125 days in advance - each day a further day's tickets are offered. The fares do seem to change according to availability, and going through Eurostar (buying at a later date) did seem to cost more than had I bought earlier through another agency.
Check in at St Pancras is about an hour before departure. There did not appear to be separate check in lines for each train. Ticket scans and 2 passport scans (one for English, one for French border control) took place, before arriving in the departutre lounge. There are only a few shops in the departure lounge - any food and drink should be purchased before going through the ticket barriers if you want a wider choice.
Access to the train is via two travelators - higher numbered coaches are at the front of the train. Some of the steps up to the train are quite high, and some are on a curve - not easy for the infirm, or if carrying heavy cases.
I travelled Standard Premier, which meant receiving a breakfast of croisant, roll, butter, jam, orange juice, tea/coffee, fruit yoghurt and water. 1 UK plug and 1 French plug is provided for each pair of seats. WiFi is also available.
Exit at Gare du Nord is staright-forward - you just walk off the train. I was in two minds whether to catch a taxi or the Metro to get to Gare De Lyon since I was carrying a heavy suitcase. Because of the time factor (2 stops on the Metro), and concern over traffic congestion meant I opted for the Metro. The line was RER 'D', which is located on the far left of the station (as the train enters the station), and then another left turn. Follow the signs for 'RER D direction Melun / Malesherbes', which should leave from platform 44. Trains may be shown as going to Melun, Malesherbes or Corbeil-Essonnes, these all stop at the Gare de Lyon. There is lift access ('ascenseur') to and from the platforms, although the escalators were ok for the large suitcase. There are two flights to go down to get to the right platform.
The RER is double decked, which means that it is difficult to hump suitcases into the saloons - I stood in the lobby area. Trains are usually 8 coaches, but mine was only 4 which meant is was 'cosy'.
At Gare du Nord, the 'ascenseur' was located near the rear of the platform. Once at mainline station level, it was a bit of a trek to get to the main terminus ('Hall 1'), but the train to Nice leaves from 'Hall 2' so this was a further trek. There are shops and coffee shops, so you can stock up for the train journey. My train left from Platform 7.
The TGV is double-decked. We travelled first class, which gave you more space (only three seats across) and banned mobile phones, although discrete use was tolerated. The seats also reclined by a few inches. No food was included in the fare. WiFi was available (and provided an app to follow the progress of the train), and two French electric plugs per pair of seats was provided. There was a buffet on board, but the plan to order on line from my seat and avoid the queues at the buffet fell flat when the bar steward had not switched his i-Pad on so had not received my order! It was also not clear where the 'priority queue' was.
The TGV went at speeds of up to 186 mph until Avignon, when the speed slowed to more normal rates, and the trip round the coast was more pedestrian. The train terminated at Nice on time. There is lift access to the platforms and exit. No tickets needed to be shown on exit, but this may be because of the late hour.
The return journey left from Platform A at Nice. There are two trains timed the same; the first class train came from Monaco, and coupled up to a train already in the platform. The first class compartments were at the rear of the train, but became the front when the train reversed at Marseilles.
The train arrived 10 minutes late at Gare de Lyon, and tickets had to be shown at the ticket barrier - only one barrier was open for the whole train! We accessed the Metro via escalators in Hall 2 to arrive in Hall 3. No tickets for the RER are available in Hall 3 - you need to go down another set of escalators. Aim for platforms 2 and 4 for a train to Orry la Ville or Creil.
At Gare du Nord, from the RER platforms aim for 'Grandes Lignes'; Eurostar is not mentioned. The entrance to Eurostar is above the main concourse at the front of the station. You need to pass through ticket barriers, passport control (x2) and customs, before arriving in the departure lounge. Despite having 2 hours to make the trip from Gare de Lyon, we only had 15 minutes spare before we boarded the train.
A light meal was served; there was a choice of two, including couscous, chicken and ratatouille, roll, and rhubarb tart, again with water and coffee.
The train arrived on time at St Pancras; there were no ticket or passporrt inspections.
Following my requests in other threads:
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/london-to-nice-by-eurostar.174005/
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/food-in-first-class-on-tgv.188903/#post-4156496
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/questions-about-civ.181153/
I have now returned from Nice, and thought I would share my thoughts and experience.
The journey I took was St Pancras (dep 09.24) - Paris Gare Du Nord (arr 12.47 French time) - Paris Gare de Lyon (dep 14.18) - Nice (arr 20.04). Return was Nice (dep 10.00) (via Marseilles) - Paris Gare de Lyon (arr 16.15) - Gare du Nord (dep 18.13) - St Pancras (arr 19.39 UK time). There were no direct trains, but St Pancras to Marseilles was the closest, but only ran on limited days (Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays).
I was keen to buy a through ticket, to take advantage of CIV protection should any leg of the journey be delayed, and to choose my own seat - only Eurostar themselves offered this, and the tickets go on sale about 125 days in advance - each day a further day's tickets are offered. The fares do seem to change according to availability, and going through Eurostar (buying at a later date) did seem to cost more than had I bought earlier through another agency.
Check in at St Pancras is about an hour before departure. There did not appear to be separate check in lines for each train. Ticket scans and 2 passport scans (one for English, one for French border control) took place, before arriving in the departutre lounge. There are only a few shops in the departure lounge - any food and drink should be purchased before going through the ticket barriers if you want a wider choice.
Access to the train is via two travelators - higher numbered coaches are at the front of the train. Some of the steps up to the train are quite high, and some are on a curve - not easy for the infirm, or if carrying heavy cases.
I travelled Standard Premier, which meant receiving a breakfast of croisant, roll, butter, jam, orange juice, tea/coffee, fruit yoghurt and water. 1 UK plug and 1 French plug is provided for each pair of seats. WiFi is also available.
Exit at Gare du Nord is staright-forward - you just walk off the train. I was in two minds whether to catch a taxi or the Metro to get to Gare De Lyon since I was carrying a heavy suitcase. Because of the time factor (2 stops on the Metro), and concern over traffic congestion meant I opted for the Metro. The line was RER 'D', which is located on the far left of the station (as the train enters the station), and then another left turn. Follow the signs for 'RER D direction Melun / Malesherbes', which should leave from platform 44. Trains may be shown as going to Melun, Malesherbes or Corbeil-Essonnes, these all stop at the Gare de Lyon. There is lift access ('ascenseur') to and from the platforms, although the escalators were ok for the large suitcase. There are two flights to go down to get to the right platform.
The RER is double decked, which means that it is difficult to hump suitcases into the saloons - I stood in the lobby area. Trains are usually 8 coaches, but mine was only 4 which meant is was 'cosy'.
At Gare du Nord, the 'ascenseur' was located near the rear of the platform. Once at mainline station level, it was a bit of a trek to get to the main terminus ('Hall 1'), but the train to Nice leaves from 'Hall 2' so this was a further trek. There are shops and coffee shops, so you can stock up for the train journey. My train left from Platform 7.
The TGV is double-decked. We travelled first class, which gave you more space (only three seats across) and banned mobile phones, although discrete use was tolerated. The seats also reclined by a few inches. No food was included in the fare. WiFi was available (and provided an app to follow the progress of the train), and two French electric plugs per pair of seats was provided. There was a buffet on board, but the plan to order on line from my seat and avoid the queues at the buffet fell flat when the bar steward had not switched his i-Pad on so had not received my order! It was also not clear where the 'priority queue' was.
The TGV went at speeds of up to 186 mph until Avignon, when the speed slowed to more normal rates, and the trip round the coast was more pedestrian. The train terminated at Nice on time. There is lift access to the platforms and exit. No tickets needed to be shown on exit, but this may be because of the late hour.
The return journey left from Platform A at Nice. There are two trains timed the same; the first class train came from Monaco, and coupled up to a train already in the platform. The first class compartments were at the rear of the train, but became the front when the train reversed at Marseilles.
The train arrived 10 minutes late at Gare de Lyon, and tickets had to be shown at the ticket barrier - only one barrier was open for the whole train! We accessed the Metro via escalators in Hall 2 to arrive in Hall 3. No tickets for the RER are available in Hall 3 - you need to go down another set of escalators. Aim for platforms 2 and 4 for a train to Orry la Ville or Creil.
At Gare du Nord, from the RER platforms aim for 'Grandes Lignes'; Eurostar is not mentioned. The entrance to Eurostar is above the main concourse at the front of the station. You need to pass through ticket barriers, passport control (x2) and customs, before arriving in the departure lounge. Despite having 2 hours to make the trip from Gare de Lyon, we only had 15 minutes spare before we boarded the train.
A light meal was served; there was a choice of two, including couscous, chicken and ratatouille, roll, and rhubarb tart, again with water and coffee.
The train arrived on time at St Pancras; there were no ticket or passporrt inspections.
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