If you happen to be in London this August don’t miss the summer deal from Eurostar for travel to Paris, Brussels, Bruges or Lille. When travelling with full-priced adults, up to two children under 12 pay a mere £1 each way.
The offer is valid for travel in August but tickets must be purchased by July 9.
With children, traveling by high-speed train is relatively stress-free and easier than by air. Paris is just over 2 hours away by Eurostar -- and you avoid the airport security queues and the hour-long taxi ride from France’s Charles de Gaulle airport to central Paris (not to mention the ever-present threat of a French air traffic control strike). You also can be in Brussels within 2 hours for the finest chocolates and moules-frites.
Be warned, though: Eurostar for some reason still hasn’t managed to install wi-fi on its trains.
For children, starting the Eurostar journey from London’s St. Pancras Station heightens the excitement and expectations of what lies ahead. The architecture of St. Pancras offers a wow factor. The station front and the impressive Victorian Gothic style St. Pancras hotel next to it are so magnificent that when they were built in 1852, their architect Sir George Gilbert Scott described the building as “too good for its own purpose.” After falling on hard times and being neglected for decades, this magnificent building has been restored to its old grandeur and now houses the 5-star Renaissance Hotel.
The hotel’s use as a location for the Harry Potter movies is another appealing point for children. (For hard-core Harry Potter fans, there is always King's Cross Station across Pancras Road, where your children will go wild for the movie/book character paraphernalia at the Platform 9 3/4 store, if you don't mind a crowd.)
St. Pancras also offers a great variety of shops and restaurants. Hamleys, London's oldest toy shop, has an outpost here to delight young children. For parents, Hatchards is a great place to buy books to read on the train. One of the oldest bookstores in Europe, it is also an official book provider to Queen Elizabeth and the Royal Household. Hatchards is next door to the 300-year-old tea house Fortnum and Mason -- just as the two shops’ main stores have for centuries stood side-by-side in Piccadilly.
For food at the station, the Gilbert Scott restaurant, run by one of the best British chefs, Marcus Wareing, is a special experience in an opulent setting. More kid-friendly restaurant options are Carluccio's Italian restaurant or Le Pain Quotidien, a consistently reliable Belgian chain restaurant where you can pick up good organic ready-made food and pastries.
Once on board the train, while the children won’t see any ocean creatures out the windows, it’s still an enchanting experience for young ones, especially when they hear the announcement that the train is about to go through the Channel Tunnel under the sea.
The £1 per child offer ends on July 9 and is valid for travel between August 1-27. The promotion is only for Standard and Standard Premier seats. While there is no huge difference between the two, the latter offers light meals and drinks and the seats are a little more comfortable. It's only worth considering upgrading if the cost is minimal. For more information on the offer click here.
