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There are various ways of travelling to Paris from the UK, by air, coach, sea or rail. Flying used to be the quickest way of reaching Paris but now Eurostar has cut down train travel time to just 3 hours. Travelling by car or coach is more affordable but the journey to Paris is significantly longer, between 7 and 9 hours from London.
Coach
Eurolines operate a coach network covering the major european cities. Three daily services run from Victoria coach station in London to their dedicated terminal at Porte Bagnolet in the east of Paris. Prices which include sea crossings and road tolls are lower than the other means of transport.
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Departure Time
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Arrival Time
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Journey Duration
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08:30
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16:45
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08:15
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13:30
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22:00
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08:30
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21:30
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06:30
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09:00
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Car
Motorists driving to Paris can choose the traditional ferry, faster hoverspeed or the Eurotunnel train shuttle to reach France. Eurotunnel operates 3 to 4 departures hourly from Folkestone. Direction to Le Shuttle terminal at Folkestone is clearly signposted at junction 11a off M20 motorway. Travel time under the channel is 35 minutes. Hoverspeed from Dover takes about 45 minutes to cross the channel arriving at Calais. The ferry from Dover takes between 75 minutes and 90 minutes to reach Calais.
From Calais take the motorway A26 then A1 towards Paris. Tolls are payable on the motorway(around £12). Driving time is about three hours before you embark on the Boulevard Peripherique(the giant ring road) in Paris. Exits on the ring road are called portes. For example, if you are going to Alesia in south of Paris, you should be aiming at exit Portes d'Orleans on the Boulevard Peripherique.
Eurostar
Eurostar has transformed train travel with its speed and efficiency. It operates high speed trains from Waterloo station in London to the centre of Paris at Gare du Nord. Eurostar connects London to Paris in just 3 hours. It whisks you to Paris in only two hours from its International terminal in Ashford, Kent. It travels at speeds of up to 186 miles an hour. It passes through the Channel Tunnel in 30 minutes. There are about 18 trains leaving London every day. You need to check in 20 minutes before departure time.
Eurostar also operates a daily service from Waterloo station to the gates of Disneyland Paris. The train stops at Ashford International terminal to pick up passengers bound for Disneyland.
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Train times for direct service to Disneyland
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Depart Waterloo
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Depart Ashford
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Arrive Disneyland
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09:27
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10:27
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13:29
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Air
There are a wide range of options to reach Paris by plane from the UK. Direct flights exist from the London airports (Gatwick, Heathrow or Stansted) or from most regional airports. As competition between airlines is fierce it is worth shopping around. To get the cheaper fares, you should start shopping around well in advance.
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Airport
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Airline
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Flight time |
| Birmingham |
Air
France
British Airways |
70
mins |
| Bristol |
British
Airways |
70
mins |
| Cardiff |
British
Airways |
95
mins |
| East
Midlands |
British
Midland |
70
mins |
| Edinburgh |
Air France
British Airways
British Midland |
120 mins
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| Glasgow |
Air
France
British Airways
British Midland |
120
mins |
| Gatwick |
British
Airways |
65
mins |
| Heathrow |
Air France
British Airways
British Midland |
60
mins |
| Leeds |
British
Midland |
120
mins |
| Manchester |
Air France
British Airways |
80
mins |
| Newcastle |
Air France |
125
mins |
| Southampton |
Air
France |
80
mins |
| Stanstead |
KLM
(UK) |
70
mins |
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