Despite the encroachment of ” horror ” Anglo-Saxon customs where holidays are taken on a more even basis ” the Parisian appears to retain his penchant for taking to the beach in August, leaving the French capital blissfully empty.
Well all right, not quite empty, but it”s certainly noticeable how much easier it is to negotiate Paris by taxi or metro during August, with the Gare du Nord forming the arrival and departure focal point for UK travellers.
For the business traveller wanting to get to Gare du Nord there is obviously the taxi option, but the station ” logically a major terminus for all points north ” is also on the RER fast underground network ” or the standard Metro line.
The French Metro has been lauded as a model of simplicity and efficiency, but it nonetheless requires a modicum of study before launching underground. If departing from Chatelet-les-Halles, a Piccadilly Circus writ large, it really pays to understand how the RER lines operate, but at worst, the traveller can always take the Metro, only about a ten minute hop.
In common with many major stations worldwide, Gare du Nord needs to be treated with caution ” it”s not particularly an area the business traveller wants to hang around too often ” but the architecture of the building itself is certainly worth taking a moment to admire. There is also the gloriously old-fashioned departures board ” no automatic screens here ” replete with its hundreds of names ticking over at regular intervals.
There is a dedicated Business Premier channel for those with the right ticket, although this then funnels into the main baggage screening check. Those with Business Premier tickets can then proceed to the lounge, but if a train is about to depart, this will involve a queue, potentially behind hundreds of passengers.
Once inside, the lounge has far more natural light than its British counterpart, but has the same style of individual chair. It does however, share the same limited snack offering as across the Channel but is nonetheless quite a classy proposition, offering the usual newspapers, light ” very ” nibbles ” and a selection of complementary hot and cold drinks.
Trains are called and it”s a short stroll down the moving walkway to the waiting service. Ticket checks are made at both the exit of the lounge and on boarding, but thankfully, not after that, so work can be carried out uninterrupted.
Given the nature of trains of course, what is forward facing one way is in reverse the other. It is simply human nature that travellers prefer to face forwards and so there is the usual to and fro as people attempt to change places, but it might be useful to know if other passengers were joining the journey at say, Calais-Frethun or Ashford International, so the trip could proceed without further place swapping.
After departure, a meal is rapidly served to each seat, although there appear to be very few staff passing through afterwards to offer more food or beverages.
Power is provided, but on the double forward-facing seats, there only seems to be one ” European-style ” socket. Single seats have UK sockets. And in a sign of how used everyone has become used to the tunnel experience, announcements are not made outlining entrance to it or journey duration ” a shame as maybe children would perhaps still like to be enthralled by this extraordinary engineering feat.
Is it worth it? Compared to the stress of slogging out to Charles de Gaulle for a 40min flight, definitely. The Business Premier section is a classy affair and Eurostar have fine-tuned it to be an excellent service where travellers can work and be pampered in some style.