Travelling by train to the continent

[Indecisivelurcher]

Anyone done this, with young kids? Looking for suggestions for a super easy first destination, beyond Paris.

I've done Nice by train - that was easy, maninseat61 website has all the info on travelling around the world without flying.

Funnily enough I was just looking at Paris to Nice page on seat61! I've used seat61 many years ago when interrailing myself. My fear is related to taking the kids! Age 7 & 5. I have no idea what Nice is like.

I went to Provence by train with two young kids. It was dead easy. Train from London left at 07.30. Arrived in Avignon at 13.30 to 40 degree heat. Hired a car out of the station and it was a 40 minute drive to our villa.

We used to do Disneyland Paris by train and it was a pleasure, but not much further than Paris and a direct train.
Brussels is an interesting city but I'm not sure a city break is what you are after with children.
In general terms though, all the stations served by Eurostar have good onward services and are well signposted. I'd have no concerns about taking children.

My kids were that age. The good thing about the train is that they could get up and go to the food car so they weren’t stuck in their seat. We took books, drawing stuff and screens and they were entertained.

I travelled from Germany to London by train (local train, then to Cologne, Brussels, Eurostar).

Things I learnt...
Consecutive seat numbers may not be next to each other.
Check your connection times carefully
Some eurostar passengers are idiots. (Yes I do want to sit in my reserved seats with my young children instead of spread down the carriage... all the tickets have seat numbers).

We had fun. Children were 5&7. (Just me and them).

@Spudina

I went to Provence by train with two young kids. It was dead easy. Train from London left at 07.30. Arrived in Avignon at 13.30 to 40 degree heat. Hired a car out of the station and it was a 40 minute drive to our villa.

That sounds lush!

We do London to Bordeaux by train around once a year with three kids. You need to change in Paris but it’s not too bad.

Check out night jet for overnight trains. There is quite a network now.

Have taken train to a seaside resort near Marseille by train for 10 years now - amazing and so easy.

Eurostar to Gare du Nord, take the RER to Gare de Lyon, and pick up the TGV going south, change at Nimes for a local train and an hour later we are on the beach. Can do it all in a day now but stayed overnight in Paris (hotel just outside Gare du Nord) when we first travelled just to make it easier.

@cupcakedaisy

Have taken train to a seaside resort near Marseille by train for 10 years now - amazing and so easy.

Eurostar to Gare du Nord, take the RER to Gare de Lyon, and pick up the TGV going south, change at Nimes for a local train and an hour later we are on the beach. Can do it all in a day now but stayed overnight in Paris (hotel just outside Gare du Nord) when we first travelled just to make it easier.

Sounds a bit scary but appreciate I'm being a wuss. First timers!

Once you've done it, it becomes easier. Scariest thing for me was going to a ticket machine in Gare du Nord and hoping my tickets would print out! They always did

I much prefer continental train stations to ours, they just seem better, although just like here you need to be aware of what's going on around you and make sure your kids don't stray with excitement!

Check the TGV map and see where you can get to with just one change in Paris if you want to make it easier. It really is fun and 1st class is not that much more and really worth it. Plus they have double decker trains - pick the top level. As you can tell I love travelling by train in France

Thankyou for starting this thread OP 🙂 we want to fly less but absolutely don’t want to give up seeing new places in Europe

I'm not in the UK but I'm planning on doing Milan to Paris with dd and possibly London.

Nice has the beach, (pebbles though) and a fountain in the main square that children play in. Very good ice cream shops. Lots of people cycling and skating on the prom, though very busy in summer. The Matisse and Chagall museums are great, colourful so l think child friendly. The Matisse museum in in a cute park with a cafe. Nice is a good start.

I've just booked Brussels - Antibes, via Marseille (direct train) so we don't have to change in Paris. Worth looking at where the direct trains go from Lille if coming over on the Eurostar. Options to change at Valence/Avignon/Lyon for lots of destinations. Seat61.com website is fabulous. You can get some good bargains if you book in advance. French tickets you can buy up to 4 months in advance. Brussels to Marseille was 109 euros in first class.

There's a Nightjet from Brussels to Vienna 3 times a week. Paris - Milan is another. Or Munich to Venice. The night trains seem to be quite a thing at the moment and lot more routes are proposed. I was quite excited to see there's a sleeper train between Milan and Bari in southern Italy.

Or also take the Eurostar (Disneyland express) to Marne Le Chessy and change there for Marseille and then Nice (or anywhere else along Riviera coast). For a sat in May - Marne to Nice works out about 140 euros each way for 2 adults 2 children. Or to get to the Languedoc - Marne to Montpellier via Lyon. Same price.

Ok piecing together an idea...

Option 1

Found a TGV map that shows high speed trains as purple: parisbytrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/tgv_map.jpg

Found a Eurocamp site:
www.eurocamp.co.uk/campsites/languedoc/wm080-le-beach-garden/ataglance.html

Checked on Seat61:
www.seat61.com/France.htm#london-to-nimes-montpellier-perpignan-by-train

Gets in VERY late for the kids, would need to stay in Monpellier a night.

Option 2:

TGV to Bordeaux
parisbytrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/tgv_map.jpg

Then hire a car to go here:
www.eurocamp.co.uk/campsites/gironde/gr026-cote-d-argent/ataglance.html

London to Bordeaux
London to Bordeaux by train in as little as 5h45...
Option 1, by Eurostar & TGV via Lille. This is the easiest option. Take Eurostar to Lille Europe in 1h30 and make an easy interchange in Lille onto a direct double-deck TGV Duplex to Bordeaux now taking as little as 4h26 with no need to change trains and stations in Paris. Relax over a glass or two as you swish past the French countryside. However, although this avoids the need to change trains and stations in Paris, there are only a few options each day as you can see in the timetable below, and most involve a short 500m 6-minute walk between Lille Europe and Lille Flandres stations, as shown by the little 'f' against their departure time from Lille.

There is a direct train from Lille to Montpellier which leaves at 9am on a Saturday arriving Montpellier at 14.06. Quick change for Marseillan. Or one at 11 via Nimes, arriving Marseillan at 19.07

Aah - but not possible to get to Lille by those times.

We travelled as a family by train to Bruge, then to Cologne, then Berlin, lastly Prague. The train travel was fine, quite fun mostly. The only downside was getting the luggage on and off. If I did it again I would travel more lightly.

@Spudina

I went to Provence by train with two young kids. It was dead easy. Train from London left at 07.30. Arrived in Avignon at 13.30 to 40 degree heat. Hired a car out of the station and it was a 40 minute drive to our villa.

Did you have to change in Paris or do they have direct trains from London now?

OP with young kids I would try to avoid having to change stations in Paris, it's not super difficult but it is rather annoying

The direct train from Lille to Bordeaux is at 7am. Otherwise you need to change in Paris.