Travelling on Eurostar with children - any tips?

[wilbur]

Hi - We are taking the direct train from St Pancras to Avignon on Saturday and we have 3 dcs, age 9, 7 and almost 5. We haven't been on Eurostar from St. P before and wondered if anyone has any tips about the station, train, what to take with us, what's on the train and whether the buffet is any good etc.

All thoughts gratefully received.

Hello there,

My advice would be to take plenty of snacks and toys, games, and crayons! And also to get to the carriage early to find space for your luggage at the end of the carriage, with three children you must have lots! I think the Eurostar is great, but it's likely to be packed full to the brim and the only activities are watching the scenery / people and going to and fro from the buffet or the loo. The buffet is OK, better than on normal trains I think, but not that cheap, and there are only so many times you can push your way there.

The new station is good for shopping, from food (and a market) to clothes and even a small Hamley's, and the new structure is impressive - I hope your children will like the incredible ceiling. The Eurostar is not in the same place as the Harry Potter Hogwarth platform plaque, but it's quite disappointing anyway.

Avignon is lovely, I hope you have a great time!

Definitely take snacks - the price for the buffet is extortionate and the sleection is quite limited IMO. Plus they tend to run out of food quickly even on a couple of hour run to Paris.

The scenery isn't that hot either so load up on things to do. Hopefully you'll have a couple of plug sockets so you can plug in any rechargeable electricals.

I agree with trying to board early. It might be worth one of you pushing to the front with the luggage and the other hanging back with the DCs though. If in doubt get on early - better to have fidgety DCs (who don't have to stay trapped in anyway) than no space for luggage!

DH and I play people/object bingo when we get bored - give them a list of people to spot, walk the length of the train and see how many you can get. We're really mature, as you can tell.

Love the people-spotting idea - that's right up our quite immature too street. I had thought about luggage room, so that's a great tip. And I will load up on snacks for sure. No doubth dh will want to hit the buffet for une grande biere at some point, so he can take the dcs on that trip.

Anyone else? Was also wondering if anyone knows what the Avignon Centre station is like - a zoo? Not too bad? Is there only one exit as we are meeting someone there and don't want to wait in the wrong place.