Eurostar London-Paris

[nearlylovemyusername]

I only used Eurostar once many years ago and not sure about current rules, would appreciate any advice:

• When/how can I reserve seats on the train? do I do this after purchasing tickets? does this involve any extra cost vs price I see on the first page?
• How much time to plan for controls on each side? are 90min in Lon and 2h in Paris realistic at all? and is there any passport control on arrival to Lon?
• I need to take some food with us (DC have severe food restrictions), will it be checked? e.g. if I take some specific cheese or meet?

TIA

I have just been on the Eurostar London - Paris and vice versa. We booked through a travel agent so i cant advise re seating. But allowing time, the London end says to allow 60-90 min and in Paris only 45-60 min. Both of these allowances were comfortable - you definitely don't need 2h in Paris.
You go through both sets of border control at the departing end so you are checked by Bristish then French at St Pancs and then French followed by British in Paris. No passort control on arrival.
There is security , similar to an airport but the only notice i saw about any restriction was for weapons /ammunition! We bought Sandwiches, crisps, drinks in Paris and were able to take them through onto the Eurostar home. The only thing i would say is that the waiting area in Paris was sauna like hot and the eurostar train itself was pretty warm so i would be wary of taking anything too perishable!

bumping in case anyone can help with tickets question

Seats are reserved when you book tickets and there's no extra cost. You can also change the seat allocation free of charge

I went 6 months ago. You choose your seats as part of the booking process. There is no extra cost.

Regarding foods, you won't be able to take meat or dairy products into France.

They will book seats for you when you book tickets

Yes to your timings

You can take small quantities of food in sealed packages to eat on the train but might not be able to take it into France.

Food is fine if not meat or dairy. You can bring biscuits, chocolate, sweets but I wouldn’t take sandwiches or sausage roles to bring into the country. You can eat everything in the train but don‘t take it with you when you get off the train.

I would leave more time to be honest. I am going next month and I think they say now 1 1/2 - 2 hours on each side.

https://www.eurostar.com/rw-en/travel-info/your-trip/check-in

@reluctantbrit thank you. Are there any additional checks on arrival? Or is this both British and French checks on departure?

No checks on arrival other than customs but they are just standing by the side. All passport control done on depature

When are you planning to go? I’d allow more time in the school holidays.