Eurostar Premier from Gare du Nord

Why it is on the list

Gare du Nord is the Paris terminal of Eurostar. London trains leave from tracks 3 to 6, reached from the upper level once past border controls, and British entry checks are made in the station before boarding, together with the French exit checks.¹ Premier is Eurostar's top class.² On the London routes it has its own lanes through security and passport control, which close 15 minutes before departure, and a coach of its own with meals served at the seat.² The Premier lounge for London trains is on level 1 of the station, a lift to the left after security, and opens to Premier passengers up to two hours before the train.³ The ticket can be exchanged or refunded without a fee up to two days after departure, and any other train that day can be boarded at no extra charge.² Only Premier passengers can book a station escort, a porter and a car.²⁴

It is a train, so it goes only where the line goes: London, and on other routes Brussels and Amsterdam, where the Premier lanes do not apply.²¹ For anywhere else, take The Jetex terminal at Paris–Le Bourget or The Signature terminal at Paris–Le Bourget.

How to get it

Book a Premier ticket with Eurostar; it cannot be upgraded to later, so choose Premier when booking.³ Each adult takes three bags of up to 85 cm on the London routes and one small bag, with no limit on liquids.² The Paris lounges open 6:00 to 21:30 on weekdays, 6:30 to 21:30 on Saturday and 7:30 to 22:00 on Sunday; you need a ticket for that day.³

For an escort, a porter or a car, book with Well'Com Rail, which runs the service for Premier passengers in Paris, London and Brussels, once the ticket is issued: the Eurostar booking reference is required.⁵⁴ Enter the train number and dates on its site, choose the services and leave a card hold; only confirmed services are charged.⁵⁴ One escort booking covers up to four bags; five to ten need a porter booking as well.⁴ The escort starts no earlier than 1 hour 30 minutes before departure, when check-in opens.⁴ A car on departure collects you two hours before the train unless you ask for another time, with 15 minutes' free waiting.⁴ Changes or cancellations within 24 hours are charged in full; write to reservations@wellcomrail.com.⁴ A train missed through arriving late is not refunded; if Eurostar cancels the train, the service moves to the next one at no charge.⁴

Discretion

Gare du Nord is Europe's busiest station, with more than 700,000 passengers on a typical day, most of them commuters; Eurostar is a small share of that traffic, on its own upper level.¹ The escort meets you and takes you through each checkpoint, and a car can bring you to the station; you carry your own passport and documents through immigration and customs.⁵⁴ The lounge is laid out in zones and booths for privacy.³ With British checks done in Paris, you walk off the train in London without another passport queue.¹