Tamara's London Trip
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Barcelona → Paris → London · and back

Tamara's trip, step by step

Tick each step when it's done. It turns grey, and next time you open this page it jumps straight to the step you're on.

Wed 28 Oct TGV INOUI 9708 Coach 16 upper · seat 650 Barcelona Sants 09:26 → Paris Gare de Lyon 16:12 · booking JFENEY
Wed 28 Oct Eurostar 9051 Coach 2 · seat 86 Paris Gare du Nord 17:57 → London St Pancras 19:38 (London time) · booking 6DDHDF
Sat 31 Oct Eurostar 9014 Coach 16 · seat 27 London St Pancras 09:31 (London time) → Paris Gare du Nord 12:54 · booking 6DDHDF
Sat 31 Oct TGV INOUI 9715 Coach 15 upper · seat 569 Paris Gare de Lyon 14:42 → Barcelona Sants 21:32 · booking JFENEY
Tuesday evening

Tonight, at home

  1. Install the official Île-de-France Mobilités app (iPhone or Android).
  2. Buy 2 × “Ticket Métro-Train-RER” at €2.55 each. Not “Bus-Tram”, not “Airport”.
  3. On Android, check that NFC is switched on. On iPhone you can add the tickets to Apple Wallet.
Like in Barcelona

It works like a T-casual on your T-mobilitat: tickets are loaded onto a card or phone, and you tap it on the gate. One ticket covers metro and RER with changes, as long as you don't leave the stations (in Paris: up to 2 hours).

If the app doesn't work, no stress: you can buy them at a machine in Paris (step 6 explains how).

  • Your passport: the same one you used for your UK travel permit (ETA). The permit is stored digitally on that passport, so there is nothing to print.
  • Keep the ETA confirmation e-mail on your phone, just in case an officer asks.
  • All four tickets on your phone (SNCF app / Eurostar app or e-mails) plus screenshots of the QR codes, in case there is no signal.
  • Phone charger or power bank, and a bank card that works in France.
Wednesday 28 October

Barcelona → London

1 h 45 between the TGV and the Eurostar. That's enough when you go straight there without stopping.

  • Seat: coach 16, upper deck, seat 650. The coach number is shown next to each door.
  • Doors close 2 minutes before departure.
  • Big suitcases go at the coach entrance or in the middle of the coach; small bags overhead.
  • Coat on, bags down, ready to be among the first off the train.
  • Have your metro ticket (phone or card) and passport within easy reach.
  • Optional: in the Bonjour RATP or Île-de-France Mobilités app, check that RER D runs normally between Gare de Lyon and Gare du Nord. No works are planned at your time. If it doesn't run, use Plan B.
If the TGV is late

Up to ~30 min late: no problem, follow the steps as usual.

45 min or more: still take the RER D (at that time a taxi is usually slower), and go straight to the Eurostar terminal.

If you reach the Eurostar gates after 17:27, go to the Eurostar staff in the terminal, show both tickets and explain the TGV was late. Keep the TGV ticket.

Walk along the platform towards the station building, then look at the platform sign:

  • Platform with a letter (A–N) = Hall 1. At the end of the platforms, take the escalators down, opposite platform K or platform C.
  • Platform with a number (5–23) = Hall 2. At the end of the platforms, take the escalators or ramp down to the underground hall (Hall 3).

Downstairs, follow the green RER D signs. Ignore RER A (red) and Métro lines 1 and 14.

Like in Barcelona

Gare de Lyon is like Sants: long-distance trains on top, metro and suburban trains underneath, all connected inside the station.

Already have the tickets on your phone? Tap your phone on the purple Navigo circle on the gate, wait for the green light, push through. With a suitcase, use the wide gate at the side.

No ticket yet? Use a ticket machine just before the gates:

  1. Tap the screen and choose English.
  2. Buy a Navigo Easy card (€2).
  3. Put the card flat on the machine's card reader and leave it there.
  4. Choose Ticket Métro-Train-RER, quantity 2.
  5. Pay by card: about €7.10 in total. Keep the Navigo card for Saturday.
Or at the ticket window, say

« Bonjour, un passe Navigo Easy avec deux tickets Métro-Train-RER, s'il vous plaît. »

Like in Barcelona

The Navigo Easy card is Paris's T-mobilitat: a reusable plastic card you load tickets onto and tap on the gates. Paper tickets don't exist any more, and tapping a bank card doesn't work on the RER yet.

✓ Take it: towards
Creil · Orry-la-Ville–Coye · Goussainville · Villiers-le-Bel · Chantilly-Gouvieux
✗ Wrong way: towards
Melun · Malesherbes · Corbeil-Essonnes
  • Northbound trains leave from track 1 or 2. The screens above the platform show the next trains, their destination and the minutes to wait.
  • Stops: Gare de Lyon → Châtelet – Les Halles (stay on) → Gare du Nord (get off).
  • The trains are double-deckers. With luggage, stay on the lower part near the doors. Keep your bag in front of you.
Like in Barcelona

The RER is like Rodalies: double-decker suburban trains that cross the city underground with few stops. Like the R2, one line splits into several branches, so read the destination on the screen. As on the metro in Barcelona, directions are named after the last station of the line.

  1. Follow the signs “Grandes Lignes” and the UK flag / “Eurostar – Londres”.
  2. If the exit gate doesn't open, tap your ticket again.
  3. Take the escalators up into the big main hall at street level.
  4. The Eurostar to London leaves from upstairs, on the first floor (called “Hall 2” / London hall): escalators opposite platform 17, or lifts opposite platforms 9 and 10.
Don't be confused

You'll see the Eurostar trains right next to the main hall, but you can't reach them from there. Everyone going to London goes upstairs first.

Like in Barcelona

Leaving the RER is like leaving Rodalies: you may have to tap again at the exit gate, unlike the TMB metro. Signs work the same way too: “Sortie” = Sortida, “Correspondance” = Correspondència.

  • Ticket gate: scan the QR code of your Eurostar ticket.
  • Security: bags, coat, phone through the scanner. No liquid limit, unlike at the airport.
The one strict rule

The Eurostar ticket gates close 30 minutes before departure: at 17:27. After that, nobody gets through and the train won't wait.

Like in Barcelona

It's like going through security at El Prat, only shorter, with a few more steps. Everything is checked here in Paris, so in London you just walk out.

  1. French border police (leaving the EU): show your passport.
  2. UK Border Force (entering the UK): show the same passport. This is where your ETA is checked. It's linked to your passport digitally, so they see it when they scan it. You don't need to show anything else unless they ask.
They may ask

Why you're visiting and how long you stay. A short answer is perfect: “Holiday, until Saturday 31st.” Keep your return Eurostar ticket handy in case they want to see it.

  • Wait in the lounge (toilets, cafés, Wi-Fi). Your platform appears on the screens only when boarding starts, about 20–30 minutes before departure. Look for 9051 · London · 17:57.
  • Go to the gate shown and take the moving walkway down to the platform (platform 3, 4, 5 or 6).
  • Find coach 2, seat 86. The train is about 400 m long and coach 2 is near one end, so check the coach signs on the platform or ask staff which way, and give yourself a few minutes.
  • Be on board at least 10 minutes before departure. Big suitcases go on the racks at the end of the coach.
  • London is 1 hour behind Paris. 19:38 in London = 20:38 in Paris. Your phone switches by itself.
  • Just walk out: all the passport checks were done in Paris.
Saturday 31 October

London → Barcelona

The same transfer in reverse, and easier: no passport checks in Paris. 1 h 48 between trains.

  • Inside St Pancras International, follow the signs to Eurostar departures.
  • Ticket gate (scan the QR code) → security → French passport control: show your passport. Your UK permit isn't needed for leaving.
  • Wait in the lounge for your platform to be called.
  • Seat: coach 16, seat 27.
  • Paris is 1 hour ahead of London: you arrive at 12:54 Paris time.
  • In Paris, just get off and walk out. No checks.
  1. Walk to the end of the Eurostar platform into the main hall, turn left and take the escalators down following the RER D signs.
  2. Tap your phone or Navigo card at the gate: your second ticket is already on it.
✓ Take it: towards
Melun · Malesherbes · Corbeil-Essonnes
✗ Wrong way: towards
Creil · Orry-la-Ville · Goussainville

2 stops: Gare du Nord → Châtelet – Les Halles (stay on) → Gare de Lyon (get off).

  • Follow “Grandes Lignes” up into the station. You have time for lunch; Hall 1 is calmer.
  • On the big departure boards, look for TGV INOUI 9715 · BARCELONE · 14:42. The platform (voie) appears about 20 minutes before departure.
  • A letter = Hall 1, a number = Hall 2. They're about 200 m apart, so check before you walk.
  • Seat: coach 15, upper deck, seat 569. The doors close 2 minutes before, so be on the platform by 14:30.

Benvinguda a casa!

All done. Welcome home!

If you need it

Plan B: if RER D isn't running

Screens and announcements will say so. Take the metro instead; the same ticket works as long as you don't exit.

Wednesday (Gare de Lyon → Gare du Nord): Métro 1 (yellow) towards La Défense, 1 stop to Bastille, then Métro 5 (orange) towards Bobigny – Pablo Picasso to Gare du Nord. About 30 minutes.

Saturday (Gare du Nord → Gare de Lyon): Métro 5 towards Place d'Italie to Bastille, then Métro 1 towards Château de Vincennes, 1 stop to Gare de Lyon.

Taxi: official rank in front of the station. Say “Gare du Nord, Eurostar, s'il vous plaît”. Avoid it on Wednesday at rush hour.

Handy French phrases

Excusez-moi, où est le RER D, direction Gare du Nord ?Excuse me, where is the RER D towards Gare du Nord?
Ce train va bien à la Gare du Nord ?Does this train go to Gare du Nord?
Où est l'Eurostar pour Londres ?Where is the Eurostar to London?
Mon train a du retard, j'ai un Eurostar à 17 h 57.My train is late, I have a Eurostar at 17:57.

Stay relaxed and safe

  • Keep passport and phone zipped away in the stations and on the RER.
  • Say “non, merci” to anyone offering help at the ticket machines or asking you to sign a petition.
  • Staff in uniform (SNCF, RATP, Eurostar) are the ones to ask.

Checked 27 October 2026. If anything differs, the station screens, the staff and your ticket are right.