Paris: Taking the Eurostar with a baby

It’s one of those questions which has always slightly puzzled me – is it better to travel or arrive? Apart from a few select exceptions, surely it’s always better to arrive. That goes doubly for travel with a toddler. Triply when your train is horribly delayed.

Attempting the Eurostar with a baby ended up being not such a bon voyage to Paris, although for none of the reasons I’d fretted about in advance (inevitably) – my AirBNB hosts suggested a bus to avoid taking the metro from the Gare du Nord to their flat, and my fellow passengers were the model of kindness.

I sometimes forget that I’m not in a bubble when I travel with Minnie. And when people see a woman on her own trying to manoeuvre a buggy, suitcase and small child, they don’t (all) affect sudden blindness, they (mostly) jump in to help.

My cunning plan to book a journey coinciding with Minnie’s lunch and nap meant that after eating and sleeping, she woke about 15 minutes before we were due into the Gare du Nord.

Alas any smugness was short-lived as we hadn’t even made it out of England, thanks to a closed Eurotunnel, finally arriving nearly two hours late.

We were even sufficiently delayed to get compensation – a partial refund of 12.5% of the ticket price (about £7.50 in this case) or 50% off my next return journey within the next 12 months on any of Eurostar’s main routes. Which gives me a good excuse to go back (or maybe see what Lille or Brussels has in store).

As ever, there were a few travel lessons learned about taking Eurostar with a baby along the way…

• It is worth booking into one of the family-friendly carriages on Eurostar – we were in 18, which is right at the end of the train but had baby changing very nearby.
• Eurostar also has moving walkways or escalators between check-in and platforms, although count on some interesting balancing to ensure neither buggy nor wheeled case escapes. Still beats stairs.
• A carnet of Metro tickets doesn’t expire, as I’d thought/hoped. However, they can become demagnetised – if they don’t seem to be working, check with station staff who should replace them.
• The Paris Metro is not well-equipped with lifts and you’ll almost certainly have stairs leading down into the stations and onto the platforms. There’s often escalators at least part-way back up and in my experience, people are very ready to help.
• Many stations have separate entrance gates to allow buggies through – ask a member of staff to open them, although you should validate your ticket at one of the normal barriers as well. If there is no member of staff, you’ll need to try to get your buggy through somehow.
• Buses around Paris are often easier with a buggy – get on at the rear doors but do validate your ticket in the machine at the front by the driver. You’ll also need a new ticket if you change buses.
• On the Metro, a single ticket covers the entire journey within the centre even if you change lines. Unlike London, for example, you don’t need a ticket to exit (though hold onto it in case of inspection) so if you mix up several identical ones in your pocket, it’s not the end of the world. You may want to practise your flustered expression and French for ‘I’m so sorry, I know it’s one of these but not which one’ for the ticket inspector though…

Image courtesy of Depositphotos