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London to Angers by train
How to take a thrilling high speed rail journey from London to Angers for access to the Loire Valley
There are two options for making the journey by high speed trains from London to Angers:
1: travelling via Paris can be a cheaper option, but you will need to make the transfer across the French capital between the Gare Du Nord, which is where the Eurostar will arrive, and the Gare Montparnasse, the departure station of the TGV train.
2: Or if you make the connection in Lille, you can make the transfer within Lille Europe station.
(Travelling via Lille currently isn't an option due to the temporary reduction in the number of trains operating between London and Lille).
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Routes
Option 1: travelling via Paris
Journey Summary
4hr 45min- 6hr 5min (approx)
Daily
Travel Information
The end-to-end journey times of under 5hrs mins all allow less than 1hr 15mins to make the transfer in Paris from the Gare Du Nord to the Gare Montparnasse.
So targeting the journey options with an end-to-end time of longer of more than 5hrs can be a good idea.
In the rare event of the Eurostar arriving in Paris 20 - 40 minutes late, making those fastest connections into the TGV on to Angers will become a race against time!
An option is to split the booking into London to Paris and Paris to Angers journeys so that you can set a connecting time that suits you; though doing so will be more expensive. See the 'Ticket Information' below.
Or an option is to target the alternative journey options involve changing trains in Lille (currently not an option).
The big tick in the box for changing trains in Lille is the avoidance of the awkward transfer across Paris.
Though there are also three ticks in the box for choosing this routing via Paris:
(1) More departures to choose from
(2) Tends to be cheaper
(3) The end-to-end journey time is quicker
Current timetable:
Mon-Thurs = 4 x connections per day
Friday = 6 x connections
Saturday = 3 x connections
Sunday = 4 x connections
The usual timetable, pre-pandemic:
Monday = 6 x connections
Tues -Thurs = 5 x connections per day
Friday = 8 x connections
Saturday = 5 x connections
Sunday = 4 x connections
Tickets
Book Early And Save: Yes
Online bookings open: 90 days ahead
When searching for tickets on Eurostar 'Angers Saint Laud' will be appear in the 'To' search box, Angers-Saint Laud is the name of the station in central Angers.
The very cheapest tickets tend to sell out particularly quickly on the alternative route via Lille so this routing via Paris tends to be cheaper.
They're also generally more likely to be available if you can travel on a Tuesday - Thursday, or are happy to set off from London early in the morning.
The price below is for a one way fare if you're booking a return ticket, it's likely you will be offered a cheaper price in each direction.
If you do want to split the booking, then Trainline will sell both the London to Paris and Paris to Angers journeys
Add each journey to the ‘basket’ and you can pay in one transaction.
Though a big plus of booking the Eurostar with Eurostar.com is that you can access a 'Manage Your Booking' facility - which enables you to change the seat on the Eurostar, that you will have been automatically assigned when making a booking.
Click on the Eurostar 'train guides’ for more information on how to do this.
The ticketing terms:
If you book Standard or Standard Premier tickets, you can exchange them if need be, to an alternative departure on your booked route; but if you want to transfer your ticket to a new departure less than 7 days before your travel date, you will need to pay an admin fee of £30 for Standard Class tickets, £40 for Standard Premier tickets PLUS the price difference with the new ticket you will be booking.
What's new, in response to the pandemic, is that these £30/40 charges aren't applied if you want to transfer to an alternative departure more than seven days before your travel date.
Business Premier tickets are less restrictive, in response to the pandemic they can now be refunded and they can be exchanged to alternative departures without paying the admin fee, or the price difference.
Eurostar's full ticket terms and conditions are here
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Eurostar | from £58 | |
| Oui.SNCF | from €58 | |
| Trainline | from €58 |
Train 1
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
As a consequence of the Covid-19 crisis Eurostar will be operating a particularly limited timetable for the time being - further information is available on Eurostar.com
Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind - so when looking at a timetable the journey will look as though it's an hour longer.
When the usual timetable is operating;
The majority of trains have a journey time of 2hr 16mins and these trains are non-stop between London and Paris.
All departures from London after 14:30 are non-stop to Paris.
Depart from London before 14:30 some trains will call at either Ebbsfleet or Ashford International stations.
However as the trains only call at these stations to pick up passengers - these station calls are not included on the departure boards at St Pancras International or usually announced on the train.
At St Pancras:
Eurostar requests that holders of Standard Class And Standard Premier tickets check-in a minimum of 30mins BEFORE departure, though this increased to 45mins on weekends and holidays.
If you have a Business Premier ticket, Eurostar recommends that you only have to check-in 10 mins before departure.
It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with SIX distinct phases and highlights:
1: For most of the first 8 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to exit London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).
2: Then from the right of the train, there are views of the River Thames marshes and of the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge.
3: The third tunnel that the train will pass through is the tunnel under the River Thames.
4: Shortly after Ebbsfleet International station (can only be seen from the right of the train) is the scenic highlight of the journey - the crossing of the River Medway.
5: The train will slow down as it approaches The Channel Tunnel.
Announcements are no longer made that the train is about to enter the tunnel.
The journey through the tunnel will take around 22 mins.
6: There is little of note to be seen from the high speed lines in France.
Train 2
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Note that these trains to Angers depart from the Gare-Montparnasse in Paris.
Final Destination: Nantes or Le Croisic (or Les Sables-d'Olonne)
Some trains also call at: Le Mans
*The fastest trains are non-stop between Paris and Angers - and they're faster than ever before, thanks to to the opening of the LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire high speed line extension
The slower trains divert off of this new direct route in order to call at Le Mans.
A mix of TGV trains are used on this route, the brand new TGV Oceane trains are now used on most departures.
You can check which type of TGV train will be used for your chosen departure by following the simple steps on this guide.
The fastest trains are non-stop between Paris and Angers; and they're faster than ever before, thanks to to the opening of the LGV Bretagne-Pays de la Loire high speed line extension.
As a result the trains move on to the high speed line around 3 minutes after departure and don't leave it until around 10 minutes before arrival in Angers
The slower trains divert off of this new direct route in order to call at Le Mans.
Option 2: travelling via Lille (temporarily not available)
Journey Summary
(7hr 23min)
Daily
Travel Information
Making a London to Angers journey via Lille involves taking the Eurostar, which departs London daily at 12:58.
There is a daily TGV from Lille Europe station, which is usually scheduled to depart at 17:39, but the Eurostar from London is due to arrive in Lille at 15:30.
As the waiting time in Lille between trains will be more than two hours, the ticket agents also won't offer this combination of trains.
But if you would prefer to spend just over two hours in Lille than make the transfer between the Gare du Nord and the Gare Montparnasse in Paris, then an option is to book separate tickets for the London to Lille and Lille to Angers journeys.
Though if you opt to do so, in the unlikely event of the Eurostar not arriving in Lille in time to make the connection, you will have to re-book (paying the full price) for the Lille to Angers journey.
However, the connecting time of two hours makes that a very unlikely scenario.
1 x 'connection' per day
Changing trains in: Lille
Making the connection between the Eurostar from London and the TGV to Angers at Lille Europe, has the major advantage of avoiding the need to make the particularly awkward transfer between the Gare Du Nord and Gare Montparnasse stations - if you take the alternative route via Paris.
Tickets
Book Early And Save: Yes
Online bookings open: 90 days ahead
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Eurostar | from £51 | |
| Trainline | from £51 |
Train 1
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
As a consequence of the Covid-19 crisis Eurostar will be operating a particularly limited timetable for the time being - further information is available on Eurostar.com
Final Destination: Bruxelles-Mid or Amsterdam
Some trains also call at: Ebbsfleet International (07:04 on Mon-Fri; 09:12 and 13:15 daily) or Ashford International (07:28 on Mon-Sat and 18:28 on Sunday) these station calls have been suspended until further notice
Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind - so when looking at a timetable the journey will look as though it's an hour longer.
Virtually all of the departures between London and Lille will be by the e320trains.
At St Pancras
Eurostar REQUESTS that holders of Standard Class And Standard Premier tickets check-in a minimum of 30mins before departure, and 45mins before departure on weekends and holidays.
If you have a Business Premier ticket, Eurostar recommends that you only have to check-in 10 mins before departure.
Our guide to taking a Eurostar from London is here.
The trains only call at Ebbsfleet or Ashford International stations to pick up passengers, so these station calls are not included on the departure boards at St Pancras International or announced on the train.
It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with six distinct phases and highlights:
1: For most of the first 8 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to exit London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).
2: Then from the right of the train, there are views of the River Thames marshes and of the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge.
3: The third tunnel that the train will pass through is the tunnel under the River Thames.
4: Shortly after Ebbsfleet International station (can only be seen from the right of the train) is the scenic highlight of the journey - the crossing of the River Medway.
5: The train will slow down as it approaches The Channel Tunnel.
Announcements are no longer made that the train is about to enter the tunnel.
The journey through the tunnel will take around 22 mins.
6: There is little of note to be seen from the high speed line in France.
Train 2
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination: Nantes
All trains also call at: Le Mans
For the part of the journey between Lille and Le Mans, some of these trains heading to Nantes via Angers will be attached to another TGV train heading to Rennes.
You won't have to be concerned about travelling in the right part of the train, as your assigned seats(s) will be in the part of the train heading to Angers - and on to Nantes.
This is a journey of four distinct phases:
(1) The train will travel at up to 280 km/h as it races south on the high speed line to the edge of Paris
(2) It will then slow down for more than 20 mins as it weaves away through the city's southern suburbs.
(3) It will once again travel on a high speed line between Massy and Le Mans
(4) The final part of the journey between Le Mans and Angers is the prettiest, but it's not a particularly scenic journey, so having something to read or watch with you is recommended.
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