Eurostar to Orleans

Orléans is a wonderful city in the north of France, in the Loriet region, only eighty miles or so away from the capital city of Paris. The city itself is on the Loire River. Interestingly, New Orleans America was named after Orléans. It’s a gorgeous place to visit at any time of the year, and it’s one of the connection destinations on the Eurostar, so it’s easy to get to and you’ll be there in no time. It takes just 4 hours by train, and is so close to Paris, you could easily make your trip a 2 destination city break.

About Orleans

Orléans is famed for its annual Latino festival. Spread over five Sundays in July, August, and September, Orléans is filled with music and dancing along the river banks. The festival has only been running since 2007, but already it has made a name for itself, and you can party the night away Latino style to the tunes from DJ Oscar, master of ceremonies.

A truly fabulous experience for any tourists going to Orléans is the Illusions, ça trompe énormément exhibition. It’s a wonderfully theatrical setting in a big top, and you can see examples of illusions. It’s very hands-on, and all-encompassing, with displays of poetry and performance, and electrical delights to shock and amaze you.

Another festival that takes place in Orléans is the autumn festival. Spaced over two days, Orléans is filled with people. On the Saturday, there is a boules tournament, Chinese lanterns, and a torchlight procession throughout the streets as the evening progresses, culminating in a spectacular firework display. The Sunday sees a flea market in the streets, and a concert to end the festivities.

If you’re looking for something a bit different, the Natural Science Museum in Orléans is a great place to spend an afternoon with the family. There are an abundance of displays on invertebrates, mammals, and birds, as well as the natural world and geology. There’s also two enormous Mediterranean and tropical greenhouses on the third floor.

And if it’s culture you love, look no further than the Orléans Cathedral. This magnificent building dates back to the sixth century, so there’s some stunning architecture to see. Due to fire damage, a lot of it has been rebuilt over the years, so it’s wonderful mix of styles.

Orleans by Eurostar Trains

Orleans makes a wonderful city break destination, and is so close and easy to get to by train, it makes sense to hop on the Eurostar at St Pancras, relax for a couple of hours, the change at Paris for a quick hop to Orleans. Orléans is one of the Eurostar’s connection services. This means you'll have to change trains at some point. Eurostar trains depart from St Pancras International, a very easy-to-get-to destination in London. With speeds of 186 miles per hour, it's an easy journey. Your simplest option of connection services after getting on the train at London is to change at Paris Gare du Nord, which will only take two hours and fifteen minutes. From here, you'll need to get to Gare D'Austerlitz. You can either grab a taxi or take the Metro (you’ll need to get on line 5 towards Place d'Italie). Once you arrive, there are a number of TGV services that will take you to Orléans. All in all, if you travel from London, you can expect the journey time to be about four hours.

Visit the official Eurostar web site to book your train tickets to Orleans.