Relax - this is your Eurostar City Break

It's the weekend and you're stressed with all the pressures of work and living generally. You've hardly seen your partner or family all week and you want to spend some time with them. Instead of the usual places and faces, why not do something really special - something you'll remember for weeks to come? Why not use our Eurostar timetable and book a ticket to rural France or urbane Paris or raucous Eurodisney?

France is just a couple of hours away by Eurostar train - not by tense driving around the M25 and down the M2 to then spend an hour sitting in a car park waiting for a ferry nor is it an uncomfortable hour (or more) sitting in an airport waiting for your flight to be called. Travelling by Eurostar is relaxation from the moment you step on the train - your city break starts immediately.

On the train you can rest, chat, catch up on news and generally be together with your partner or family. In other words - maximum break for your money.

Here are some suggestions for romantic places to visit on your Eurostar City Break:

Eurostar City Break - Avignon

• The famous 'pont d'Avignon' of the song (the island in the river is probably what the song refers to)
• The Rocher des Doms (visit the gardens)
• The Palace of the Popes
• The Avignon Opera House
• Calvet Art Museum
• The Petit Palais - home of Italian Art
• Rue des Teinturiers and its waterwheels
   
• You will find some excellent suggestions for interesting and romantic walks around Avignon here

Eurostar City Break - Lille

• Porte de Paris
• The opera
• Monnaie Street (surprisingly enough where they used to make coins)
• The Grand Palace
• Vauban's Garden (a little part of England)
• Sébastopol Theatre
• Palais des Beaux-Arts
• Guided tours of Lille organised by the local tourist office - contact details here

Eurostar City Break - Bruges

• Horse-drawn mini-cab tour of the town - contact details
• Chocolate museum - (free demonstrations and samples) - guaranteed to win her heart!
• Folklore museum - have a drink in the 'Black Cat'
• The Archer's Guild
• Guido Gezelle museum - a famous Flemish poet
• Bonne chiere - a wooden stilt mill

Eurostar City Break - Antwerp

• Antwerp Diamond Centre (no free samples, sadly)
• Flanders Fashion Institute
• Rubens' workshop, home and grave
• Antwerp harbour boat trip
• Enjoy an 'al fresco' dining experience at the Handschoenmarkt
• The theatre district in the Quartier Latin

Eurostar City Break - Paris

• Arc de Triomphe
• Musée du Louvre
• Notre Dame
• Le Sacré Coeur
• La Sainte Chapelle
• Tour Eiffel
• Paris catacombs (that will make her hold your hand!)
• The Louvre
• Take a boat trip on the Seine - by night
• Le Moulin Rouge

Eurostar City Break - Brussels

• The statue of the young boy relieving himself at the corner of Eikstraat/Stoofstraat (apparently at certain times of year, the liquid is beer!)
• Sound and light show at The Grand Place
• Mini-Europe - a miniature tour of Europe's major edifices and tourist attractions
• The Toone Puppet Theatre - marionettes perform everything from opera to classic Belgian folk tales
• The Royal Residence - Japanese Tower and Chinese Pavilion
• The Cinquantenaire Park

All these romantic places and more are just a short Eurostar train ride away from the hurly-burly of London Waterloo or Ashford stations. Sit back in one of the comfortable airline-style seats and enjoy the experience of the world rushing past as you slow down and relax.

Some facts about Eurostar

• Eurostar links London, Ashford, Paris, Brussels, Lille, Avignon, Calais, Disneyland Resort Paris and the French Alps.
• Between July and September 2006, Eurostar carried 2.15 million travellers
• Average punctuality of trains currently (2006) runs at 91.4% with the best ever week running at 98%
• A passenger flying between London and Paris requires 10x as much CO₂ to be released into the atmosphere as a passenger on a Eurostar train doing the same journey
• In autumn 2007, Eurostar trains will depart from London St. Pancras International.  This will reduce journey times by 20 minutes, with London-Paris in 2h 15m, London-Brussels in 1h 51m and London-Lille in just 1h20m. 
• Eurostar will soon be commencing services from Ebbsfleet International which will be near Junction 2 of the M25 motorway.
• Eurostar has won the title of "World’s Leading Rail Service" for the last nine years at the World Travel Awards.

So, enjoy your Eurostar City Break - there won't be a 'getaway' experience like it; not until next time. Just use our bang up-to-date timetable at the top of this page and see what great deals for mini-breaks are on offer.