Channel Tunnel in London

Channel Tunnel

Short of flying, taking the Eurostar train is the fastest way to cross the English Channel. From London's Waterloo Station, the high-speed train travels through a tunnel underneath the Channel (to the Brits' amusement, only Americans still call it "the Chunnel"), arriving in approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes at Paris's Gare du Nord. It takes slightly longer to stations in Brussels and Lille. Even mild claustrophobes tend to find the journey acceptable, as you are only in the tunnel itself for approximately 20 minutes. The Eurostar's rates have been going up, so expect to pay around £100 ($190) for a round-trip ticket, but note that tickets cost slightly less with advance purchase, and can cost much more if purchased on or near the day of travel. Construction on a glossy new Eurostar station is underway at St. Pancras station, next to King's Cross station. If completed on time, the Eurostar will move from Waterloo in late 2007. Web site and phone numbers will remain the same.

Car Transport

Eurotunnel (0870/535-3535 in U.K.; 070/223210 in Belgium; 03-21-00-61-00 in France. www.eurotunnel.com).

Passenger Service

Eurostar (1233/617575; 0870/518-6186 in U.K. www.eurostar.co.uk). Rail Europe (800/942-4866; 800/274-8724; 0870/837-1371 U.K. inquiries and credit-card bookings. www.raileurope.com).