What is the difference between st pancras and kings cross

There is a definite bias towards the budget sector here so there are lots of services geared to this market. It's easy to find a laundrette and cheap places to eat for example. With thousands of people passing through the stations daily, many looking for "food on the go" you will be overwhelmed with the choice for fast food and snacks. These are supplied by all the global franchises and some local independents.

With the redevelopment of St Pancras Station and the opening of the grand 5-star Renaissance Hotel at St Pancras Station , luxury is no longer hard to find in this area. The area has certainly gone more upmarket in the last few years. Especially in St Pancras Station and the Renaissance Hotel, where there are some very luxurious places to linger, including a champagne bar at St Pancras Station.

There are no major attractions situated directly in the area so the majority of people staying here go no further than walking between their hotel and the Euston Road and the two stations. The only reason for you to do any different is to enjoy the architectural splendour of the gothic St Pancras station, something Harry Potter fans will know of as it was used iin scenes from the film.

Other than this, the area is best used as a base to explore London from. As you walk along the Euston Road there is a slow but sure change in the feel of the area. At Kings Cross, you'll experience traffic gridlock, real city hustle and bustle, fast food outlets and plenty of budget hotels with the occasional luxury hotel. By the time you get to Euston the situation reverses.

Traffic will have eased, it will feel more relaxed and spacious. Euston hotels are mostly 4-star hotels and occasional budget options. Around the area of Euston Station is a major hospital, medical schools and the London University. With so many students, the bias is still towards value for money, but the surroundings are more spaced out and elegant once you get off the Euston Road with garden squares and fine Georgian buildings. Euston Station is the hub around which this district ticks.

When compared with Kings Cross and St Pancras there are fewer shops and restaurants outside the station, though there are plenty of traditional pubs. Buy any time, travel any time Anytime fares are fully flexible tickets, with no time restrictions on when you can travel. With an Anytime ticket you can also break your journey at stations along the route of travel.

For short journeys in the London area you normally get the same fare as if you booked in advance. For long inter-city fares, buying tickets like this can be very, very expensive.

We recommend sticking to the time you decide to travel. Buy any time, travel off-peak These tickets may require you to travel at specific times of day, days of the week or on a specific route. Where there is more than one Off-Peak fare for a journey, the cheaper fare with more restrictions will be called Super Off-Peak. The times that constitute off-peak are very variable, there can even be different times for off-peak between the same stations in different directions, so always check first.

So, every time you see his spectacular gothic-revival frontage, remember that it was born of a spirit of one-upmanship that prevailed during the age of industrialism.

Indeed, an idea was mooted in the s to merge the two stations, perhaps demolishing both. Only a campaign by John Betjeman saved St Pancras. But disuse and dilapidation meant that station struggled through the late 20th century. The hotel was turned into office space, then fell empty.

British Rail tried to sell off the old station clock but accidentally smashed it in the process. Refurbishment in gave the station a new lease of life; it now hosts Eurostar, and its hotel is a hotel again.

Even Thameslink services were re-routed from King's Cross to a pair of new platforms under St Pancras. St Pancras got Paris.

Safe to say there's life in that old rivalry yet. The best things to do in London. The must-read London articles. The coolest London events from our partners. By James FitzGerald Last edited 43 months ago. Left luggage: There is a left luggage office run by the Excess Baggage Company, www. Open Monday-Saturday, Sunday. Bags are X-rayed before deposit. It's on the lower shopping level beyond the domestic ticket office. Tip: Check Stasher. For something really special, try Marcus Waring's restaurant inside the station's historic station hotel building, the Gilbert Scot www.

I can personally recommend the food here as it's excellent - oysters, lobster, you'll find it all here. The restaurant is located inside the west wing of the station facade, with an entrance off the street or from inside the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel.

Also an excellent upmarket option, another restaurant I can personally recommend. For something cheaper, the Betjeman's Arms pub www. It's on the upper level behind the Eurostar buffer stops near the huge statue of the embracing couple.

It's relatively quiet on the station's upper level, away from the bustle below. You'll also find Carluccio's here, www. Searcy's champagne bar , reputedly the world's longest, is on the upper level, searcysstpancras. You'll spot it easily after going up the escalators or steps from the shopping arcade below, it's 96 metres long and located in the open underneath the station's magnificent glass-and-steel trainshed, separated from departing Eurostars by no more than a glass screen.

Searcy's also have a good indoors restaurant opposite the champagne bar, another personal recommendation and also a respite from the bustle below. There are various cafes and a Yo Sushi on the busy lower level shopping arcade, see www. But it's quieter and nicer upstairs! The Champagne bar , on the upper level.

As well as the seats around the bar itself, there is a 96m long row of sating booths behind the bar, alongside the nearest Eurostar platform.

At the rear of the upper level under the clock, you'll find the Betjeman Arms pub visible above, in the far corner, www. Ideal for stocking up for the journey. Local transport : Walking, taxis, buses, underground Walking: Walking to say Oxford Circus takes 40 minutes.

Walking to Euston station takes 10 minutes along Euston Road, as fast or faster than taking the Underground. Taxis: For a taxi fare calculator see www. Black cabs are plentiful in the cab rank which is on the west side of the station. Taxis usually drop off on the east side of the station, next to Eurostar departures. Don't just rush through, look around and admire before checking-in for Eurostar This is one of the most magnificently-restored stations in Europe.

Very nearly demolished in the s, saved but neglected for the next few decades, now transformed into a world class international terminal, the ultimate phoenix risen from the ashes. Take the time to wander up to the quieter upper level , admire Barlow's amazing trainshed now gloriously restored in powder-blue, pay your respects to the bronze statue of Poet Laureate John Betjeman who was instrumental in saving the station, and admire the sheer size of the bronze statue of the embracing couple known as The Lovers by sculptor Paul Day.

Wander briefly out of the big open archway onto the forecourt and gaze up at that amazing gothic facade and clock tower. If you're in the money , have a glass of champagne at the world's longest champagne bar on the upper level, searcysstpancras. Have a pint and some pub grub at the Betjeman Arms near the embracing couple statue. It has both inside seating and an 'outside' seating area underneath the magnificent trainshed.

Don't forget the station has free WiFi so you can catch up on emails or further research your travel plans! Trains to these destinations still leave from St Pancras, though they're now relegated to new platforms outside the old trainshed.

Bricks, tiles and stone to build the station were brought down to London by train from the area served by the Midland Railway, this station was designed to impress travellers right from the start.

Make sure you walk outside onto the street to gaze at the fabulous Victorian Gothic station facade, designed by Sir Gilbert Scott. The lower two storeys opened in along with the rest of the station, the remaining floors and clock tower were completed by This building housed the old Midland Hotel, opened in and closed in , too large and outdated to continue as a hotel.

It lay derelict for many years, but in it was restored and reopened as one of London's best hotels, the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel - a 5-star London landmark. However, the most awe-inspiring sight is inside the station.

It's the spectacular glass-and-steel trainshed, designed by William Henry Barlow and completed in The trainshed has been totally renovated and returned to its original sky-blue. The original station clock was found in a Nottinghamshire garden, faithfully reproduced and put in its place of honour at the apex of the trainshed, read the story of the clock here. Under the clock stands a 9 metre high statue of two lovers embracing, titles The Meeting Place , by sculptor Paul Day.

The platforms at St Pancras are raised 20 feet 6m above street level, on a deck supported by iron columns. This allows the Midland main line to approach the station at high level across a bridge over the Regent Canal.

In contrast, the engineers for the adjacent Great Northern Railway into Kings Cross tunnelled under the canal, allowing the platforms at Kings Cross to be at street level, but with some sharp gradients for trains running into that station. The raised tracks at St Pancras allowed a street-level warehouse to be created underneath the platforms.

This lower level is now full of shops and the Eurostar departure lounge, but it was formerly a vast warehouse for beer brought down from Burton on Trent and other midland towns in barrels.