The Eurostar terminal at Waterloo

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This is more like an airport than a train station. By that I mean it has shops, cafés, bars, a bureau de change, toilets, an information desk and even a Eurostar souvenir outlet. Not particularly cheap, though. Here's a run-down on the facilities:

• Cafés, a currency exchange, newsagents, a gift shop, left luggage and cash machines (basically everything you need at a terminal but forgot about/lost on the way)
• Ticket office (open daily; 1 hour before first departure until 9pm), Travel Centre, group welcome desk, special assistance desk and self-service ticket collection machines
• Registered baggage service (10 minutes’ walk, outside Waterloo domestic station - call 08705 850 850 for more details)
• Wireless internet access: For 12½ minutes of online time, the cost is £1.00. You can either purchase a voucher from Waterloo or Ashford terminals, or pay online using a debit or credit card. Also available in Ashford, Paris and Brussels. Details here
  
• Lounge facilities
• Toilets (with baby-changing facilities)
• Separate lounge for Business Premier and Eurostar carte blanche holders. Designed by Philip Starck, no less.

Here's a link to video clips and 360 degree virtual tours of the terminal and train

An announcement is made when your Eurostar is ready for boarding. There are four platforms reached via escalators designated A, B and C. The announcements screen in the terminal tells you which escalator to use depending on the number of your coach (on your ticket). This is so you don't have to walk a few hundred metres up the platform bumping into everyone else trying to get on.

Next Page: On Board the Eurostar