Forecasting a dip in bookings for August travel – due to sterling’s drop in value and acts of terrorism putting travellers off – Eurostar’s marketeers have introduced a day return fare of £58 for midweek travel to Paris and Brussels, representing just over a quarter of the normal fare for August.

Tickets can only be booked at St Pancras International from the Monday in the week of travel and are valid for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday on selected trains. Outbound these are the 7.01am or the 7.55am to Paris and the 6.50am to Brussels. Inbound choices are the 8.13pm or 9.13pm from Paris and the 6.56pm from Brussels. Timings give up to nearly ten hours in Paris and nearly seven hours in Brussels with journey times to the centre of both cities just over two hours.

Writing in the i newspaper on Saturday travel expert Simon Calder pointed out that those wanting a one or two night stay in the cities could buy two day return tickets for £116, use the outbound portion of one and the inbound portion of the other and save around £100 on the normal last-minute, short break fare.