Day Trip from London to Paris

Will be staying over in London for 5 nights following Princess TA. Considering a day trip to Paris and looking for possible suggestions on tour companies etc. Will be in London May 9th - 14th.

Boy, that would be a long day. (4.5 to 5 hours on the train)

 

You looking for a tour company in Paris once you arrive or a company that will take you on the train, do your tour of Paris and then take you by train back to London?

we use viator all the time. They are now owned by trip advisor, but we have always had great luck with them. They also have a luxury day in paris getaway from London that may fit your needs. http://www.viator.com

Whatever you decided book ASAP. The most inclusive round-trip from London tours (which include Eurostar fare, lunch in Paris and jump the queue admission to attractions) sell out well in advance. And May 8 is Victory Day in France so Paris will be more packed then usual that weekend. Also remember the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays.

we use viator all the time. They are now owned by trip advisor, but we have always had great luck with them. They also have a luxury day in paris getaway from London that may fit your needs. http://www.viator.com

 

Thanks for that tip! We're considering a trip to London with a side trip to Paris and I was looking to "create" a side-trip on my own. Great options.

Thanks! I have been looking at Viator also. Train trip and Paris? Long? Hey, we're on vacation and who knows when will get back over. Day can't be as long as some we had on our Med cruise...LOL

I have done a couple of day trips from London to Paris. Remember there is a one hour time difference from London to France.

Catch an early morning Eurostar to Paris, take either the Metro or taxis to where you want to go. Book your Eiffel tower visit on line.

Thanks! I have been looking at Viator also. Train trip and Paris? Long? Hey, we're on vacation and who knows when will get back over. Day can't be as long as some we had on our Med cruise...LOL

 

Yeah, I'm not sure why the former poster thinks this is a long journey. According to the website, the Eurostar is only 2.5 hours each way. The husband once took a Princess excursion to interior Costa Rica that was 5 hours on a bus ... each way! :eek: I elected to go ziplining just outside of town instead.

Will be staying over in London for 5 nights following Princess TA. Considering a day trip to Paris and looking for possible suggestions on tour companies etc. Will be in London May 9th - 14th.

 

You could get the early Eurostar from St Pancras London 05.40 - arrive 09.32 Paris Gare De Nord and get the last train back 21.10 arrive London 22.39....cost approx. £92/person, based on the 11th May departure.

Use the Hop on Hop off Bus in Paris - online cost 26.10 Euros/person.

Long day but would be worth it.

Agree, altho a long day, it is quick using the fast train. You will see many promotional brochures with arranged tours when you are in London. You leave early and have quite a bit of time with the tour to at least get a taste of Paris. Better than nothing!:D

 

 

Check out LondonToolKit.com It is a great site and will include info regarding the day trips options.

Edited February 16, 2015 by eandj

I have used Viator for all my trips !!

 

I have recommend the day trip from London to Paris

 

I very highly recommend the Premier Inn London St Pancras hotel for location as its literally OPPOSITE St Pancras station

 

I remember I was up at 5am, had to be at St Pancras for a 6:15am check in, on the train I think for 7am (This was in 2012 so my recollection might not be exactly what happened at the times I say)

 

However due to the train in front of ours having a small fire, the service went from the high speed rail lines to the local rail lines so we were delayed which meant that on arrival in Paris, we didnt get to go up the 2nd level of the Eiffel Tower however we had free time to marvel in the glory of the tower and its HUGE !!

 

We also got a city tour and a cruise on the Siene, then free time for about 2hrs to explore on our own

 

The Notre Dame is FREE to get into and you can come and go as you please

 

All in all it was a very long day, I truly love Paris and wouldnt hesitate to do this trip again, hoping next time to get to go up the Eiffel Tower !!

I used to travel to London routinely for business and know London and Paris well. In the mid 90s when the Chunnel first opened I actually took the Eurostar to Paris on a day trip just to check out the train. In those days the Eurostar departed from London’s Waterloo Station but it now departs from St. Pancras. St. Pancras is more convenient to the financial center, but less so to the West End where most tourists stay. Besides the Eurostar travel time, about 2.5 hrs, you need to add about 30 minutes minimum at St. Pancras (and likely more, your ticket will tell you). Fastest way to get there is by tube to King’s Cross and then walking over but if you are anywhere near the West End (I used to stay in Knightsbridge) you need to add about another 30 minutes or so for the tube. A taxi will be easier but will likely take longer depending on where you are staying. So the travel time, your hotel to Gare du Nord, may be about 3.5 hours. This leaves you with about 9-10 hours in Paris if you take the earliest train and return on the latest, a long day indeed but like you said, you are there!!!

 

I normally would not recommend a tourist bus tour but with limited time and no prior knowledge of Paris that may be the way to go. In my case I bought a one day Metro ticket and went where I wanted but I knew the city. I looked at the Viator tour and the part I did not like was the champagne lunch on the Eiffel Tour - you may like this, I don't know, but I can think of better things to do if I had limited time.

 

Another option to consider is to spread your time between the two cities. If it was me I would spend 3 days in London and 3 in Paris and then return from there, one way on the Eurostar only. This may not be an option, I realize. Either way you will enjoy your time in Paris and will want to go back, just too much to see and do even if you were there a month.

If you go this route (we did something similar in 2007 and not sure I would recommend the pace), your best bet is probably to take the Eurostar and pick up a tour in Paris (we did the Grey Line, which at the time had a free shuttle from the Paris train station). The reason I say this is that many of the London based tours use buses instead of the train, which adds time to travel each way (but is more convenient).

Book the Eurostar online asap and do as already suggested. Do a HOHO bus in Paris. You only need to be at St Pancras half an hour before the train departs. St Pancras station is next door to Kings Cross station, so very accessible from everywhere in London.

 

It is extremely easy to do on your own. That way you can see what you choose to see and not be herded around with 50 other people. I'd never book with a company like Viator. They are a third party booking agent and don't operate excursions.

Considering a day trip to Paris ...

Yeah, I'm not sure why the former poster thinks this is a long journey. According to the website, the Eurostar is only 2.5 hours each way. The husband once took a Princess excursion to interior Costa Rica that was 5 hours on a bus ... each way!

My top piece of advice: Don't do it, because the travelling there and back is a waste of time if you're doing a day trip.

 

It is not "only 2½ hours" to get to Paris. If you try to do a day trip from London, including the travel to and from the stations at each end it's going to be closer to 4 hours each way, so you're going to end up spending about 8 hours of your day just on travelling to and from Paris. That's 8 hours that could be better spent sightseeing in London, and you end up with only a few hours to zoom around a handful of sights in Paris before you have to head back to the station to come back to London.

 

You're better off making Paris a trip on its own. It's easy to get to, and you need to spend at least a week (or better, a month) there.

Agree 100%.. There is so much you can do in a day in London and the travel time for a taste of Paris is a total waste. If you want to see paris go for four or five days another time. Meanwhile enjoy leasure days in London and don't forget to take in some theatre.

Thanks again to everyone. Wife and I have more or less decided we need to book a seperate trip just to Paris in the near future. For London would everyone recommend a tour service or just "go on your own" type trip? We are there for 5 nights so have time to "wander around" if we want to. Any absolute must sees?

Thanks again to everyone. Wife and I have more or less decided we need to book a seperate trip just to Paris in the near future. For London would everyone recommend a tour service or just "go on your own" type trip? We are there for 5 nights so have time to "wander around" if we want to. Any absolute must sees?

 

Wonderful decision! I would suggest that you take the HOHO bus the first day.

It will show you much of the center and many tourist spots. London is very walkable if you stay in near the center or near an underground line which will in moments take you to the center. We have been coming to London yearly or more often for the past 35 years for weeks at a time and never run out of new places to wander and lots of fantastic theatre, food , music and museums.

Just enjoy and I'm sure you'll want to return.

Edited February 18, 2015 by orchestrapal

While the Eurostar is quick, getting to and from the stations at each end will add at least two more hours travel time - crazy to make a day trip. Better to book your London hotel in two pieces, booking one night in Paris somewhere in the middle. You London hotel will keep you luggage for you, so you can just bring a back pack, or comparable for your overnight.

 

Paris is worth a lot more than a few hassled hours between trains, and the evening there would give a real taste of the city.

For London would everyone recommend a tour service or just "go on your own" type trip? We are there for 5 nights so have time to "wander around" if we want to.

Definitely do it yourself. Most people in London speak English, so you're unlikely to get very lost. And doing it yourself gives you flexibility to pick and choose what you want to see, when to see it, how long you want to spend at each place - and the ability to change your mind and your plans at a moment's notice. And it'll very probably be much cheaper.

Will be staying over in London for 5 nights following Princess TA. Considering a day trip to Paris and looking for possible suggestions on tour companies etc. Will be in London May 9th - 14th.

 

If reading this correctly, you have decided against doing this trip. If you have decided against it because you want to spend more time in Paris and will be going at another time, great. We did this same trip when we had a post cruise stay in London. Regardless of the people that said it shouldn't be done, it is impossible to see Paris in 7-8 hours, we figured if we didn't do this and see Paris at this time, we may never get another chance. I have told people for years now, if you don't do something, like a trip like this one, and you go home and regret it 1,000 times, then forget what the nay Sayers tell you and go for it.

 

As I said, we did it and loved every minute of our trip. I could go into detail on how we did it, what we saw etc. etc, but only if you would like. wW got up early took the first Eurostar out (That was an adventure in itself) got to Paris As early as possible. We had a plan and we followed it exactly. We made a few stops before going to the Eiffel tower. We had no plans to go up in it, so we took the Bat-a=Boat that cruises up and down the Seine to several stops. We got off at the Louvre, toured that, and walked along the Seine to Notre Dame, then took the boat ride along the Seine to end a glorious day. sure it was long, sure we were tired, but when we got home, it was all we could talk about.

 

The people are correct. You simply cannot see Paris in one day, let alone one week, but we sure gave it one hell of a try, and with absolutely no regrets.

 

Cheers

 

Len

OK, after MUCH discussion we have decided to do the day trip from London to Paris. As said on here, we may never get here again. Never know what life will bring you. So, even though it will be a long day and we may not see all we would like we figure it will give us at least a taste and maybe lead to a future trip to Paris for a longer period. So, GiantFan13, if you have suggestions to make the trip better would appreciate any and all advice.

If reading this correctly, you have decided against doing this trip. If you have decided against it because you want to spend more time in Paris and will be going at another time, great. We did this same trip when we had a post cruise stay in London. Regardless of the people that said it shouldn't be done, it is impossible to see Paris in 7-8 hours, we figured if we didn't do this and see Paris at this time, we may never get another chance. I have told people for years now, if you don't do something, like a trip like this one, and you go home and regret it 1,000 times, then forget what the nay Sayers tell you and go for it.

 

As I said, we did it and loved every minute of our trip. I could go into detail on how we did it, what we saw etc. etc, but only if you would like. wW got up early took the first Eurostar out (That was an adventure in itself) got to Paris As early as possible. We had a plan and we followed it exactly. We made a few stops before going to the Eiffel tower. We had no plans to go up in it, so we took the Bat-a=Boat that cruises up and down the Seine to several stops. We got off at the Louvre, toured that, and walked along the Seine to Notre Dame, then took the boat ride along the Seine to end a glorious day. sure it was long, sure we were tired, but when we got home, it was all we could talk about.

 

The people are correct. You simply cannot see Paris in one day, let alone one week, but we sure gave it one hell of a try, and with absolutely no regrets.

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

I agree! DH surprised me with a day trip to Paris years ago, and it remains one of my fondest travel memories. We took a very early Eurostar to Paris, and we slept a bit on the train. We took a hoho tour of Paris, and then we toured the Musee d'Orsay where we also had a delicious lunch. We took a late train back to London where we also slept a bit. It's very doable.

You need to book with Eurostar ASAP as prices go up the nearer you get. In fact some trains in early May are already sold out. Do not go to Viator but book directly with Eurostar. http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en

Go for it Turk1! And book now and direct like Bob++ says