Day Trip to Paris from London via Eurostar. Yea or Nay?

[klfrodo]

Will be spending a week in London pre-cruise next year and considering a day trip to Paris via Eurostar.

My only interest in visiting Paris is 1) to say I've been there 2) to see the Eiffel Tower 3) boat trip on the Seine 4) Lunch/Dinner on Champs- Elysees.

 

Yes? No? Maybe?

What am I missing or not thought about that might change my mind?

[lazydayz]

Why wouldn't you just stay the night in Paris?  That's a lot of travel and stress for one day (you have to get to the train station, go through security and customs, then what, 3 hours on the train, take a taxi to downtown; then do it all again for getting back to London).  You could do it, but I don't think you will time to get your three must do's in, at least not at a leisurely pace.  

[carlmm]

First train in, last train out gives you more than 12 hours, more than cruise passengers have doing an excursion from Le Havre. 

I wouldn't recommend either but given your list of interest, why not, start with the Eifel tour.

[samplecd02]

Day trip to Paris is doable, but makes for a LONG day.

I have done the Eurostar from London to Paris twice. It usually runs on time and its pretty fast. I believe the train ride is 2.5 hrs.  There is a taxi station outside of Garde Du Nord (spelling?) that you can grab a taxi fast. If you want to go inside the Eiffel, it is a LONG line. It can be a good hour or more to just get in and the elevator to get to the top is a challenge as its usually full.

Taxis are waiting at the Eiffel as well to take you back to the train station or wherever you want to go. I am not sure about the river cruise as the one we booked was through a tour group and was the whole day including the train, but I would assume they have ways for you to hop on just for the cruise down the Seine.

 

One word of warning, I was traveling with just me (female) and my daughter and the taxi driver that we picked to take us back from the Eiffel to the train station turned on his meter and then pretended to not understand us saying Garde Du Norde. It took a few minutes to get him to understand, it just seemed like a rather unethical way to get a higher cab fare by pretending to not understand.

Edited August 3, 2022 by samplecd02

[SomewhereGirl]

I did a day trip tour through Golden Tours (are they still around?) in 2008.  Very early morning departure from London hotel and late-night return.  All transportation included on both ends.  Picked up at Garde Du Norde, drove through the city, up the Champs-Elysees, around the Arc de Triomphe, and then up the Eiffel Tower.  Then to Versaille (inside and out).  Then back to Garde Du Norde and back to London. 

 

It was a long day but I'm glad I did it.  If you don't know if or when you might ever be back to Europe, I say do it!

[Dutch_Travelgirl]

The name of the Paris train station where the Eurostar arrives at and departs from is called Gare du Nord. The word “gare” doesn’t contain a “d”, not when you spell it and not when you pronounce it. To avoid any confusion when taking a taxi, you can always write down the name of your destination in the local language. 

Edited August 4, 2022 by Dutch_Travelgirl

[MAVIP]

5 hours ago, Dutch_Travelgirl said:

The name of the Paris train station where the Eurostar arrives at and departs from is called Gare du Nord. The word “gare” doesn’t contain a “d”, not when you spell it and not when you pronounce it. To avoid any confusion when taking a taxi, you can always write down the name of your destination in the local language. 

Perfect "instructions"..  And Nord has that "d", but is pronounced as Noor.

[Globaliser]

On 8/3/2022 at 6:35 PM, klfrodo said:

Yes? No? Maybe?

What am I missing or not thought about that might change my mind?

 

No.

 

The train journey is not interesting, and the tunnel is the least interesting part of it because it's dark and you can't see any fish. You'll basically spend about 8 hours of a day (or more) just getting to and from Paris without seeing anything - that's simply for the travel to Paris and back, and that's 7 hours you could spend productively sightseeing in London. And the time that you do have in Paris won't allow you even to scratch the surface.

 

If you want to see Paris, take a week or a month (or three) to see her properly on her own terms.

[Bob++]

Globaliser is right (as usual) but I think that the "idea" of travelling on a high-speed train is an attraction for many Americans where trains are mostly just for commuting and Paris may well be a 'bucket list' thing. As has been mentioned, many cruisers do something similar, on a much less comfortable train, from Le Havre.

 

Some English friends of ours have done it and although it is a fond memory, they have no wish to repeat the experience. They caught a very early train which meant no traffic problems in London, and slept for a lot of the journey both ways. They did not go up the Tour Eiffel as their interests were more for markets and museums. They had pre-booked tickets for the Louvre and had (an overpriced) lunch on a tourist bateau sailing up and down the Seine. 

 

 

[MAVIP]

On 8/3/2022 at 7:35 PM, klfrodo said:

My only interest in visiting Paris is ............................4) Lunch/Dinner on Champs- Elysees.

 

Yes? No? Maybe?

What am I missing or not thought about that might change my mind?

https://guide.michelin.com/en/fr/ile-de-france/paris/restaurants/bib-gourmand/traditional-cuisine/market-cuisine/credit_card?showMap=true          Lunch at the Champs Elysées might not be the best of ideas, but of course I understand your wish.  Meals or drinks just behind the famous boulevard might be better, but JMO.   I made a choice, a bit at random and according to my taste and I hope the link works for you and of course I hope you will find your way in the Michelin system to change the choices I made. You will find the yelow sign with fork and spoon in the map....   Enjoy your trip.  (We did the same silly things, travelling to Peying, Hanoi etc.from ports visited and enjoyed it. )

[ladysail2]

On 8/4/2022 at 10:50 AM, MAVIP said:

Perfect "instructions"..  And Nord has that "d", but is pronounced as Noor.

And just as an extra tip…..when I’m in a country where I don’t speak the language….I bring a picture of where I’m going with the name of the place written above.  It is immensely helpful to the person trying to help. Also, I always learn how to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. A nice smile helps too.

[Turtles06]

2 hours ago, ladysail2 said:

Also, I always learn how to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. A nice smile helps too.

 

I also learn how to say, in the local language, "Do you speak English?"  I think it's courteous to not make an assumption that someone does. 

[BuckeyeMark]

We did the Paris excursion from LaHavre - 2 hours in a bus, get to Paris, do a drive around to see many of the sights, board a boat on the Seine for lunch and more sightseeing, free time around the Eiffel Tower for about an hour (not enough time to go up) and then back on the bus and "home."

 

Totally worth it.  I've been to Paris now!  It was fantastic.  Would I love to have had more time?  Of course!  Was it better than nothing!  Absolutely!  DO IT!  Then you'll have been there and you'll know if you want to go back for a longer stay.  Go for it!

[sir_ragu]

I know this post was back in 2022 but we are taking a cruise in Oct and our first stop in LaHavre/Paris.  Is this excursion you posted about through Princess or was it another way? The Princess excursion is sold out and we were wondering if there is another way for us to do this same excursion?

 

Thanks! 

Ronnie in Amarillo.

[exlondoner]

On 8/4/2022 at 9:45 PM, Globaliser said:

 

No.

 

The train journey is not interesting, and the tunnel is the least interesting part of it because it's dark and you can't see any fish. You'll basically spend about 8 hours of a day (or more) just getting to and from Paris without seeing anything - that's simply for the travel to Paris and back, and that's 7 hours you could spend productively sightseeing in London. And the time that you do have in Paris won't allow you even to scratch the surface.

 

If you want to see Paris, take a week or a month (or three) to see her properly on her own terms.

The fastest Eurostars take 2 hours 15 mins from London to Paris. That doesn’t amount to anywhere near eight hours.

[Globaliser]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

The fastest Eurostars take 2 hours 15 mins from London to Paris. That doesn’t amount to anywhere near eight hours.

 

It'll take you 30-45 minutes to get from your hotel to St Pancras. You need to be at St Pancras at least 30 minutes before departure; Eurostar recommends 90 minutes. Then the train takes 2:15. It'll then take you 30-45 minutes to get to the first place in Paris that you want to see.

 

When I was at school, that added up to 4-5 hours.

 

It's broadly the same going back at the end of the day, except that Eurostar recommends that you arrive at St Pancras 90-120 minutes before departure. So that's another 4-5 hours.

 

If you stay in London, you could use almost all of that time for sightseeing, instead of dealing with the vagaries of international train travel. Including 20 minutes x 2 of basically pitch black inside a boring tunnel. With no fish.

[sir_ragu]

Thanks for the responses but just for clarification, we will be onboard a cruise where one of the ports is Le Havre and looking for a day excursion from Le Havre to Paris and returning to the port in Le Havre.

[TheOldBear]

17 minutes ago, sir_ragu said:

Thanks for the responses but just for clarification, we will be onboard a cruise where one of the ports is Le Havre and looking for a day excursion from Le Havre to Paris and returning to the port in Le Havre.

There should be a few discussions over on the France section of the forums - see https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/462-france-ports/

 

[Globaliser]

21 minutes ago, sir_ragu said:

Thanks for the responses but just for clarification, we will be onboard a cruise where one of the ports is Le Havre and looking for a day excursion from Le Havre to Paris and returning to the port in Le Havre.

 

Sorry, exlondoner and I were continuing an earlier discussion in this thread, which was originally about day trips from London.

[sir_ragu]

No worries!

[sir_ragu]

10 minutes ago, TheOldBear said:

There should be a few discussions over on the France section of the forums - see https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/462-france-ports/

 

Thank You!  I will look there!

[TMLAalum]

1 hour ago, sir_ragu said:

Thanks for the responses but just for clarification, we will be onboard a cruise where one of the ports is Le Havre and looking for a day excursion from Le Havre to Paris and returning to the port in Le Havre.

If you want to cross Paris off your bucket list to say "been there, done that, bought the t-shirt" go for that excursion. But it will be a whirlwind day. Better to choose an excursion closer to Le Havre that will give a flavor of France, e.g Etratat and Honfleur. Or the D-day beaches. Less time in transit and more time to savor. If you are set on going to Paris independent of a cruise ship excursion you can check out Viator, etc.

[sir_ragu]

48 minutes ago, TMLAalum said:

If you want to cross Paris off your bucket list to say "been there, done that, bought the t-shirt" go for that excursion. But it will be a whirlwind day. Better to choose an excursion closer to Le Havre that will give a flavor of France, e.g Etratat and Honfleur. Or the D-day beaches. Less time in transit and more time to savor. If you are set on going to Paris independent of a cruise ship excursion you can check out Viator, etc.

Thank you!

[Crown Vic]

20 hours ago, Globaliser said:

…With no fish.

Does the Chunnel leak? 
And yes, it does leak actually. The tunnel is designed to. Water naturally permeates down from the material above the tunnel and is then pumped away. The water is a mixture of groundwater and seawater, collected at six drainage stations along the course of the tunnel. 
But still no fish…but some local cod and chips would be nice. Cheers…

 

[sir_ragu]

21 hours ago, TMLAalum said:

If you want to cross Paris off your bucket list to say "been there, done that, bought the t-shirt" go for that excursion. But it will be a whirlwind day. Better to choose an excursion closer to Le Havre that will give a flavor of France, e.g Etratat and Honfleur. Or the D-day beaches. Less time in transit and more time to savor. If you are set on going to Paris independent of a cruise ship excursion you can check out Viator, etc.

Thank you.  It a bucket list item with the possibility of going back another time but I have alot on my bucket list!