Any train secrets?
 

Visting London in November and would like to take a day trip or overnight trip to Paris. Eurostar rates are very high if you don't stay over more than 2 nights...are there any other ways to get a discount fare?<BR>Would appreciate any suggestions

Unfortunately, there are no secrets, at least as far as getting a cheap night away in Paris is concerned. You could think about flying. www.ba.com and www.flybm.com will help, but then you will have to get to/from the airport at both ends. Why not search around for a cheap hotel in Paris to offset the extra expense of having to stay two nights? Otherwise, just accept that it will be too costly and spend a day out of London, perhaps in Bath or Canterbury or Hampton Court or Warwick Castle. None are the same as Paris, but none will be half as &pound;&pound;&pound;.

Hi,<BR>Nigel's advice is good.<BR>This may or may not be helpful. RyanAir at http://www.ryanair.com/ has very cheap flights out of Stanstead, London but they don't go to Paris.<BR>They do have Dublin or Shannon to Paris for 60GBP RT.<BR>Perhaps you would like to go to Venice or Rome?

Day trips from London to Paris are advertised by www.britainshrinkers.com from &pound;119. Otherwise, why not stay overnight somewhere in northern France and make a day trip by train from there. Caen, Rouen or Lille are between one and two hours from Paris by train, hotels there are much cheaper than in either Paris or London, and they can be reached cheaply from the UK by train and ferry.

If you spend a Saturday night or two nights (any time of the week), you can get rates as low as &pound; 75. Otherwise your best bet is to fly via bmi or BA, which has abandoned the Saturday night thing. OK you'll have to reach the airports on both ends, but assuming you are travelling cabin luggage only, at the end of the day there won't be such a door to door difference (it's a 40 mn flight vs a 3 hour ride, both equally prone to delays, and anyway you have to get to Waterloo/gare du Nord at least 30 mn prior to departure). You can also fly buzz, but it's out of Stansted; that said, depending from where you stay in London, it might be quicker to reach Stansted with the Stansted Express (40 mn out of Liverpool street station) than to take the long tube ride to Heathrow.

Check out British Midland not too expenisve for the the roundtrip including train service to Paris. I have done it.