Day trip from Paris to London by Chunnel
 

We are planning on going to Paris in July, for the first time. We are considering a day trip to London by the Chunnel. We would like to know prices, what to see when we go to London, and any other information that might be helpful. Will we be able to see enough in London in that time span, to make it worth our time and money?

call washington DC for the french consolate.
They will send you a brochure listing the
chunnel for $200 round trip and any other info you need.

We took the Chunnel from London to Paris for about $100. one way. Since the Chunnel will take you 3 hours to get to London and plus 3 hours to get you back, you probably will not have enough time to see much all in one day. I suggest staying 2 or 3 nights in London as it is truly a nice city. The train can be tiring for that many hours. If you are in the USA you can call 1-800- EUROSTAR and they will give you info on the time tables via fax, all autimated to let you know how early you can possibly leave and that last night train back to Paris.

We'll be going from Paris to London late July. We, too, are considering the Chunnel, but there are four of us and it seems quite expensive, plus we thought the ferry might be more of a scenic way of crossing the Channel, we are concerned with a ferry taking a looong time though. Any ideas? Pro,cons of different modes of crossing?

Dear Julie (and Carol, too): Having crossed the Channel in EVERY way--except by balloon or by swimming--in the last 40 years I can tell you the BEST (and indeed the ONLY) way to go is via the Eurostar. The fare varies depending on the time of day you choose to travel--so call and find the lowest rate. You cannot imagine how easy and pleasant it is--especially compared with the ferry which requires you to spend all day on a one-way trip (OR, God forbid, the el cheapo mode on a Hover craft). Have a smooth trip. Joan

Saw your posting re: best way to get from London to Calais. Can you provide more information re: "Eurostar" such as what is it, an email adress, etc.

Thanks for your help. . . . .

The Eurostar is the name of the high-speed train
between London and Paris. It's just a train ticket--
you can buy it in either London or Paris when you're
there. if you want to search more, I believe they
have a WEB site with an obvious name like
www.eurostar.com or something. You can also
buy tickets for Raileurope in North Am. at
www.raileurope.com.
To the orig questioner, I would only go by plane or
Eurostar. If you have never taken a ferry, it may
sound fun or scenic, but it isn't. It's just gray,
choppy water. The only slight scenic moment is
viewing the cliffs of Dover, but that's not worth it.
The ferry is cheaper than Eurostar but the entire
train/ferry combination takes a long time -- around
7 hours, I think. I don't understand Joan's comment
re the hovercraft--it isn't the cheapest mode, it costs more than
more than the ferry as I recall, because it takes less time (less than 1 hr
in crossing. I've taken it also, and it is preferable
to the ferry because of less time, at least in the
water (30-45 min)--train time will be the same.

Eurostar is having a sale. Kids under 12 free all summer on the chunnel train. Found it on Frommers website, I think.

I too am planning to reach Paris by ferry and train in August. Choosing ferry because have never done it plus I'll be disembarking a ship in Dover. Saving time by using the chunnel is not important. We use the chunnel to return to London from Paris. Can anyone tell me if getting from the docks in Dover with a lot of luggage to the ferry docks will be a logistical problem?