Is a daytrip from London to Paris doable? I'd like to take the chunnel, spend a day in Paris, and return by chunnel. If we stay in central London (I'm thinking Trafalgar Square area)is it more bother than it's worth to try and do this? Also, can anyone tell me the approximate fare for a round trip on the chunnel? Thanks for your help.

It is called the Eurostar (not chunnel) and yes you can do day trips. Check out the Eurostar website for fares. There is a $90 fare for day trips. You must book in advance for these fares. Trains leave from Waterloo Station and arrive at Gare de Nord in Paris. Trip takes less then 3 hours, bu you would need to get an early start to make this trip worthwhile.

Several tour companies also do one day trips (EvansEvans is one) that combine the Eurostar with a sightseeing bus tour of Paris.

Having been to Paris many times I can say you will not see a lot of the city in one day, but if it is all you can spare I'd do it.

Lori, thank you for answering before a lot of peole jumped all over Bev for trying to spend just one day!

Keith

Get all the details about the Day Trip via the Eurostar trains that go via the Chunnel, Channel Tunnel, from Budget Europe (800-441-9413). I bought my Eurostar tickets from them in August and they are very knowledgeable and will answer all your questions as well as make necessary reservations. The $90 return fare is actually cheaper than those bought in UK last time I looked. on Eurostar web site.

Thanks for your help. Now that I know it's called the Eurostar I was able to do a search for information. Bob, sounds like you're the expert. Lori, thanks for the EvansEvans name. I think a tour for an overview of Paris is probably the best way to get the most out of a short visit. And Keith,I can't believe I haven't gotten any of those remarks yet - usually you get blasted right out of the starting gate for making a request like this!

Actually this question is asked fairly often here, and I don't think it usually gets blasted that much. Many will try to talk the poster into spending a night at least, but if that isn't possible, it seems most agree that one day in Paris is better than no days in Paris.

That is my thinking too, Patrick. Someday I'll get back to see more, but for this trip the Eurostar train trip will be half the fun. We decided to go to London on the spur of the moment (literally a discussion of two minutes - I couldn't believe my husband agreed to go!)when the BA fares came out this week so I'm in the initial stages of planning.

Hi BevK,

I recently took the day trip to Paris from London and found it very worthwhile. We booked the trip directly with Eurostar and paid a fee that included a hop on-hop off open air bus tour of the city for the whole day, and a metro ticket to get back to the train station. It cost about $180. I know a couple of people mentioned a $90 fare for a day trip, but I did alot of research and never found that rate.

We took the 7am train, which got us into Paris at 11am Paris time, and we had to be back at the station at 7pm. The bus tour is great, passing all the sites. The actual things we got off to do were to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, tour the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, and whatever else we passed to get to these two artworks, had lunch outdoors at the Louvre cafe, Notre Dame, and the Toulieri Gardens, where we ate crepes from a little stand. It was a great day, and while of course there are so many other things to see, it was a wonderful taste of the city. It's a long day, but well worth it. At the train station, there's lots of places to buy food for dinner for the trip home, and that's a great timesaver so you don't have to waste time eating.

Enjoy your trip!

Actually RailEurope markets or used to at least a day trip combining a sightseeing tour. Ask the folks at Budget Europe about it as they book through RailEurope. And there are no lack of hop on and off bus tours in Paris that require no advance planning; you see them everywhere, just pay the driver and hop on. If possible I'd do the Batueax Mouche boat excursions of about an hour on the Seine - commentary provided and you see the best part of the city. Again, just head to the Seine and hop on.

I haven't done the day trip from London, but I've done Paris day trips many times from Brussels. It is doable, but it will be a long day.
The hardest part, in my experience, comes in late afternoon when I always feel tired and would would love to pop into a hotel and put my feet up. I suggest you build in a break around 4:30 pm to have a pot of tea somewhere relaxing with comfortable chairs. I usually go to Cafe L'Esplanade next to the Latour Maubourg metro stop (line 8), which overlooks les Invalides. It's quiet, comfortable, relaxing and the tea (Mariage Freres brand) is excellent.
Remember, anything you take with you, you have to drag around ALL day, so go with just a light daypack at most. Also, purchase a metro ticket onboard the Eurostar (in that bar car) to avoid waiting in line for metro tickets at the Gare du Nord. You can get a day pass or carnet at another, less crowded, station. Be vigilant about your personal belongings on the metro lines serving the Gare du Nord, particularly the stops just before and after the station. They have a higher concentration of pickpockets who prey on slightly disoriented or tired tourists.
Give yourself plenty of time to get back to Gare du Nord in order to make the 30 minutes advance checkin cutoff. If you are over near the Champ de Mars area (metro stops Ecole Militaire, Les Invalides, etc.), give yourself about half an hour (at least) to get back to Gare du Nord.
Finally, assuming you go second (standard) class and you want a window seat, do NOT accept a Eurostar seat assignment of numbers 22 or 52. Those don't have windows, just the wall of the train. (I can't remember about seats 32 or 42, but best to avoid all seat numbers ending in 2.) I was burned a couple of times on Eurostar seats with that number and refuse to accept those assignments (although I generally try to get a discount first class Eurostar ticket).
(P.S. the train from Brussels to Paris is the Thalys, but I have ridden Eurostar to London and back numerous times; I don't want to confuse anyone into thinking you can catch a Eurostar from Brussels to Paris.)

Hi
Since I'm going to London in early January I just checked the one day Eurostar fare return for a Saturday or Sunday in January. Outbound London to Paris is $47 at the lowest price. The return leg doesn't get cheaper than $90 it seems.

Hi Bev,
This is definitely do-able and I would ignore anyone who says wait and do it when you have more time. I did this trip with my sister-in-law in September and we covered a LOT of ground in a day - yes we didn't investigate in depth but I'll do that next September when I spend more days in Paris. Since it was my first time in Paris I was surprised at how compact it is so you can see quite a bit in one day. We took the metro to the Bastille station then walked to the Place des Vosges, from there over to the Ile St. Louis and then onto to the Ile de la Cite. We re-crossed the Seine on the Pont Neuf and went to the top of Samaritaine to look at the BEST view and have a coffee and some pastry. Then a quick walk through the "grounds only" of the Louvre and back across the Seine on the Pont du Carousel and down the Rue des St Peres to Bon Marche where we had an excellent lunch after "drooling" over the amazing food at the Epicerie. We then walked up the Rue du Bac over the Pont Royal and up to the Rue St Honore to get to the Place de Madelaine. After this it was back to the Place Vendome and the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz for drinks (way expensive, but fun). After a liesurely drink we caught the metro back to the Gare du Nord, grabbed some great baguettes for the train ride home and never felt that we had been rushed all day. By the way, I was expecting indifference from the Parisiens but I can honestly say that everyone we dealt with was pleasant and I had a GREAT day - well worth it!!!
ENJOY!!

Thanks so much for your replies. This is exactly the information I was hoping to get. I've used Fodors forums for at least five years to plan trips and I can't believe the incredible recommendations I've received. I don't know anywhere else I could find such knowledgeable, personalized assistance. And I can't even imagine planning a trip now without the internet.

Well worth doing. You might even want to go to Paris the night before, get a hotel and have a full day in Paris. The same day return fares were not, at one point, available on Fridays because they can be cheaper than a ONE WAY ticket. You may want to check this first. There are a few tours that send you over for one or two nights. Be very careful with some of these. Some look very inexpensive but I am told they use hotels that are well out of the city.

Hey BevK

You're getting great advice from people here - take the earliest train you can out, and the last 1 back. You'll be exhaused but well worth the £59 roundtrip price.

Do all the research you can and make lunch reservations beforehand if you're a gastronaut...Paris for Dummies is a great book for organizing your priorities for the day.

As soon as you hit Gare du Nord, buy a carnet of metro tix - that should get you through the day . . .
HTH!
xo