mike

My wife and I are spending five full days in London next week. We've never been here before. Would it be good to go to Paris for one day? Never been there before. How is it done?

AC

Hi Mike:<BR>I did the trip on the Eurostar last fall and really enjoyed it.<BR>Took the first train out in the morning and the last train out at night.<BR>A search here should bring up advice about buying tickets etc. Have a great time!

eva

Mike, you must go to Paris. The Eurostar takes only 3 hours and it is worth it. London is a beautiful city, but in my opinion, Paris outshines it. Plan on at least TWO days in Paris. A search on this forum should tell you how to do it, as the above poster stated. But BE SURE TO DO IT. You will not regret it, I promise.

AC

Mike:<BR>Check the thread "Channel-tunnel day trip to Paris" for some good info!

Thomas

Have you thought of flying to Paris from London? I believe it is only a one hour flight. Paris is worth it.

Patrick

I know there are some other options, but it is generally about an hour total from a central London hotel to a major London airport. You usually have to plan to be there an hour before the flight. After the hour or less flight to Paris, expect an hour trip from the airport to Paris. You do the math. It is quicker to take the Eurostar from central London to central Paris, unless you are already in the outskirts of London and want to go to the outskirts of Paris.<BR>But to answer your question -- I feel that 5 days is not really enough to cover London, but if you have never been to Paris or London, I'd say go for the one day trip to Paris. I'd take the earliest train you can stand to Paris and the latest one to return (you lose an hour going to Paris and gain it back returning, by the way). Too bad you already have your flight tickets (I'm assuming). You can often get a flight into one city and back from the other at the same or less price. At least I often have with American.

Kimerley

Yes it does pay to visit Paris for one day.<BR>My brother and I caught the earliest Eurostar on a Saturday (it was cheaper) and returned to London on the last Eurostar.<BR>We walked from Gare de Nord to the Louvre, Notre Dame, Ile St Louis and had a great time. Even managed a quick visit to see Mona Lisa!<BR>Buy baquettes as you walk, stop and have a coffee on Ile St Louis, then catch the metro to the Eiffel Tower.<BR>We walked down the Champs Elysee's it was one of the best days I have ever had.<BR>Do it!!!

Linda

Please allow me to disagree with previous posters. Of course, Paris is a fantastic city, well worth a visit--nobody who has ever been there could disagree. And getting to Paris and back in one day is feasible, given that you will travel for six hours of that day. But one day in Paris is like your millionaire uncle leaving you a $1.00 inheritance. The taste is just not enough. And London has more than enough to keep anybody happily busy for five days. If it doesn't, there are lots of day trips much closer, like Bath, or Kent, or . . . IMHO Paris deserves time, time to walk, time to experience, _much_ more time than you can give it in one day. Save Paris for your next trip to Europe (and, after you get a taste of Europe, I promise, there will be another trip--ask the hundreds of us who are eaten up with the continent) and give London and England as much time as you have available for this trip. You won't be disappointed.

Joanna

Just make sure you get to Waterloo Station in plenty of time. My sister missed her early morning Eurostar after being let down by a breakdown on the tube. The next Eurostar was at 11.30 and they only had availability in smoking. I agree with the above, why not overnight in Paris, although 5 days in London isn't nearly enough. On my first visit there in 1988 I spent 12 days in London and I didn't see everything I wanted. Had to make up for that on subsequent trips (such a hardship!).

Kimerley

Linda, have you ever done Paris in one day? It is well worth the effort, a "taste" of Paris is better than not "tasting". Who knows when Mike and his wife will return.<BR>I say go for it, lot's of fun.

Howard

Just to add my two cents - I would say it would be worth a day trip to Paris only if you knew it was unlikely you'd be visiting Europe any time soon, maybe the next five years or so.<BR><BR>I would say this for two reasons - there is certainly enough to see in London and a close-by day trip in England (which I think would be a good idea), but also, and more importantly in my mind - because it is good to focus on the history, culture, etc. of a place, in addition to just "seeing the sights", and most likely, if you visit Paris for 6 or 8 hours, as you would in a day trip - you would probably only be seeing the sights, not getting as much out of it. However, I am saying that from a perspective of someone who has been to Europe a whole bunch of times - if this is a once in a lifetime, or even once in a decade trip, then to hell with the history, go for the sights.

Vanessa

Don't want to put a damper on things, but I must say that I agree with Linda. I went for 5 days to London last September and didn't get to do everything on my list. I also took a day trip to Bath, which is about 90 minutes away from London by train. It was nice to see a bit of the English countryside and Bath is really gorgeous. That was a highlight of my trip. London is an amazing city, there is just so much to do!<BR> I've also been to Paris, and without a doubt it's great, but I think 6 hrs of travelling is too much in one day, but that's just my opinion. Plus, I consider the chunnel as being pretty expensive. I would say start planning that 5-day trip to Paris for next year (and take a side trip there to Chartres or Versailles). If you absolutely know that you won't be able to go back to Europe in the next let's say 5 years, then by all means go ahead and do the Paris day trip.<BR>Well, let us know what you decide,<BR>Vanessa<BR>

chopchi

Go for it,the Brits do it all the time!It would also be a nice contrast to London and what an experience to go through the chunnel.Just have a good idea what you want to try to see in Paris,even a sight-seeing bus tour would be fun,have a glass of wine at a cafe and decide when you will come back for a longer visit.......

DSK

I don't usually go with the crowd but I must here. 5 days is not nearly enough for London. Please, for your own sanity, skip Paris this time and devote that day to around London. If you must go outside London, take a day trip to Windsor and hampton Court or Bath or something fairly close. I took my wife who had never been to London last year and I spent 12 days and she wants to go back already because she didn't see everything (I don't think you can ever see everything) And remeber "A man who is tired of London is tired of life"