Hi all!<BR>I have been lurking for a couple weeks and am blown away by the fantastic discussions and advice being given. I am going to London for my fourth visit and wanted to do an inexpensive weekend in Paris (1st time). I decided to try the bus since it is only $60 round trip. The ride is 8 hours, but I figured it would be a sightseeing opportunity. Has anyone else done this?

Hi Cheesy,<BR> The website says $95.00 RT for adults.<BR>Sounds like it could be fun.

Cheesy - If you book more than 30 days in advance, the return fare is only &pound;29.00 ($45.00?? - not sure of the exchange rate)<BR><BR>This fare is not available between <BR>July 4th - Sept 17th<BR><BR>Book online through National Express (Eurolines)<BR>www.gobycoach.com<BR><BR>Hope this helps ...<BR><BR>Steve

Cheesy, Don't know how literal you're being with &quot;weekend&quot; but 16 hrs of travel for a 2 day visit sounds...unwise? Are you aware that Easy Jet &amp; BMI both fly to Paris from London for as little as 45 GBP roundtrip &amp; sometimes less? Yes you do have to get to and from airports but still...Check fares for both these airlines on Applefares.com If you're willing to go midweek (ie Tues-Thurs or Wed-Fri) it will probably be less than weekends.

Check out lastminute.com. You can't beat the Eurostar deals between London and Paris.<BR><BR>

Hi Cheesy,<BR><BR> For a first-time trip to Paris, I recommend at least five days. <BR> As noted by mclaurie, 2 days on a bus doesn't allow much time for a weekend visit.<BR>

I know the Eurostar is often much more, but I think there can be discounts at times on it (even weekend specials) that aren't that much more than the $60 you quoted. I think a lot of the advice about is about that or flying. If I were you, I'd check those out because a bus trip for a weekend in Paris is nuts.

Thank you for all the good advice, I really appreciate your time.<BR>Lastminute.com was a very interesting site and had the lowest Eurostar ticket prices I've seen. <BR><BR>I guess I didn't make myself too clear in my first post; I had already bought my coach tickets and am leaving in just a few days. I have a fairly high tolerance for long rides, but wondered if anyone had made this trip and found it really awful or a way to meet some fellow travelers and see the countryside. I'll save your tips for my next and longer trip to Paris.

I've taken the Eurolines coach from London to Paris. It was an overnight trip, and I'm a pretty sound sleeper, so I didn't find it awful, but I didn't meet anyone or see anything either.

Cheesy - you will be fine - BUT you could have flown from London to Paris for less than $60 R-T.<BR><BR>Depending on the time of day you will see a little bit of interesting scenery in Kent. Look out for the oast houses. they ised to be hops drying barns but now are mostly very posh residential conversions. They have conical roofs/chimneys.<BR><BR>The sceneray from the coast into Paris is not much - basic motorway.

oops - that should be &quot;scenery&quot;

sheesh Erica, now I feel like a total doof. I just checked Eurostar prices on lastminute and I could have saved $100 or so.<BR><BR>I used RailEurope, which botched my initial order in December and still haven't refunded my money though they quickly debited my account for the replacement order I made.