I see London, I see France?
 

We have a layover next summer in London for a few days while en route to Africa.

My husband seems to think we can simply take the Chunnel train over to Paris for the day.
I am not so sure about that.

We are travelling with two children ages 10,11yrs. We would have time for an overnite in Paris if needed - but wondered what everyone's advice would be? I honestly have not looked into the train from London - Paris and would welcome any advice.

Thank you!

Kristen

It's perfectly possible to take the Eurostar from St Pancras to Paris-Gare du Nord- for the day. We did this last year arriving at around 1030 and arriving back in London for 2030.

It gives you about 7 full hours in the city and is a good way to see two or three of the major sights and have a good lunch. Don't forget your passports!

The site too book tickets is www.eurostar.com and the sooner you get tickets once they are available the cheaper they are.

"we can simply take the Chunnel train over to Paris for the day."

Nobody calls it the chunnel, the Eurostar train is what you want.

Thank you - glad to know a full day can be had! My next stop is looking up the Eurostar website. Thank you @Hooameye for the clarification ;)

I do. Big deal. I think it would be fun for your family.

"Nobody calls it the chunnel, the Eurostar train is what you want."

Er, somebody round here does and will probably be along shortly to tell us.

To the OP, it's perfectly feasible to do a day trip to Paris, though it does make for a long day. Be sure to book in advance on the Eurostar website for the best prices.

well, I do too, at least I used to when we used to drive through what we quaintly called the Chunnel to France when we lived in Kent.

but I agree that its use in respect of the passenger train service from St. Pancras to Gard du Nord is a little confusing so calling it the Eurostar is preferable.

I don't understand quite why some people here are quite so down on PalenQ for his use of the term "Chunnel" though. we all know what he means.

kthompson, to answer your query, yes you can do it, of course. to help you out, I can tell you what we did in one day with our kids:

we started at the Arc Triomphe, and walked to the Eiffel Tower [there was a public transport strike]. if you can get a reservation for the tower, go for it, otherwise be prepared to look at it from afar or queue for a very long time. Then we got the Batobus down the Seine to Notre Dame, got off there and spent some time in the cathedral, following that with lunch on the Ile de la Cite. then we walked across the Seine looking at the flower and bird shops along the right bank, up the Tuilleries and the Champs Elysees back to the Arc.

THat took us from about 10 am to 4pm, so you might well be able to fit more in if you plan your route carefully, but be prepared to be very tired by the time you've finished.

Don't feel bad for calling it the Chunnel. We took the Eurostar in June and when I called it the Chunnel on this site some made fun of me also.

http://chunnel.org.uk/ get over it, call it what you want. The op asked if it was doable. Yes it is.

Be aware that the link posted by flpab is NOT an official website.

You need to use the official site http://www.eurostar.com
Recently, the UK government has clamped down on sites claiming to be official government sites. They can be very convincing.

The linked site might not be dodgy, but as "Chunnel" is usually only used by Americans, it might be a ploy to entrap the transatlantic unwary

It tells you at the bottom of the page it is not official. Just an example that the term is used.

I clicked on the links and it takes you to eurostar. All is ok. Very informative really.

It's one of the words that is annoying because it implies naivety, like London Bridge, quaint, cute, railroad etc.

I think it's like people talking about Frisco or foreigners referring to New York as the Big Apple. It's just irriitating. The British tabloids called it that at the beginning, but the name never caught on.

TPAYT -

Do you also do your research on the worldwide interweb?

And yes - New Yorkers never say "big apple" and I never heard the term "New York minute" until it was in some movie set in the west. (All minutes are the same folks - some people just do more with them.)

I've wondered why it gets up people's noses. I suppose it's a bit like you introducing me to your wife Susan and I say "Hi, Susie"

>>foreigners referring to New York as the Big Apple<<

I distinctly remember some clown in the PR business trying to persuade us all London should be marketed as the Big Strawberry.

A suggestion that, AFAIK, got the Big Raspberry.

They're still at it, mind. The latest are "Northbank"(=Strand/Adelphi/Charing Cross) and "Midtown" (=Holborn and not-quite-Clerkenwell-or-Bloombury).