Lisa

Would it be reasonable to plan spending a day in Paris while on a brief stop in London? Is the Eurostar Chunnel train the best/fastest way to go? Has anyone done this - what were your experiences? Would it be worth it?

elaine

Lisa <BR>You say your stay in London is brief. <BR>London is large and multi-faceted; perhaps it would be best to spend your time seeing as much of London as you can. <BR>I love Paris. I would recommend planning a future trip there. But I don't know your circumstances. If you don't know when you'll ever be able to get there, and if you've always dreamed of doing one or two things there, like going to the Louvre or seeing the Eiffel Tower, then by all means do it. <BR>If you can hold off, then save it for the future, and plan 5-7 days there. <BR>If you do a Search here on <BR>Eurostar or Chunnel you will find helpful information on doing the daytrip, ordering tickets in advance for the best price, etc. Be aware that some <BR>"Eurostar" postings refer to a class of trains by that name in Italy, but you'll be able to tell which postings are about the Chunnel train.

Christina

I'd say the Eurostar train is indeed the best way to go, especially for a day trip as you arrive at a train station not too far from central area. Some people have certainly done this (not me, I don't take day trips that require more than 2 or 2-1/2 hrs max travel one way) and I know some say they enjoyed it. It's definitely not cheap, either. Most people who do this are either spending a long time in London or perhaps have been their before so are looking for other things to see. If you've never seen London before, I wouldn't do it, but this is just something you have to decide for yourself regarding your opinion about time investments and how you typically sightsee. You would probably have about 6-8 hours in the city, assuming you are willing to come back to London late in the evening.

PatriciaV2

<BR> Lisa, <BR> <BR> It is definitely plausible to make a day trip to Paris from London, as it only takes about 3 hours or so to get from London to Paris. It all depends on how much time you have to spend. If this is your first time in Paris, you may want to factor in more time to see it, but if this is just an exciting day jaunt, then I would go for it. It doesn't really matter if you have or haven't been to Paris already though, because once you've been, you will always go back. Either way you choose, I hope you enjoy your trip. <BR> <BR>Patricia

elvira

I've done daytrips both ways, and it's a doable. Paris is one hour ahead of London, so the Eurostar train arrives FOUR hours after departure. Get the earliest train you can bear to Paris; for the return, you arrive TWO hours after departure (a 9:00pm train arrives 11:00pm in London). There are bargain seats to be had. Go to www.eurostar.co.uk There is a UK phone number to call to order your tickets under "How to Book". <BR> <BR>That being said, only do it if you're sure you won't want the time in London. Paris is my favorite place in the galaxy, but I'd be hard pressed to recommend a day away from a brief stay in London, a city that has gazillions of things to see and do.

alan

Hi Just wanted to comment that's it unfortunate your trip is reversed. Paris is so much nicer. <BR>alan

DeeInLB

We just got back from a week in London and a week in Paris, and took the Eurostar from London to Paris. As the others say, it is physically doable as a day trip, but I wouldn't recommend it. You'd be cheating yourself out of a day in London and you'd hardly have time to see anything in Paris. In addition to the Eurostar travel time (including the time change, as someone else mentioned), you have to factor in check-in time at the Eurostar tunnel, and the hassle of going back through customs when you return in London. Up to you, of course, but I think you could keep yourself plenty busy in London for your time there!

Michelle

We took a day trip to Paris from London via the Eurostar about 2-3 weeks ago and were very happy we did. We had about 9 hours of touring time - and you would be suprised at how much we manged to see. Sure, it's not the ideal way to see such a magnificent city - but we REALLY wanted my parents to see it, and my father insists that he would never go alone. Upon arrival at Gare du Nord we took the RER to Notre Dame, then jumped on the hop on hop off bus tour. We rode to the Champs Elysee and walked up to the Arc de Triomphe. After climbing up to see the magnificent view we headed to the Trocadero for lunch at a Cafe where we could sit and view the Effiel tower. After lucnh we walked past the tower down to Invalidees to see Napoleon's tomb. From there we stopped at Musee Rodin and delighted in his works. We finished up the rest of the bus tour - ending at the Louvre which was open late as it was a Wednesday. We then walked along the Seine back to Notre Dame and on to Gare du Nord. We were exhausted but fully enjoyed our day. Michelle

John

Lisa: <BR>We did this last April. On a Satuday. Took the Eurostar departing Waterloo Station at 7:30am. Arrived Paris at 11:30am. A tour bus was waiting for a 2 1/2 city tour. Following the tour we were dropped us off at the Louvre where we were on our own untill 6PM when we were again collected for the ride back to the train station. The Eurostar left at 7:30pm arrived Waterloo at 9:30pm. <BR>With time being a constraint, this was the best we could do for this trip. Enjoyed it thouroughly! Maybe next time circumstances will allow a longer visit to Paris. <BR> <BR>By the way, I booked this online through British Shrinkers tour company. <BR> <BR>John <BR>

Lauren

I did a day trip to London from Paris recently basically because I wanted to go through The Chunnel <BR> <BR>I had spent a lot of time in both cities. I got up very early to get a train, well, too early in the morning. I think it left around 7:15am or so. <BR> <BR>When I arrived, I headed right across Waterloo Bridge to an exhibit on Catherine the Great I wanted to see. I then went up in The London Eye (no problem getting a ticket) and finished up with a matinee at The National Theatre. At that point, I walked to Waterloo and too the train back to Gare du Nord. <BR> <BR>Please note: I did not attempt to "do" London. The sights that I did see were very close to Waterloo. It was an exhausting day, but I satisfied my curiosity about The Chunnel. The Chunnel part of the trip takes about 20 minutes.

sandyc

hi lisa, <BR> <BR>if you decide to do this and have at least 14-15 days before your trip, here's the number where you can order your eurostar tickets much cheaper than buying them online. <BR> <BR>we saved a bundle. if you are an american in the states, when you buy tickets for eurostar online you pay a premium thru an american distributor. a great guy here on fodors gave us this tip and it really saved money. <BR> <BR>call eurostar in britian direct. we saved $80 off the normal $248 round trip 1st class ticket. it only cost us about 120 pds. we bought the 14 day advance ticket. with it only being one day make sure that you can do this. and have them mail the tickets to your address in the states. we received ours about 7 days after ordering. you can order your tickets 90 days in advance. <BR> <BR>i think the standard class ticket 14 day advance leisure round trip is around 70 pounds. many people also say that standard class on eurostar is great. <BR> <BR>the number to eurostar is: <BR> <BR>eurostar <BR>011448705186186 <BR> <BR>hope this helps. <BR> <BR>sandy c

Chris

Do you have a website ot e-mail address for British Shrinkers? Do you recommend any other tour company that does 1-day tour of Paris from London?

scaltreto

Do you recommend any other tour company that does a one day or overnight to Paris?

Lisa

I called the number that SandyC provided below for Eurostar in hopes of getting a good deal on tickets - they gave me a price of 298 pounds ($417 USD) which is the same price offered through the internet (www.eurostar.co.uk). <BR>Did I miss something? <BR>I am looking for the least expensive roundtrip from London to Paris on either February 27 or 28 (one-day). I can fly for $250 on BMI, but was hoping the Eurostar would be more affordable.<BR>Are there any options to find tickets once I arrive in London (2/24)? <BR>Help!!! Any advice is appreciated.....

Sue

BritainShrinkers is part of Brit Rail. The website is<BR>http://www.vacationcenter.com/paris_day_tour.htm<BR><BR>Looks like it's $349 for 1st class, but it does include a bus tour of the city.

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Linda

I found parisplus.com and found a roundtrip on the chunnel to London from Paris end of Feb. for $151.00 round trip. It is not first class, I expect they have those as well but I am not interested in that. My fare also includes a two-hour tour in London if I want to do that, and time to eat and go on our own as well. Phone 1-800-950-8673 or 1-972-490-9347, and fax# is 1-972-490-9429. I paid by c.c. and got my confirmation vouchers via Fed-Ex in two days at no extra charge to me. Maybe they also do London-Paris.

sandy c

lisa,<BR><BR>I am sorry for this confusion. I just checked eurostar's website and realized why they gave you that price. <BR><BR>1)it looks like they caught on to this and are selling the tickets themselves on line now for their normal price to everyone including americans, when only britrail was selling them online to american's before. (they would ask you your country of origin before and route you to britrail).<BR><BR>2)they have had a price increase since october. my ticket at 120 pds is now 135 pds roundtrip 1st class 14 day leisure.<BR> <BR>3)you are traveling all in one day with no overnights. (14 day advance leisure requires an overnight stay)<BR><BR>the problem is not that they are not giving a lower price (see the 14 day leisure return now 135 pds for round trip which is close to the 120 pds we paid in october, its that i forgot that you were looking for a day trip (same day return) and would not be eligible for the 14 day leisure return. they are quoting you the price for 1st class flexi pass which is much more expensive than what you pay on the 14 day leisure. in fact it is almost twice as much.<BR><BR>I am sorry for the mix up here on this recommendation, but for those of you staying overnight this is a good deal and you no longer have to call. It just slipped my mind that you doing this as a day trip when i eagarly posted that tip.<BR><BR>best recommendation would be to find a site on line that specializes in day trips only. also when we were in london we saw many advertised packages for day trips. problem is that they may require you to be a uk resident. I am simply not sure.<BR><BR>sandy c

Diane

Thanks for the site with the link to RailEurope. We wanted to take the chunnel from London to Paris in April. Got a 65-day advance price for a RT ticket of $60/per person (2nd class -- obviously a big difference from $219 for 1st class, we'll suffer and spend the extra $$ for something else!) The site does charge some extra, but even then it comes out to only $71/pp. <BR>

linda

Rail Europe is running a special on the Eurostar for same day travel from Feb 28 to Mar 28. You can go to either London, Paris or Brussels for $139 each way 1st class, $68 each way 2nd class. Per a Rail Europe sales rep, it will be open to buy on Feb 15 on website or thru travel agent.