Fodorite018

I am debating this same thing. We are trying to see if one day or staying one night is best for us, which I am leaning towards. It will either be myself and DD (college student) or the two of us with one of her friends. We have all been to London, but it's been 10 years. If we stay the night, are there are inexpensive hotels in a central location that any of you would recommend?

janisj

mms: "inexpensive" means different things to different people. What is your actual budget?

Fodorite018

Oops, forgot that little tidbit If it is 2 of us, I would like to keep it under $100 and if it is 3, then around $150. I KNOW this is low for London, but truly it is just a place to sleep for a night. We just need clean, safe, and good location.

tuscanlifeedit

I plan carefully for just about every place I visit.

For a short day in London, I would choose which sites I wanted to visit, check for opening and closing times, find out about queues, crowds, and a lot more.

I wouldn't really want to hop off a train in a totally unfamiliar city without a good plan for the day. But that's me.

I'm not afraid of a day trip, and have made more than I can remember. However, London is a world capital and rather large. There's a lot to see. Might need a plan.

nz101

I too say 'go for it'. I would much rather have just one day in London than not at all. And like some others have mentioned, some of my most memorable trips too have been day trips. I once did Rome in a day from Florence, and surprisingly fitted alot into it. I know some people would scoff at this, but at the time it was the best we could manage as time was limited, and I am soooo glad. Just decide in advance what you hope to see in a day, and off you go. You won't regret it.

reddy2go2

Toncasmo -- We are doing the opposite....day trip from London to Paris. As flanneruk mentioned, many on this board advised us against but but ultimately you have to gauge your own stamina, appetite and attitude, then just go for it. We booked two weeks ago for March-end and are paying $100 rt a head. That made it even harder to pass up. We are taking an early morning train to Paris and a late night train back. Many here will think we are nuts but I am sure we will have a great time. Happy day tripping!

janisj

no one said you are nuts. Many did point out the hassle factor -- but scores of folks do this day trip (in either direction) every single day.

A perfect way to see either city? - nope. Expensive? - relatively, yes. Doable? -- absolutely.

reddy2go2

janisj -- no one said we are nuts but may think it -- esp given the very early departure

wagnerbell

We did just this when I traveled with my husband and kids (12 and 14) to Paris for 6 days. We bought the tix in advance and took a cab to the train station for a 7 am train. We took the tube to get to the Original City Bus tour. Got there by 10:00 to do a guided tour of the changing of the guard (totally recommend) had lunch in a PUB and then took the Bus tour that was paid for with the walking tour around the city of London. We were probably on the bus for about 2.5 hours. Around 4 we made our way back to the train station using the tube and caught our 6 pm train back. I didn't arrange for the very latest train because I did think we might be tired. It was great and I made up my mind to do because of this thread both "flanneruk" and "walkabout". Because we didn't think or know when we would be back to do it again. I'm so glad we did it and it's fun to see those famous places on TV and say we've been there. So I vote yes, do this.

janisj

>>So I vote yes, do this.<<

If they did - it was five years ago . . .

rouelan

One good reason to do it Is to avoid sunday in Paris if You are shopping addict.
Most stores are closed in Paris

apersuader65

I'll be able to offer two cents on this in about a month. We are day tripping to London on a Wednesday of our trip. We're in France for two weeks, so taking the Channel Tunnel and seeing London with friends who have never been to Europe before.

Thanks Wagnerbell, your "plan" is what we are planning, except staying a couple hours longer.

Macross

How was it apersuader? We have two weeks in France and my friend so wants to do this one day. I am game just to go to the markets and Harrods. We are going to book this week. Early morning around 9 am and back by 10pm. It is part of the adventure.

fuzzbucket

If you look on the calendar of SNCF's website, and look for the "flexible" plans, you can go early and come home late, usually for a pittance.

janisj

fuzzbucket: >>If you look on the calendar of SNCF's website, and look for the "flexible" plans, you can go early and come home late, usually for a pittance.<<

Are you by any chance replying to the OP (nearly 7 years old)?

Or to Macross who IS going early and home late >>Early morning around 9 am and back by 10pm.<<

PalenQ

Are you by any chance replying to the OP (nearly 7 years old)?

Or to Macross who IS going early and home late >>Early morning around 9 am and back by 10pm.<<

What difference does it make - certainly applies to Macross? They may have to go earlier than 9 am however to get the really cheap day-return fares.

UK time is also an hour behind Paris - gives more prime tourist time in London.

kmowatt

I've done this twice (the other way from London to Paris) while staying in London on vacation for a week. I've been to. It's cities plenty of times. I wouldn't hesitate to say it's doable. I enjoyed both days very much. Didn't feel rushed in what I wanted to do. I say go for it.

PalenQ

With 8 days in Paris why not spend 2-3 days in London - maybe landing in London and taking train to Paris and fly home from there.

Saves a bit of money over taking train round-trip perhaps. Day trip is fine if that's all you can do but 8 days in Paris is a lot for the city itself (though of course you could spend weeks there but).

If doing daytrip take advice above to have everything planned from arrival to departure - book entry to say Tower of London (if possible?) to avoid wait in line.

But two full days here or 3 would be much nicer and still leave 4-5 days in Paris.

janisj

>>What difference does it make - certainly applies to Macross? <<

But macross is <u>already</u> going early and returning late so doesn't need the advice. That is <i>why</i> I asked fuzzbucket if by chance he was responding to the OP . . .

>>With 8 days in Paris why not spend 2-3 days in London - <<

<i>Who</i> is that advice for? Macross makes no mention of 8 days in Paris and the rest of the thread is nearly seven years old . . .

apersuader65

Macross:

It was incredibly simple. I had already purchased the tickets (first out of Paris and last back from London) on my phone app. We took a cab up to the station, walked in, went through customs, boarded the train. The entire process, including sitting on the train waiting for it to depart was a ghastly 40 minutes. We all slept on the morning train. Arrived at St. Pancras and woke up.

Went to the bus queue for the pass we bought ahead of time and left St. Pancras about 20 minutes later. We followed that tour. We got off in time to see the changing of the guards. Got back on the bus for the tour and went to the Tower of London to get off.

Did a Looong tour of the entire tower complex - for the Norman Conquest part of our trip - we spent several days in Normandy earlier. The bus was incredibly slow most of the day, so we got a cab at the Tower for the trip back to St. Pancras. Ate a sandwich at the station and hopped the train back to Paris.

The worst part was the weather did not follow the forecast for London that day. Was not supposed to rain, but it did for a couple of hours.

None of the four of us died of stress either.