cdwinell

My son is trying to get to Paris from Oxford on a budget in reasonable time and found a flight from London...would you recommend CDG or Orly airport for ease getting to the 15th or probably meeting his friend at the Eiffel Tower? And is taxi best even though expensive for an inexperienced 20 year old traveller?

MmePerdu

Are the friends still going to Greece? If your son is going to Paris and back, I think most would opt for Eurostar, city center London to the center of Paris, no time consuming airports involved. Buy tickets early for discounts. Train or bus from Oxford to London, Eurostar from St. Pancras station. http://www.eurostar.com

If he wants to fly, I prefer Orly Airport, smaller airport & short suburban train ride into Paris.

PalenQ

Nearly everyone takes the Eurostar Chunnel train between Paris and London these days - only fliers are those landing at airports and going on by air to Paris - check fares and youth fares for the train at www.eurostar.com - can be really really cheap is book far enough in advance.

With flying factor in cost of getting in from Paris airports - Orly would be a bit cheaper and closer to the Eiffel Tower area with direct RER C trains from the Orly Airport station to the Eiffel Tower - easy to take public transit - I was 19 when I first went alone to Europe and never had a problem figuring it all out - taxis will cost about $60 one way - what airport in London is he flying from and what is the fare? And do consider the Eurostar option if you have not.

dotheboyshall

One of those cases where doing the maths - both in time & price is needed as there are several options each of which could be the "best" depending on circumstances.

Aside from Eurostar he could consider flying from Birmingham or Southampton both of which airports have direct train services from Oxford. Alternatively flights from Heathrow are an option as there's a direct bus service from Oxford.

Kwaussie

I just booked Eurostar tickets for April. Very inexpensive

cdwinell

mmePerdue, yes! They will go to Greece at the end of his study program, in April...this is for a quick trip in late February to see her in Paris. Trying to take full advantage of his time in European! Eurostar prices have already gone up, but the issue really lies with Oxford to London and London to Paris being two different trains and stations he is not sure of making that connection Will be a hassle and whether a cab from one station to the other will cancel out any savings. We found a British Airways flight round trip from London to Paris for $130, but CDG and Orly are not convenient to Paris as far as cheaply getting to her in the 15th. I haven't found bus service from Oxford to the London train station, but perhaps I haven't looked hard enough?

cdwinell

As for the rest of you, thank you greatly for your input as I am enjoying planning this trip for him as he studies for his law exams just TWO years out of high school. Here in the US, under grad is typically four years, before testing for law school, so he is BUSY!

janisj

Cdwinell: I think you have been 'offended' and are ignoring flanner's post. He has given you the best advice of any post in the thread. Fast/cheap bus from Oxford to LHR and fly to either Paris airport. He lives near Oxford and actually knows the best way to get around.

His post wasn't 'humorless' . . . It was actually to the point. He didn't say your son has been ill bred . . He used 'unless' . Not that he needs my defense, but surviving Oxford does require a thicker skin.

MmePerdu

I think you'll find that travel from either airport to the 15th is perfectly easy & cheap - RER trains connecting to the Metro. If he wants to fly then coach from Oxford to LHR directly. Choose the flight and ask again. As I mentioned, I prefer Orly but if the fare to CDG is considerably cheaper, that's fine too. Come back with the flight details and the closest Metro stop to the destination and we can tell you how. All perfectly simple.

PalenQ

It all depends on how much a flight from Heathrow costs - if much more than the Chunnel train go for the train - just take a train or bus from Oggsford to London then Tube or bus to King's Cross/St Pancras. And yes you cagtegorize flanner's IMO very rude post correctly in its ultimate aim to glorify his/her/its 'eloquence' but he/she/it is IMO right on about the 'advice' which a polite person would have phrased in much less bombastic terms - but I echo his overall message - a 20 year old should be able to take public transit to or from anywhere or he probably should not have left the nest!

And again I apologize for the outright rudeness of some Fodorgarchs above and those who justify it - there is no room for such boorish rudeness on Fodor's and this happens time and time and time again - from the same relatively few sources - this hurts Fodor's as newbie posters are driven away and these are the folks who if they were not chased away by such rudeness may click on banner ads, sponsor's links, etc - none of which most Fodorgarchs would do. Sucking the lifeblood out of Fodor's IMO.

cdwinell

Good grief. Of course he can manage public transportation. Since neither of us have been to Europe I was simply looking for advice on the easiest and most economical way to do it. Congratulations, all of you on your brave, anonymous, ridiculous speculation.
What a shame and a sad bunch of self important people.
Thanks to the rest of you, I am out.

Christina

First of all, other things being equal, he should fly into Orly, definitely. It's a smaller airport and easier to manage and much closer to the 15th arrondisement, you can see that from a map. So iot would take less time to get to the 15th and there are more options and it's easier.

For example, you can take Orlybus to Denfert Rochereau metro, or the RER to the same (then the metro), or the Air France bus to Montparnasse gare which is on the border of the 15th. Even if he took a taxi, it would be a lot cheaper.

The 15th arr. is a large area, advice could be more specific if you actually said where he was going. But Orly would still be best.

PalenQ

It only makes sense to fly IMO if he can fly out of Heathrow - which is quite close to Oxford by direct bus - to get to Stansted or Gatwick would be a long slog and much more expensive. Or of course perhaps Birmingham or an airport close to Oxford.

Man_in_seat_61

I live just 15 miles from Oxford - and regularly head for Paris, for one reason or another.

This simply isn't is journey for which you need to fly, as if it were Oxford to Australia! ;0)

Just go to www.eurostar.com and select 'United Kingdom' as the site version.

Then you can book from Oxford to Paris, city centre to city centre as one integrated transaction, from around £45 (about $69) each way.

That includes (1) a proper civilised train (not a downmarket motorway bus) to Brunel's wonderful and historic London Paddington station, (2) the Circle/Hammersmith & City Line Underground direct from Paddington to Kings Cross-St Pancras, and (3) an easy smooth Eurostar high-speed train right to central Paris at up to 186mph via the Channel Tunnel.

No need for all that airport stress merely for a few hundred miles! No baggage fees, no extra to pay to reach airports, oh, and yes, ten times less CO2 emissions per passenger, if you care about such things.

Key thing is, Eurostar is an easy journey that's also a unique travel experience that your son will remember - unlike flights which are pretty much the same everywhere, the same experience over and over.

MmePerdu

Excellent advice and I hope the OP is still reading, if not posting.

WeisserTee

My husband used to ride Eurostar weekly between London and Brussels, starting the journey from home in Maidenhead (down to Paddington then over to Waterloo back when Eurostar left from there and later to Kings Cross). He made more than 100 Eurostar trips over a two-year period and sometimes for variety (or if there was a really good ticket sale), he would fly to/from Heathrow. I've ridden Eurostar between London and Paris and between London and Brussels dozens of times.

Both flying and taking the train have their strengths and weaknesses. It should be noted that Eurostar still has a mandatory check-in period; you can't just hop on the train 3 minutes before it leaves (something I can happily do now between Basel and Paris). Your bags will need to go through screening etc. However, the Eurostar pre-boarding process is less time-consuming than flying.

(Question re the Tube between Paddington and Kings Cross/St Pancras, is access still in the "back of beyond"? I haven't done this route since 2008, but back then I remember having to walk a long way to get to the Tube entrance for Hammersmith and going up stairs.)

Eurostar, like flying, can also have its hiccups with service and reliability, my husband and I have both had Eurostar experiences that were definitely UNcivilised. But at least we were always on the ground when they happened

To me, the big benefits of taking the train are: the scenery you can watch along the way and arriving in the city. But it should be noted that getting from Gare du Nord to the 15th is still a schlep. On a clear day, flying over the London area as you depart and arrive back can be mesmerizing. Especially if you return at dusk on a clear evening, as the lights of the city and its outskirts go in, it's just amazing, like watching a giant, glowing amoeba coming to life. OTOH, if it's raining and windy, you can't really see anything and if the takeoff or landing are turbulent, well, that's not so much fun.

PalenQ

Again flying only makes sense if it's from an airport close to Oxford - like Heathrow is relatively but not from Gatwick or Stansted which would take much longer to get to and end up in a much longer transit time than the Eurostar train, including getting to it. Also check extra fees on airlines for a total cost and figure in getting from Beauvais if Ryain Air that lands there or other airport into Paris.