Paris day trip?

[Wiinblad]

Has anyone done a day trip to Paris from London? We will be staying in London for 9 days in September (near Victoria Station) and were looking at the Evans Evans day trip? Has anyone got any suggestions or experiences to share? Thank you.

[John Bull]

Has anyone done a day trip to Paris from London? We will be staying in London for 9 days in September (near Victoria Station) and were looking at the Evans Evans day trip? Has anyone got any suggestions or experiences to share? Thank you.

 

Is the Evan Evans trip by coach?

 

You can travel by Eurostar train from St Pancras in 2 1/4 hrs from £69, and plan your own day by metro or taxi or bateaubus (ho-ho bus I think sells only 48hr tickets??) & make a late late return.

 

I've never day-tripped to Paris, it's worth so much longer, but it is done & its very easy for folk (like me :rolleyes:) to spend your money & time by telling you to go for 2 or 3 days.

 

John Bull

[FritzG]

My husband surprised me with a day trip on Eurostar several years ago while we were on a London land trip. We took a very early train to Paris and a very late one back to London. We booked first class tickets so it was fairly quiet, and we both slept quite a bit on the train. The day was probably one of my best travel memories. We booked it on our own rather than using a tour. There is a hop on/hop off bus stop near the train station, and we were able to see a lot of sights in the time we had. I hadn't been to Paris since 1971 and my husband had never been there. We focused on the museums, especially the Musee d'Orsay where we also had a wonderful lunch.

 

It was a very long day, but since we'll probably never make a land trip to Paris alone it was well worth the long day. I'd do it again in a flash. If you take an early train and hope to sleep I would book a first class ticket. It didn't cost that much more, and it's quieter and more comfortable. On the day we went there was a large school group of teens going. They were all bubbly and excited so I imagine it was noisy in their car. They weren't loud or rowdy, just excited, but it would have made it hard to sleep.

[Giantfan13]

Has anyone done a day trip to Paris from London? We will be staying in London for 9 days in September (near Victoria Station) and were looking at the Evans Evans day trip? Has anyone got any suggestions or experiences to share? Thank you.

 

Ok, we did this exact thing last year. So what would you like to know. We had a post cruise stay in London, and figured it 'might' be our one and only chance to get to see Paris, so let's go for it. I have said many times since, that if you feel the same way, that it may be your only chance to see Paris, they go for it, you will be miserable when you go home if you didn't take the chance.

As was just said, do it yourself. You do NOT need to pay a tour company money for something that is VERY simple to do yourself. People, like myself and several others could take you thru the entire day, step by step and you will have a ball.

 

Instead of repeating myself, I went back and found my last post on this subject

 

"Yes, it is a very long day, but what the hell. If this may be your only chance to see Paris, even if it is only for a day, go for it..

The Eurostar is great and was also a thrill to ride. We didn't take the very first train out, I believe we caught an 8:30 train, arrived in Paris at about 11AM. It gets youto Gard Nord.

From there, you can buy some sort of Travel pass for Paris. From Gard Nord, you can walk a bit, still underground, to one of the Paris Metro stations. If you really need help, I can look it up.

From our itinerary, we went first to Sacre Coeur (a couple of stops on the metro). from there we walked to Pigalle to see the Moulin Rouge. Back on the metro to the Arc of Triumph. Switch metro lines and go to the Eiffel Tower. From there we took the Bat a Bus which is the sort of hop on hop off cruise boat that travels along the Seine from the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame and back. It stops at all the major sites. We took the boat to the Louve, went in to view some of the works of art, walked along the Seine to Notre Dame, stopping where we wanted along the way. WE wandered around Notre Dame for a while, then rode the Bat a Bus an entire loop back to Notre Dame (takes about 90 minutes). From Notre Dame we took the metro back to Gard Nord to catch the Eurostar back to London. We again didn't do the very last train of the evening just in case we missed our train we wanted to make sure there was one after us. We got back to London about 10PM (I think).

Again, yes it was a long day, lot's of walking, but do we regret it, NOT ONE BIT.

Just a note though, we didn't go up the Eiffel Tower as the lines were just too long, and we didn't go up into the tower at Notre Dame. We did go in Notre Dame, but if you want to go up into the tower, the lines are just too long, and we felt we would rather spend that time doing other things.

Go for it, you will not regret it. You will regret not going if you never have the chance to get back there and missed your opportunity to see Paris, if only for the day."

 

If I can be of any more help,. please ask away. I can look up more detailed info if you need it.

Just to tantalize you a bit, here are a few pix of our trip

 

First stop, the monument at Sacre Coeur

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/z...ropept2332.jpg

 

Up close and personal in the Lourve

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/z...ropept2447.jpg

 

The flowing fountains in the courtyard of the Louvre

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/z...ropept2473.jpg

 

Notre Dame in all it's grandeur on a glorious day

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/z...ropept2496.jpg

 

Strolling along the Seine, shopping at the vendors selling books, art and all sorts of stuff

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/z...ropept2490.jpg

 

On the Bat a Bus, sailing by the Eiffel tower

http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/z...ropept2546.jpg

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Globaliser]

Has anyone got any suggestions or experiences to share?

Yes: Don't do it.

 

Unless you really won't ever get back to Europe in the whole of the rest of your life. Paris is worth a month all to herself. A day trip will give you nothing other than a glimpse of the surface; you will waste a lot of good London sightseeing time just travelling to and from Paris; and it will leave you exhausted and unable to make the most of the next day in London.

 

After all, if you had a week in New York City, would you be thinking of doing a day trip to Boston?

[Wiinblad]

Wow, so much information! Thank you all!! Now, I will have to sit down with my husband and son, to re-evaluate. I will probably be back with some questions! Again thanks.

[herewego]

It is a wonderful experience and I'd say go, go, go! It is a long day but a great day :-) We have done it multiple times as a family (with 3 kids) and went alone with my daughter where we spent her 16th birthday eating lunch on the Eiffle Tower which was something she had always wanted to do.

 

We really love spending time in the UK but also enjoy hitting Paris for a day.

 

And yes, Paris is worth a long visit on its own but unless you speak french you will hit problems along the way. I do speak French (lived outside Paris for three years) and loved my time there but we really prefer spending time in the UK and hitting Paris for a day.

 

The ride over and back is part of the adventure :D

[Wiinblad]

Thanks herewego! I guess we are looking at a one day excursion to Paris exactly as you do! We LOVE visiting the UK, but just wanted to experience the Eurostar and get a taste of Paris. Thank you for your input. We really appreciate all the great ideas everyone has posted!