Eurostar London to Paris

[AZPam]

Bring up an old thread in hopes of some new info!

 

We want to just do a day trip from London to Paris, round trip. Would we be able to find our way around enough and hopefully find one of those hop on/off buses? So much cheaper to book this ourself vs a tour, so wondering how adventurous I would need to be?

[LondonTowner]

Of course you would be able to find your way around on a HOHO bus, but you would only have time to see the outside of buildings.

 

It would be far better to stay at least one or two nights.

 

 

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[CruiserBruce]

Of course you would be able to find your way around on a HOHO bus, but you would only have time to see the outside of buildings.

 

It would be far better to stay at least one or two nights.

 

 

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Totally agree. Given that the train a bit over 2 hours each way, that is wasting a fair bit of time for a very quick stop. Paris deserves days...

[Keith1010]

Oh I see this was a thread I started.

 

I would not recommend doing this for a day.

 

I would really try to find away to spend a few days there.

 

Keith

[Globaliser]

Bring up an old thread in hopes of some new info!

Neither London nor Paris have moved. And most of all, they have not got any closer together. So there is no new info.

 

Starting from pretty much anywhere in city centre London, it will still take you about 3 to 3½ hours to get to your first point in Paris. So that is 6 to 7 hours out of your holiday just sitting on a form of public transport and (for about 20 minutes each way) look out at the pitch-dark insides of a concrete tunnel. None of this is particularly romantic.

 

But just think what you could see with an extra 6-7 hours in London.

 

Paris deserves days...

I would really try to find away to spend a few days there.

A few days there is a minimum. But Paris really deserves weeks, if not months!

[FionaMG]

Just a heads up to people as regards luggage theft.

 

My friend, who travels regularly on Eurostar between Paris and London, just had her bags stolen this evening. Luckily she was quick to alert security at Paris and they were able to intercept the thieves and return her belongings to her, but she had a very anxious wait while they were scouring the station.

 

The fact that my friend lives in France, speaks the language and is completely familiar with the set-up in Paris undoubtedly contributed to the happy ending. For someone travelling there as a tourist in completely unfamiliar surroundings, by the time you get things moving your luggage may well not be recoverable.

 

Think about doing as a poster on (if I remember correctly) the Italy board suggested and bring a bike chain to lock up your luggage.

[AZPam]

If only we had the time to devote what is truly needed to Paris :( Unfortunately, that can't happen this trip and my travel companions want to at least experience it. We realize a good chunk of the day will be spent traveling. Plan to do the first train out at 5am and leave late evening, so expect 10 hours ish???

[CruiserBruce]

If only we had the time to devote what is truly needed to Paris :( Unfortunately, that can't happen this trip and my travel companions want to at least experience it. We realize a good chunk of the day will be spent traveling. Plan to do the first train out at 5am and leave late evening, so expect 10 hours ish???

 

Also know that you are crossing a border, and Immigration and tight security is in place. I think they ask you be checking in 45 minutes prior to scheduled departure. And it does take some time.

[Cotswold Eagle]

Also know that you are crossing a border, and Immigration and tight security is in place. I think they ask you be checking in 45 minutes prior to scheduled departure. And it does take some time.

 

 

I am a frequent Eurostar traveller to Brussels. Check-in is simply a matter of scanning your ticket on an electronic gate. There is then an airport style security check and two passport controls. These take “some time”, of course, but that is why there is a 30 minute cut off for standard class check-in. (45 minutes is just a recommendation for busy times).

 

I do not understand why folk are being so discouraging!

 

 

 

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[Cotswold Eagle]

Just a heads up to people as regards luggage theft.

 

 

 

My friend, who travels regularly on Eurostar between Paris and London, just had her bags stolen this evening.

 

 

Luggage theft does happen, but I’m a lot more concerned about it on services such as Thalys when there is easier access to platforms than Eurostar (where anyone must have a ticket and have gone through controls). Easy to prevent, of course, just make sure you are standing near your luggage on arrival - fortunately there are few stops on a Eurostar.

 

 

 

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[Cotswold Eagle]

If only we had the time to devote what is truly needed to Paris :( Unfortunately, that can't happen this trip and my travel companions want to at least experience it. We realize a good chunk of the day will be spent traveling. Plan to do the first train out at 5am and leave late evening, so expect 10 hours ish???

 

 

 

Just do it, if that’s what they want!

 

Snooze on the outbound train to make up for the early start, enjoy a day in Paris. Simple. You can be in Paris just after breakfast and can get home after dinner, so to me it’s the same in terms of sightseeing hours as spending another day looking round London. Only you can decide if the travel time is worth it for the thrill of being in Paris, rather than catching some other things in London.

 

 

 

 

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[Cotswold Eagle]

 

 

 

But just think what you could see with an extra 6-7 hours in London.

 

 

 

A few days there is a minimum. But Paris really deserves weeks, if not months!

 

 

Using early and late Eurostar, those 6-7 hours are likely to be around 5-8 am and 8-11 pm London time. Have to be really dedicated tourists to do much then, given 10 hours sightseeing in between!

 

 

 

 

 

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[Globaliser]

I do not understand why folk are being so discouraging!

In my case, because I've done Paris day trips a number of times, and I am speaking from personal experience. Those trips I had to do this way, but I would not recommend it to anyone.

 

And personally, I do not buy the "must at least experience it" argument. It's a romantic fantasy, compared to the bleary-eyed woolly-brained reality of a day trip to Paris. The city will still be there next time.

 

Using early and late Eurostar, those 6-7 hours are likely to be around 5-8 am and 8-11 pm London time. Have to be really dedicated tourists to do much then, given 10 hours sightseeing in between!

If nothing else, that's a evening in London completely lost, with the time spent dozing on public transport instead. What a waste!

 

And that's before allowing for the effect of the long day on the energy levels for sightseeing the next day.

[Disneyfriend]

Pam, this post caught my eye since we are planning to do the same thing for our first trip to Europe this year. (By the way . . . I am also in Arizona!)

 

I do thoroughly understand that this trip will not be the "ideal" way to see Paris. It will be a lot of travel for a relatively short time in Paris. I do understand that one should stay in Paris for days, or even weeks, for a more in-depth visit.

 

But the reality is that Europe is a very, very far distance from where we both live. It requires expensive plane tickets. Our work responsibilities require months of advance notice for travel, so crazy last minute deals are not an option for us. I am no longer an extremely young person with decades of travel in my future, and I don't have a job that involves travel.

 

So when presented with the opportunity to carve time out of our England trip for a half day, frustratingly quick visit to Paris, we are going to take it. Because the reality is that this may be our only chance to see the city, or one of our only chances.

 

If you are interested, there are a few pre-packaged overview tours available:

 

https://www.londontoolkit.com/tours/london_paris_day_tours.htm

 

 

My adult daughter was horrified that we would consider doing a canned tour of Paris in this manner. She had the opportunity to do a summer study abroad in Italy, and thinks that all European cities are best experienced in this immersion method. She hasn't realized that not everyone is so fortunate to be a very young person with no family responsibilities who can spend a month in a single European city. While I am sincerely glad she had that opportunity, that is not my reality. So I will be grateful for our trip to the British Isles, and for our half day trip to Paris, as imperfect as it is. :)

[lamchops]

Just a heads up to people as regards luggage theft

 

Think about doing as a poster on (if I remember correctly) the Italy board suggested and bring a bike chain to lock up your luggage.

 

I use a bicycle cable combination lock on all trains where I cannot be close enough to touch my luggage. You can get them at Ross stores for $6. It’s just peace of mind in case you doze off. This is especially important if there’s multiple stops to your destination.

[dogs4fun]

I use a bicycle cable combination lock on all trains where I cannot be close enough to touch my luggage. You can get them at Ross stores for $6. It’s just peace of mind in case you doze off. This is especially important if there’s multiple stops to your destination.

I frequently travel by train in Europe. I purchased my luggage locks on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Luggage-Locks/b?ie=UTF8&node=2477390011

[LondonTowner]

Disneyfriend

 

I really can't see any advantage of paying those extortionate prices for a Paris guided tour.

 

You can sometimes get Eurostar tickets for as low as £29 one way, but buying in advance will always be more advantageous.

 

Get tickets direct from Eurostar website. They go on sale 120 days in advance. You can then take the HOHO bus in Paris and get off at whatever takes your fancy.

 

 

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[AZPam]

Disneyfriend

 

I really can't see any advantage of paying those extortionate prices for a Paris guided tour.

 

You can sometimes get Eurostar tickets for as low as £29 one way, but buying in advance will always be more advantageous.

 

Get tickets direct from Eurostar website. They go on sale 120 days in advance. You can then take the HOHO bus in Paris and get off at whatever takes your fancy.

 

 

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Thanks for some encouragement! We've looked at the tours available and were horrified at the cost after looking up what the train tickets actually cost. That's why were were considering booking it all ourselves and doing the HOHO bus. Yes, we realize we won't get an indepth look of what Paris has to offer, but feel like it at least gives us a taste on whether we would really want to come back to spend more time there. How is this any different that what we experience on a cruise with just one day in port?

[Globaliser]

How is this any different that what we experience on a cruise with just one day in port?

Normally, it doesn't take three or more hours just to get from the cruise ship to the place you're going to see, and then the same amount of time back again. There are a few shore excursions like that, but you'd think long and hard about them, and you'd carefully weigh up how much time you'd lose in the port you've actually called at.

 

Further, it may matter less if the port you've actually called at is some dire industrial backwater with nothing much to see. Even then, you'd think carefully about spending the equivalent of a working day sitting on a bus. But if you're weighing up more time in London versus a day trip in Paris, then you're not comparing time in Paris to time in a dire industrial backwater.

 

In addition, my constant advice is that a cruise is usually a terrible way of going to see the places that the ship calls at. Save in exceptional cases, I simply wouldn't do that; if I really wanted to go and see a particular place, I'd go there - not cruise there.

[CruiserBruce]

I am a frequent Eurostar traveller to Brussels. Check-in is simply a matter of scanning your ticket on an electronic gate. There is then an airport style security check and two passport controls. These take “some time”, of course, but that is why there is a 30 minute cut off for standard class check-in. (45 minutes is just a recommendation for busy times).

 

I do not understand why folk are being so discouraging!

 

 

 

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The procedure you describe is accurate, however...it seems easy to you, as you do it regularly. The people asking here haven't. It far more resembles airport security, than ANY train travel I have done anywhere, and we have trained in Europe, USA and Australia.

 

I was just advising the poster that it will not be as simple as most train travel they might have previously done. They won't be strolling in at 15 minutes prior to their scheduled departure and just walking right on.

[LondonTowner]

CruiserBruce

 

As long as OP arrives at the station in good time the procedure is fairly straightforward.

 

It is all well signposted and in addition there are staff members to guide you.

 

 

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[Globaliser]

It far more resembles airport security ...

Well, that is basically what it is. Scan in with your ticket, clear airport-style security (like I have to do two, three or more times a day just to get in to many of the buildings in which I work), clear French immigration (or, when coming back from Paris, clear French and then British immigration).

 

If anyone thinks that they can stroll in 15 minutes before scheduled departure and just walk right on, they clearly haven't read their ticket properly.

[Cotswold Eagle]

If anyone thinks that they can stroll in 15 minutes before scheduled departure and just walk right on, they clearly haven't read their ticket properly.

 

 

 

Unless they are travelling Business Premier, of course, when the check-in cut off is 10 minutes. [emoji6]

 

 

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[Globaliser]

Unless they are travelling Business Premier, of course, when the check-in cut off is 10 minutes.

I dare you to suggest buying such a ticket for a CCer's day trip to Paris! :D

[stephen@stoneyard.co.uk]

I have done the Eurostar several times. St Pancras is a wonderful station and worth a few minutes to admire particularly the roof. There are a couple of statues to see too. the best one is of Sir John Betjeman. The best way to appreciate the vast station is on the level above the Eurostar departures area where you are amongst the Eurostar trains. Paris Gare du Nord is not so spectacular.

 

Yes you have to check in, go through immigration twice and get security checked. Unlike an airport they are all in a line together and I have never had to queue. I usually leave the champagne bar about 45 minutes before departure, go down stairs to Eurostar departures and really do not stop until I am through the checks. By which time my train is boarding and I carry straight on to board. It is exactly the opposite of a large airport where you walk for miles, queue for ages and then sit in a lounge for an hour. At your Eurostar arrival station there are usually no further checks you just walk away.

 

If you have a spare day in London and you would like a quick tour of Paris then why not. Obviously you will only get a glimpse of Paris and it will be a tiring day. You never know when you will next have the opportunity to visit again.

 

As posters say Europe is now a seven plus hour flight from the USA. Gone are the days when London or Paris could be a day trip from New York or visa versa.

 

Best wishes, Stephen.

 

 

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