Day trip London to Paris

[ducklite]

On 6/25/2019 at 8:46 PM, hunt182644 said:

I will try to clear this up for some, we are doing a cruise out of Southhampton. We will have two days in London before the cruise thus leaving us one extra day. On our cruise we will dock in Le Harve planning on doing the Normandy D Day excursion. Our extra day in London we are planning on the one day trip to Paris. Looking forward to the train ride seeing the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and probably a boat ride on the Seine. Figure this is a once in a lifetime as even tho we have done considerable cruising we will not be going to Europe again. There was a time we would have tackled this trip ourselves, but at this stage of our lives we have decided, to so to speak set back and leave the driving to someone else so a guided tour. Thanks to all who have replied even those who wandered somewhat, my popcorn is gone so I bid you goodbye.

 

If you time it well you should be able to do those things.

 

You'll have to be at St. Pancras at around 4:45 am for the 5:40 train.  You'll arrive in Paris around 9:30-ish by the time you get off and get your bearings.  You will clear French Immigration on the UK side before boarding.  Getting from Gare Du Nord to the Eiffel Tower will take about an hour--there's no direct train.  If you are fast walkers, it could take 45 or so.

 

I strongly urge you to buy timed Eiffel Tower tickets well in advance.  Even with those you'll still have to wait in the security line--I want to think we waited a solid 20 minutes--mind your belongings--the pickpockets were everywhere in Paris.  I strongly suggest keeping passports and all but a few Euro in coin in money belts under your clothes.  Plan on about 75 minutes start to finish.  It will be around noon at this point.

 

From the Tower area it's about half an hour to the Louvre, longer if you are walking slowly.  You will be hungry by then, unfortunately that area is full of tourists and so-so cafes.  Choose one and have lunch before you visit the Louvre.  

 

Buy the Louvre tickets in advance for entry around 12:45 or 1:00 pm.  Plan on a minimum of three hours to see the highlights of the museum, four is probably a better estimate.  

 

There are several companies that offer a cruise of the Seine that last an hour or so, I'd probably choose one that is close to the Louvre and try for something around 5:30 pm.  Some of the city lights should be starting to come on, it should be lovely at the time of the year.  If you get off around 6:30-7:00 you'll have time to have a fairly fast dinner someplace before getting back on the train around 9:00 pm.  (The food on the train is barely edible--fine for a snack like a cruissant and tea, but otherwise, I'd pass--they take Euros and Pounds, I'm not sure if they take cards.)  There isn't much inside Gare Du Nord, and what is there is expensive and very unappealing.

Leave plenty of time to clear UK immigration and security getting back on the Eurostar to London.  The Brits were really asking a lot of questions of anyone not traveling on a UK passport and it took us a full 30 minutes to get through the two lines.  I don't know how Brexit will affect, the UK has never been part of Schengen, so it might be business as usual as far as immigration goes.

 

The train is comfortable, you don't need first class seats.  You can book your seat numbers when you buy your tickets. All seats have USB chargers and I want to think we had WiFi available at least on the UK part of the trip.  If you Google the Man in Seat 61 you can get some advice on which seats to choose.

[Host Bonjour]

On 9/22/2019 at 1:58 PM, ducklite said:

Buy the Louvre tickets in advance for entry around 12:45 or 1:00 pm.  Plan on a minimum of three hours to see the highlights of the museum, four is probably a better estimate. 

 

https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-guidees

 

As a time saver,  maybe consider the Louvre guided tour. I did this at the Louvre on my first visit. At the time, it had been billed as ninety minutes, but took just under two hours and was a wonderful introduction not only to some of the renowned art in the museum, but to the history of the palais du Louvre (yes, it started out as a palace) itself.

 

Taking the tour would then probably free you up to maybe either explore more of the art if you so desired, or the area around Le Pyramide, or perhaps walk over to Le Jardin des Tuileries nearby, whatever you fancy, as you eventually make your way towards Gare du Nord for the Eurostar back to London. I do think the Seine cruise is a great idea too, like many, I did Bateaux Mouches, and I went near sunset so depending upon what time of year your visit, that may or may not work. Nevertheless, it's a great way to get to see more of the city and from an amazing vantage point with great photo ops if you wish. 

 

As has been noted, no need for first class but some travelers enjoy business class, which does offer some nicer amenities but, the ride goes quickly enough, and it's not essential for a comfortable crossing if you've enjoyed a good meal in Paris and brought some snacks for the return.

 

Anyway, work out what's best for you and have an amazing time.