Paris Day Trip from London, England
Can you take a Paris day trip from London, England?
Yes, it’s possible to travel to Paris, France on a day trip from London! While one day is not nearly enough time to experience Paris, if you’re short on time, a day trip is an option to get a taste of the French capital.
Paris is an incredible city, and the French capital is relatively close to London. In fact, you can get between the two cities in less than 2.5 hours. Imagine waking up in London but being in Paris a few hours later!
It’s an ambitious day trip, that’s for sure, but if you have your heart set on visiting the City of Light on a day trip from London, here’s everything you need to know to plan the perfect day trip.
Getting to Paris from London
The Eurostar train is the only real option for getting from London to Paris on a day trip. The total journey time between these two capitals is just two hours and 15 minutes on the Eurostar.
This super-fast train takes you from St. Pancras International in London to Gare du Nord in Paris. You travel south through the English countryside before entering an underwater tunnel that takes you across the English Channel. Then you pop out in northern France, where you continue the journey south to Paris.
Of course, there are other ways to get from London to Paris, but they aren’t feasible for a day trip.
Flying between the two cities takes one hour and 20 minutes. But when you factor in the time it takes to get to the airport (both London and Paris have airports that are far outside the city center), this ends up taking longer than the train. With the train, you’re traveling directly from city center to city center.
You can also drive from London to Paris (going through the Channel Tunnel, which also has a car shuttle) but this takes over six hours. So it’s not even a remote possibility for a day trip.
Taking the train is the fastest, easiest option. With the Eurostar, you will definitely want to book your tickets in advance to lock in the best price. The cheapest end for round-trip Eurostar tickets from London to Paris is around $100. But it can cost as much as $250 round-trip depending when you are booking.
Tips for Taking the Eurostar
Now let’s talk about some tips for your Eurostar journey!
First of all, the best time for your day trip from London to Paris is on a weekday. Weekend tickets tend to be much more expensive, while Tuesday and Wednesday are the cheapest days to travel.
You can book Eurostar tickets up to 120 days in advance, and booking as early as possible (three to four months out) will give you the best price. Last-minute fares are going to be a lot pricier.
Both of these tips are confirmed by Eurostar’s own website.
For a day trip to Paris, I recommend booking the earliest train from London (which is typically at 6 AM.) Yes, you’ll have to wake up extremely early, but it will be worth it to maximize your time in Paris. The earliest train has another added benefit in that it’s usually the most affordable departure.
In a similar vein, you’ll want to book the latest train back, which is typically at 9 PM. Keep in mind that there is a one-hour time difference between London and Paris. So if you leave London at 6 AM, you’ll arrive in Paris at 9:15 AM, and if you leave Paris at 9 PM, you’ll arrive in London at 10:15 PM.
It’s important to note that Eurostar recommend arriving 90 minutes in advance of your train departure time. You can safely arrive 60 minutes in advance but know that the gates close 30 minutes in advance.
You will also need to make sure to bring your passport with you on this day trip.
Tours from London to Paris
While I highly recommend traveling independently on the Eurostar from London to Paris because it’s very straightforward and more cost-effective, organized tours are also an option.
If you’d prefer not to have to worry about the logistics of planning a day trip yourself, you might want to consider a full-day guided tour like this one. This tour includes a guide who will accompany you all day, round-trip train tickets on the Eurostar, coach bus transportation once you arrive in Paris, a river cruise along the Seine, and a three-course lunch at the Madame Brasserie restaurant inside the Eiffel Tower.
This is definitely a pricier option, but it can be worth it if you don’t want to plan anything yourself. A tour like this is a great way to get an overview of the highlights of Paris in a short amount of time.
What to Do on a Day Trip to Paris
Now that I’ve covered your options for getting to Paris, let’s talk about how to spend your day!
First things first, you should go into a day trip to Paris with the understanding that you won’t be able to fit in everything. I used to live in Paris and I recently returned to the city for a full month many years later, and even I still feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of what this city has to offer.
In one day, you can however focus on a few things that interest you the most.
Let’s say you arrive in Paris at 9:15 AM and you need to be back at Gare du Nord at 8 PM, a full 60 minutes before your return train departs at 9 PM. That gives you a solid ten plus hours in Paris.
I don’t think there’s any “one size fits all” approach to a day trip in Paris.
There’s so much to do in Paris that you’ll definitely want to plan your day trip itinerary in advance so you can make the most of your time in the city. One tip I’d definitely keep in mind is to check the hours for certain attractions. Many Paris museums are closed on Mondays or Tuesdays, for example.
How I’d Spend One Day in Paris
Like I said, there’s no one perfect itinerary you should follow for a day trip in Paris. But I wanted to show you how I’d personally spend a full day in Paris if I was visiting for the first time.
I’d arrive at Gare du Nord and hop on the RER B train to Saint-Michel Notre-Dame, which takes just 10 minutes. I’d walk out of the train station and be blown away by the view of Notre-Dame Cathedral.
Next, I’d walk a few minutes to the iconic Shakespeare and Company bookstore. I’d spend some time strolling the picturesque streets of the Latin Quarter and Saint Germain-des-Près. Then I’d stop by Ladurée for macarons. Next, I’d walk to Luxembourg Garden to enjoy my macarons and do some people-watching.
I’d have an early lunch at Polidor, a historic bistro that was a favorite of Hemingway, Rimbaud, Verlaine, and more. Then I’d take a relaxing stroll along the Seine River. I’d skip two of the most popular museums in Paris (the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay) because they’re too big and would take too much time.
Instead, I’d visit Musée de l’Orangerie. It’s a smaller museum with an amazing collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings that is close to the Louvre. I’d walk through Tuileries Garden afterwards, and stop for some delicious hot chocolate and a mid-afternoon pastry at Angelina.
Then I’d cross the Seine and hop on the RER C train at Musée d’Orsay, taking it to Champ de Mars Eiffel Tower. From here, I’d emerge from the station and see the iconic Eiffel Tower.
I wouldn’t go to the top of the Eiffel Tower because I don’t actually think that viewpoint is worth it. You can’t actually see the Eiffel Tower, the most iconic landmark in the Paris skyline! Instead, I’d enjoy the views of the Eiffel Tower from below, particularly while relaxing on the grassy lawn of the Champ de Mars.
Finally, it would be time to head back to Gare du Nord the way I came, first taking the RER C train and then transferring to the RER B train, a total journey time of about 30 minutes.
What NOT to Do on a Day Trip to Paris
So that would be my perfect day trip in Paris.
Like I said, exactly how you fill your time is up to you! Maybe there are certain areas you’re more interested in. Maybe you really want to have a particular experience in Paris. Whatever you want to do, I recommend taking the time to plan your day trip so that it’s perfectly tailored for you.
But let’s also talk about what not to do on a day trip to Paris.
I’ve already written a guide about general mistakes to avoid in Paris. I recommend reading that first to help you prepare yourself for visiting Paris. But what about on a day trip specifically?
First of all, don’t try to visit more than one museum. As I shared in my perfect itinerary above, I’d actually skip the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay and pick one smaller museum instead. You don’t want to eat up more than half of your day trip inside a museum. Save them for when you have more time!
Also, avoid leaving central Paris. Popular day trips from Paris (like the Palace of Versailles) are close, but not that close. Again, this will just eat up too much of your precious time. You’re already spending about 4.5 hours on a train for this day trip. You don’t want to spend even more time in transit!
I’d also say not to take Ubers or taxis. Paris is a wonderfully walkable city, more so than London. While I’d recommend hopping on the Metro a few times on your day trip, you can get most places by walking. Ubers and taxis are expensive and if traffic is bad, they are also much slower than the Metro.
Paris Day Trip from London, England
This guide showed you how to take a Paris day trip from London.
As I said at the beginning of this guide, visiting Paris on a day trip is an ambitious undertaking. But if you want to get a taste of Paris and are short on time, a day trip from London is definitely an option.
Ideally, I would recommend saving Paris until you have more time (three or four days at minimum.) Or take a day trip from London that is closer (there are plenty of places that are just an hour or so away.)
However, if you really want to visit Paris on a day trip, you can make it happen and have a great time!
Whether you choose to visit Paris independently on the Eurostar and plan your own itinerary, or you take a guided tour to Paris from London, have a great time visiting the City of Light!
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