A week in Paris

Others will say, yes it can be done in a day if you start out early and if you come back late. Yes, or you could stay over night in London. But I say, why. Both are wonderful cities and there are so much to see and do in each city. It would be a shame to short change your self and not stay in Paris the whole time. Remember there is a lot to see and do in Paris, museums, churches, shops, walks, cafe life. If you have never been to Paris, you will need time to walk around, go to the Louvre, the D'Orsay, Notre Dame, Montmartre area, Cluny Museum, Orangerie Museum and Dome des Invalides where Napoleon is buried. There is the army museum there too. And of course the Eiffel Tower. Make reservations as soon as you can to go up the tower. And a host of other places and museums to see. London is the same way, tons to see and do. Each deserves time in each city. Of course it is up to you, but that is just my opinion. I have been on the week long city tours of Paris and London and on my own in Paris and hope to go back to both cities soon.

Thanks for the reply Ann, you are absolutely right this 2 cities deserves each time.

I totally understand your temptation! It's so hard when wonderful cities are only a couple hours away from your home base. If you really want to get a taste of London, it can definitely be done. However, you may also want to consider closer day trips from Paris that would give you a nice change of scenery: Chartres, Reims, Loire Valley, Versailles, Rouen, Troyes or Provins are a few ideas.

Have a great time!

I agree with the others. Just because it's a short train ride doesn't mean you should sacrifice a day or two in Paris to sample London. I'd say the same if your trip were focused on London and you were thinking about a day or overnight trip to Paris. Either city is worth at least a week, and there are nearby day trips if you want to get out of town. Save London for your next trip.

Only if you can't see yourself getting to London in the foreseeable future, and by that I mean the next ten years.
Get a 6 day Paria museum pass and make good use of it. Enjoy.

If you are staying in Paris, get Navigo passes for the metro and buses. You'll have to buy individual tickets for Saturday, but then have unlimited travel from Sunday through Friday - including Versailles and CDG.

Thank you for all the inputs. And the Navigo pass is such a great idea I will read more about that at the Rick Steves book to Paris.

Here are some good links that describe the Navigo pass:

http://www.vianavigo.com/en/tickets-and-fares/subscription/the-pass-navigo-semaine/

http://parisbytrain.com/tag/navigo-pass/