Christmas Day Travel Paris to London

Paris will have the standard holiday transportation schedules on Christmas day. London will be a ghost town with virtually everything closed. I should reconsider traveling to or being in London on Christmas Day.

We were in London on Christmas Day. Nothing was working or open. Delay your arrival there.

Yep London shuts down on Christmas day. All transport although you can find a taxi. Not cheap but available.

Personally I love it. The stillness. Families enjoying the day together. Walking and seeing folks out with new coats, prams, mittens, et al.

Have been in London for 6 Christmases. I always find an open pub or ethnic restaurant for lunch…my favorite meal of the day. Reservations should be made.

If you were to stay near Hyde Park, viewing the Christmas Day Peter Pan Cup race is amusing.

Travel differences. Shut down London never bothers me. Love midnight mass on Christmas Eve….

Right, shut-down London could be enjoyed, were one already there. To be trying to travel in to London on one of those days would not be fun (or cheap). Tocard has explained it perfectly -- Paris isn't your problem on this day, London is.

Flying is not a solution. And the next day, Boxing Day, is not a whole lot better. Stay in Paris for a couple of extra days.

What Frank and Kim said.

I have spent numerous Christmas's in London as I will be this December.

You will need to take a taxi or a pre-booked car service from whichever London airport you arrive to your accomodations. You may also have trouble finding a place to eat without reservations.

However, I looked and it seems National Express coaches from Heathrow to Victoria Coach station in London are operating on Christmas Day. But from there you will have to try to find a taxi to your hotel unless it is in walking distance.

Travel the day before or the day after.

Paris really isn't that closed on 25 Dec, especially compared to London. Transit runs on a normal holiday schedule, food will be available (you might want to reserve but you won't starve if you don't - 24 Dec dinner is actually trickier!), some museums are even open!
And 26 Dec is a normal business day here.

Rick has a whole section in his London guidebook on how to handle Christmas. Spoiler alert, go to ethnic neighborhoods for dining options (Chinese, Indian, etc.). Most hotels seem to have fairly elaborate meals with prices to match.

We were in London one Christmas holiday and spent Christmas with relatives in the countryside. NOTHING works on the 25th and 26th when it comes to public transport -- at least that was our experience. We had booked a rental car and when we went to get it, they were out because people had refused to return them -- the agent took us to Heathrow to get us a car -- presumably some poor schlug arriving later that night didn't get their car.

London is not a good Christmas destination -- everything works fine in Paris. Museums are closed (mostly) but the Seine cruises and Eiffel Tower are up and there are plenty if many fewer places to eat. Transport runs normally.

When we lived in London we used to go to Paris for Christmas. Whereas everything in London including all transport shuts down from about 8pm on Christmas Eve and stays shut for at least two days, Paris has transport, some museums are open, quite a few of the smaller shops are open, as are many restaurants. On the 26th things are normal in Paris.

It would be difficult getting to London on Christmas day, and almost impossible to get from where it is you arrive to your accommodation. As for food, it will probably be a choice of Indian takeaways. You will then spend the next day either wandering empty streets or watching 40 year old repeats and war movies on TV.

Although I agree that Paris would be a better place to be, if it really needs to be London, you can check out London Walks. The walking-tour calendar is showing a Samuel Pepys walk at 11 AM and a Charles Dickens walk at 2 PM on Christmas Day; both start at Trafalgar Square, so you'd need to be staying within walking distance of that location. There are eleven tours currently scheduled for December 26, starting at a variety of Underground Stations all over central London.

Hay, Dslovett -- come back and talk to us. We didn't mean to be so universally negative about your travel plans. But you asked the question. And, No, it is probably not a good idea to travel to London on Christmas Day or the following day. Would not be a problem in the US but traditions are different in Europe and England. You need to new, big Plan B.

Sorry, I've been able to read comments (thanks for all of them) but haven't been able to reply before now. I think based on feedback from you all, a little research and the constraints of our trip schedule I've come together with a workable plan:

Still going to travel on Christmas afternoon - flying from CDG to LHR. Our Hotel is just west of Kensington, and I'm looking into pre-booking a taxi to get us there. Going to reach out to the hotel about modest food options for the evening; frankly we'll be content with just about anything.

Boxing Day - I've seen some things that are open that we can do - Westminster Abbey will be open, so thinking we'll go there and then stay in the area - let me know if you have any ideas to look into that keep us in the area there for the day.

After that, we have two more days in town, taking the train to Edinburgh the evening of the 28th to take our daughter back to St. Andrews where she's going to school.

the TfL page https://tfl.gov.uk/status-updates/major-works-and-events/christmas-and-new-year-travel has information about the very reduced transportation options for the week between Christmas Day and New Years Day (both Sundays this year).

That week is when lots of major projects, road, rail and tube, happen because everybody is at home. Be aware and plan ahead.

Boxing Day will have a very light Sunday schedule on the tubes and buses.

You have been warned, and I honestly can't see why it's so important to get to London on the 25th. From my point of view, it seems much easier to take a morning train on the 26th. You will lose a few hours in London, but you won't have to deal with the hassle of doing something (such as eating or travelling) in London on Christmas day.

After that, we have two more days in town, taking the train to
Edinburgh the evening of the 28th to take our daughter back to St.
Andrews where she's going to school.

If you are going to St Andrews, why are you taking the train to Edinburgh? Why not take the train to Leuchars instead?