Day trip to London from Paris?

About 19 million people do it via Eurostar annually. Don’t forget the time difference. Trains depart from Gare Du Nord.

You will all need to get an ETA. Get this only from gov.uk website for £10.

Read carefully and observe the check in times for Eurostar. This is not a train you just show up and use.

Immigration and security is done PRIOR to the trip and not on arrival.

As noted, the UK is one hour behind France.

A few things to bear in mind:

Have a clear idea of exactly what you want to do in London and how to get there. Eurostar arrives at London St Pancras, which has great onward public transport - buses, tube, taxis - but you’ll need to know where you want to get to.

Buy Eurostar tickets early for best price. Prices get very expensive the later you buy.

Check carefully what the recommendations are for station arrival times, as passport control is done at the departure station rather than on arrival. Last time I used Eurostar, we were advised to get to London St Pancras a full 90 minutes ahead of time. I’ve heard it’s about 75 minutes now, but you’ll be told when you get your ticket. This can eat into your day trip time considerably.

As others have said, there’s a one hour time difference - London is an hour behind Paris.

You’ll need an ETA each.

About 19 million people do it via Eurostar annually.

That is the total number of passengers for the Eurostar for a year. I doubt very seriously 100% of those passengers do it as a day trip (I know I, who was one of the 19.5 million in 2024, did not).

I'm sure there are people who daytrip between Paris and London. But it is not inexpensive, and for sightseeing, will require careful planning. As mentioned, buy your Eurostar tickets well in advance, since prices rise as your date nears. Each person will require an ETA, obtained in advance online.

You need to be at Gare du Nord 90 minutes before departure for passport control. Travel time will be around 2 1/2 hours. Repeat this at St Pancras for your return. So far this will eat up 8 hours if your day.

Have your sightseeing planned out in some kind of logical sequence, including estimates of travel time and time needed to see the site. For Underground and buses, you can use either Google Maps or Tfl (Transport for London transportation website) to show transport options. You can use a contactless credit card or Apple/Google Pay to tap in and tap out on the Tube, or to tap in only on the bus. Each person needs their own payment method. If anyone in the party doesn't have one of these, then you will need to buy an Oyster card and load it with money for the day. You can do this on arrival at St Pancras or Kings Cross.

While this is technically feasible, I personally wouldn't advise it for a few of the reasons mentioned above- it will be really expensive, and with needing to arrive 90 minutes before departure on either end you will spend a lot of the day waiting around. Dinner would also be tricky- you would either need to have a very early dinner in London to make it on the last train back to Paris which is normally 8pm, or if you wanted to be back in Paris in time to eat dinner there you'd need to leave London on a train around 4.30pm. (Of course you can also have some sandwiches on the train, which I have done many times, but it's not as nice as a proper restaurant.) If you wanted to visit London while in Paris I would consider an overnight, which wouldn't feel so rushed. Good luck with your planning!

That is the total number of passengers for the Eurostar for a year. I doubt very seriously 100% of those passengers do it as a day trip (I know I, who was one of the 19.5 million in 2024, did not)

Good to know. I wouldn’t lose sleep over a bit of hyperbole though.

For a decade or three, it has not been necessary to speak French to have an enjoyable multi-day visit to Paris, and to feel as welcome as any tourist can. Paris deserves at least five nights.

I guess my opinion is different from most here. Yes, you have to be at the train station 90 minutes prior to leaving, but you can pick up breakfast once you're through security, then once you're on the train and settled, you can nap the whole way there if you want. So get up early and get to the train station, nap on the way, explore all day and nap on the way back to Paris if you really want to see London. Just make sure your things are secured when you're napping. I got off the train from Paris to London a few months ago and a man said his briefcase was stolen.

I've done 2 day trips to Paris, one from Strasbourg and one from London. I saw lots of things (although didn't attempt any museums, which would have taken up lots of time), and had wonderful trips. Because of these day trips, I've decided that at some point, I'd like to spend a few days in Paris to wander at a more leisurely pace. Some friends were in Paris for a week and said 4 days would have been plenty for them. I did not point out that they could have done some day trips if they wanted to get out of the city, but that's what I was thinking.

I spent just a day in London years ago and it was just enough to make me sure I wanted to return to explore with more time to spare, which I've since done.

I'm with KRS. You can do a lot in 1 day in London. Recently came back from a trip where we were in London for 1.5 days and Paris a week. It wasn't a day trip, I flew into London and out of Paris, but I thought it was well worth it. If you buy your tickets right when Eurostar drops them, they really are not that expensive. And if you want a bit more time, you can book a night at a Premier Inn Hub which is relatively cheap if booking in advance. Small rooms, but that's all you need if just crashing for a night. I've double booked before when it would be a hassle to check in/out of a hotel for an overnight. I hadn't been to London before, so spending a short amount of time gave me a taste of the country and will help me decide if I want to spend more time there in the future.

A day trip to London from Paris can certainly be done. I did it in 2012--I don't remember such considerable time spent getting through security. While our day trip was certainly not comprehensive, we visited Westminster Abbey and Westminster Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, took a Thames cruise that gave us a look at Tower Bridge, explored Trafalgar Square and got a look at Whitehall as far as the Horse Guards Building and Pall Mall. I have meant to get back to London for longer but so far haven't done so.

A day trip to London from Paris can certainly be done. I did it in 2012--I don't remember such considerable time spent getting through security.

That was before Brexit.

That was before Brexit.

amen

Big sunk cost for very little time in London. If this is the only time in your life you will be able to do this and there is something in London you all desperately want to see, ok. But the cost and time for so very little time on the ground there is huge. If it is possible to at least spend a night, so you have much of two days instead of about half a day, I would do that. This is too much cost and hassle and time for the payoff for me.

You have 10 days in Paris. 2 nights in London would be much better. This is a common travel urge, desiring to expand. One could easily say Ansterdam, Strasbourg, or other. It can be an endless exercise.
I do commend you on 10 days in Paris as oftentimes a 10 day itinerary post could include 9 cities.

If you have a specific list of things to see and do in London, it is doable, but I would not do it just to "see London" as London is spread out and the travel time is more than it looks due to the 60-minute check-in requirements at both ends.

hey hey jonesfamily101
curious how many is family (adults & kids), what month are you considering doing this? as others have mentioned, tickets are cheaper the further out then at last minute, what you need to know about planning it.
for me, i wouldn't do it. can be done and rushed. couple cities we double booked a room (keep our place) and spent the night and took train back next afternoon just so we could enjoy. if i'm there i'm going, worry about paying for it when get back home. it was all worth the double booking and enjoying, we were all friends and laughed so much, plus we laugh till this day about some crazy things we did plus we didn't care.
it's you vacation, you do you. good luck happy travels
aloha

I was just in London for the first time in January. I didn’t realize how quaint it was. My recommendation would be to pick 2 big things, then taxi to Covent Garden/ Soho area and walk around. Cute and quaint, pubs on every corner.

Have a late lunch!

Thanks everyone for all the great information. We are following the advice and considering a two day stay in London instead of trying to do it all in one day. Any recommendations on where to stay overnight? All we need is a place to crash, nothing fancy.

It's been years for me, but in the forum several posters have recommended Premium hotels (there are more than one, I think). You might check them out. Check the England section of the forum.

There are 3 Premier Inn hotels within a few blocks of St Pancras and Kings Cross station The 2 closest are not surprisingly PI Kings Cross and PI St Pancras. Obviously, great access to St Pancras for the Eurostar, and Kings Cross Underground has excellent access to multiple tube lines.

when searching Premium Hotels I think the name you want is Premier Inn.

One other option is to do what I am did in reverse. This would be to fly into Paris and then add London at the end and fly home from there.

In my case, I flew into London with two older grandchildren and am currently spending 10 nights here. However, they also wanted to see Paris, so we are adding 3 nights at the very end (taking the Eurostar over this coming Sunday) and then flying home from Paris. In your case, you could just switch that.

This avoids time and money spent traveling back to Paris. Multi-city trips are no more expensive (usually) than round trip tickets.

Edited to add: I would also recommend Premier Inns. If you will be traveling back and forth using the Eurostar, then I would probably recommend either the Premier Inn St. Pancras or the Premier Inn Euston hotels. Keep in mind that Premier Inns are cheapest when you book as far ahead as possible. They are not charming, but very clean and comfortable. You can get a continental or full cooked breakfast there for an additional charge. I have stayed at a number of them and have always been happy with my stay.

That said, if you decide to fly back from London, you might want to consider the Premier Inn Victoria, which is located near Victoria Station and gives you access to multiple sights either by walking or by public transportation. There are two underground stations nearby, which give you access to the Victoria, Circle and District Line, and you can easily walk to the many sights in the nearby areas, like Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, etc.