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London to Paris on 12/26/19 or 12/27/19 for 1-2 days?

Posted by (San Francisco, CA) on

My daughter is studying abroad in London this fall. I am visiting her from 12/20 to 12/29 but found out yesterday that her student visa expires 2 days earlier than we thought on 12/27 instead of 12/29. It's $300 per ticket to change the plane tickets so we were thinking of taking the train from London to Paris for a quick trip and then returning to London on the evening of 12/28 to catch our 10 am flight out of Heathrow on 12/29. I am trying to figure out a solution so that I don't lose days on my trip but I also don't want to waste time going to Paris during what will be a very busy travel time if it will be too difficult. Any thoughts or suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated. Per the instructions we received, she must leave on or before 12/27/19 and then return after 12/27/19. She will also have more luggage than usual due to the length of her stay. Thank you for any input on this.

(I wasn't sure if I should post this here or in the London forum.)

Posted by
2195 posts

I'm trying to figure out how going to Paris will help with the visa situation. Your post seems to suggest that's the impetus of the trip. Am I missing something?

Good luck to your daughter. Our grandson spent last year studying in Paris and had a great time!

Posted by
15 posts

Her visa expires prior to our return flight. She either needs to leave London on the 12/27 and go home or leave London on the 12/27 and then return back for our flight home on 12/29. Our plane tickets are non refundable. I purchased the tickets with the wrong return date.

Posted by
375 posts

What the heck! You're there. You've already spent the money on airfare to Europe. Especially if you haven't been to Paris. Might cost you more than the $300 change fee, but you'll get a taste of Paris!

Grab a cab to your hotel.. Head to Eiffel Tower or to the Louvre. Wander around there. Take a river cruise or a hop off/on bus. Both will help you "see" more of Paris. (I think you can leave your extra luggage at Gare du Nord...we left ours at Gare du Lyon before...very easy.... Left luggage or Here

Have lunch at a cafe/brasserie. Dinner at a nice restaurant (make a reservation, some will be closed because of the holidays). We like La Librarie

Normally I wouldn't recommend staying in a hotel in the main tourist arrondissements, but since your time is so short, it saves you precious time.

Good luck! Enjoy!

Posted by
8889 posts

As far as the visa is concerned, two options:
1) Leave for Paris before the visa expires. Return as a tourist on the 28th before flying out. Assuming her nationality allows her to enter the UK as a tourist without a visa.
2) Ignore the problem, "forget" you noticed the discrepancy and leave when you originally planned. Of course I am not recommending that as telling people to break the law is against the rules of this site.

However, your dates are not the best 25th and 26th December are Christmas. No public transport in the UK on those dates. Eurostar is the one exception. Any train tickets for the period over Christmas and the New Year are sold out very soon and are expensive.
If you stay in London on the 25th and 26th, be sure you have somewhere to go and to eat pre-decided. Most palces will be closed, and the ones that are not will require reservations. And you will be walking everywhere.

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