Mont St Michel or London Day Trip

Talk about chalk and cheese, but 3-way! Depends on what you are looking for.

• London, a big city. Chance to do a rushed trip ticking off sites.
• Mont St Michel. Probably the most difficult to reach in a day trip (trains + bus). For the romantic in you, town and monastry on a rock rising out of the sea. Just walk around, breathing in the atmosphere.
• Brugge. Medieval town "that time forgot" (sort of). It was so rich it could build like no other town, then it was so poor it couldn't afford to "modernise" the town, until they came back into fashion from tourists.

I guess I am saying this is a question of what your heart wants, and where you have always wanted to visit, it is your trip.
In all 3 cases you need to start early and plan well to maximise your time.

MSM and stay the night, if possible. That gives you enough time to enjoy one destination.
London needs more time, assume you'll be back.

London may give you a lot of bang for you buck, but the Eurostar can cost a lot of bucks - order your ticket early to get the best price. Are you also considering the Eurostar to Brussels, then going by separate train to Bruges? As Chris F indicated, Mont Saint-Michel may take the most effort to reach, even though it's geographically the closet of the bunch to Paris. A popular (so there will be lots of other people there) day trip from Paris is the nearby palace and gardens at Versaille.

Thanks for all the replies. Yes, we are coming from Paris. As for Mont St Michel, it's the abbey and the little town, correct? If we take the train and bus, we are pretty much limited to only what is there? Is it enough to make the trek there and back worthwhile? I'd thought of London because a friend suggested the Hop on Hop Off bus tour as a way to see the big sights at least.

And, yes, Versailles is on the list, though I'm a little scared of all the hordes of people. Guess I better get used to that. ;)

You didn't mention Versailles in your fist post. IMO that's your best choice of the ones you've mentioned so far.
Yes, long lines, but if you only go to one palace in Europe, that's the one. We've all stood in the lines, you've gotta do it, too.
After that, you're not a Europe newbie any more, you've been initiated.

Re your follow up question on MSM. It's a tough day trip from Paris, if you try to arrange the transportation on your own, better to go with one of the tours that goes from Paris. Probably not the best choice, now that you know you're going to challenge those lines at Versailles. You can do it!

A day in London would be like a day trip from Boston to New York. Just enough time to stand in line at the Statue of Liberty, buy a postcard, lunch on the run, and back to Paris.

Transportation would be faster for a day trip by direct train to Reims (under 1 hour by TGV, regular fare €30-40 each way) or to Rouen (1.5 hours by slower train, normally €24 each). These tickets are relatively affordable to buy at the station if you can't decide in advance but both offer advance-purchase discounts, as do your other destination possibilities..

Rick’s France rail travel page has the link and tips for buying “Prems” rate TGV tickets through SNCF (cheap, reserved, nonrefundable, available three or four months ahead of your travel date) to print at home and pay with PayPal, which is usually easier than credit card.

I think London would be too much for a day, we were tempted to do it from Lille last fall but didn't think we'd see enough to justify the time and money. . We did Bruges from Lille, very do able from there, might not be bad from Paris since there isn't a ton to see. Mont St Michel sounds do able with an overnight stay.
Along with Versailles, Giverny is another nice day trip if you like beautiful gardens.
Another option for medieval
http://www.provins.net/english-version.html

Do you a particular reason to spend 10 days in Paris? If not, why not split up your time more? Desired length of stay varies considerably from person to person but I would consider seeing 2 or 3 places instead of just Paris. Of course, if you are visiting a friend or have some other reason to be there then that is different.

You're looking for a "medieval town fix"? I can relate! But London isn't that. The analogy to a day trip from Boston to NY (or vice versa) is pretty good.

An organized tour to MSM would give you your fix, for a short visit with lots of new friends. I haven't been to Brugge so can't comment.

But Chartres has a medieval center, and one of Europe's great cathedrals, an easy hour by train from Paris. Rouen would be another good choice, with another great cathedral. Or, farther west, Bayeux. Reims, to the east, has a great cathedral but the center got so much WWII damage it probably wouldn't satisfy your medieval cravings. :-)

I'm not a big Versailles fan, but I guess at least I'm an initiate by Kent's definition, having stood in the lines (including, let's not forget, the bathroom lines). It is probably the #1 palace in Europe, that's what Louis XIV was trying for. But not medieval, to be sure.

I'm going with friends who've rented an apartment in Paris. We like the idea of a home base so we don't have to pack up and move, hence the sprinkling in of a 2 or 3 day trips.

I realize London isn't a medieval town, but some friends who went to Oxford seemed to think a day trip to hit the high spots would be doable, and the friends I'm going with are interested in MSM, so that's why I asked. The other towns mentioned are on the list as well. Looks like we'll have to powwow and perhaps split up depending on who wants to do what. Thanks for all your input!

You should at least stay one night in London, so that you can see a bit and get the feel without being so rushed. Take a bus tour of the city, do Rick's Westminster Walk and see the Changing of the Guard.

To add some adventure to Mont Saint-Michel, some walk out on the mudflats when the tide rolls out. You have to be aware of quicksand on the sea floor, however, and know the tide times so you're back on shore before the super-fast tide comes in.

The McDonald's between the Versailles train station and the palace has very handy bathrooms, but can come with a line, especially for women.

Purchasing your Eurostar ticket months in advance can actually make it cheaper then the trip to MSM., even if you got the PREMS tickets.

As for crowds.. MSM is thronging with them.. literally heaving.. its only late in day when daytrippers go home that it becomes quiet enough to enough, in which case you would have to stay the night.

I have been to both.. like both.. but for ease.. I would vote for London.. as a daytrip .. MSM is best an an overnight.. but then there is the extra expense of a hotel room ,, and likely paying for a hotel room in Paris while you are away to keep same place.

London is fast too.. only 2.5 hours city center to city center.. taking an early train you can be on the run by 9 am.. and taking a late train back.. you can easily enjoy a full 12-14 hours in London.. but as a daytrip you will not get half that time in MSM( so you would have to stay night)

Thanks, Pat. But what is a PREMS ticket?

Just a thought, but I hate to waste valuable vacation time on day trips where you spend more of the day getting to and from a place than you actually spend in it. Even a three-hour journey and return amounts to six hours sitting in a train or car, instead of sightseeing or simply enjoying a place. To me, anything over two hours justifies an overnight stay. Spend a night there to experience MSM after the crowds leave. Save Bruges and London for trips when you can spend more time there, without taking more days off your Paris visit. Otherwise, you are just ticking off items on a bucket list. You could spend 10 full days in Paris and scenic, historic places within an hour of the city and barely scratch the surface.

Roy's post (immediately above) is worth reading twice.

"But what is a PREMS ticket?"

PREMS tickets are advance purchase, non-refundable tickets for French fast trains. They can be very cheap, and if you buy early enough, first class is sometimes only a few more euros than second class. But they tend to sell out quickly on popular routes and times. Once they're gone, the price goes up. To buy these, use SNCF http://en.voyages-sncf.com/en/ (select English as your language and France as you ticket collection country) or Capitaine Train https://www.capitainetrain.com/en

Similarly, for the Eurostar you can get advance purchase non-refundable tickets that are not expensive. If you wait until you arrive in Paris, all that is likely to be left are VERY expensive tickets (as in hundreds of euros each way). To see what I mean, look at tickets for tomorrow and for your intended travel dates. If you want to take the daytrip to London, book ASAP, here: http://www.eurostar.com/us-en

I agree that you should plan an overnight to MSM, London, or Bruges. They're too far from Paris to make a daytrip enjoyable, and if you're avoiding crowds, then going only for the middle of a day when Bruges and MSM are at their most crowded is the wrong way to do it. By staying overnight, you get to see them after the daytrippers have left - a totally different experience, and well worth paying for a night in a hotel on top of the Paris apartment.

If you don't want to spend an overnight away from Paris, there are lots of daytrips. In addition to the ones above, you can easily get a city fix by going to Lyon (my favorite French city after Paris), Dijon (not my favorite but most like it a lot), Strasbourg (great Museum of Alsatian Life) or Nancy (an under-visited gem). All of these are under 2 hours or less from Paris and are very affordable - IF you get PREMS fares.

More on French trains, from that rail guru The Man In Seat 61: http://www.seat61.com/France-trains.htm