UPDATED!! Paris 1 day trip somewhere between 12/26/15-1/5/16

Hi Kristin,

My adult daughter and I took a day trip from London to France 2 1/2 years ago. It's a tough thing to do, exhausting, but very possible if you're well organized in advance. Neither of us spoke the language either. It made things challenging at times, but a day trip is still possible in spite of that (just don't expect to find many English speakers that will help you) . We booked the Eurostar Train ourselves to give us the maximum time there, taking one of the earliest trains to get to Paris and the latest one returning. In the end, with the time difference, that gave us just under 12 hours in Paris (10-9:30 I think). I don't know that you'd have time to do Versailles, you'd have to research that yourself. We had tickets (thru Viator (dot com) ) for skip the lines at the Catacombs and the Lourve- don't spend your precious time in lines waiting, pay the extra to skip! We pre-paid for a one day Metro pass which was sent to us in the States before we left. We also pre-paid for a meal at the Paris Hard Rock Cafe (which put us at the front of any line there). We started at the Catacombs first, then went to Tulieries Gardens for about an hour, did some souvenir shopping, fast lunch, walked the city and saw various places of interest, including Notre Dame (from the outside only), bought some street art, walked to the Lourve and saw Mona ;-) , took the subway to HRC, went to the Eiffel Tower (outside only) and had a lovely siesta sitting on the lawns underneath the tower. It was marvelous. Then back to the train and to London- completely exhausted. To cram all that in, like I said, we bought all tickets in advance, had a big city map (came with our metro tickets) and a plan of action. Things can go wrong. The turnstyle ate my daughter's metro pass- not good since it was an all day pass. It took us quite a while to find somebody who spoke English that could help us. We got our pass back, but that made us late to the Catacombs and we missed our tour. The kids working the Catacombs that day were not at all friendly or helpful and would not let us in, inspite of pre paid skip the line tickets (Viator was wonderful about refunding the money). We "sucked it up" and moved on, using the windfall of time to do some extra exploring- ya gotta roll with the punches sometimes. So, like you would with any travel, do as much preparation and reseach as you can to get the most bang for you buck and for your time frame and have a wonderful day in Paris!

Lisa

As it will be Christmas holidays till the weekend just after New Year, expect it will be crowded. But plan carefully as some places are closed on Mondays, others on Tuesdays. For instance the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, but Versailles on Mondays, think your best bet for the latter will be only Tuesday (1/5/16). For FAQ´s and tips for the best time and way to visit the place look at their official website: http://en.chateauversailles.fr/prepare-my-visit-/single/faq-en#meilleur

If you enter "new year Paris" in the gray Search box above, you'll find lots of recent discussions related to the holiday period. I don't see the Evan Evans tour doing anything you couldn't easily do on your own. I think Paris is pretty easy for visitors, with maps on street corners, Paris Metro not really different from London Tube, museums well prepared for tourists, etc., so I would encourage you to go independently.

Thank you everyone! I have a lot to think about!! :0)

I am also a single female who doesn't speak French. You should do fine on your own, which would let you tailor the trip to what you specifically want to see. People were really helpful in my experience, and I found lots of people who could speak English. Just learn the basics in French -- hello, goodbye, where is…, excuse me, Please, thank you, etc. Bring a good map, and if things get confusing, remind yourself that millions of people have worked their way through visits to Paris. The metro is easy to figure out, and will get you to the places that would commonly be included in a one-day visit.

I don't think it would be possible to visit Paris and Versailles in one day. If you want to do that it would be best to stay overnight.

Forget Jan 1st, and let's do some maths ...

Eurostar is approx 3 hours each way
If you leave London at 7am, arrive Paris 11am (local time)
If you leave Paris 8pm, arrive London 10pm (local time)
That gives you 9 hours on the ground in Paris.
To Versailles is about another hour each way, and you'd want about 4 hours MINIMUM there.
That just leave 3 hours !! So first suggestion, FORGET Versailles.

Something like this on your own for the main sights would be easy ...
1130 Eiffel Tower
1300 Notre Dame
1400 Lunch
1500 Arc de Triomphe - Champs Elysees - (metro to) - Place de la Concorde - (walk to) - Tuileries
1600 The Louvre (closes 1800 Sat Jan 2)
1800 Aperitif and charcuterie in a bistro

They key is to get out of London as early as possible on Jan 2 to give you maximum time in Paris.

Eurostar is 2hr 20 each way, and the time difference works in your favor returning to London.

For example, if you depart London on a 9 am train, you arrive into Paris at 12:20 (the actual time on the train is 2h 20 mins).
If you depart Paris on a 7 pm train, you arrive London 8:20 pm (again, the actual time on the train is 2h20 mins.)

I've made up those departure times but you can see that it looks a bit different than described in the previous message. That makes a small but important difference to your day.

The first Eurostar from London to Paris most days is at 05:40, and it is a popular train, arriving Paris at 09:17. 30 minute minimum check in, be there 45.

You can buy a carnet in St Pancras after you check in before you board (on the right hand wall before the Caffe Nero) or in the cafe cars on the Eurostar train while you are zipping along. They are just a touch more expensive than in Paris but well worth avoiding queues and language issues in Paris. The convenience is worth an extra euro.

djp_syd- thank you so much! I am definitely using your advice. Your time frame is very close to what I am currently thinking. Why do you say scrap New Years Day? Just out of curiosity. I am already trying to figure out another day. I want to be in London that day to see the parade :0) Thanks!

Lots of places (museums) will not be open NYD - check first if you want to go Jan 1st.

I was on the Rick Steves Paris tour in April 2015 and I plan to go back ASAP and without the escort. In France, there is essentially no info in English but it is accessible, friendly and wonderful. People there dress well, they aren't on their phones constantly and they have the best food.

I don't think you will find yourself any place in Paris where you aren't safe. If you have only your purse or a small bag you will be less of a target to pickpockets. You won't need any knowledge of French. Have you used google maps to plan your route on the Paris metro? Do.

In April, I arrived at Gare du Nord from Amsterdam and I took a taxi to my hotel which was 4 blocks from the Eiffel Tower. Fare was 20 euro. It was a 20 minute drive. On the train, the hostess provided a form which is used to have a taxi driver meet you inside the terminal and escort you to the taxi. That service cost 10 euro. I used this because I have terrible sense of direction. In hindsight it seems unnecessary but the 40-ish Frenchman who sat across from me on the train got it so maybe it was a good decision.

It seems that every Friday, the park police at the Eiffel Tower go on strike for one hour at noon and you can't access it. They are protesting the pick pockets. (I did see pick pockets at the train station. They carry clipboards and try to engage you by asking you to sign their petition. Just walk/run away).

Here's some good info on the Eiffel http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/france/parisandaround/10938039/Eiffel-Tower-tickets-and-queuing-advice.html

I went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe and I thought that was great too.

Many Seine River Cruises are round trip but this one will allow you to travel from the Eiffel Tower to the Notre Dame - http://www.city-discovery.com/paris/tour.php?id=7510

My favorite eating spot was the Marks and Spencer food shop near the opera. For 5 euro I had a salmon sandwich and a drink.

Thank you so much Greg_h. Fantastic advice!

I went to Paris thinking I would see some signs of the recession and debt crisis but everything in the areas I saw was far nicer than those expectations. Paris is experiencing a small economic boom. The metro is clean. Any street that isn't a historical site or businesses is a nice residential area. I didn't see any street where I wouldn't have felt safe any time day or night and I walked ten miles some days.

I also thought I would see some reaction to the Charlie Hebo shooting but everything seemed normal. A military band plays at the Arc de Triomphe every (most?) evenings at 6pm and there are groups of six or so armed soldiers walking around the vicinity. They were doing their job but were pretty much at ease.

About a mile from the Eiffel Tower I saw a thousand or more communications workers marching to publicize their strike. Most were carrying a flag of some sort and many were carrying socialist flags. That's just how their political system works. I think their intent was to enjoy the nice afternoon.