I am traveling this May to England. I am thinking of doing a quick one day trip to Paris. Possibly flying from Manchester to Paris. I could do an overnight. What would be the best way to do this without spending too much. I will be traveling alone so would like a group day tour if possible. Any suggestions?
Posted by
Nebraska
333 posts
It's hard to do Paris in a day, but it is possible with careful planning and determination. My daughter and I took a day trip there in summer of 2012. We took the train from London to Paris and had just under 12 hours. We prepaid for a daypass on the Paris metro (sent to us in the states weeks before we left) and also had prepaid tickets to the Catacombs (skip the line), the Lourve (skip the line) and prepaid meals at the Hard Rock Cafe Paris (which puts you first in line if there's a wait). We got a big map of Paris (came with our metro passes) that listed places of interest (like Notre Dame and the Lourve). We had a plan of action before we ever got to the city. We knew how much time we had to spend at each place and approximate travel times between each destination. The Catacombs was first, then an hour at the Tuileries gardens, quickie lunch, souveinir shopping, walk the city, visit Notre Dame (we didn't go in- not a personal priority that day), bought some street art, walked to the Lourve, ate at the HRC, went to the Eiffel and spent a quiet hour sitting on the lawn underneath it and just enjoying the peace and wonder of the tower- then train back to London. It was a great way to get a quick overview of the city. We had some fun and this spring I'll be back to explore the city in a lot more depth! We did not spend much money at all, around $200 for the both of us, including food and entry fees. (not including train fare)
Good luck with your planning!
Lisa
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
Get some itinerary ideas at http://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/paris-itinerary. The free Audio Tours mentioned on that page can be downloaded at http://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france/paris under "Listen."
Posted by
2081 posts
213,
Take a look at skyscanner.com for flights and see whats offered. Kayak.com will work too, but use what you can and see what flights are available and the costs.
So i am assuming you will be in Manchester since you say you would fly from there? Im not sure of what trains go from Manchester to London, but i will assume you could do that if not, hop over to Leeds and then to London.
I've only been to Leeds but i know that Manchester is close (relative) by and if i remember correctly the train from Leeds to London is about a 2 hour ride.
The Eurostar is about a 2h20 minutes or so ride from city center to city center. You can plug and chug when you want to go if its within the buying time frame, if not look at prices the next day and as far out as you can and see the price difference.
I do know that depending on when you take the train from London to Leeds the cost can vary a lot. I think they call it "peak hours" Also, buying Eurostar tickets as early as possible will save some $$$ too. Look at Seat61.com for Eurostar info.
Then you will have to figure out the connections from Manchester to London to Paris and along with the time and cost see how that compares to a flight.
Also if you can swing it, i would spend a night in Paris so you could spend some time wondering around at night and if you can swing it do a later fight or late train out.
things to do in Paris may cost you some $$$ where as many of the museums in London are free. I didnt do any tour when i was in Paris other than the Paris Greeters and that was for an afternoon.
happy trails.