Would you take a trip to Germany from Paris for 1 day?

I wouldn't do it. Have you considered a daytrip to the Alsace region of France?

Absolutely not. Paris has more than enough to keep a person busy for a week and then some. Touch Germany on another trip.

No.

Would it be worth visiting San Francisco for the day from Los Angeles? No.

How long does it take by car or train?

"How long does it take by car or train?"
From where to where?

Paris to Germany?

That's like asking how long it takes to go from the United States to Canada. It depends a great deal whether you're talking about Detroit to Windsor or Miami to Baffin Bay.

Ok I'll try to spell it out. I would be leaving from Paris and either drive or take the train to the nearest German city worth visiting.

its about 250 - 300 miles to the border.

"Ok I'll try to spell it out. I would be leaving from Paris and either drive or take the train to the nearest German city worth visiting."
Spelling it out may not help given that everyone on this thread has answered no to your initial question. But it seems that you really want to go so I say go by train; it will take about half as long as driving. Karlsruhe is about 2.5 hours by train and is a fun small city but if you want someplace bigger, you can get to Frankfurt in about 4 hours from Paris by train.

Hi,

Depends where in Germany. Of course, you can do a day trip from Paris to Germany. I'd do that by the TGV or ICE train. Logistically it can be done by going through Alsace-Lorraine.... just depends how desperate in regards to the expenses you are. The fastest way is to take the early TGV Paris Est to Strasbourg. That's just under two hours, I do that time length as a radius on day trips in Germany or Austria, ie, r/t four hours. .

From Strasbourg take the S-Bahn to Offenburg/Ger. or the next TGV to Karlsruhe. Now you are in Germany by noon or so. I would do that to see a specific museum that's in the Karlruhe area., ie, use the S-Bahn from Karlsruhe. For that I would have ample time, ie more than 3 hours.

Going through Lorraine is quicker from Paris Est, ie, Paris Est to Metz, then a regional train to Saarbrücken via Forbach.

If you want to see Frankfurt as day trip from Paris, it is also very doable. Take the early TGV from Paris Est to Frankfurt Hbf, arriving at 10:58 am. Then take the last ICE back at 1858, you'll be back by midnight. That gives seven hours in Frankfurt, at least. Definitely, it can done logistically, as mentioned above, just depends on how desperate you are. Would I do it? Yes, depending on the circumstances and priorities.

Hi,

part 2 here..

.What is your primary interest in getting to Germany from Paris? Logistically, it is no problem, only requires some planning as regards to train schedules, etc. If your interest is historical, getting to Karlsruhe is easy once you get to Strasbourg.

There is a large military history museum in Germany, ie basically their version of the Army Museum. at Rastatt, only a short distance by S-Bahn from Karlsruhe. I've seen it only once in 1989. The second war museum is in Koblenz near Koblenz Hbf , the "Wehrtechnisches Museum" Take the train from Karlsruhe to Koblenz. In doing this day trip I would pay particular attention to return train's departure time, be that in Karsruhe or Frankfurt to Paris Est.

Thank you everyone. I truly appreciate all of your suggestions. It sounds as if it is doable but would be quite a busy long day. Are there towns in France that have a German look and feel, not so far away from Paris?

Are there towns in France that have a German look and feel, not so far
away from Paris?

The Alsace region of France has changed hands between the two countries a number of times, so it has a unique blend of both cultures. Colmar in the Alsace is about 2.5 hours from Paris by train (5 hours round-trip, so still a long day as a day-trip). It's the center of a wine-growing region, has lots of half-timbered buildings in its old center, and it somehow did not get flattened during the war. Check it out on Google Maps.

Hi,

Time wise it could be a long day but if you arrive in Germany by 11 am or the latest noon, you still have 6 hours or so. Then you calculate by getting back to Paris by 11 pm to midnight. It's all a matter of priorities whether such day trip r/t is worth it to you on the spur of the moment in terms of expense or time expended. For me under the right circumstances it is as long as I can be do it logistically by train.

Small towns that have a German flavour and where you'll likely hear German spoken (German bus groups): Obernai outside of Strasbourg. I went there once, saw the bus groups, lovely village. Day trip from Paris to Strasbourg on the TGV is less than two hours direct...very doable. I did that in 2009.

Day trip from Paris to Strasbourg on the TGV is less than two hours
direct...very doable. I did that in 2099.

I'd like a list of the next 20 Super Bowl winners, please. I'll pay you 10% of my winnings.

Cities in France that have a German feel? Colmar and Strassbourg, Alsace region - which borders Germany.

Cities in Germany that are close to Alsace - Karlsruhe, Freiburg, Baden Baden, Heidelberg, Stuttgart...

For me none of these would be a reasonable daytrip from Paris. From Alsace, they are reasonable day trip options.

Rejected! I take only 5%.

Nope! You wouldn't have time to do anything once you got to Germany. Maybe just eat and then go back to Paris.

Hi,

Taking the early morning train by 0730, you can reach the small places in Germany, transferring once or direct...Rastatt, Bad Ems, Rüdesheim, Marbach am Neckar, east of Stuttgart, Koblenz too, if you mind a 5 plus hour train ride. No problem with me if it's timed correctly.

Taking advantage of the long daylight hours of June and wanting to see specific events, I've taken daytrips to Aachen/Aix-La-Chapelle, Saarbruecken, and Trier/Treves with no problems. Long days though.

Can you do it? Yes
Would I do it? No
Is it worth it? No

TGV 9551
Dep 09:06 PARIS EST (France)
Arr 10:56 SAARBRUECKEN HBF (Germany)

TGV 9552
Dep 15:01 SAARBRUECKEN HBF (Germany)
Arr 16:50 PARIS EST (France)

Hi,

I have been to Saarbrücken and Aachen but not Trier. Getting across the border to Germany from Paris Est is absolutely logistically feasible, I would not do it for Saarbrücken but Aachen and the left bank of the Rhine maybe. I'd be open to that depending on the circumstances.

We did it! My daughters were part of a Sister Cities program, and wanted to visit their host families in Trier, and have a chance for us all to meet. We were staying in Paris, so we got up at the crack of dawn and took an early train to Germany, which took 4 hours. We had one stop with a quick transfer to Trier, arriving about 10:00 a.m. It was years ago, so I don't recall the specifics. We spent a lovely afternoon, then returned about dinner time to Paris. It was 8 hours of travel for about a 5 hour visit, but it was a great opportunity for us to meet our daughters' friends and families, so definitely worth the expense and time for us. I do recall purchasing the tickets through the French SCNF website which was much cheaper than going through the German Bahn train website.

@ TXtwinmama..

You did it correctly! Going from Paris Est to Germany is easily done. Good way to use a Pass day if you find yourself with an extra travel day.

you can, but i wouldn't.
tons of travel with so much to see in paris. yes, you could "say" that you saw germany but would you really experience it? no way.
i wouldn't even train to alsace for the day, but that makes much more sense if you have to get out of paris