Eurostar to France

Use this. They go back and forth multiple times a day. Don't let the departure and arrival times confuse you on the duration - - all times are local and there's a one hour difference between the UK and the continent.

Janis,, think this is a great idea,, you may surprise yourself and end up loving Paris and wishing you could return and spend more time! The Eurostar can be very reasonable price,, IF you buy online, well in advance( 120 days) .. prices go up as tickets sell, not down.. so buy early.. Also tickets are usually cheaper mid week, tues, wed, or thurs. The trip is 2.5 hours long, and very comfortable.. you will leave from downtown London( San Pancreas station) and arrive in downtown Paris ( Gare du Nord), ( gare means station).
From there you can do one of three things. Jump on a HOHO bus,, L"open Tour has a stop near Gare Du Nord, .. there are four routes and you can hop on and off as you wish,, one route has a stop right by the Eiffel Tower. You could also take the metro or city buses. Being alone in Paris as a woman is great, I visit solo sometimes,, staying weeks ,, and love it.. you will not feel odd or unsafe there. Don't be afraid,, Paris is a lovely city,, the food is great,, the people ARE nice, but they are more formal in customs and manners.. learn about that ,, you will soon see some of your preconcieved ideas may be just plain old wrong. If you go early in the morning, you can easily enjoy 7 or 8 hours in Paris, and if you plan well you can see more then the Eiffel Tower.. and its not going to be more expensive then staying in London for the day( where you may pay to see sites or take tours or buses etc),, just with the Eurostar added, which may only be another 50-80 euros,, not bad for a day trip to another country!!

Yes I will be traveling alone in Paris. I will also be traveling alone in England but there will be no language barrier there, but Paris will be another matter since I do not speak one word of French. Also since I will be so close I don't
want to regreat the opportunity.

ha ha Janis ,, sometimes the language is an issue in London anyways ,, with some heavy accents or slang english can be hard too.. lol Most tourist don't speak French either, but they all get by,, you will be fine with little french. Do learn how to say please and thank you,, and before you ask anyone a question ( shop clerk ,, bus driver etc) do make a point of saying "bonjour madam or bonjour monsueir ) its considered rude by the french to not greet people first

Our first trip to Paris was a day trip from London to Paris on the Eurostar. Check out www.seat61.com to learn how best to purchase a ticket. We went early and returned on a later train and rode the HOHO bus, getting off at the famous sights. We were smitten by Paris and Parisians and have returned every year since that first exposure. The Eurostar is exceptionally comfortable, which means you can nap on the way back to London. Grab a snack in the departure stations at St. Pancras and/or Gare du Nord. We ate lunch at the ET, walked the Champs end to end, and still had plenty of time to enjoy Paris. Go for it.

Yes, you can do the trip in one day. No, it doesn't have to be terribly pricy. And it's very cool and comfy and quite luxe. The prior posters are all correct! I have a question. Are you traveling alone in London, as well? Or are you going to be with someone, and just peel off to check out Paris by yourself? And is it Paris that you're feeling trepidatious about? Or traveling alone in general? I ask that because if you need a boost of "Paris is swell for the female solo traveler" confidence, I can give you one! Paris is swell! It's great for the female solo traveler! I predict you will love it, and not want to leave! And there is so much to see and do in Paris - it's an enchanting, magical city. I'm afraid you'll get there and not want to get back on the Eurostar! Have a great time.

If you don't have your airline tickets yet, look into the possibility of flying open-jaw, into London and returning from Paris. Often the prices are nearly the same as round-trip tickets. That way you would not have to return to London. If you get the train ticket in advance, the price is currently £43 one way (£39 + £4 fee). I encourage you to spend 3 days in Paris. It is quite easy to manage in English and Paris is amazing. If you enjoy London alone, you can enjoy being in Paris on your own too.

Eurostar tickets are NOT cheaper midweek. However, that can appear to be true because there is an allotted number of discount fare tickets for each departure date and time and advance tickets for weekend travel sell out faster than those for weekday travel. The lowest fare for any day of the week is $52.50 US each way. To be sure of getting that fare, book as far in advance as possible (up to 120 days) at www.eurostar.com. If you want to limit yourself to one day in Paris, buy the Rick Steves London guidebook and read his suggestions for what to do on a daytrip to Paris. However, I strongly encourage you to spend one night in Paris. Take an evening cruise on the Seine. The City of Lights is truly beautiful after dark.

Perhaps you are right, the four times I have purchased tickets the mid week dates were priced lower though.. and how did you get american dollars off the Eurostar website,, oh,, you use US instead of UK as you residence? I have always used UK for cheaper price since american dollars are usually( but not so much now) more then Canadian...

Hi Janis,
We took the Eurostar from London to Paris on a day trip a few summers ago. We booked a hop-on hop-off bus tour that started in front of Notre Dame for the day. (We were there for about 8 hours.) It was nice because we felt like we at least got to see the main highlights of the city. We were able to do the Eiffel Tower (we took the stairs), spent an hour at the Louvre, walked along the Seine, and were driven past many other sights where we did not get off the bus, such as the Arc du Triomphe, etc. It really helped us get the most out of our day. The bus also had headphones that plugged into jacks that gave sight information in English. Happy planning!

Pat, I checked the Eurostar site 120 days out and found $52.50 fares for both Saturday and Sunday. Yes, I used the US site which shows the fares in dollars.

Take a look at Rick Steves' Pocket Paris book. It's sold here on the RS website, and is on sale right now for $9.05: http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=158&id=465 It has a pull out map, lots of suggestions for cafes and hotels, and it's the new this year pocket size guide. A lightweight thin guide to take along, so you know your way around, very well done. As for not speaking French, get a friend who is fluent in French to teach you several key phrases and how to correctly pronounce them. It will be easy to learn how to order a cup of coffee or ask which way to the train station. Which reminded me to check for the Rick Steves' French phrasebook (now $6.25): http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=164&id=55 Have a great trip!

Don't worry about language issues in Paris. You need to know about ten words, just a few phrases. Hello, please, thank you, do you speak English. Don't settle for just lunch, if you like to travel you will love Paris. That said, Eurostar is the way to go when you want to get from London to Paris.

Hi Janis,
Definitely do it, but I fear that you'll regret only 1 day in Paris. The language barrier isn't much of a problem, as simple phrases, followed by "thank you" or "please" in french should get you by. Lots of free stuff to do in Paris, and the food... Oh, the food... I'm a huge Fish and Chips fan, but it simply pales in comparison. Do yourself a favor and give yourself a window a bit longer in case Paris ensnares you (as I believe it will) and you want to stay longer.

Since many of the previous postings talk about learning a bit of French, I recommend this BBC website, http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/lj/, to get you started. In fact, you can probably learn all you need to know from it. There are some parts that you can't see from the US, but you can work/play with it enough. You may be pleasantly surprised to see how much French you already know without knowing you know it. And don't let the "sign up for the course" intimidate you. I've never done that, but rather just used what was available without signing up. I agree with the others that Paris and France are much easier and better than you may expect. I also agree that you may regret not spending more time there if you only go for a day. However, if you do only go for the day, eat at one of Rick Steves' suggestions for lunch in the Rue Cler area. It's within easy walking distance of the Champ de Mars and the Eiffel Tower.