If you’re spending time in London and looking to plan a day trip to Paris, look no further. Traveling from London to Paris is about a 212 mile train ride, and you can absolutely visit the City of Lights even for just for a day.
And while a single day in Paris isn’t enough to soak everything the city offers, you can still enjoy the je ne sais quoi that people from all over the world come to experience. I’ve created the perfect guide for you to make the most out of your day trip to Paris from London.
Whether you’ve never been to Paris and want to experience it for the first time, or you’re in London and just adore Paris so much that you want a quick trip since you’re so close, it’s an easy journey to get there.
Paris Day Trip From London
The first thing I recommend doing if you’re looking to take a day a Paris day trip from London is booking everything you plan to do on your day trip in advance. This saves you tons of stress, time in lines, and yes, even money.
So long as you’re well organized, there’s no reason you can’t see the big things in Paris and enjoy the culture and lifestyle at the same time.
Is A Paris Day Trip from London Worth It?
It really depends on what you want, but if you’ve never been to Paris, feel like you’re seeing enough of London during your trip, or are unlikely to return to Europe or visit Paris for a long time, then I think a day in Paris is definitely worth it.
Sure, you won’t be able to thoroughly visit museums and all that the city has, but you can definitely check a few things off your travel bucket list like seeing the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame. It’s a walkable city with public transportation and lots of taxis, so you can see a fair amount even in a day.
Although you can take a flight from London to Paris, it’s a lot easier quicker, and more comfortable to get there via train.
How To Plan A Paris Day Trip From London
Booking Your Train Ticket
One of the quickest and most convenient ways to travel from London to Paris is by the Eurostar train. It’s about a 2-hour and 16-minute direct trip, departing London’s St. Pancras station and arriving at Paris’ Gare du Nord as early as 10am. If you want a full day in the city, you can stay as late as 8pm, when Eurostar’s last train departs from Paris back to London.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Paris is an hour ahead of London, so keep the time change in mind throughout your day so you don’t miss the train back to London!
Purchasing your Eurostar tickets in advance helps you skip lines at the station and confirms your departure time. Depending on your ticket class, you can also pick your seat. When choosing your ticket, you’ll notice that three different options are available with different price points: Standard, Standard Premiere, and Business Premiere.
Each ticket comes with its own individual and specified perks, as you’ll see when looking over your options. Personally, I love Standard Premiere as it offers fair pricing for an included meal, drinks, larger seats, and the option to bring a little bit of extra luggage if necessary.
However, since you’ll only be on the train for a couple hours, there’s really no wrong option when choosing a ticket.
Remember Your Passport
It’s essential that you bring your passport with you for any day trips to Paris since there’s a required customs checkpoint when crossing into both cities. You will need it in order to board the train to Paris in the morning, and then once again to come back to London later that evening. The UK is no longer part of the EU, and so it counts as an international journey in both directions.
Any required checking of passports takes place when you depart, so you won’t have to go through any when you arrive in Paris or at the end of the day when you return to London – you can just get off the train and go!
Even though the process is quick and easy, I recommend arriving slightly early for your train departures so you won’t have any added stress and can board with plenty of time.
Per Eurostar’s recommendations, these are the arrival times based on which ticket you choose:
Last but not least, If you plan on doing any shopping around Paris (which I highly encourage!) your passport is needed for sales associates to fill out VAT refund and duty-free shopping forms. Ever since Brexit, there is no VAT refund when shopping in London, which a big reason a lot of people take day trips to Paris – just to shop!
Plan Ahead
It’s important to go ahead and do a little bit of research on which Paris attractions you’re most interested in seeing so you can get a game plan together.
You’ll find my suggested itinerary below, but it’s never a bad idea to go ahead and look over a location information, see how close each attraction is to another, and figure out what you would find most enjoyable.
If you take the earliest Eurostar train into the city and the latest train out, you will have a full day of action-packed activities. But, it’s important to plan accordingly so you don’t tire yourself out or spend more time traveling from monument to monument rather than truly taking it all in.
Be sure to have space in your for unaccounted delays in Eurostar trains, food breaks, and even traffic. (There’s a lot of traffic in Paris, which is why I like taking the metro!) You can always do more if you’re ahead of schedule; that’s much better than planning too much and running out of time or missing the train back to London.
Dress and Pack Accordingly
Paris’ climate is pretty typical as far as temperatures go, and since you’re not traveling too far from London, the weather is usually not drastically different.
You’ll want to bring warm layers in the fall and winter months, and a lightweight sweater in the summer. Like London’s weather, Paris weather can be unpredictable at times so it’s a good idea to pack a travel umbrella just in case.
Remember that most of your day will consist of walking, sightseeing, and exploring, so comfort will be your best friend. My shoe of choice in Paris is always sneakers or a comfortable pair of sandals.
Most importantly, I highly recommend bringing along a crossbody bag such as this one, instead of a purse or a backpack. You can bring along all your essentials (phone, camera, a small snack, wallet, sunglasses, portable phone charger, etc.), while allowing you to remain hands-free during your day. This also provides an added safety measure, as crossbody bags are not as easily accessible to others as a regular handbag or backpack. (Pickpocketing, although not rampant, is still a risk in Paris.)
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Paris Day Trip from London Itinerary
Bus Tour Through the City
A guided tour throughout any city will always be one of the best ways to hit its famous sights in the shortest amount of time.
Consider a hop on hop off bus tour; it’s a great way to not only see Paris’ top attractions, but also take in all the beautiful architecture as you drive by the buildings. With a bus tour, the buses follow a specific route, and you can get on and off at your leisure depending on what you want to see. Drive past Notre Dame Cathedral, Place de la Concorde, Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and more.
Glide Down the River Seine
While bus tours are a good way to see the city, floating down River Seine on a Seine River cruise is even better. This is my favorite way to see Paris. Many of the city’s important buildings and museums can be seen from the river, but you get the added bonus of up-close views of the bridges from the water, all of which are different and beautiful in their own way.
There are plenty of options for various cruises, but the two I recommend are Vedettes de Paris and Vedettes du Pont Neuf. Both offer one-hour guided tours in French and English so you can hear all the history Paris has to offer during the ride.
I always make sure to arrive about 30-40 mins prior to the departure time of the cruise so I can pick which seat I want the most. While you can’t particularly go wrong with choosing, standing at the back or the front of the boat will give you the best views you can get. You’ll see Paris classics such as the Louvre, Notre dame, Musée d’Orsay, and the Eiffel Tower.
And if you ever find yourself back in Paris, I strongly urge you to take a night cruise so you can watch the city sparkle as you glide down the River Seine.
You don’t need to do the bus and the river cruise, just pick one or the other.
Visit the Eiffel Tower
Built in 1889, the Eiffel Tower’s rich history and ornate design have made it the one of the most visited monuments in the world. For me, the best view of the Eiffel Tower is from the street, bus, or river cruise, but if it’s your priority to go up it, then you can. Booking tickets in advance is always the way to go so you can skip waiting in the line.
I would carve out about 2.5 hours if you want a view from the top, and if you choose this option, then you may want to skip visiting a museum or shopping.
Museum Sightseeing
Museums are a huge part of Paris culture, but unfortunately, I don’t recommend visiting the Louvre on your Paris day trip unless it’s the only thing you want to do. Because it’s so big, it can be really overwhelming, even if you’ve been there before. Even the “highlights tour” will take you quite a bit of time trying to navigate throughout the entire building, the interactive digital guide is not reliable.
However, there are a couple of other equally incredible museums that can fit in your schedule that I love equally, if not more, than the Louvre.
Both Musée d’Orsay and Musée de l’Orangerie are both perfectly suitable options. They are much smaller than the Louvre and you can tour each place in an hour or so.
Musée d’Orsay is home to many outstanding French art pieces, particularly including pieces done by the Impressionists, and Musée de l’Orangerie is famous for housing Monet’s Water Lilies, located inside the Tuileries Gardens.
Since you only have a day in Paris, choose one or the other, not both; you can’t go wrong with either visit!
Take a Café Break
While you’re going to want to pack your day full of activities, it’s also really important to remember to eat and drink. Café culture is huge in Paris, so you can take a break to get a bite to eat while still immersing yourself in the city and people.
My favorite areas for a café break are Saint Germain, Le Marais, and by the water on Ile de Cite or Ile Saint Louis. However, there are hundreds, if not thousands of cafes all over Paris, so it won’t be hard to find one!
Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots in Saint Germain are both super popular on Instagram. I’ve been to both since they’re right next to each other, and prefer the food and service at Les Deux Magots. If there are long lines, I personally don’t think it’s worth the wait, especially if you’re short on time.
IMPORTANT NOTE: waiters don’t bring the bill like they do in the United States, so you’ll need to ask them for the check and likely wait a bit. If you’re in a rush, ask for it right at the beginning when you order.
Shop ‘til You Drop
Paris is one of the most iconic places to shop, so if time permits, definitely do it! Rue St. Honore is a well-known Parisian shopping street full of every luxury designer you can imagine, from Chanel to Dior to Valentino. If you want some more inexpensive options, there are plenty of other stores as well.
Remember that France offers VAT refunds on purchases of new goods over 100 euros. This is a distinguishing factor from shopping in London, where VAT refunds ended after Brexit.
Be sure to arrive at Gare du Nord train station at least 75 minutes early to clear customs and go through any VAT refund kiosks before your board the train back to London.
If you’re looking for a longer stay in Paris, be sure to check out my 7-day Paris itinerary here.
