Good idea? One of the kids is still under 5 so I'm kind of going back and fourth on that one. Sounds like 4.5 hours of the day will be on the train so hopefully the young ones can rest there.
AKB.....day trip via train from London to Paris with kids.
- Thread starter LaJolla Lion
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Yes! Do it! When I went, I set up a tour of Paris - starting with the Bullet Train from London, and then a tour around Paris - Eiffel tower, Louvre, a couple of other things. You don't have to do the tour with kids (they would probably get bored), But, definitely do the trip to Paris - there is something really cool about eating a croissant and drinking a cup of coffee travelling at 150 MPH and going past beautiful little French towns with stone churches.
The train is nice and it’s an easy way to travel to Paris, however you won’t have that much time to spend once you get there. You’ll need to choose what you want to see wisely. The hop on hop off bus is an easy way to sightsee.
You could spring for the express tickets, which shorten the trip to 2 hrs. 16 min.
There were several families with young kids on the Eurostar train I took from London to Paris. I don't recall there being any issues with the kids, but I spent most of the time reading a book on the trip, so I was pretty tuned out to what was happening around me.
Why a day trip? Can you make it a 2 day trip - arrive day 1 - see some sights, spend the night in Paris, see some more sights on day 2 and back to London later that day. There is an awful lot to see in Paris - too much for (less than) one day only.
Great, we do the train a lot but never that route, have fun. Two train rides to consider, we have done both,
1. Glacier Express from Zermatt to St. Moritz, 8 hours, tunnels, alps, gorgeous scenery
2. Grand Canyon Railway - this one is great for kids - Williams Arizona to the South Rim. Old fashioned train (Chug, Chug) with conductor, and singing troubadour. On the way back we saw horse back riders out the window, they boarded the train and prepared to rob the passengers but the old time sheriff arrived in time and arrested the bandits, everyone took pictures, just great fun and of course the Grand Canyon.
Do it!
My wife and I took our 10 year old nephew to London over the Christmas holiday last year.. We reserved the last night of the trip for Paris.
We took the Eurostar from London to Paris and then back to London the next morning before flying home that afternoon. Train ride was about 2 hrs 15 min each direction.
When we arrived in Paris we arranged for a tour which included a visit to the Eiffel Tower as well as a dinner cruise down the Seine River.
Word of caution— we got caught up in a protest simply because it unexpectedly took place when we were on the Champs-Élysées.
I hope you take the Eurostar because it’s a memorable train ride if for no other reason than the speed at which you travel.
I think two days is the best idea, if you can "afford it" time wise. There is a lot to see.
IIRC Eurostar arrives at Gare du Nord, then you'll have to take the metro or RER to the places you want to see. Might be faster and potentially cheaper to fly, to be honest, but lacks the cachet of the train and the Chunnel.
The kids won't want to walk all day and you likely won't want to carry/push them all over Paris to do a walking tour as you can spend an awful long time walking from Ile de la Cite (Notre Dame) past the Louve, the Arc de Triomphe, then turning to go over to La Tour Eiffel. You won't get any time to enjoy the museums or to see much other than the highlights. If you do the Eiffel Tower, make sure to buy scheduled tickets - I was just there about eight weeks ago and spent an awful long time in line because we had not planned ahead. Also, we couldn't get some places along the Champs-Elysee during our trip because of protests and a state visit. The police were polite about it for the most part, especially when I'd ask them in broken French about how to get places. Spent the night at the Hyatt Regency Etoille - would not stay there again if only walking but it is near the metro and the hotel is very nice.
About four years ago I took my family with children at 3, 6, and 13, at the time, to London. We ended up spending four days in London and since we stayed next to a metro stop were able to get around easily. We saw a *lot* in those four days but it's similar to Paris in that if we had tried to see a lot in one day and then take the train "home" two more hours that night it would have been miserable.
We spent seventeen days in Britain on that trip and only tried to do about six or eight hours a day of sightseeing/touring max. After the kids adjusted to the time change it went pretty smooth but they were completely beat when we got home.
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anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
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I think it depends on how you think your youngest might behave. Will you bring a stroller? Paris has many beautiful ‘big spaces’ for kids but navigating the Metro and other important tourist attractions with a stroller would be hard IMO, not to mention the long lines if tickets are required and you don’t purchase them beforehand. I have a 4 1/2 year old and I wouldn’t hesitate to take her - my 2 1/2 year old? No way. So, depends on what you want to do and the temperament of the littles ones since you won’t have anywhere to ‘chill’ so to speak and will be on a time crunch.
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anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
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anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
Guest
Let me add - if you’re already comfortable taking the kids around London and you’re wondering if Paris is worth the effort on the train, my answer is YES.
We did this last year with a 13, 9 & 6 year old. 2 days wasn’t enough. My wife’s family is in Britain and we have started tacking on bonus days using either extended layovers or multi-city flights. We rented a 3 BR apartment one block from the Louvre off-season on VRBO for 200 Euro a night. Was a 2 mile walk to most of the popular attractions except the Eiffel Tower & Sacre Couer. I would strongly recommend at least two days.
If you try to do a day trip, you have to do the fast train -- 2 1/2 hours. And don't forget to account for the metro time which will be another 20-30 minutes each way. Flying from London might be cheaper but it is NOT faster because you have to allow 2 hours for transport to/from airports and another hour at least for security and passport control.
The key to a short trip is to just NOT do the mega-tourist time-suck things. Unless you really love spending your vacation standing in lines, just skip the Louvre and the D'Orsay and skip the elevator to the top of the Eiffel. If you want to really experience Paris, just hang out by the river and in some of the spectacular outdoor spaces -- two of the greatest are Luxembourg Gardens and Place Vosges.
Stay away -- FAR away -- from the Champs Elysees because it's basically the same stuff as an upscale American designer outlet mall. The Champs is NOT Paris. A good tourist rule of thumb is -- use Google Maps, locate the Hard Rock Cafe in whatever city you're in and walk in the opposite direction.
And then just enjoy street food and some cafe sitting and maybe one really good meal. Because I care about the people on this board, I'll share one cafe recommendation -- Les Pipos in the Latin Quarter. Great charcuterie, great traditional French pub food, lots of history, just a super cool place to hang out. And if they're full there is great food all around in that neighborhood.
You get to Les Pipos, walk around the Latin Quarter, enjoy some bench-sitting and visit the stone princesses in Luxembourg Gardens, walk where Hemingway walked, then you are starting to experience Paris. Standing in line for 3 hours with hordes of Asian tourists waiting to do selfies with the Mona Lisa -- to me that is not experiencing Paris, it's a pity so many piddle their precious vacation on stuff like that.
The key to a short trip is to just NOT do the mega-tourist time-suck things. Unless you really love spending your vacation standing in lines, just skip the Louvre and the D'Orsay and skip the elevator to the top of the Eiffel. If you want to really experience Paris, just hang out by the river and in some of the spectacular outdoor spaces -- two of the greatest are Luxembourg Gardens and Place Vosges.
Stay away -- FAR away -- from the Champs Elysees because it's basically the same stuff as an upscale American designer outlet mall. The Champs is NOT Paris. A good tourist rule of thumb is -- use Google Maps, locate the Hard Rock Cafe in whatever city you're in and walk in the opposite direction.
And then just enjoy street food and some cafe sitting and maybe one really good meal. Because I care about the people on this board, I'll share one cafe recommendation -- Les Pipos in the Latin Quarter. Great charcuterie, great traditional French pub food, lots of history, just a super cool place to hang out. And if they're full there is great food all around in that neighborhood.
You get to Les Pipos, walk around the Latin Quarter, enjoy some bench-sitting and visit the stone princesses in Luxembourg Gardens, walk where Hemingway walked, then you are starting to experience Paris. Standing in line for 3 hours with hordes of Asian tourists waiting to do selfies with the Mona Lisa -- to me that is not experiencing Paris, it's a pity so many piddle their precious vacation on stuff like that.
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We took the Eurostar train a few years ago. Nice smooth trip took a little over 2 hours. We got an upgraded ticket that included very spacious seats, French wines & cheeses.
Kids might enjoy climbing to the top of the Arc de Triomphe and having a sweet crepe from a street vendor.
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anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
Guest
Yes! I’d add sitting outside at Les Deux Magots or Cafe de Flore and having a glass or two of wine or champagne is the perfect way to spend an afternoon. But, they allow smokers outside and the kids would probably hate it, but that is basically what Hemingway did (in between writing and running to Shakespeare & Co.). Left Bank is where it’s at.
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