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Paris London Tour
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Do you know that a Paris London tour is one of the top attractions out of Paris? If you’re planning to be in Paris for I’d say 5 days or more, and you’ve never seen London, you might want to consider dazzling your senses with a quick hop to the UK capital.
These days, it’s a snap thanks to the Paris-London Eurostar. It is no more and no less than state of the art train travel, and it can help you realize your dream of seeing London, at the same time you’re visiting Paris.
A one-day Paris London tour is actually a double coup that’s more popular than ever these days. We all know how expensive the heavy British Pound has made trips to London in recent times. I had actually gotten to the point where I simply decided to stay away from London for a while; But London is one of my favorites cities in the world. It can’t just be written off!
For the most part in London, what will usually do you in is the cost of hotel rooms. A quick look at how much of your trip budget you’ll have to sink into hotel accommodations in addition to transportation costs often gives you an instant reality check. However, if you’re already going to be in Paris, you got yourself a completely different ball game. Comparatively speaking, Paris hotels offer some of the best deals of any top cities in the West.
To some, it may sound a bit hectic, but it’s really no more taxing than a full day spent checking off a number of “must-see” attractions all over any one major city. The difference with a Paris London tour is that you’re straddling two of them thanks to superlative transportation amenities.
All right, but there is no sleeping in that morning. Your exciting excursion starts with an early train from Paris Gare du Nord. That’s the train station which services all Paris north bound railway traffic, including the Paris-London Eurostar. You arrive at London’s Waterloo Station 2 hours and 50 minutes later; straight from central Paris to central London. No other transportation hassles required, no trips to and from outlying city airports.
And for the one person who hasn’t heard of this, you’ll travel underneath the seabed, via the Channel Tunnel (once called the “Chunnel”), the 32-mile tunnel that links France and England under the English Channel. On the way, I always treat myself to a view of a little bit of the French northwestern countryside, and a view of cars speeding at full throttle on the freeway which, seen from the TGV, look like they’re going at snail speed (TGV stands for ”Train à Grande Vitesse”: High Speed Train).
You may have heard about the proliferation of very low cost regional airlines in Europe. It is true that you can sometimes catch flights for under 50 bucks. Unfortunately, you then have to deal with making your way in and out of airports located outside the city. At the end of the day, for the time and effort involved, your Paris London tour is best served by the overall convenience of the Paris-London Eurostar.
Eurostar prices fluctuate and vary depending on whether you qualify for such discounted fares as youth 26 years old and under, seniors, etc. It’s fair to say that for tickets under $100, you'll usually need to book ahead of time and be mindful of the fact that fares are based upon travel dates. If needed, you might also factor in the cost of meals and snacks available in the restaurant-car. For all details, visit Eurostar.com
Once in London, don’t give yourself an overly ambitious program. It’s best not to pack too much into a one-day excursion. And don’t plan on setting the London night ablaze this time around, not unless your plan is to party all night and catch the first morning TGV back to Paris. But then again, why not? It’s your party! I’m the type that would use the duration of the train ride back to catch up on sleep…
Of course, the other option, I suppose the more “sensible” one, is to make your Paris London tour an overnight trip and cough up the money for a hotel after all. However, if you're starting out with a limited time for your Paris vacation, you'll end up not seeing much of either Paris or London.
Having said that, overnight and weekend trips on the opposite side of the English Channel are very popular among visitors and locals alike. It is up to you and your traveling schedule if you want to extend your one-day Paris London tour into something more.
But if you prefer to keep it compact, the main London attractions you want to include in your one-day (or slightly expanded) Paris London tour should be concentrated around central London to keep your trip as leisurely and stress-free as possible. Obviously, London is a huge and bustling city.
A list of sightseeing highlights that might interest you is rather expansive, but to start, here are some of the “London essentials”. Hop-on, hop-off bus tours are a favorite way to see them. You can get detailed information in advance, or at Waterloo Station when you arrive. Conveniently start your London tour from right around Waterloo Station, and utilize the over 90 stops available to customize your London visit, (or opt for an all-day guided tour) and discover:
Piccadilly Circus; Trafalgar Square; Buckingham Palace; London Eye, the 450 ft high Ferris wheel in the middle of London, an exciting attraction that allows you to “take a flight” and see London from the air; Westminster Abbey; Big Ben; London Bridge; the massive British Museum, one of the world’s premier museums...
Kensington Palace; impressive St Paul’s Cathedral, the largest in England; bustling Leicester Square; Harrod’s, one of if not the most famous department store in the world; a Thames river cruise; the street vibes and eclectic shopping on Carnaby Street and Coventry Gardens; and so many other titillating attractions… Cheers!
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