Paris in less than 24 hours? Can it be done?

In one word, yes Paris in 24 hours can be done if you live in the United Kingdom.

I saw a fun offer on Eurostar, it was called Eurostar snap.  It was something different, you can select a day trip or return all for £50 per person return.  The catch is two days  before your visit, you will receive an email from Eurostar with your train times to Paris and back to London St Pancras! So if you like to plan like me, this was a tad annoying but fun at the same time! Check http://www.eurostar.com for any other offers.

We boarded the first Eurostar train from London St Pancras, I hadn’t been to Paris for a couple of years, the security and border control did not take long and we had a cup of tea before waiting to board le train and studied the Paris map and worked out our itinerary.

We had examined our route on le Eurostar so we could hit the ground running. Arrived at Gare Du Nord two hours later and went to the tourist information ticket practicing my francais, I asked about a day ticket and was directed to the ticket machine. The machines are easy to use and you can select your language and you are good to go.  We purchased a day travelcard that can be used on everything, it cost 10 Euros. How bargainous.

The metro system is like the London Underground, different colour lines but the lines are numbered,  but the signage can be lacking.

We proceeded to get the metro to Saint Michel which is South of the River Seine and we met our free walking tour which was with Sandemans as per usual.

The weather was slightly inclement, an umbrella was purchased and we started our 3 hour walk which was entertaining and interesting.

Amongst the sights, we saw The Notre Dame which we visited after the walk ended.  

Go inside, it’s free,  look up to the beautiful stained glass windows.

You can climb upto the roof for 9 euros which we did not as you can get better and free views elsewhere!

We continued our walk along to Pont Neuf bridge

We saw some locks further on, accordian music playing and it was rather atmospheric too. I kind of expected Amelie  from the French film to appear!

We continued walking across the Seine and saw this icon of Paris:

We took in the sight of the Eiffel Tower on an overcast day but it was wonderful.

Here are some more sights we saw:

The Louvre of course, it has a famous painting in it, called the Mona Lisa. Have you heard of it? We didn’t have time to pop in as time was of the essence.

We went on more of a wander and saw this:

 

We walked a little bit more, our feet were a bit achy so we stopped off for a light lunch and had some french beer. The names made me laugh.

 

 

We then wandered a bit more:

 

Saw some  french delicacies:
We saw some interesting art:

 

We used the funicular cable car upto the top of Sacre Coeur using our travel ticket.

The sun was out:

 

 

Not too bad for a view from the Sacre Coeur?

We then walked a few minutes to Montmarte, it had a lovely Parisian vibe, music and artists and we had an early dinner.

 

We had some French Wine before walking around the area

 

Then as we walked a little bit more, I saw these waiters having a break, I love this photo! So Parisian!

After taking in the atmosphere, we walked to the funicular and spotted a wonderful Parisian bar called Le Progress. Plenty of choice of wine and had a Parisian feel to it.

 

 

After this interlude, we went back and got the 9pm Eurostar back to London.

 

A great day had, lots to do and see and can be done on a budget!

 

Next time I go back, I will stay for a weekend and goto the Palace of Versailles.

 

When are you booking? Where will you go?