Paris - Day trip

[LumpySpaceGoddess]

Hello all,

Firstly I’m not very well travelled, I’ve been to Paris once before for a school trip so it was many moons ago now and I’ve visited my family abroad a few times.

My older sister is coming over to the UK this year and is dying to see the Eiffel tower as she has never been to France or travelled much herself, she is planning on visiting several countries next year but thought this would be a nice thing for us to do together and would like us to spend a day or two in Paris.

Our time is limited as we have lots of plans with other family members in the UK to squeeze into her two week stay.

I have no idea how to plan this to efficiently use our time, has anyone here ever spent a day in Paris, what’s the top things to see and how easy is it to get around and in what order should we do everything? I honestly don’t have any idea where to start!

Any advice is very much welcome! Thank you

Gosh that is not a lot of time. I would say that the best thing to do is to take a boat trip, that's how you see the most of Paris without walking and it's nice on the water. You can do one with a meal. They leave from around Bir Hakeim which is near the Eiffel Tower, so book to go up there, do a boat trip and then go for a walk in the Tulleries gardens up to the Louvre. Arrive by Eurostar if you can, it's so much better than Roissy (the airport). If you do a second day, go up to the Sacré Coeur, the white church on the hill, and have a walk around Montmartre. Stop in a cafe and pay over the odds for a drink from a surely waiter.

We recently did a day trip to Paris, parked out of the city in Versailles as our campervan wasn't green enough! got the £4 20min train into the city, getting off at the Eiffel Tower stop. Bought a set of 10 metro tickets for about £17 and used them to visit the Louvre museum area, had picnic on the river, walked past all the designer shops on route to the arch de triumph, then saw moulin rouge, and metro/train back to the van. Wear comfy trainers, and set off early. Easy to navigate and a fab place to visit!

About 10 years ago an American friend was visiting and we decided at the last minute to do a day trip to Paris, from London, with Golden Tours. It was great and very do-able. Not the cheapest option but it was good value for the service they provided - it included a trip on the Seine, Eiffel Tower and entry to the Louvre.

We also did a couple of UK days out with them - saves all the hassle of organising things!

Day Trip To Paris From London with Eurostar (goldentours.com)

My DH took his parents took Paris for the day a few years ago
Early morning flight / metro and they were having breakfast up the Eiffel Tower!
Do able and tiring! - nowadays you probably have to pre book the Eiffel Tower

Excellent suggestions from @puttingontheritz

Whatever you choose, do be careful regarding personal security and your valuables on public transport, around stations and popular tourist areas, such as around the Eiffel Tower, as there'll often be very persistent hawkers, scammers etc.
Be alert to anyone who tries to distract you and so on. Don't mean to put a downer on things, but it's best to be aware.

Thank you, we will definitely be vigilant, my sister lives in a country that isn’t considered to be particularly safe so we are always very careful when it comes to belongings/people etc.

Thank you for all of the advice everyone, lots to read!