Paris or London for Day Trips: Which City Gets You Out Faster?

I Did Both Paris and London. Here's What Nobody Tells You

If your list is Versailles and Giverny, stay in Paris, because both trips start close to the centre. If you want Stonehenge and Bath, you need London, and each one takes a long day heading west.

I am Italian and have no loyalty to either city, so I will judge them on distances, train times and friction. In late autumn 2023, I landed at CDG and hauled my suitcase down a staircase where the escalator had stopped, wheels clattering on every step. The first ticket machine I tried wanted coins and refused my card, so I queued at the staffed window behind a family with strollers. Once aboard, I discovered my RER B train skipped every other stop and blew straight past my station.

Buy your airport ticket at the staffed counter, or load a Navigo Easy card before you land.

The Paris Metro has 308 stations across 16 lines. Most day trip train stations are reachable within 30 minutes from central Paris. If you are linking the two cities, the Eurostar website (Eurostar) is where to check current London-Paris fares, boarding times and station guidance before you commit to a hotel in either one.

Skip Paris as a base if Stonehenge is the reason you are crossing the Channel.

Versailles Palace and Gardens Tour from Paris: The Experience

Versailles is 22km from central Paris. RER C takes 40 minutes. The palace has 2,300 rooms. According to the UNESCO World Heritage List, the Palace and Park of Versailles is a World Heritage site, and a room count like that explains why a guide is worth considering.

The train splits at Champ de Mars or Invalides, and only carriages marked VICK continue to Versailles Rive Gauche. Before you board, check that the platform display shows VICK for your train.

The Versailles Palace and Gardens Tour from Paris is a guided visit with timed entry, so the group skips the queue and goes into the Hall of Mirrors.

Skip this format if you want the gardens at your own pace all afternoon, because a group moves on the guide's clock and not yours.

Why Paris Nearly Won Me Over

Paris nearly won outright because the centre is compact and the stations sit inside the city, not on its edge. Then a Paris evening showed me the weak point: the network is dense, but it has a closing time, and a day trip that runs late ends with you doing sums on the concourse.

In winter 2024, I rolled into Gare de Lyon as the station shops pulled down their shutters, footsteps echoing under the clock tower. The brasserie next door smelled of butter and roasting meat, and I was tempted by a late plate of steak frites. I worked it out on the transit app and realised the last metro would leave before dessert arrived.

Check the final metro time the moment you arrive back, before you sit down to eat.

Giverny Monet’s Home and Gardens Half Day Tour from Paris: The Experience

The Giverny Monet’s Home and Gardens Half Day Tour from Paris visits Claude Monet's house and the gardens with his water lily pond, and the "half day" in the title is the whole point: you hand over the transfers and keep the rest of the day in Paris.

Two checks come before booking. Buy Giverny entry online ahead of time, because the on-the-day ticket queue in the warmer months can swallow your visit. And avoid Mondays, when Monet's garden is open but the house is closed.

London's nearest equivalent looks faster on the timetable. Windsor Castle is 40km from London. Trains from Paddington to Windsor & Eton Central take 30 minutes with a change at Slough. The friction comes before you reach the platform.

In winter 2023, I assumed Victoria meant one place, then learned the coach station sits a short, grim walk south of the rail station, my wheeled case rattling over wet pavement. At Waterloo the platform appeared on the board only minutes before boarding, and the whole crowd surged at once. My train left on time, but a Circle line delay getting there cost me more time than the timetable allowed.

Plan your route to the terminal first. At Victoria, confirm whether you need the coach station or the rail station before you leave the hotel.

The Moment I Made My Decision

I made up my mind at Stonehenge. London's headline day trips are the ones Paris cannot offer, but they sit far to the west and they take the whole day.

Stonehenge is 140km west of London (about 2 hours by bus or 1.5 hours by train to Salisbury plus shuttle). Most day trips combine it with Bath or Windsor. Bath is 185km west of London. The train from Paddington takes 85 minutes. The Roman Baths were built around 70 CE. The UNESCO World Heritage List includes both Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites and the City of Bath, so these are not minor trips.

In spring 2025, I caught an early train from Waterloo to Salisbury, then the tour bus to the stones, and I was scanning my ticket right at opening. I saw the circle in thin morning light. The cost was everything else: I gave up Old Sarum, the cathedral's Magna Carta and any proper meal.

That trade-off is why the London tours bundle stops together. The Small Group Stonehenge, Bath and Secret Place Tour from London is a full day that pairs the stones with the Georgian city of Bath and adds a stop that is not named in advance. The Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Oxford Day Guided Tour from London goes further and fits a castle, a prehistoric site and a university city into one guided day.

My view: the Bath pairing makes more sense, because the two places sit on the same westward line of travel.

What I Wish I'd Known Before I Went

Neither city's timetable failed me. The problems came from what surrounds the timetable: closing days, split trains, the Tube ride to the terminal and the last metro. Fix those before you choose a base, and the choice between Paris and London gets simpler.

• Mondays hurt the Paris list. The Versailles palace interior and Monet's house at Giverny both close that day while their gardens stay open.
• The RER C is two trains wearing one number. Your carriage needs the VICK label to reach Versailles Rive Gauche.
• Weekend engineering works on the RER C can swap trains for shuttle buses, so look them up the evening before.
• Major sites such as Versailles can sell out days ahead. Book a timed entry early, and aim for an early palace slot because you can enter the gardens later.
• A day trip that leaves mid-morning is half a day trip.
• In London, the Tube connection decides whether you catch your train.

If you are weighing hotels and passes as well as trains, my Paris vs London planning guide covers that side. For a closer look at Versailles against another long Paris excursion, read my Versailles comparison, and if the Windsor, Stonehenge and Oxford day appeals, my Oxford comparison helps you decide whether Oxford deserves a whole day of its own. The city hubs for Paris and London collect the rest.

My verdict, for the first-time visitor choosing one city: Paris gets you out and back faster for its two headline trips. London wins only if Stonehenge or Bath is non-negotiable, and then you are signing up for a long day.

Versailles Palace and Gardens Tour from Paris

★★★★½ 4.4 (4541 reviews) on Viator · 3 hours–3 hours 30 minutes

From $74.54 · Price checked: Sep 2026

Best for: First time visitors who want timed entry to the Hall of Mirrors and a guide to explain the Bourbon monarchy.

Not for: Skip it if you would rather roam the palace gardens alone at your own pace for the whole day.

A guided tour of the Palace of Versailles and its gardens from Paris, with timed entry that lets the group skip the queue and head into the Hall of Mirrors.

Check availability

External booking on Viator · pricing and cancellations handled by Viator

Giverny Monet’s Home and Gardens Half Day Tour from Paris

★★★★½ 4.7 (3122 reviews) on Viator · 6 hours–11 hours 30 minutes

From $86.18 · Price checked: Sep 2026

Best for: Impressionist fans who want Monet's gardens with transfers arranged.

Not for: Skip it if you prefer to set your own pace in the gardens, as a guided half day runs on the group's timing.

A half day tour from Paris to Giverny, visiting Claude Monet's house and the gardens with his water lily pond.

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External booking on Viator · pricing and cancellations handled by Viator

Small Group Stonehenge, Bath and Secret Place Tour from London

★★★★★ 5.0 (1110 reviews) on Viator · 11 hours 30 minutes

From $209.27 · Price checked: Sep 2026

Best for: Travellers who want Stonehenge and Bath in a day from London and like the idea of a surprise stop.

Not for: Skip it if you need to know every stop in advance or want a long, slow visit to Bath.

A small group full day tour from London to Stonehenge and the Georgian city of Bath, with an extra stop at a secret place that is not named in advance.

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External booking on Viator · pricing and cancellations handled by Viator

Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Oxford Day Guided Tour from London

★★★★½ 4.5 (1810 reviews) on Viator · 10 hours 30 minutes

From $96.62 · Price checked: Sep 2026

Best for: First time visitors to England who want a castle, a prehistoric site and Oxford in a single guided day.

Not for: Skip it if you like to linger in one place, as three stops in one day leave limited time at each.

A guided full day from London covering three stops, Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and the university city of Oxford.

Check availability

External booking on Viator · pricing and cancellations handled by Viator