Is Extreme Daytripping the Future of Travel or Just a Passing Fad?

When the Channel Tunnel first launched in 1994 it was heralded as a modern engineering marvel. Connecting the UK to mainland Europe I remember the sales pitch at the time being framed around the enticing prospect of having breakfast at home in London and then lunch in Paris. The train takes well under three hours and what I wondered was ‘what would you do next with your afternoon?’. With extreme day trips being touted as the latest travel trend I thought I would put this to the ultimate test.

The concept is pretty self-explanatory. You leave your home early in the day and return by the evening. There are no set hours, but obviously to make the most of your time away you’ll want to leave as early as possible and head back as late as you can. This doesn’t really make for the most comfortable experience but there are benefits alongside the obvious downsides of hasty itineraries and limited time on the ground.

For me, the main downside is the prospect of air travel. Its hard to justify short flights for what amounts to a glorified fad that seems to be all the rage on social media. I don’t mind busy itineraries or being on my feet for an entire day of travel, but when factoring in commuting to an airport, checking in for a flight, getting from the arrival point to a designated city centre – then doing it all again in reverse on the way home – it doesn’t make sense. You’re also contributing a significant amount of pollution for a jaunt that could be done in a more sustainable way.

On the plus side an extreme day trip sees the removal of the main cost of travelling abroad. Short haul flights are cheap, especially in Europe, but hotels remain expensive by comparison. You can also, theoretically, see hundreds of new places every year if you travel this way.

Either way I couldn’t justify flying for such an endeavour but there are other options. This is where the rail route came back into the conversation and so I decided to book a Eurostar from London to Gare du Nord in Paris. The earliest departure is at 6.30 am (on a weekend) and the last train back is at 21.13 pm. Tickets for this service are more expensive than equivalent flights at the same time, but as someone who lives in London I can take a tube train from Walthamstow to Kings’ Cross St. Pancras International for only a few pounds. The cost of a taxi to the airport that early would be over £100 – and that is the only option for those types of pre-dawn flights.

The finances make sense then, but does extreme day tripping?

One of the other benefits of taking the train is that you can be in Paris by 9 am. Factor in a taxi or metro to the city centre and you will actually be biting a that freshly baked croissant while its still early morning. This is where some clever planning is required, you don’t want to be waiting around for the main attractions to open. I took this opportunity before my first booked activity to catch a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower because, well it’s Paris isn’t it? I was travelling light so was able to take a small backpack and move around quite quickly. This was a big help and meant I could be a little more flexible with my itinerary although I would say that even a small backpack is probably a little more than you need. Passport, comfy walking shoes, a phone and some available currency and you pretty much have all you require.

I wanted to do something new while in Paris and being the culture vulture that I so obviously am I opted for an early art tour. The Louvre Museum is the obvious choice but its not the only one. Most Parisians would argue that the better experience (with just as many classic works of art) is at the Musée d’Orsay. I had previously heard of it but had no idea what to expect, so to get the full experience I booked a guided tour with Walk Tours. You meet your guide outside who will then escort you straight through, skipping the queues at the entrance.

Originally designed as a train station, the beaux-arts vaulted ceiling of the central atrium is a work of art in and of itself, the perfect introduction to two hours of art appreciation of the Impressionist movement. By the end of my tour, I gathered that ‘movement’ is not the right definition of the collective work these influential artists produced, but to be honest I was so wowed by what I saw and learned that I can’t remember the correct term. That’s no fault of our guide who expertly guided my small group through the highlights with a brief explanation of the most important works. If you want you can spend the whole day here after your official tour has ended, but I didn’t have time on this occasion.

Whether you’re an art buff or have never set foot in a museum, by the end of this tour, you’ll have a deep appreciation for the impact that the Impressionists had on the way we all see the world. Seeing masterpieces by Van Gogh, Renoir and Monet in this environment is genuinely more enjoyable than the cramped and rushed time I previously had at the Louvre while we were herded to see the Mona Lisa for a few passing seconds.

Cassam Looch recommends travelling light and dressing appropriately for an extreme day trip to Paris. Perhaps he is thinking about his choice of jeans here at the Musée d’Orsay which houses great works of art including an original version of The Thinker.

It was approaching lunchtime so I had a choice of places to visit before my afternoon walking food tour of Le Marais. A quick look at my map and I realised I could take a taxi and go to the Champs-Élysées or opt for a riverside stroll along the Seine to see another popular attraction. You’ll have to make tough choices like this when on a tight schedule, but I opted for the latter as the sun was out and I wanted to stretch my legs. My planned stop was also a lot closer to the start of my later tour so it made sense to skip the busy Champs-Élysées this time.

On a visit to Paris in 2022 I took a river cruise through the city. It was a great experience with preparations being made for the subsequent Olympics in 2024 well underway but the devastating fire that had damaged Notre Dame three years earlier was an eerie spectre that loomed over everything. There are still some final touches being made right now but by the summer of 2025 work should be complete on the rebuild. An official opening ceremony has already been held and you can start booking tours now. I’ll be back to see it when its finished but for this trip it was enough to take in the beautiful exterior. It was at this point when I realised that this sort of truncated travel experience really suits a destination that you might have already visited.

You can take this time to grab lunch, but as I was doing a food tour I was able to sneak in a quick look at the famous Shakespeare and Company Bookstore just across the road from Notre Dame on the Left Bank. A 30 minute walk from here and I was in the trendy Le Marias district for my culinary adventure. One look at the stylish outfits, cool vintage outlets and smart coffee shops and I knew exactly what kind of area I was in – but it wasn’t always this way. Our guide started by giving us an explanation about how this previously overlooked area in the 3rd and 4th arrondissements wasn’t the bouji hotspot it portrays today decades ago. Le Marais means ‘the swamp’, so its less than affectionate nickname gives away its soggy past.

Nowadays, this area is the place young Parisians head to for a relaxing afternoon with friends amongst boutique shops and modern food markets. With one eye on the clock as I still had to catch my train back home, I embarked on a three hour tour sampling pastries, macarons, sandwiches and my first ever serving of onion soup. The french delicacy is a filling dish stuffed with melted cheese and slices of bread and ideal for an overcast afternoon. I’d probably opt for something else in the summer though.

One revelation for me was Les Enfants Rouge Marche – a street food market during lunchtimes and a spot where locals can do shopping for fresh produce. It gets busy so be prepared to eat on the go, but you’ll find cuisine from various parts of the world here. I discovered that couscous is the most popular dish in the country today, a fascinating titbit much like chicken tikka masala holding the same title in the UK. Vive la différence!

This tour ends with a cheese and wine tasting session, and you can obviously stock up on treats for back home on this last stop before heading back to the station. We finished just on time and I was checked in for my return journey with an hour to spare. I made it through a full 12 hours in Paris and was back home on my sofa at around 10pm that night. To my great surprise I not only enjoyed my extreme day trip adventure I think I might do it again later this summer. As long as I can get to my destination by train, I’m sold on this method of travel… although is it really a modern trend if I did something very similar when I was at primary school more than 30 years ago?

Combine activities where you can. If you plan on seeing a main landmark in a city, let’s say the Eiffel Tower, then get a taxi into central Paris from the station that goes that via that route. Better still, in this example the metro service goes overground past the tower and you can get excellent views without having to stop.

Plan every minute. I’m usually the sort of happy-go-lucky traveller who will meander through the day and take in what I can but you won’t that luxury here. Make sure you have all your transport options organised beforehand and if you need to take a taxi book it in advance. Metro tickets for Paris can actually be bought directly on the Eurostar so you can save precious time here too.

Travel light. You don’t need an overnight bag so you don’t need to pack more than the very basic essentials. If you’re flying this means you can opt for economy seats that come with only a small baggage allowance. If you want to bring back any souvenirs you might want to invest in extra space on the return flight. Eurostar is a lot more generous with their allowance, so you can bring back more if you’re taking the train.

Check the weather forecast. You’ll probably be fine in the summer, but even so you should always check the outlook before departure. The main reason to do this is so that you can adapt what you do, although both the tours I had booked were meant for all conditions.

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