suggestions for travel from Barcelona to Paris in June

We will have just come off a Med cruise and land in Barcelona in mid June. We have only got 6 days to get to our friends house in London. We are retired couple from Canada and likely won%26#39;t get back to Europe so don%26#39;t want to miss out on the grand city of Paris. I know it%26#39;s asking alot, but any suggestions from those who have done this trip , would be helpful.

Thanks

Domi

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This is going to be easy!

To get from Barcelona to Paris you basically have two choices, either fly on a low-cost airline, or take the overnight Elipsos train, the only direct train between the two cities. A daytime train would take a minimum of 9 hours and you don%26#39;t really have time to spend an entire day travelling. The night train leaves Barcelona about 9 p.m. and arrives in Paris about 9 a.m.

The airline option will certainly be quicker in terms of actual travel time and almost certainly cheaper. EasyJet flies from Barcelona (BCN) to Paris Orly (ORY). Vueling flies from BCN to Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG). Both are reliable European budget airllines. Of the two I would pick EasyJet simply because ORY is easier to deal with and a bit closer to the center of Paris than CDG. But the schedule on Vueling may work better for you.

www.easyjet.com

www.vueling.com

The only problem with flying is that baggage limits are tight and excess baggage expensive. Basically EasyJet allows 20 kg (44 lbs) per passenger of checked baggage plus a carry-on. I%26#39;m not sure if there is a limit on the *number* of checked bags or just the weight. There is a size limit on the carry-on but no weight limit. I don%26#39;t know Vueling%26#39;s baggage limits off the top of my head. See the websites for full details. Air France and Iberia will also fly this route but their one-way fares are likely to be a lot more expensive and their baggage limits not much more generous if any. You might want to check just for giggles...

if you decide you would rather take the night train let us know and we can discuss the details.

Getting from Paris to London your best option would almost certainly be the Eurostar train which will take you between the centers of the two cities in less htan 3 hours — actually less than 2 hours by the clock as you will set your watches back an hour between Paris and London. Advance purchase one way tickets should cost about $100 each or a bit less. You can only book 90 days ahead and should book as early as you can to get the best fares. www.eurostar.com will probably give you the lowest fares. Check it for fares in late April and you will get some idea. You may have to play around a bit with the date and departure time to find the best bargains. Generally mid-day mid-week trains are the easiest to find cheap tickets on.

Hope this helps to give you a %26quot;first run%26quot; at the problem. As you can see if you have six days you can basically spend five of them in Paris and one travelling.

Give another holler if you have more questions.

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