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Browse more guides: United Kingdom travel | Europe destinations Paris to London Weekend Trip: Is It Worth It? The Paris-to-London weekend trip is one of those classic European travel questions where the obvious answer is "yes, of course, the Eurostar makes it easy." After doing it more times than I can count, my actual answer is more nuanced. It depends entirely on what kind of weekend you want, how much you're willing to spend on the train, and whether you have ever been to London before. For some travelers it is the perfect 48-hour add-on to a Paris trip. For others it is a rushed and expensive mistake. This is the honest breakdown. I have included the realistic logistics, the GBP and EUR costs, the 48-hour itinerary that actually works, and the situations where I would skip the London segment in favor of a different French weekend. The bottom line: the Paris-London weekend works if you book the Eurostar 60+ days ahead, you have specific London plans that need to h...

Browse more guides: United Kingdom travel | Europe destinations London vs Paris: Which City Has More Tourists Last updated: April 2026 · 12 min read Short answer: nearly tied. Both London and Paris pull in roughly 20-23 million international visitors a year, and the gap between them flips year to year depending on whose numbers you trust and what they actually counted. But london edged ahead in 2023 with around 21 million international arrivals. Paris claims as high as 47 million, but that figure smushes domestic French visitors, day-trippers, and the whole Île-de-France region into one number. Apples vs orchards. So forget the "winner." Pick the city based on what you actually want to do. I've stayed weeks in both across multiple trips, and the cities feel completely different despite being a 2h20m train ride apart. TL;DR: Tourist numbers nearly tied (20-23M international each). London wins on free major museums, sheer size, and cultural diversity. Paris wins on...