I genuinely couldn’t believe how cheap the Eurostar tickets to Paris were during the summer holidays! I always assume travelling during August is going to mean paying a premium, so finding Eurostar tickets from London to Paris for just £39 each way for myself and £27 each way for my 10 year old felt like such a bargain.
The cheaper fares weren’t just available on one random date either. When I was looking, there were cheap seats available across August, which made Paris a really affordable option for a last minute summer holiday city break from London.
We decided to go towards the end of August as we’d already had a very busy start to the month travelling around Jamaica, so a couple of nights in Paris felt like the perfect way to finish off the summer holidays.
Booking Our Eurostar Tickets to Paris
Our Eurostar journey details were:
London to Paris
Monday, 24 August 2026
London St Pancras International to Paris Gare du Nord
Departure: 17:31
Arrival: 21:00
Journey time: 2 hours 29 minutes
Direct
Paris to London
Wednesday, 26 August 2026
Paris Gare du Nord to London St Pancras International
Departure: 19:11
Arrival: 20:30
Journey time: 2 hours 19 minutes
Direct
Total paid: £132 return for both of us
My tickets cost £39 each way, making my return fare £78.
My 10 year old’s tickets were even cheaper at £27 each way, making her return fare just £54.
For £132 return for the two of us during the school summer holidays, I thought this was such a good deal!
Why Eurostar Can Be Better Than Flying From London to Paris
When you see a cheap flight to Paris it can be tempting to book it straight away, but for us there are quite a few reasons why travelling by Eurostar can work out better.
The biggest benefit is travelling directly from central London to central Paris. Eurostar leaves from London St Pancras International and arrives at Paris Gare du Nord, so there’s no journey out to a London airport followed by another airport transfer once you arrive in France.
That can save both time and money, especially when travelling with kids.
The luggage allowance is another big advantage. You don’t have to worry about paying the additional cabin bag and checked luggage fees that can quickly increase the price of a cheap flight.
There are also no airport style liquid limits, which makes packing much easier, particularly when travelling as a family.
You still go through security and passport control before boarding Eurostar, but you don’t generally need to arrive as early as you would for an international flight.
Then there’s the journey itself. Our direct train from London to Paris was scheduled to take just 2 hours and 29 minutes. On the way home, Paris to London was even quicker at 2 hours and 19 minutes.
When you compare the entire journey rather than just the advertised flight time, including travelling to the airport, arriving early, security, boarding and getting from the airport into Paris, Eurostar can be a really convenient option for a family trip from London.
And when the tickets cost us just £132 return for one adult and one child during the summer holidays, flying wasn’t even something I felt we needed to consider.
Where We Stayed in Paris
For our two nights in Paris, we stayed at Novotel Suites Paris Montreuil Vincennes from 24 to 26 August 2026.
The hotel cost £168.73 for a Superior Suite for one adult and one child, which I thought was a really good price for two nights in Paris during the school summer holidays. We also paid £14.62 in city tax, bringing the total accommodation cost to £183.35 for our stay.
As our Eurostar didn’t arrive at Paris Gare du Nord until 9pm, we didn’t really fancy navigating public transport with our luggage that late in the evening. Instead, we ordered an Uber directly from Gare du Nord to the hotel. It cost around €17, which is roughly £15, and made getting to the hotel after a long day much easier.
Our room was on the fifth floor and had plenty of space for the two of us. There was a double bed and a pull out sofa, as well as both a bath and a separate shower. The toilet was also separate from the main bathroom area, which I always find handy when travelling together.
The room also had a safe, mini fridge and even a microwave, which is particularly useful for families who don’t necessarily want to eat out for every meal.
There are several shops and supermarkets within a short walk of the hotel, including B&M, Aldi and Lidl. This is really handy if you want to pick up drinks, snacks or something for breakfast instead of paying for the hotel breakfast.
Overall, for £183.35 including the city tax for two nights during the summer holidays, I thought it was really good value. The room was spacious, had everything we needed for a short stay and having several shops nearby was really convenient. The only real negative thing I have to say is that the room had carpet, and I HATE carpet. I just find it so disgusting! But honestly, that’s it really.
What We Did in Paris With Kids
As we only had two full days in Paris, I wanted to fit in a good mixture of activities without making the trip feel too rushed. We did a science museum, a River Seine cruise, a huge waterpark, some sightseeing, a couple of food stops and even found an arcade along the way.
I booked several of our activities through GetYourGuide, including the Science and Industry Museum, our River Seine cruise and Aquaboulevard.
A little money saving tip if you are booking activities through GetYourGuide is to download the app before booking. You can use my discount code KIDDOADVENTURES5 on activities booked through the GetYourGuide app, so it is worth using if you are planning to book a few things during your trip.
Getting Around Paris With Kids
On our first morning, we headed to our nearest tram stop and picked up two Navigo Easy cards.
The physical cards cost €2 each, and we then loaded an unlimited day pass onto each card for €12.30 per person. This gave us unlimited travel across zones 1 to 5 on the Metro, RER, buses and trams.
For the two of us, the cards and day passes came to €28.60 altogether, which is roughly £25.
It was really easy to use and definitely worth it for us because we were travelling around Paris quite a lot that day.
On our second day, we were feeling a little lazy and decided not to buy another day pass. Instead, we used Uber and Bolt to get between the different places we wanted to visit.
I was actually surprised by how reasonably priced Uber and Bolt were in Paris, especially when there are only two of you. It also saved us quite a bit of walking after spending the morning at the waterpark.
Hello Kitty and Friends at Baguett.
Our first stop was Baguett. by Maison Kayser, which currently has a Hello Kitty and Friends takeover running until 30 September 2026.
The bakery has Hello Kitty themed branding, packaging and decorations, making it a really cute little stop if you have a Hello Kitty fan.
We picked up a croissant, hot chocolate and Fanta, which came to around €16 altogether, roughly £14.
This is a limited time Hello Kitty and Friends takeover rather than a permanent Hello Kitty café, so if you want to visit, you have until 30 September 2026.
You can find it at 33 Rue Coquillière in Paris.
Science and Industry Museum Paris
After our Hello Kitty stop, we headed to the Science and Industry Museum, which is a great one to add to a Paris itinerary with kids.
It is one of the biggest science museums in Europe and has exhibitions covering subjects including space, technology, transport, science and engineering.
There are lots of interactive elements too, which I always prefer when visiting museums with kids. It makes it much more interesting than simply walking around looking at things behind glass.
Tickets can be found from around €12, approximately £10 per person, depending on the ticket and exhibitions you choose.
I booked our tickets through GetYourGuide.
River Seine Cruise With Kids
Next, it was time to do some proper Paris sightseeing with a cruise along the River Seine.
If it is your first time visiting Paris with kids, I think a Seine cruise is such an easy way to see some of the city without everyone getting tired from walking.
You can sit down, give your feet a rest and see some of Paris’s most famous landmarks from the water.
There are loads of different cruises available, including basic sightseeing cruises as well as options with food, drinks and evening departures.
Sightseeing cruises can be found from around €20, approximately £17 per person, depending on the cruise, date and time you choose.
Again, I booked ours through GetYourGuide.
Aquaboulevard Paris Waterpark
The next morning, we were up bright and early because we were heading to Aquaboulevard.
If you are looking for a waterpark in Paris with kids, this is definitely one to know about.
Aquaboulevard is a huge waterpark in Paris with both indoor and outdoor areas. There are swimming pools, wave pools, waterslides, jacuzzis, water games and plenty of space to swim and splash around.
During the summer there is also a large outdoor beach area, so you could easily spend a good chunk of the day here.
I found tickets through GetYourGuide starting from around £20 per person, although prices can vary depending on the date and availability.
If buying directly, summer admission can be around €44 for adults aged 12 and over, approximately £38, and €25 for children aged 3 to 11, approximately £22.
Children need to be at least three years old to enter Aquaboulevard, and children under 12 need to be accompanied by an adult.
We spent the morning swimming, going on the slides and generally just having fun in the water before heading off to explore more of Paris.
If you are booking Aquaboulevard through GetYourGuide, remember you can use KIDDOADVENTURES5 through the app to save a little extra.
Madame Madame Eiffel Tower Croissants
After Aquaboulevard, we headed to Madame Madame, which I had seen all over social media because of its viral Eiffel Tower shaped croissants.
The Eiffel Tower croissants start from around €5, approximately £4, before you start adding different fillings and toppings.
There are lots of different combinations available, and you order using tablets inside.
I was advised not to have one because of potential allergy contamination, but my kid had one while I had a coffee and she had a hot chocolate.
Altogether, we spent around €22, which is approximately £19.
It is definitely on the pricey side for a café, but I thought it was a cute place to visit once while we were in Paris. The Eiffel Tower shaped croissants also make for some great photos.
La Tête Dans Les Nuages Arcade Paris
Afterwards, we spent some time sightseeing before randomly coming across La Tête Dans Les Nuages, a huge arcade in Paris.
We hadn’t planned to visit at all, but obviously once we spotted it, we had to go in! There were loads of different arcade games to choose from, and we ended up spending around €20, approximately £17, playing games before continuing with our day.
It was one of those completely unplanned stops that ended up being really fun, especially if you are visiting Paris with older kids.
Afterwards, it was time to head back to Novotel Suites Paris Montreuil Vincennes, collect our luggage and make our way back to Paris Gare du Nord for our Eurostar home.
After the arcade, it was time to head back to Novotel Suites Paris Montreuil Vincennes, collect our luggage and make our way back to Paris Gare du Nord for our Eurostar home.
Was Two Days in Paris With Kids Enough?
I actually think we managed to fit a surprising amount into two days in Paris.
We visited the Science and Industry Museum, took a River Seine cruise, spent a morning at Aquaboulevard, visited the Hello Kitty and Friends takeover at Baguett., tried the viral Eiffel Tower shaped croissant at Madame Madame, did some sightseeing and even squeezed in a random arcade.
Of course, you could easily spend much longer in Paris and still have plenty left to do, but this trip showed me that you don’t necessarily need a long holiday to have a really good family trip to Paris.
Being able to get the Eurostar directly from London St Pancras also makes Paris such an easy option for a short family city break. We left London on Monday evening, had two nights in Paris and were back in London on Wednesday evening.
If you are planning a similar trip, I would definitely recommend comparing attraction prices and booking the things you really want to do in advance, especially when travelling during the school holidays.
If any of the attractions you want to visit are available through GetYourGuide, download the app and use KIDDOADVENTURES5 when booking. It is a simple way to save a little extra on activities, especially if you are booking several things for the family.
We packed a lot into our two night Paris trip, but it still felt like a really fun little summer adventure rather than trying to cram absolutely everything Paris has to offer into one visit. There is still plenty we haven’t done, which just gives us an excuse to go back!
