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If you are in London or close by, I highly recommend taking Eurostar (the chunnel) over to Paris. If you’re limited on time, you could even go to Paris the day and return the following morning! It’s approximately a 2.5 hour trip, and leaves from the center of London and arrives in the center of Paris. There are other quick options for the hop across the English channel; hydrofoils, ferrys, and of course planes.

That said, not much can beat the convenience of the Eurostart direct line. Leaving from St Pancras International station at regular intervals, you arrive in Paris Gare du Nord. For those not familiar with Paris, Gare du Nord is approximately 10 minutes drive from the Louvre. You could stop over in Paris, have lunch, see The Mona Lisa, grab dinner, then be back in London the following morning.

Additionally, once you’re in Paris, you can then take trains elsewhere within Europe. I personally have taken a train from London to Paris (Eurostar), then a train from Paris to Rome (overnight 15 hour ride).

It should be noted that travel within Europe is far easier than within the USA. The network of transportation is both more extensive, and cheaper.

If you have any thoughts on train travel in other regions of the world, or comments regarding Eurostar, head on over to the forums to let us all know about it.