Paris & London help please

[clseale]

DH and I have randomly decided to take a Memorial Day trip. We have 10 days (including travel) so we were thinking of flying out on a Saturday and returning on the following Sunday, giving us Memorial day to relax at home before going back to work.

Right now, we're thinking 3 nights in London and 4 in Paris. Neither one of us have been to either city. We're planning to sit down with a AAA travel agent this weekend, but I'm also open to booking it ourselves. Any travel sites you recommend? Are there certain areas of the cities you suggest for hotels? I know we don't have a ton of time in either place, but any day trips you'd suggest? Any must sees?

TIA for your help!

[straymo]

Sounds exactly like the trip my hubby and I want to take. Hoping some experienced travelers will pop in. The only info I've gotten from a friend was that they recommended the Latin Quarter area of Paris to stay. That's as far as I've gotten.

[Deleted]

We stayed at the Renaissance near the Arc d'Triumph 2 years ago and it was beautiful and ideal location for us.

As for London, jus look for deals. I've stayed at about 15 different hotels in London over the years and the only one that really stood out was Browns. The rest were all good. We stayed at the Novotel near Paddington before Christmas. It was cheap 129GBP, but it wasn't nearly as convenient to Paddington Station as we thought. We stayed at the Wyndam Grand London CHelsea Harbour last Christmas and DH got a very good rate and our rooms were huge. Over the summer we stayed at the London Marriott Hotel Regents Park (Swiss Cottage). The location worked well for us because it was fairly close to SIL and it had easy Tube access but I think it was pricier

[mbcdefg]

I've never been to Paris.

We had four nights in London:

Day 1: landed at Heathrow, took Heathrow Express train to Paddington Station, walked a few minutes to London Hilton Metropole Hotel, had to wait a while to check in. Walked to tourism office to get the London Pass. Dinner in King's Head Pub on Stafford Street.

Day 2: all-day bus tour to Windsor, Bath, and Stonehenge. Bus did pickup and dropoff at our hotel: www.evanevanstours.co.uk/

Day 3: went across the street to the Edgware Road subway station, took Tube to Westminster, got off directly under Big Ben. Looked at Parliament and toured Westminster Abbey, Churchill War Rooms. Walked to Kensington Palace and had a tea lunch at The Orangery. Took the Tube to St. John's Wood station and walked up the hill to see Abbey Road. Dinner was takeaway fish and chips from Seashell Restaurant near our hotel.

Day 4: took the Tube to the Tower of London for the guided tour. Lunch at Wagamama's. Took the Tube to Saint Paul's Cathedral and climbed to the top. Took a guided boat tour up the River Thames (included in London Pass) and got off in Greenwich. Walked up the hill to the Royal Observatory/Prime Meridian. Beers at Meantime Pub on the bottom of the hill. We missed the last guide boat back into London so we caught a commuter clipper ferry.

Day 5: checked out of hotel, walked to Paddington Station, took Heathrow Express back to airport.

If we hadn't done the all-day bus tour, or if we weren't so jet-lagged on Day 1, we would've gone to Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, and Harrod's. I also wish we'd done more research into places to eat.

[ReenaP]

We did a 9 night London/Paris vacation in September. We did the majority of our research on TripAdvisor (especially their forums). Spend some time there and you will get a ton of knowledge.

Versailles is an excellent day trip, but it might be tough to swing since you only have 4 nights in Paris.

For London, I'd go with the double decker buses instead of the Tube to get around. Since you have limited time, a bus tour is a great way to see all the spots.

Have a great time-- it was an amazing trip.

[hz80408]

We went to both for the first time last April. I am a terrible blogger and haven't finished London (some here shineisntalwaysshimmer.blogspot.com/search/label/England), but here are my Paris posts: shineisntalwaysshimmer.blogspot.com/2012/05/paris-day-1.html

Travel: You can take eurostar train from one city to the other in 2.5hrs. However, this doesn't count the time to get from the airport to the train station. It looks like R/T train tickets are a little over $120pp. I would also consider looking at a multi-city/open jaw flight were you fly into one city from the US and out the other city back to US. This would easily give you a half day's more time to sight-see.

In England, we stayed with my sister in a "suburb" of London. In Paris, we rented an apartment (check homeaway.com or vbro.com) which, we felt, gave us more freedom and was a great price considered to several hotels we considered. We stayed in the border of Latin and St Germain Quarter and loved the spot we were in.

Another most, if you're going to go up the Eiffel Tower, make reservations in advance (ideally at least one month before online). When we were there one of the elevator lifts was under maintance and at 9am on a Wednesday in spring (not peak season like Memorial Day), the guard said the wait was already 3 hrs long. We literally walked up to the reservation line, showed our tickets and were on an elevator up within 15 minutes.

For either city, public transportation is so easy that I would recommend staying with in 8blks/0.5mile of a metro train station.

Ditto the above poster on using London's public transit double-decker buses (Not the tour double-deckers) to travel around the city. The bus stops lays out the routes and timing; they were super easy to understand.

eta: Whoops this is long. I'm not a travel expert by any means, but get excited to help those with little experience like myself! Feel free to contact me with any questions (or post and tons of ladies here can help)

[clseale]

Thanks for all of the tips & blog links, ladies! We're definitely getting excited. We've done tons us trip in the U.S, Mexico, random islands etc, but this is our first time in Europe. We figured we'd start with some big attraction cities and then branch out from there in the future when we have even more time to travel.

HZ80408: I was looking at flying into London and out of Paris, so I'm glad to hear that's what you would suggest. We figured we'd spend a bit more on tickets, but it would be worth the convenience! I'll definitely check out your blog.

[marytini]

I have both cities in my blog too. Link in sig.
For London I watched travelzoo for hotel deals then cross referenced them with reviews on trip advisor. We ended up staying south of the river right by city hall and liked the location. Great view of tower bridge and the tower of London was right across the river.

We rented an apt in Paris which was on the edge of the marais, close to the pompidou center and walking distance to the islands. We got the Paris pass for museums.

For the eurostar try to book as far on advance as possible for cheaper fares. I think they only book like 4 months out, so set your alarm on your phone so you don't forget ;-)



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[emilyinchile]

I have London activities here: www.emilyinchile.com/tag/london

With your timing, I wouldn't even consider a day trip from either city. There is a lot to do in both cities, and I would feel rushed and like I'd missed out if I spent a day doing additional travel.

As far as hotels go for London, I would get an idea of what sights you want to see and then look for a decent deal relatively close to those.

[hz80408]

We did a multicity flight for our first trip to Europe and it worked out perfectly! Hopefully the pricing isn't too different. I think it's worth the bit extra

One must see in London that the board rec'd was Borough Street Market; open Th-Sun. It was probably one of my fav things there: www.boroughmarket.org.uk/

[KKD]

I've never been to London, but we spent four days/nights in Paris last February. We booked everything ourselves, primarily using Rick Steves' guidebook.

We stayed at the Hôtel de Lutèce on Île Saint-Louis which we thought was an ideal location. With just four days, Paris itself kept us busy enough that we didn't plan any side trips. We might have considered Versailles but ultimately decided against it since there wouldn't be much to the gardens in February. This was our itinerary:

Day 1: Sainte-Chapelle, Conciergerie, Notre Dame, Archaeological Crypt, the Latin Quarter, and ended with an evening river cruise to get acclimated to the rest of the city.

Day 2: Louvre, Jardin des Tuileries, Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and Place Vendôme.

Day 3: Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Orsay, Rodin, Les Invalides/Army Museum, Tour Eiffel.

Day 4: Sacré-Coeur and Montemarte, Catacombes (which is way on the opposite side of the city but H decided THAT MORNING that he wanted to see it), Jardin du Luxembourg and Musée du Luxembourg (only because it happened to have a Cézanne exhibit at the time).

We walked everywhere, except we took the Metro back from Tour Eiffel (only because it was late and freezing) and also to Montemarte and then to the Catacombes.

I recommend getting a Paris Museum Pass which allows you to skip a lot of the lines at the major sites, which will be especially useful in May since it's a busier time of year. We bought ours at the tabac across the street from Sainte-Chappelle.

en.parismuseumpass.com/

Enjoy it!

[kcbmarek]

This is such great info as DH and I are planning on doing a London / Paris trip in 2014.

[clseale]

You guys are awesome! Thank you so much for all of the great info!

[Deleted]

In Paris we stayed here and loved it www.ares-paris-hotel.com/?ald=1_EN_P_hotel+ares+paris

I brought with me this Frommer's guide, which I found immensely useful. The walks are so well thought out, we were able to complete 3 each day and saw a whole lot the 4 days we spent there. www.amazon.com/Frommers-24-Great-Walks-Paris/dp/0470228970

On our next trip we'll make sure we visit the Père Lachaise cemetery. Last time I was bummed we didn't get to see it.

[marytini]

Jan 7, 2013 15:18:19 GMT -5 hz80408 said:

We did a multicity flight for our first trip to Europe and it worked out perfectly! Hopefully the pricing isn't too different. I think it's worth the bit extra

One must see in London that the board rec'd was Borough Street Market; open Th-Sun. It was probably one of my fav things there: www.boroughmarket.org.uk/

I think you can gain 10 pounds just by smelling all the foods here. I really wish we had gotten a chance to eat there more than once.

[stever]

No advice about where to stay as I lived in London and usually stayed at hostels in Paris, but here'ssome of my recs about what to do -

London - British Museum, Tate Modern, Tower of London, Borough Market, Highgate Cemetary, Carnaby Street for shopping and Liberty while you're there.

Paris - Sacre Coeur, Sainte Chapelle, Louvre, Pompidou, Seine Cruise, shopping at Galleries Lafayette and lunch in the cafeteria while you're there - it has an incredible view.

[anna7602]

I am getting dizzy looking at the number of museums pps have crammed into short visits to Paris. My overall recommendation is to really hone in on what you want to see museum-wise and then leave yourself lots of time to walk and explore and enjoy the city itself.

My favorite walks around Paris include wandering around the Jardin de Luxembourg and the nearby neighborhoods (5th arrondissement on one side and the 6th on the other). I also love walking through the Marais and going all the way up along the Canal St. Martin from there. Montmartre is another fantastic area to explore by foot and the view of the city from Sacre Coeur is phenomenal.

Stop often for pastries. And if there are any restaurants you really have your heart set on, make reservations as far in advance as they will let you.

[dawnyp]

Depending on your budget I would suggest staying near Westminster or Trafalgar Square in London very centrally located to many places and within walking distance to many of the places. Plus there are a number of good places to eat around there. I really enjoy the restaurants on the south bank.

I've stayed at the Best Western Shaftesbury: www.bestwestern.co.uk/hotels/shaftesbury-hotel-london-83788/hotel-info/default.aspx

Doubletree at Westminster:
doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/united-kingdom/doubletree-by-hilton-hotel-london-westminster-LONWMDI/index.html

A bit further away from Westminster requires more tube riding but still a great neighborhood and location.
www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/united-kingdom/hilton-london-metropole-hotel-LONMETW/index.html

[Deleted]

I lived in London for 6mos back in 2003. If you're interested in history, the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey are must-do's. Back then, Westminster had one night a week (Weds, I think) where you could use flash photography for a few hours. The Museum of London is great for getting a sense of the city's history, and shows you some of the archaelogical work going on currently. For art, the National Gallery is lovely, and the British Museum is obvious. Tate Modern can also be interesting (not a big fan of modern myself though). For shopping, Harrods is a lot of fun, especially their food court. I definitely recommend checking out a local market. It would depend on the days you're there, but Spitalfiields was my favorite (up and coming designers for clothing and crafts, plus food), and Notting Hill is a nice section to walk around too (farmers market, antiques). I also enjoyed visiting Covent Garden often. There are a ton of good walking tours too which will give you a lot of info about the city and some insider tips on where to eat/drink. For some quieter walking time, I love (and lived by) Regent's Park, and in May their Queen's rose garden should be coming into lovely bloom.

Just be sure to wear really comfortable shoes and look at the map before deciding to take the Tube, a lot of times you can easily walk past several Tube stations before you'd get there actually using the underground.

If you're thinking of day trips, Bath/Stonehenge could be lovely (though I honestly was not impressed by the pile of rocks in real life). Oxford, Canterbury and Brighton are easy day trips too. If you had a few more days in Britain, I'd definitely recommend Edinburgh, but that's a 4hr train ride north. Have fun!

[klassywithak]

No advice for London, but we stayed in Paris for 5 days. We got a subway/train pass or walked everywhere. We stayed pretty close to the Louvre. I wouldn't recommend our hotel though. Definitely eat at bakeries and the little cafes. We pre-planned the Eiffel Tower (we had dinner there), the river cruise, and a tour of the Louvre.
If you have time, learn some basic phrases in French. My French is awful but people are generally nice if you make an effort to try.
Here's our itinerary:
Day 1: Montmarte and Sacre Coeur
Day 2: Versailles
Day 3: Champs Elysee, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Seine River cruise
Day 4: Versailles again, Notre Dame
Day 5: Louvre

[jobell]

We did 4 nights in Paris in Nov....here was what we did:

Day 1) Notre Dame, Louvre, self-guided walking tour of Marais
Day 2) Musee D'Orsay (LOVED this and spent most of the day there), Eiffel Tower
Day 3) Verssailes, boat tour on Seine
Day 4) walked a LOT - Arc de triomph, Champs Elysee, Paris Opera House, Isle St Louis (for Berthillon ice cream), Latin Quarter, St. Germaine (went to a really cool underground jazz club)

Definitely bring good walking shoes.  The metro is easy to navigate, but the city is so walkable we barely used it.

[shauni27]

We went to Paris for 8 days over the summer, it was great! On our first day there we did a bike tour through Fat Tire Bike Tours (per hz80408 rec) and it was GREAT. Great way to get our feel for the city and see the big things. Then from there we decided what we wanted to do based on that tour. (We did also book eiffel tower reservations ahead of time--the earlier you book the better, I booked a month out and we only had the option to go up at 10 pm.)

We rented a little flat in the Latin Quarter, it was close to Notre Dame and that beautiful area. It was the EASIEST city to get around, everything is so close and well organized. We felt very comfortable traveling around on the trains, and we took the train to the airport as well (which was a bit more of a struggle with luggage).

You will have a great time!

[hz80408]

Yay Shauni! I forgot to check back and see how you liked FT Tour! Glad you dad!

[mrsukyankee]

As everyone else has given you a great deal on what to see, I'll suggest something for food: www.toptable.co.uk. You can get reservations and see reviews for London and Paris restaurants.

[Lisa7]

If you have time for a day trip, I would check out Lyon. The food there is amazing!! It kind of reminded us of Paris but on a smaller scale & not as touristy.

[Deleted]

We were just in London in December, but only for a day. We spent the rest of the time in New Forest, Purbeck, Bath, etc.
We wandered around Westminster, saw Big Ben, watched the Changing of the Guard, stopped by the Sherlock Holmes museum (H is a nerd) and then walked down Oxford to the British Museum. Then we walked by the Tower of London, across Tower Bridge, did the London Dungeons, and then walked from there to the Eye stopping at the Christmas markets there.

The British Museum has some amazing exhibits, but is very large and could take up most of a day, so I would research what you really want to see there if you go there ahead of time.
The London Dungeons museum was hilarious, touristy, and a bit cheesy, but H and I loved it. It was very interactive and did actually provide some historical information.

I wish I could help on where to stay, but we stayed near Heathrow because H had a really early flight back to Shanghai so it didn't make sense to stay far from the airport.

[cupcakes]

You can only get into Westminster (as a tourist) in Aug and into Buckingham Palace when the Queen is away in the summer. Aug/ September. If you know someone who lives in the UK you can ask them to write to their MP to get you into Westminster. History Chick maybe thinking of MP's questions which are on Wed.

I personally prefer Hampton Court Palace to Kensington Palace.

After living in London for 4.5 years I went on the tourist bus/ boat tour when my brother and sister came for the Olympics and I think it is worth it for sure esp for a short visit. Sit on top and try and get one with a live guide. It's cheaper to buy online.

[clseale]

There is so much awesome information in these posts! Thank you all so much!! We're getting ready to head to the bookstore to browse some travel guides. Very excited!!