If you had 2 weeks for London and Paris

[flygirl]

Would you add in going to a third city or just strictly go to London and Paris?

[erbear]

We just did two weeks in London and Paris (with kids). We flew into London, did 3 nights there, train to Paris, 4 nights there, train to Provence for 2 nights, then back to London for 2 nights. I wish I had had another night in Paris, but generally the plan was good. I would not add a long trip or a major city.

[tvlmm]

When we went to France a few years ago over spring break, we did Paris, Burgundy and the French Alps (Chamonix) over a total of just over a week. Kids were in ES at that time. If you PM me your email, I'll be happy to share my trip report.
Safe travels!

[DarcyLongfellow]

We just did a very similar trip!

I wouldn't try to do 3 major cities in 2 weeks, but I think 2 weeks is enough time for London and Paris plus something else. We did London and Paris, then I wanted to add something else without having another huge city, so we spent some time in the English countryside.

We flew into London then immediately went out into the Cotswolds (we hired a car to drive us). We spent 4 nights there exploring the quaint little villages (and seeing Stonehenge and Warwick Castle). We then traveled to London (via train) and spent 5 nights there. Then we took the Eurostar to Paris, spent 4 nights there, then flew home from Paris.

I love the idea of Provence.

Another option would be to give yourself a full week in each city, but plan for several day trips. From London you could do Stonehenge, Windsor, Cambridge, Oxford, possibly even Bath. From Paris, Versailles and Giverny.

[wise_rita]

Aug 14, 2022 0:16:57 GMT -5 DarcyLongfellow said:

Another option would be to give yourself a full week in each city, but plan for several day trips. From London you could do Stonehenge, Windsor, Cambridge, Oxford, possibly even Bath. From Paris, Versailles and Giverny.

This is the type of thing I'd do, and give yourself a bit of breathing time in both cities so you're not go go go 24/7.  

Also if at all possible fly into one city and out the other, to save on backtracking.

Technically you could add another city if you really wanted to, but it would negatively impact your day tripping.

[mrsukyankee]

As a Londoner, you can definitely fill up a week with activities. If I were to do a day trip, I'd either go to Oxford or Bath (you can either take the bus or rail, both are easy). Neither are too far from London and are lovely in different ways.

I could also spend an entire week in Paris, or take some day trips from there, such as Versailles.

Personally, due to jet lag, I'd give 6 days to wherever you fly into, 5 days to the other city, and then figure out either day trips or a small 2-3 day trip to a smaller city/area (such as Cotswolds or York from London or somewhere in Provence from Paris).

[mcsangel2]

The first time I went to Europe with DH, we did this trip. Just Paris and London in about 2 weeks, with day trips (and 2 days/1 night in Bristol to see relatives, they took us to Bath one of those days). Versailles is an easy trip from Paris, like 20 minutes away by train. If I had it to do over again I would not have added a third city, our itinerary was jam packed as it was.

[gardengal]

While you can easily fill a week in London, I strongly believe you haven’t seen or experienced England unless you’ve visited the countryside! As pp mentioned, the Cotswolds are close by & basically exactly as you’ve probably pictured an English village. Super charming, great for rambles followed by pub lunch (the kind where basically everything is from local farms).

Here’s some other options: www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/chocolate-box-villages-within-reach-of-london

[Michelle]

I'm planning a trip to Paris in the spring for a week. There is so much to do and see. I have been there before but the other party with me hasn't, so I will repeat some things. But I also want to catch things I didn't see the first time - Moulin Rouge, Sacre Coeur, the Catacombs, Musee D'Orsay, a trip down the river Seine, and just soaking in some time having tea or coffee at a cafe, having a picnic in a park watching people, etc.

We'll go to either Versaille or Fountainbleu (or both if time allows). And you can take a lot of day trips to the Loire Valley from Paris to see castles. So there's that.

Others have given great ideas for outside London.

[mich1]

I might do 5 days in London, 6 in Paris, then hit Rouen and Giverny (Monet’s home, and inspiration for a lot of his work) as side trips. If anyone has any interest, you can see the WWII places instead.

I have been to Paris 3x and would still go back as there are things I missed.