Paris & London

DH and I are doing our first Eurotrip in May! The plane tickets to Paris are booked and that's it so far... We figure we have plenty of time to book everything else, but we cemented the trip by booking the plane tickets to Paris. We are going for DH's 30th birthday - no kids but hopefully soon, so we figure it's the perfect time to go before we start a family.

We were thinking 3 days in Paris, 4 days in London and possibly 2 days in Dublin if we can swing it. For those of you who have been to any of these places, do you have any recommendations (hotels, restaurants, tours, etc) or advice of what to do/what not to do? We are still in the very early stages of planning obviously, but an old friend of mine went to Paris last week and it got me excited to start planning!

Thank you in advance!

Paris & London

I've been to London and Paris twice. Both times in Paris were only day trips, but the Palace of Versailles was amazing. Notre Dame was beautiful too. Loved the Louvre too.
London is my favorite city! Tower of London, Buckingham Palace (changing of the guards), museums, bus tour (you can get on and off at a lot of stops). I did a day trip tour out to Stonehenge and Bath also.

Message edited 10/19/2015 8:24:51 AM.

Re: Paris & London

3 different cities seems aggressive for that short time. I'd just do 2. There's a lot of lost time with traveling, checking in etc. but I'm biased as I love Paris. London awesome too

Paris:
Check out museum pass. Saved us a ton of money.

Research days museums and monuments are open and hours. Most have one night they are open late. Take advantage to minimize crowds. Most are closed on random days so look this up to plan ahead.

Subway super easy and goes everywhere. Take advantage

Book Eiffel Tower in advance, even a day before. Saved a ton of wait time.

We loved buying wine and drinking it sitting by seine. No open container laws.

Boat cruise of seine really nice at night.

Bertillon ice cream on Ile de la cite

Eric keyser croissants

Picnic in jardin de Tuileries!!!

Just walk around and eat and drink wine. Crepes are amazing. So are the pastries, lauderee macroons, and a million other things.

We woke up early each day and hit first attraction at opening time. Saved a ton of wait time this way. Did 1 or 2 sights. (I.e. Norte dame first, then concierge, since they are close) Then a nice lunch with wine and either 1 more thing or straight to hotel for a nap/rest. Then did one more attraction, taking advantage of evening museum hours, bottle of wine watching sunset and then dinner and sometimes a bar. Was best time of my life! I'm so jealous!!

Re: Paris & London

I will post my London intinerary on Tuesday when I get to work.

Nevermind! got the itin

Fri
-Arrive LHR 8:35 AM
-Check in to South Place Hotel
-Brunch at Duck & Waffle
-30 St Mary Axe (aka The Gherkin)
-Tower of London (9am - 4:30 pm. £22.00)
**Avoid the crowds, start with the jewels then walk the opposite way around**
-Tower Bridge (09:30 – 5pm. £9)
-Lunch at Borough Market (12 – 6pm)
**Cross London Br. to Monument Stn, take District (Green) Line to Aldgate East (towards Upminster)**
**Buy 2 “pay as you go” Oyster Cards: (3 days X 6.40 + 5 =) 24.20 – (4 days X 6.40 + 5 = ) 30.60**
-Old Spitalfields Market (10am - 5pm) &/or BOX PARK Shoreditch (11–7pm)
-Dinner: Magdalen (reservations confirmed via Opentable for 9:30pm)
**Northern (Black) Line from Moorgate to London Bridge (towards Morden)**
-After dinner Social Bar for drinks

Sat-
-Bfast at Polo 24 Hour Bar
**Take Circle (Yellow) Line to Westminster (towards Edgware)**
-Westminster Abbey (9:30am - 1:30pm, £18)
-11 Downing Street
-Horse Guards Parade (arrive before 11:AM for changing of guard)
-Elizabeth Tower/Big Ben
-Palace of Westminster/Houses of Parliament
-Lunch option: The Anchor & Hope (12PM - 2.30PM)
-Millenium Bridge
-Tate Modern (if time)
-St Paul’s Cathedral (8:30am- 4pm: £16.50)
**Take Central (Red) Line from St Paul’s to Liverpool St (towards Epping)**
-Dinner: Upstairs At The Ten Bells (reservations confirmed via Opentable for 9:45PM)

Sun -
-Bfast at Brick Lane (9:AM – 5:PM)
**Take Tube/Central (Red) Line to Bond St (towards Ealing Broadway)**
-Check in to Claridge’s
-Marble Arch
-Buckingham Palace
-London Eye (flexi-fast track tickets confirmed)
-Trafalgar Square
-Lunch at J Sheekey Restaurant (12PM - 3.30pm)
-Picadilly Circus
-Dinner Chiltern Firehouse (reservations confirmed via email for 9:PM)

Mon February 16, 2015
-Bfast at Blandford's Café or The Only Running Footman?
-Bakerloo (Brown) Line from Oxford Circus to Paddington (or taxi approx. £10 – £15) xfer to Paddington Rail Station for Heathrow Connect (£10.10) departing every :03 and :33 of every hour.

Message edited 10/18/2015 9:59:29 PM.

Re: Paris & London

Stayed at south place hotel then the last night checked in to claridges (bf had to stay at claridges for work ) both fantastic hotels but for the price, south place is my pick. claridges is super posh though

Re: Paris & London

I would do 4 days in Paris & 3 in London...I feel like there is so much to do & see in Paris. In Paris I stayed at the Mercure Paris Centre Tour Eiffel...great location & I had a beautiful view of the tower. In London I stayed at The Royal Horseguards...also a great location!

Re: Paris & London

Also I did a guided tour of the Eiffel Tower which was awesome because you don't have to wait on any lines. They only had one elevator working when I was there and the line was insane to go up! I also did a guided tour of the Louvre & our guide was so great & knowledgable. And I did a guided tour of the Palace of Versailles which was amazing.

Eta: the hop on hop off bus in both cities was the best way to get around. And I also did a day trip from London to Stonehenge & Bath...I highly recommend that! At that time (2009) they only let you past the ropes at Stonehenge at either sunrise or sunset. We did the sunrise tour & got to touch all the stones & walk around them, very cool!

Message edited 10/19/2015 6:53:31 AM.

Re: Paris & London

Re: Paris & London

thanks! we see and do a lot in a short amount of time! its great!

Re: Paris & London

Thank you SO much everyone! I really appreciate all of your input and help!!

Re: Paris & London

I'd stay longer in Paris, less in London, and keep it to the 2 cities.

Previous posters hit upon the highlights. I just love roaming the streets of Paris. Been there a bunch of times, and don't spend all your time on monuments, etc. But one monument not to miss is St. chapelle. The stained glass upstairs is breathtaking!

I like staying in the area between the Luxembourg gardens and Latin quarter - it's a nice neighborhood and everything is central and walk-able. I also enjoyed staying in the Marais.

Re: Paris & London

I'd leave out Dublin and add more to Paris and London. I only say leave out Dublin because of logistics. I assume you are going to take the train to Paris.

I really liked the Four Seasons in London . I'm sorry I can't suggest anywhere to stay. DH goes to London for work at least once a year (some years it was more) and I always tagged along because of the free hotel. Same thing with Paris.

London Restaurants:
Kennington Tandoori- great Indian food. We go every time we are in London
Borough Market
The Grazing Goat by Marble Arch (great pub food)
Wagamama- I love this place

Paris Restaurants:
Brasserie Thoumieux
Bistro Paul Bert

For a side trip in Paris I'd check out Reims, especially if you are into champagne.

Re: Paris & London

There is a lot to see in all of these places so you'll have to decide what your priorities are.



I spent an entire day at Versailles, took 3 different tours and loved every second of it. It is outside Paris, a train ride away.

Also walked to the Sacre Cour in Montmartre.
I found the Saint Chapele across the street from Notre Dame even more impressive than Notre Dame! (I have a thing for churches).

The Paris Opera house is also amazing.
The Louvre is huge (i felt like 5 Metropolitan Museums can fit in there) and can take a long time unless you just want to see the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory etc.

I walked up to the top of the Arc de
Triomphe pretty cool.

I've never been to London.

Dublin:
loved it. loved the food and shopping and history.
Kilmainham Gaol is a must.
we missed st. stephen's green but would love to see it
Trinity college: book of Kells
Eat/drink in Temple Bar (neighborhood not a bar)