Which European itinerary would you pick?

[SnuggleBuggles]

I want to address up front that our family is a-ok with the whirlwind style trip and we prefer it. I build in down time but multiple stops over 2 weeks is good for us.

Next June

The 2 must have spots are London and Paris- these are not negotiable (seeing a performance in Paris and London is just a requirement). Beyond that, I am trying to decide between:
-exploring Ireland (very vague, I know- lots of research to do!)
or
-head to Brussels and Amsterdam

Lots of world to explore and too many good choices.

[StantonHyde]

We did a week in London and a week in Dublin. That included a side trip to Stonehenge. And from Dublin that included day trips to each of the 3 surrounding counties. We saw a TON of stuff in London so we needed that week. There was no down time except after 5:00 when everything (except the theater) is closed.

London Trip Report
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...eport-1433634/

Dublin Trip Report
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...eport-1435545/

[DualvansMommy]

I’m just back from my 3 weeks trip to Dublin, Cork, Galway and London. It was a lot, and we did a ton.

So I’m tempted to say Ireland cuz I’m biased lol but with only 2 weeks to cover and London do have fair amount of stuff to do that it’s easy to do a week there. I’d do Brussels and Amsterdam cuz it’s easier to get there from Paris than from Dublin which would require a short plane flight.


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[AnnieW625]

I haven’t been to either but subbing into this because we will be in London for a few days so I need as much information as I can get about London and where to stay and what to do. We are for sure going to be there for at 3 days post cruise, and maybe pre cruise depending on cost….our cruise starts in Oslo and ends in London but there are almost no direct flights to Oslo (even from Los Angeles at this point) so I am debating about spending 3-4 days in London prior to going to Oslo two days before the cruise leaves because I know there is more stuff we are going to want to see in London that will take more than 2 to 3 full days.


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[SnuggleBuggles]

I haven’t been to either but subbing into this because we will be in London for a few days so I need as much information as I can get about London and where to stay and what to do. We are for sure going to be there for at 3 days post cruise, and maybe pre cruise depending on cost….our cruise starts in Oslo and ends in London but there are almost no direct flights to Oslo (even from Los Angeles at this point) so I am debating about spending 3-4 days in London prior to going to Oslo two days before the cruise leaves because I know there is more stuff we are going to want to see in London that will take more than 2 to 3 full days.


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If doing London, I highly recommend the WB Harry Potter studio tour outside of London. It’s nothing like an amusement park and even non HP fans would enjoy it because it is a lot about the movie making process. I booked our June tix in February and slots were already gone. So, seriously, you need to book it months in advance.
It was a highlight for us.
We love london and can’t wait to see more. ❤️


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[AnnieW625]

If doing London, I highly recommend the WB Harry Potter studio tour outside of London. It’s nothing like an amusement park and even non HP fans would enjoy it because it is a lot about the movie making process. I booked our June tix in February and slots were already gone. So, seriously, you need to book it months in advance.
It was a highlight for us.
We love london and can’t wait to see more.


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Thanks! It is on our must do list. I think most of my extended family would enjoy it as well (I might be the only one other than my dad, maybe my aunt/uncle, and DD2 who hasn’t read Harry Potter, but I still want to go) but it would probably be a bit much for my grandma, but I have see what my grandma does for post cruise days. Last time we had two 1/2 day tours of Copenhagen through a company and while it was nice and I could see us doing something like that again in London (which is probably needed and I will appreciate not having to plan) I don’t know what is being planned yet. She also mentioned that she/my uncle weren’t planning anything but I will believe that when I see it (she is 94 and still sharp as a tack, but 94 so I have to take that into account). The only things that have she has said we should all see are the Crown Jewels. It is just a year away but I don’t know how long I am going to be able to stall and not plan something so hopefully in couple of months I will be able to know if 3 days prior to Oslo would be doable finance wise as well once airline flights to and from are more accessible.


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[citymama]

You can't go wrong with either! I would recommend Lon-Paris-Amsterdam *at most* if you do the second itinerary. You could really even just do London and Paris and not be bored for a second. You lose a day in travel each way, and a day getting from one city to the other even if it's a short train ride, simply because of time getting to train stations, checking out and in of hotels etc. So that's really just 11 days. You could totally do 5 in London and 6 in Paris, or 4-4-3 if you add AMS. I would skip Brussels.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Thank you for the replies!
I’m leaning to the Amsterdam+ option and just do a total Ireland tour another time.
We did London, Paris, Italy last summer. We took the 8am train from London to Paris and were there with plenty of time for lunch. Thing is, I didn’t really like paris much. I would skip it this time but it’s the one anchor in the trip. Number of days there will be guided by an external itinerary. I would happily just do London for 2 weeks. But, too many places in the world to experience. I’m happy with just getting tastes of places now. This will only be our second European trip in my life so I have a lot more I want to see. I can come back for deep dives another time (hopefully).


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[AnnieW625]

If you didn’t like Paris why go back so soon if there are other places to see like Amsterdam or Ireland or just spend 2 full weeks in England? That is what I would do. Go where you are most drawn to go not where you are expected to go. Are you trying to give Paris a second chance (to figure out if you just missed something that should’ve made you love Paris last summer)?

FWIW I am years away from planning a true one or two destination European vacation due to other priorities like college funding (bad thing about not having high paying jobs and living in a VHCOL area and having kids….all your extra money goes to education) so I am probably not the right person to ask but those are my thoughts.


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[SnuggleBuggles]

We have something we have to do in Paris. hence why I mentioned it was non-negotiable in my OP. I’m happy to have the opportunity to give it another chance too. Who knows? I might grow to like it!


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