London and Paris Advice-- and Should We Add Another Place for a 10 Day Trip?

[Dcclerk]

We were planning on doing a stateside, more local summer trip this year, but I picked up an amazing deal round trip to London, so our plans have changed. That said, I am a little more overwhelmed this trip than our most recent international one, and I would love as much help as you all can give. I've got kiddos that span from 10-16, and usually DH and I are inclined to maximize our time on trips-- especially when we are doing city trips. Think very long days and experiencing everything the city has to offer in 3 days kind of people. That said, our kids do not treasure that pace quite as much as we do and they will be going to school right after we get back, so I think we should dial back our usual MO a bit. And, I have one kid that really doesn't care for big cities (like New York-- I do think that Paris and London are different, however). We will have 10 days to work with.

Given that, would you just stay in London and Paris? 5 and 5 days? 3 or 4 days at each and add a smaller town like in Normandy Mt. Saint Michel or the Loire Valley or somewhere else? We will be flying in and out of LHR (and flight back is at 4:15 pm, so we've got a fair amount of time on that travel day, if we need it to get back.) We can't squeeze into just a hotel room, so we will need to get an apartment rental. And, most of them require 3-4-5 days minimum. I figure we can ride the Aerostar pretty easily between Paris and London, but I'm not sure if we should be adding something else in. I'm thinking they may want to get out of city mode, even if I really love both cities. I have one really artsy kiddo, and then several that can realistically only do a few hours of museums at a time. And preferably only a couple days of that.

I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around this trip right now... Any thoughts? I'll take suggestions on itineraries, locations, timetables.... Anything! TIA

[nfceagles]

I’ll come back with more details later but for reference, last August we did an 18 day trip to London, with a “day trip” to Paris that as we planned stretched into a 2 day trip to Paris/Normandy. With travel included it took up 3 days of our trip. We LOVED it.


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[marinkitty]

Have you guys been to London and Paris before? If not, I'd say stick with just those two spots and take it a bit easier. Give yourselves time to wander in the parks, sit and relax at cafes/pubs and soak up the culture or even just have some down time at your lodging. As my kids have transitioned into teens, I've found that a successful trip means less is more, including moving place to place or trying to cram too many full days back to back. Building in some quality down time really makes all the difference in their attitudes and their memories of trips we have taken.

[Philly Mom]

You could always do day trips. For example, Bath is an easy 1.5-2 hour train ride from London. Bath Spa station is right in the middle of the city so easy to just walk everywhere from there. It is a wonderful city to explore. We go yearly but this year my kids LOVED the Roman Baths and the fashion museum. We always love Victoria Park and the crescent for a picnic. If Bath Abbey's renovations are complete, it is a fantastic abbey to explore with the ability to climb to a viewing area. Our kids also enjoy the bus tour in Bath. We have done it a couple of times. Trains are great in the UK. You can also take the train to Oxford, another great place to explore. London is my favorite place to explore and I like to do it like Marinkitty suggested, slowly with lots of stops.

[baymom]

We spent 8 nights and 9 days in Paris last year and didn’t feel like it was too much time. But, my kids love museums, so we loved the luxury of being able to spend leisurely time with the art and just take in the city.

[ged]

I'd stick to the two bases (and consider day trips).

Is your great deal to London still available? I'm just beginning to look around...

[Dcclerk]

Thanks, all! It sounds like dividing up roughly equal in London and Paris makes the most sense with some day trips possibly sprinkled in. While DH and I have been to both, the kids haven't. Bath sounds great, and I suspect they would like the Harry Potter studios, if we have time. Between the Tower of London, a museum or two, the Churchill Warrooms, and a bike tour or so, I suspect that will be enough in London. But, if you have any other suggestions, I am all ears. And, if you have any favorite places to stay or rental places, I would love recommendations. I get a little stressed with the VRBO/AirBNB, and would prefer a rental company, if possible. I was checking out Plum Guide. Has anyone used them? They have great photos, which I appreciate. When we were there last, we stayed at a nice hotel in Knightsbridge, but honestly, I wished I was in an area closer to the action and a little more hip, if you will. I was thinking Chalk Hill Farm or Camden but I am open to recommendations. I'm also trying to figure out if air conditioning in August is a must-do, or if I don't need to bother. (It is pretty hard to find places with aircon and they go up $200 per night, it seems.) It was totally unnecessary when I was there in September, but maybe August will need it. And, I hate to say that I am a pansy and don't sleep well when hot, but... I guess I'm trying to figure out if I should play the odds.

As for Paris, I'm thinking a place near the Louvre/Vendome or Marais/St. Germain would probably be good. I noticed, though, that I could get a great deal on a building near the Eiffel Tower, so maybe that is the way to go. Any thoughts on aircon in Paris? Any preferred vacation rental companies? I'm thinking a river cruise, Louvre, Eiffel Tower, maybe Versallies, maybe a bike tour or segway tour. Anything else?

[Dcclerk]

I'd stick to the two bases (and consider day trips).

Is your great deal to London still available? I'm just beginning to look around...

I don't think my deal is still available. It was a New Years special on Air New Zealand for less than $500pp roundtrip direct. I was shocked that they had it for August. And, I love the Air NZ sky couches in coach, so was totally thrilled. (FYI for those who have never flown ANZ, you can bid on the sky couch or on a seat upgrade within a week of the flight. I've gotten it twice for very reasonable amounts, all things being relative.) I really like ANZ better than our domestic airlines for coach.

[nfceagles]

If your kids have any interest in HP I would definitely do the studio tour. It’s great! You have to book tickets months in advance. I think we got there at 10 and were done around 2. We also saw HP and the Cursed Child and it was AMAZING but $$$$.

IMO Tower of London is the most must do thing in London. And the Tower Bride tour right nearby is excellent too.

We also loved the Churchill War Rooms.

We are big football fans so that was also a big part of our trip. We did a trip to Manchester for a game and museum tour. DH and DS came back by way of Nottingham Forest to catch a game there. And we saw the Tottenham Hotspurs play at Wembley. DH and DS also spent an afternoon one day watching an important game in a pub.

We were there during a heat wave last August. It was brutal being out because nothing was AC’d, not even the British Museum. That was sweltering with the crowds and hard to enjoy even though I’d been so excited for it. Hyde Park was dry and brown and parched. Our hotel was ACd and I can’t imagine not having that. Fortunately the heat wave was only about 3 days of our 18 day trip. We went to the science museum one day just because we found out it had AC. We stayed in a 2 bedroom unit at a Marriott Residence Inn and loved it. It was close to the Earls Court station. Nothing hip about the area but very convenient. Free hot breakfast buffet each morning was great and it was next door to a grocery store. There’s another Residence Inn in the London Bridge area but I don’t know much about it.

I’d prefer a hotel myself. More likely to have AC, free breakfast at some, you can stay for the number of nights you need. And even return for 1 night if needed before catching your flight home. I’m not sure your family size but maybe the Residence Inn’s would fit you.

Maybe a place near Kings Cross/St Pancreas would be good. Can take the Piccadilly from Heathrow there and it’s where you catch the Eurostar. And it’s very convenient for transportation with in London.

We really intended this to be a London trip but brainstorming things to do we had the idea to take the Eurostar to Paris for a day. The DH asked to add Normandy so it grew to 2 nights. I have train buffs in our family so the train ride alone was as exciting as Paris. We left early one morning on the Eurostar, arrived in Paris at 11:30am, took a bus to Tracodero and walked from there to the Eiffel Tower where we had 1:30 reservations. After that we took a bus to Place de la Concorde and meandered from there through the Tuileries to the Louvre. We were too late to get into the Louvre which was fine. We just took it all in and then walked to an Avis where we had rented a car and left Paris by car around 6:30pm. Drove 2.5 hours to Cabourg and stayed in a Hotel Mercure there. It had 3 twins in an upstairs loft in addition to a Queen. In the morning we headed to the furthest Normandy attraction we wanted to see (about an hour further than Cabourg) and worked our way back along the coast toward Cabourg. We did the Utah Beach Landing Museum, then Pointe du Hoc, then Omaha Beach, and finally the American Cemetery. It was an amazing day. Full but not rushed and so moving for all of us. I’d sooner go back to that area than Paris. I think you really need a car out there though. We headed back to our hotel and then went a short drive into Cabourg where we strolled along the beach boardwalk as the sun was setting. We stayed that night in the same hotel and in the morning we drove to Lille instead of Paris to catch the Eurostar back to London. That was a little shorter and easier than driving into Paris. The Avis was right in the train station. I would love to see the Bayeux Tapestry and Mont St Michel but couldn’t justify another day.


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[HannaAddict]

Thanks, all! It sounds like dividing up roughly equal in London and Paris makes the most sense with some day trips possibly sprinkled in. While DH and I have been to both, the kids haven't. Bath sounds great, and I suspect they would like the Harry Potter studios, if we have time. Between the Tower of London, a museum or two, the Churchill Warrooms, and a bike tour or so, I suspect that will be enough in London. But, if you have any other suggestions, I am all ears. And, if you have any favorite places to stay or rental places, I would love recommendations. I get a little stressed with the VRBO/AirBNB, and would prefer a rental company, if possible. I was checking out Plum Guide. Has anyone used them? They have great photos, which I appreciate. When we were there last, we stayed at a nice hotel in Knightsbridge, but honestly, I wished I was in an area closer to the action and a little more hip, if you will. I was thinking Chalk Hill Farm or Camden but I am open to recommendations. I'm also trying to figure out if air conditioning in August is a must-do, or if I don't need to bother. (It is pretty hard to find places with aircon and they go up $200 per night, it seems.) It was totally unnecessary when I was there in September, but maybe August will need it. And, I hate to say that I am a pansy and don't sleep well when hot, but... I guess I'm trying to figure out if I should play the odds.

As for Paris, I'm thinking a place near the Louvre/Vendome or Marais/St. Germain would probably be good. I noticed, though, that I could get a great deal on a building near the Eiffel Tower, so maybe that is the way to go. Any thoughts on aircon in Paris? Any preferred vacation rental companies? I'm thinking a river cruise, Louvre, Eiffel Tower, maybe Versallies, maybe a bike tour or segway tour. Anything else?

I dislike AirBnB and VRBO and strongly prefer a company and rental, not someone’s place they are renting out. (Or a hotel with connecting or adjoining rooms and kids in one). For apartments we have used FriendlyRentals in Italy (Venice and Rome) and Paris and it was recommended by friends who use it at least twice a year. Much better than our Rome Airbnb. We had great luck with them and their apartments (we are a family of 5). We have also used Cheval Suites in London and it was terrific. Different locations in London. We had a two bedroom newly redone apartment in Kensington on an incredible street a block from Natural History Museum. Our British friends suggested them. It isn’t budget lodging but isn’t crazy money either. I think half and half in each city is fine with a trip to Bath and maybe trip to chateaus in the Loire Valley but might need two days to really do it without being stressed. I love driving in France and just once on freeway outside of Paris it is easy and the little villages off the side roads are fun to explore. We did lots of three days in Paris and six days or so exploring by car pre-kids. Now we aren’t quite as nimble.

I got a great deal right after New Years on airfare nonstop to Paris for the end of February for two of us and one stop flights to Africa this summer for all five. It had been sky high the night before so must have been a fare sale.

You will have so much fun!


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