Need help planning our upcoming London/Paris trip

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with others ... hotel rooms are SMALL in both places. An American chain might be a good idea.

Second the parks in London. You can build whole days around them, and we, too, loved the Princess Di park.

There's a nice chain of restaurants in London that isn't too expensive: Giraffe.

The War Museum and the Theatre Museum are great. So many others, too, but those really left an impression.

In Paris, Centre Pompidou is great. I'd do that and the Picasso Museum over the Louvre. A boat ride on the Seine is fun.

Wow. It's like you're ignoring the most culturally important and historic places to visit.

- Parisian.

OK, Parisian, OBVIOUSLY, there are more "culturally important and historic places to visit," but I thought I'd toss her a couple of kid-friendly ideas.

Speaking as someone who was at the Pompidou Center last night, I don’t see this museum as particularly kid-friendly. It’s on par with the other museums, but, I think some of the Louvre collections would interest a child more.

And on the topic of strollers for a 5 year old in Paris—I’d give it a big NOPE. Sidewalks are crowded as all get out, tons of closed sidewalks due to construction, cobbles everywhere, stairs, uneven pavement etc. And whoever suggested giving the kids scooters is clueless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A couple of suggestions -- with the caveat that my accomodations budget is about 1/10th of yours, so our travel styles may be very different.

For a fancy hotel tea, I like Browns -- but the Shangri-La is supposed to have a very nice afternoon tea and presumably the hotel could help you with reservations. For a not-fancy tea with children, the Brigit's Bakery afternoon tea bus might be more fun. You will need reservations, especially to get on the top deck.

The Museum of London is really good and more specific to where you are than the British Museum (which is fabulous but which is filled with treasures from all over the world). I loved it as a kid.

I took my daughter to Hampton Court when she was 5 or 6 -- they had actors playing characters in the Tudor court, grounded in the history of a specific year (late in Henry VIII's reign) which she found magical. I don't know if that occurs all the time (this visit coincided with the Easter school holiday in the UK) but would be worth looking into. You can take the train to Richmond and then a boat to Hampton Court, or train all the way to Hampton Court.

I know you are set on Stonehenge, so just to share our experience there in the summer of 2019. We went straight from Heathrow, after picking up a rental car. When we arrived, around 9:30 or 10 am, it was pretty manageable -- we didn't feel like we were always on the heels of other people, I have pictures of my daughter without other people in them, and there were moments when you could be awed by the site. By the time we left, sometime after noon, it was a mob scene of tour groups with people ten-deep at the good vantage points. Get there early. I seem to remember a tour service that for $$$ got you in before it opened to the general public. If I had the money, I would use that.

Columbia Road Flower Market combined with a trip to the Hackney City Farm (and a late breakfast or lunch at their cafe) is an excellent Sunday morning.

Finally, on that highly-controversial stroller .... my daughter's first trip was when she was two, and we brought an umbrella stroller. Which is when I realized how few Tube stations are fully accessible. For a five-year-old, it may not be worth the effort.

We are early risers in the US but the with the time change, very doubtful we can get there before opening. I may have to rethink the long drive to stand in a line to wait in a long line to take pictures with a lot of people.

Dh doesn’t want to take the stroller. The last time I went (without kids) was before I had a smart phone and I walked everywhere. I’m assuming we will take cabs or Uber equivalent.

Why would you drive to Stonehenge? Having a car in London is not at all worth the hassle, and the train/bus combo is the same as or faster than driving.

Op here. I didn’t mean drive ourselves. We would get a driver. I looked up some tours and there is no way we are trekking to some bus terminal to get on a bus with other people and wait in line with them and come back. If we go, it will be a private transport.

Ha of course, should have predicted this from someone willing to spend $2k/might on a hotel.room.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, why don't you try using Kid and Coe, which is like an a Air Bnb, but for families? They have nice properties and they vet everyone.

I ended up booking a suite and another room. We are bonvoy platinum so should get upgraded. Hopefully the rooms are connecting or at least adjacent.

I wouldn’t count on it. This summer is very crowded in Europe and we have not been getting any upgrades. You’re lucky if they even have a server at dinner, it’s that bad.

This thread is lowering my expectations a lot. My expectations were already lowered when we recently went to Hawaii. Service was so bad. Our room never got cleaned due to staffing problems and we couldn’t even get through to make meal reservations. We adjusted accordingly. We waited in line or ate whatever was available, not necessarily what we wanted.

Do I need to book museum reservations far in advance? I know we will want to go to Tate modern, louvre and Pompidou.

Looking for a tour for Stonehenge next. I know it won’t be exciting for the kids but I want to go.

It sounds like you’re a terrible planner. We were in Hawaii in Feb and had a wonderful time. I planned meals ahead of time for the most part, and we had excellent service everywhere we went. We are going to Italy in august and I’m planning everything now. Booked hotels and other important things several months ago. Booking museums and tours now. Given the current state of the world you have to adjust your expectations a bit and be prepared to improvise if necessary. Your expectations for having the perfect hotel room in central London or Paris for 5 people in less than a month is unrealistic.

I get not being able to plan trips far out. My husband’s job demands often mean I plan vacation for our family with less than a month, but I also understand that means we pay a premium and often aren’t able to get exactly what we want. When we can plan ahead I do so because I know we will be able to have the experience we really want and won’t have to compromise on things as much. Still, travel (and every experience) is what you make of it, so go in with reasonable expectations and some grace for the people in service industries and tourism that are struggling right now.

I am sure your trip in February must have been lovely. We went during winter break and the hotels were struggling. We weren’t even sure if we were going to go to Hawaii until 2-3 weeks prior. Everything I booked was refundable. This was when tons of flights were being cancelled due to Covid and staff shortages.

Maybe most of your trips suck because you wait til 2 -4 weeks out to book stuff at incredibly popular tourist destinations and then have thrown together itineraries with whatever accommodations are left at that point. Just an idea. Money clearly isn’t an object, why don’t you hire a travel agent? You have money but no travel sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, why don't you try using Kid and Coe, which is like an a Air Bnb, but for families? They have nice properties and they vet everyone.

I ended up booking a suite and another room. We are bonvoy platinum so should get upgraded. Hopefully the rooms are connecting or at least adjacent.

I wouldn’t count on it. This summer is very crowded in Europe and we have not been getting any upgrades. You’re lucky if they even have a server at dinner, it’s that bad.

This thread is lowering my expectations a lot. My expectations were already lowered when we recently went to Hawaii. Service was so bad. Our room never got cleaned due to staffing problems and we couldn’t even get through to make meal reservations. We adjusted accordingly. We waited in line or ate whatever was available, not necessarily what we wanted.

Do I need to book museum reservations far in advance? I know we will want to go to Tate modern, louvre and Pompidou.

Looking for a tour for Stonehenge next. I know it won’t be exciting for the kids but I want to go.

It sounds like you’re a terrible planner. We were in Hawaii in Feb and had a wonderful time. I planned meals ahead of time for the most part, and we had excellent service everywhere we went. We are going to Italy in august and I’m planning everything now. Booked hotels and other important things several months ago. Booking museums and tours now. Given the current state of the world you have to adjust your expectations a bit and be prepared to improvise if necessary. Your expectations for having the perfect hotel room in central London or Paris for 5 people in less than a month is unrealistic.

I get not being able to plan trips far out. My husband’s job demands often mean I plan vacation for our family with less than a month, but I also understand that means we pay a premium and often aren’t able to get exactly what we want. When we can plan ahead I do so because I know we will be able to have the experience we really want and won’t have to compromise on things as much. Still, travel (and every experience) is what you make of it, so go in with reasonable expectations and some grace for the people in service industries and tourism that are struggling right now.

I am sure your trip in February must have been lovely. We went during winter break and the hotels were struggling. We weren’t even sure if we were going to go to Hawaii until 2-3 weeks prior. Everything I booked was refundable. This was when tons of flights were being cancelled due to Covid and staff shortages.

Maybe most of your trips suck because you wait til 2 -4 weeks out to book stuff at incredibly popular tourist destinations and then have thrown together itineraries with whatever accommodations are left at that point. Just an idea. Money clearly isn’t an object, why don’t you hire a travel agent? You have money but no travel sense.

I’m not sure why you think most of our trips suck. We travel frequently. I have been on several trips since that Hawaii trip.

We have flights, hotel, train and Wimbledon tickets. I have a rough itinerary. If we don’t make it to an attraction, no big deal.

It is not that we are poor planners. We are frequent travelers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with others ... hotel rooms are SMALL in both places. An American chain might be a good idea.

Second the parks in London. You can build whole days around them, and we, too, loved the Princess Di park.

There's a nice chain of restaurants in London that isn't too expensive: Giraffe.

The War Museum and the Theatre Museum are great. So many others, too, but those really left an impression.

In Paris, Centre Pompidou is great. I'd do that and the Picasso Museum over the Louvre. A boat ride on the Seine is fun.

Wow. It's like you're ignoring the most culturally important and historic places to visit.

- Parisian.

OK, Parisian, OBVIOUSLY, there are more "culturally important and historic places to visit," but I thought I'd toss her a couple of kid-friendly ideas.

Speaking as someone who was at the Pompidou Center last night, I don’t see this museum as particularly kid-friendly. It’s on par with the other museums, but, I think some of the Louvre collections would interest a child more.

And on the topic of strollers for a 5 year old in Paris—I’d give it a big NOPE. Sidewalks are crowded as all get out, tons of closed sidewalks due to construction, cobbles everywhere, stairs, uneven pavement etc. And whoever suggested giving the kids scooters is clueless.

We will definitely go to the Louvre. Tate Modern and Pompidou will be maybes if we feel like it. The last time we were in NYC a few months ago, we walked right by MOMA and Dh didn’t feel like going in. We skipped and went to dinner instead. I think we bought wicked tickets a few hours prior to the show.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like you'd like the Sloane St. area near Harrods, Hyde Park, the palace, etc. Very walkable. Doable on your budget.

I’m about to book my flights to Paris from London.

I remember liking the Harrods area.

A double dose of misery - CDG and LHR. CDG is on strike and LHR lost my husband's luggage as usual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are in a completely different financial stratosphere from my family. However, when my kids were that age they liked

1) The day we took a boat ride up the Thames to Greenwich. We hiked up the hill to the National Observatory and stood in two different hemispheres (arbitrary I know, but my kids loved it). Then we had a great Pub lunch and took the Tube back. The hop on hop off buses include the boat ride if you take it within 24 hours of activating your ticket. So, you can start the Hop on Hop off the day before just after the first boat leaves in the morning. Then you are within the 24 hours of the ticket activation.

2) They liked the British Museum - we hit the big ones. I found a children’s activity to do that was a kind of scavenger hunt. I think it was associated with the museum.

3) Trip to Legoland one day was great. They age out at 12 there, so it works for younger kids. Unexpected bit hit in the park was the walk through the lego miniature cities of Europe..

4) Victoria and Albert was a dud for them, they much preferred the children’s science museum down the street.

5) we stayed near Kings Cross and it is a bus depot too. So everyday my 10 year old would figure out a way back on the buses. We would sit upstairs in the front as most Londoners were not there for the scenery. It was a great way to see the city. We had Oyster passes and would Tube to wherever we were going that day and bus back.

6) London Walks has great walking tours if your children are up for it. my kids enjoyed the Shakespeare one.

Paris- I think they liked walking around Paris and eating the most. We took the boat ride during the day one day and and night another.

The Chunnel train was fun and was like a day off.

Be ready for a down day or two. When everything just isn’t working don’t push it. We ended up picnicking in the park nearish the Eiffel tower on that day. Have a list of things to do, but don’t be wedded to it.

Some great suggestions here. We stayed at the Millineum hotel beside Chelsea football stadium which has bigger rooms and a great breakfast, and we used Oyster cards to ride around on the top level of the red buses. The route from Kings Rd or Fulham Broadway to downtown goes past many of London's highlights. Fulham Broadway has lots of restaurants for evening meals.

Check out some of the parks - Regent's Park, Hyde Park, Green Park etc - your kids might enjoy watching the ducks and having an ice cream more than seeing famous sights. Walking along some of the canals and popping into a pub for lunch is also fun.

River boat cruises are also a great way to see the sights while giving your legs a rest.

If they want to see a castle, Windsor is impressive with shops and restaurants just across the road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with others ... hotel rooms are SMALL in both places. An American chain might be a good idea.

Second the parks in London. You can build whole days around them, and we, too, loved the Princess Di park.

There's a nice chain of restaurants in London that isn't too expensive: Giraffe.

The War Museum and the Theatre Museum are great. So many others, too, but those really left an impression.

In Paris, Centre Pompidou is great. I'd do that and the Picasso Museum over the Louvre. A boat ride on the Seine is fun.

Wow. It's like you're ignoring the most culturally important and historic places to visit.

There are crowds to see the Mona Lisa and other key pieces - I think the bus tours are pushing their people through to see these. We found ourselves amost alone in the Greek and Roman sculptures area, which was nicer.


- Parisian.

OK, Parisian, OBVIOUSLY, there are more "culturally important and historic places to visit," but I thought I'd toss her a couple of kid-friendly ideas.

Speaking as someone who was at the Pompidou Center last night, I don’t see this museum as particularly kid-friendly. It’s on par with the other museums, but, I think some of the Louvre collections would interest a child more.

And on the topic of strollers for a 5 year old in Paris—I’d give it a big NOPE. Sidewalks are crowded as all get out, tons of closed sidewalks due to construction, cobbles everywhere, stairs, uneven pavement etc. And whoever suggested giving the kids scooters is clueless.

We will definitely go to the Louvre. Tate Modern and Pompidou will be maybes if we feel like it. The last time we were in NYC a few months ago, we walked right by MOMA and Dh didn’t feel like going in. We skipped and went to dinner instead. I think we bought wicked tickets a few hours prior to the show.

We took our kids to the Prado in Madrid, and one thing we did was challenge them to find the animals in paintings. That made it more fun. See if the museums have some kind of kiddie treasure hunt handouts or downloadable audio tours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, why don't you try using Kid and Coe, which is like an a Air Bnb, but for families? They have nice properties and they vet everyone.

I ended up booking a suite and another room. We are bonvoy platinum so should get upgraded. Hopefully the rooms are connecting or at least adjacent.

I wouldn’t count on it. This summer is very crowded in Europe and we have not been getting any upgrades. You’re lucky if they even have a server at dinner, it’s that bad.

This thread is lowering my expectations a lot. My expectations were already lowered when we recently went to Hawaii. Service was so bad. Our room never got cleaned due to staffing problems and we couldn’t even get through to make meal reservations. We adjusted accordingly. We waited in line or ate whatever was available, not necessarily what we wanted.

Do I need to book museum reservations far in advance? I know we will want to go to Tate modern, louvre and Pompidou.

Looking for a tour for Stonehenge next. I know it won’t be exciting for the kids but I want to go.

It sounds like you’re a terrible planner. We were in Hawaii in Feb and had a wonderful time. I planned meals ahead of time for the most part, and we had excellent service everywhere we went. We are going to Italy in august and I’m planning everything now. Booked hotels and other important things several months ago. Booking museums and tours now. Given the current state of the world you have to adjust your expectations a bit and be prepared to improvise if necessary. Your expectations for having the perfect hotel room in central London or Paris for 5 people in less than a month is unrealistic.

I get not being able to plan trips far out. My husband’s job demands often mean I plan vacation for our family with less than a month, but I also understand that means we pay a premium and often aren’t able to get exactly what we want. When we can plan ahead I do so because I know we will be able to have the experience we really want and won’t have to compromise on things as much. Still, travel (and every experience) is what you make of it, so go in with reasonable expectations and some grace for the people in service industries and tourism that are struggling right now.

Italy in August will be a total $hit$how.

How kind. I don’t expect it will be a $hit$how at all, but again, I’m planning carefully and know that we will enjoy delicious food and beautiful sites regardless!

My parents traveled with a couple who had prepared a detailed itinerary for every hour of the whole trip. The wife broke her ankle the first morning... Bye bye

I agree it's good to have accommodation organized for peak times, but leave some flexibility. You may have booked the best restaurants but feel stuffed full after a few days, and just want some fresh fruit and bread by the river at some point. Do you not ever ask the family 'What does anyone feel like? Pasta or bbq or seafood?' The most fun I had at restaurant in Rome was a local place with no menu where everyone sat at a long table and shuffled along as diners finished. We had a long conversation with an Italian elderly couple, even though we don't speak Italian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Londoner again! Definitely don't do Stonehenge or Wimbledon during 5 days in London. That is ridiculous.

I agree and I would definitely not skip the British Museum.

When we went, the British museum downstairs was crowded with bus tours. Room 1 was fun though - like an old fashioned museum with a replica of the rosetta stoone that you can touch. Upstairs, the Sutton Hoo gold was fascinating. Watch the movie "The Dig" before you go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like you'd like the Sloane St. area near Harrods, Hyde Park, the palace, etc. Very walkable. Doable on your budget.

I’m about to book my flights to Paris from London.

I remember liking the Harrods area.

A double dose of misery - CDG and LHR. CDG is on strike and LHR lost my husband's luggage as usual.

Yeah, not to mention they are a HIKE from city center.

[Anonymous]

Hotel Raphael in Paris has very large rooms very near the Arc de Triomphe.

[Anonymous]

Paris:
Eiffel Tower
Louvre
Versailles
Arc de Triomphe
Jardin des Tuileries
Sacre Coeur if we can
Shopping and pastries

Is there anything else we must see or do?

I would definitely do a Seine River cruise with the kids. Also, hot chocolate at Angelina’s (even in summer - go for breakfast or lunch, but you need a reservation). Ferris wheel at Place de la Concorde.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like you'd like the Sloane St. area near Harrods, Hyde Park, the palace, etc. Very walkable. Doable on your budget.

I’m about to book my flights to Paris from London.

I remember liking the Harrods area.

A double dose of misery - CDG and LHR. CDG is on strike and LHR lost my husband's luggage as usual.

Yeah, not to mention they are a HIKE from city center.

I don't get it- if you want to go to London or Paris what are your other options? Fly to Amsterdam and then transfer to a short flight to London City? That seems to be not worth it compared to a nonstop to Heathrow. And both have reasonable train access into the city- LHR will be much better in the fall when the Elizabeth line is fully connected and you can ride it into central London without changing trains.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like you'd like the Sloane St. area near Harrods, Hyde Park, the palace, etc. Very walkable. Doable on your budget.

I’m about to book my flights to Paris from London.

I remember liking the Harrods area.

A double dose of misery - CDG and LHR. CDG is on strike and LHR lost my husband's luggage as usual.

Yeah, not to mention they are a HIKE from city center.

I don't get it- if you want to go to London or Paris what are your other options? Fly to Amsterdam and then transfer to a short flight to London City? That seems to be not worth it compared to a nonstop to Heathrow. And both have reasonable train access into the city- LHR will be much better in the fall when the Elizabeth line is fully connected and you can ride it into central London without changing trains.

I think everyone knows the reality and we're stuck flying through CDG/LHR. It was more of a general venting.