Must see items during super short trip to London and Paris?
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Anonymous
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I have a business trip to London in mid-June. I've never been to Europe before, so I would like to squeeze in as much as humanly possible.
Is this realistic? And what are the top things to see/do (keeping in mind that I won't feel bad if I don't do museums). My work is covering rt airfare and three nights hotel in London. When business ends, I'd like to spend an extra day/night sightseeing in London. Then I'd like to take the Chunnel to Paris and spend two days/nights. Reasonable? What are the top things to see and do in each city? Should I do an organized tour? Fwiw, a friend is planning to join me, and she's never been to London of Paris either. |
Anonymous
| I don't know about London, never been. Two days in Paris is short but still plenty of time to see/do stuff. I'd prioritize, based on your interests. For example if love art, do the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay. If not, don't bother with the lines - if you're in the neighborhood walk by to say you saw it but don't bother going in. What are you most interested in? History? Art? Food? Culture? That would help us help you prioritize. |
Anonymous
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London:
-visit Westminster Abbey, walk by Big Ben/Parliament afterward -visit the Tower of London -see Piccadilly Circus -ride the London Eye -if you still have time, visit the National Portrait Gallery, which is near Trafalgar Square Probably can't do all that in one day, but adjust according to your interests. Enjoy! London is my favorite city. |
Anonymous
I agree with the above list. Top two visits would be Tower of London and Westminster Abbey. The Crown Jewels are at the Tower of London as well as the “torture chamber” tour. Very, very interesting. Westminster is simply beautiful. |
Anonymous
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I would add St. Pauls cathedral (which is walkable either to Tower of London or to the Millennium footbridge over the Thames). The London Eye is nice but I don't think it's a must see (if you are ok with stairs, you can get a good view from St. Pauls too).
There are hop on hop off buses (as well as taxis and underground). The nice thing about traveling above ground is that you will get to see lots of the city-- you might drive past Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, and Piccadilly Circus for example and arguably that's all you really need for those. The downside is that traffic can be a pain and it can take a long time to go from one side of the city to another. If you want to do tea, there are lots of options, from tea on a boat that sails the Thames to tea at the Ritz. A decent middle ground is the Orangerie near Kensington Palace. If you have extra time, you could check out the Tate Modern, or try shopping at Harrods (esp. the food court-- you can get a pretty good dinner that way). I would think carefully about trying to add in Paris-- you'll lose a good chunk of one of your days in transit (more obviously if your return flight is from London) and there's plenty to see in London, but that's obviously a personal choice. |
Anonymous
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Thanks! I'm planning to fly into London, Chunnel to Paris, and fly home from Paris. Looks like I can book an early morning Chunnel and get to Paris in 2.5 hours.
The list for London sites looks good. I'll also have nearly a full day in London before my conference, plus evenings free after business. Someone suggested heading to Chelsea...worth it? Maybe one evening after the conference for dinner and walking around? Re: Paris - I figured Versailles and the Eiffel Tower would be the must see items...no? And the louvre? |
Anonymous
Versailles is fantastic, but to do it right it's really a full day trip - you could do it in half a day if you do a quick run through but it's about an hour train ride outside the city, if I remember correctly. I prob wouldn't bother waiting online at the Eiffel Tower to go up, if your time is limited. You can take pictures at the bottom and from all around the surrounding neighborhood. If you're going to wait on a line for something, let it be the Louvre - more to see. I really like Montmartre/Sacre Coeur. And make some time for shopping/sitting in a cafe and watching the world go by. |
Anonymous
| Other thoughts for Paris: Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, and Napoleon's tomb |
Anonymous
| OP, while you do want to make the most of your time, please take some time just to "be in the moment." Just wander around and absorb the atmosphere, etc. |
Anonymous
| Thanks! Honestly, I think we would be fine walking by the Eiffel Tower and finding cute neighborhoods with good shopping and food. Thoughts on that? Suggestions for hotels in Paris? |
Anonymous
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I think Notre Dame is pretty much mandatory Paris sight-seeing. Right across the bridge in back of it is the Isle St. Louis, which is a very small and charming pedestrian-manageable neighborhood with lots of shops--cheese shop, wine shop, pastry shop, and a really great ice cream shop that I can never remember the name of.
If you're in that neighborhood early in the day, you can hit the shops, assemble a picnic, eat it in the park behind Notre Dame, then see the cathedral and move on with your day. If you're there late in the afternoon, you can see the cathedral, then stroll the nearby neighborhood for a restaurant for dinner. A suggestion for both Westminster Abbey and Notre Dame: dress like you're going to church. If you're there during a service, they won't let you in if you're dressed like a tourist, but they'll let you in to go to church. If you're a Christian, or are open to attending Christian services, I think that's a great way to see the church, in use. (The service we attended at Westminster was beautiful. At Notre Dame, we could not get in, no matter our protestations of faith. The guard looked at our backpacks and cameras, and there was no way at all. Admittedly, "dress for church" is in tension with "picnic in the garden," but pick something that will make it work. |
Anonymous
| I haven't been to Versailles, so someone correct me if I'm wrong. But I think it's some distance outside of the city, and when we were there on a similarly short itinerary (London and Paris in 4 days) we decided it wasn't worth the chunk of time to get out there and back. We stayed in the city, did the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, walked the Seine during the day, the Champs Elysee at night, did some shopping, and hung out in cafes. We also checked out a tea shop we'd heard about -- Mariage Freres. It was nice if you're super into tea, otherwise skippable. |
Anonymous
If your timing is right, the steps of Sacre Coeur are a really nice place to watch the sunset. (I don't remember if they actually face the sun, but I mean to watch the sun go down on the city and the lights come on.) Then it should be easy to find a restaurant in the surrounding neighborhood. |
Anonymous
| Just came from Paris. I would get to the museums early, just as they open. That will cut down on time spent waiting in lines. You can walk around the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame at night, it is very pretty then. The Musee De Orsay is great and not that time consuming where the Louvre you can be there all day. Putting in a plug for the modern art musuem - can't remember the name, but it has great views of the city. Also the Gardens of Luxemburg are great for a picnic lunch or they have a cafe onsite. I stayed in the Marais area of the city which is by some very cute boutiques. However, if museums are your priority you may want to stay closer to Notre Dame. I would skip Versaille this trip. |
Anonymous
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I think the modern art museum is the Centre George Pompidou. At least that's one of them. It was pretty cool though I wouldn't put at the tip top of my priority list. But that depends how much you like modern art (and architecture--the building itself is something else).
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