With a tween and teen girls, shopping in Paris was a priority. We went to a few vintage shops, and Galleries Lafayette, which was a madhouse and I dont recommend it because of that. What we missed, and we really wanted to see, were the paris flea markets, but we were there at Christmas, and there wasn't really a good time to go.

Also, if you dare, do the Catacombs! My family nearly killed me because it is scary and clausterphobic -- but unforgettable!

I just did a redeye to Europe this week. I rarely sleep at all on the plane, but TBH I don't think that first day is so bad. Just have low expectations. Drop your bags at the hotel, go have a good breakfast with coffee, and walk around outside in the morning light. Staying outside and walking helps so much. There are usually several good hours in which you feel pretty good and energized and excited and can see things. For me the crash comes lunch/early afternoon and by then I can usually get into the hotel room soon after and take a nap.

Tower of London can take a whole day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks all, this is great.

And to answer OP. I'm not sure what we are doing about hotel checkin. We plan to go there straight from Heathrow to drop our bags but it will be like 9am so I don't have an expectation of a room for many hours after that.

You may feel pretty bad the first day. I don't sleep on planes and arrive in Europe feeling blah.

Yes, west to east is worse for jet lag.

I take it you're being sarcastic. It has always been the other way for me. All I need is a few hours nap.

We saw a comedy show at The Comedy Store in Trafalgar Square and laughed like we hadn't in a long time. It was on a whim and tickets were cheap - maybe 20 bucks each. I don't know if we lucked out or if the shows there are consistently good.

It sounds like your teen likes amusement parks, there is Parc Asterix. I've never been and it's 40ish mins outside of Paris so it might not be possible but throwing it out there just in case.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd build in more time in gardens/parks. Should be nice weather and lots of daylight in June. Hyde Park/Regents Park/Hampstead Heath in London, Luxembourg Garden, Tuileries, Parc Buttes-Chaumont in Paris. Not all of them, of course, but good to mix in nature, views, etc. Also love the Coulee Verte elevated green walk on the eastern side of Paris.

What areas are you staying in in both cities?

OP here. In London we are staying near Paddington/Edgeware Road tube stop and in Paris we are staying sort of between the Opera metro stop and Montmartre. It was hard to find hotels any closer in our price range.

Where did you book and cost per night? I'm not sure whether to just take a risk and book an airbnb for a week since everything else seems so expensive.