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.

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.

London and Paris are so crowded, why would you visit in the summer? This summer is going to be especially bad. Do yourself a favor and focus on less visited locations. Plus 10 days is not really enough to do those two cities justice.

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.

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.

OMG no, do not take a stroller for a 5yo! Start going on a family walk after dinner and get her used to walking a bit. Then, do your touristing on the kid's pace, not yours.

Watch the news out of the UK, there are many strikes in the works. Airports, rail, Underground

Anonymous wrote:Why wouldn't you bring the stroller if you can? But would your 5 year old get in one?

Another option is to bring a foldable scooter.

Maybe we will take an umbrella stroller. I will have to buy one specific for this trip. I might have one somewhere in the garage but it doesn’t have a strap.

When my older kids were younger, we went to Italy. We brought an umbrella stroller for our 4yo. I remember the 6yo crying about being tired. He preferred to stay back at the hotel vs walking out to go to a bakery. My oldest (then 6) is the least complaining kid and my youngest (just turned 5yo) is the biggest complainer and she is not used to walking anywhere.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did London and Paris in 2019 with our then 8, 8, 6, and 1.5 year olds.

Our kids' favorite things in London were: Tower of London British Museum, St. James Park and the playground there, Convent Garden, Leicester Square and the huge lego store.

They weren't crazy about Westminster Abbey and got scared of the idea of all the dead people there.

Highlights in Paris were the Eiffel Tower, Louvre to see the Mona Lisa, and the trampolines in Le Jardin Tuileries. We also went to Disneyland Paris for 3 days after, which was fun.

In London, we stayed at Citadines Trafalgar Square. In Paris, we stayed at Aparthotel Adagio Paris Centre Eiffel Tower.

https://www.discoverasr.com/en/citadines/united-kingdom/citadines-trafalgar-square-london

https://www.adagio-city.com/gb/hotel-6790-aparthotel-adagio-paris-centre-tour-eiffel/index.shtml

The views from our room to the Eiffel Tower, especially all lit up at night, were amazing.

Did you think Disneyland Paris was worth it?

Trying to decide if we should stay by the Eiffel Tower Vendome or Arc de Triomphe.

Most hotels seem to have only one bed. I need a hotel with a king and 2 queens/twins. It seems like no hotels in Paris have 2 queens.

The Paris hotel that I posted above has an apartment for 6 that would fit your family. I also saw this posted in another travel group, and while it's a far cry from the $2,000/night hotels, my kids would think sleeping in the bunk bed pod things was amazing.

I just looked and the bigger apartment is unavailable for our dates.

I booked 2 rooms near arc de triomphe as a back up. I expect both or one room to be upgraded to a suite but it is still only one bed per room/suite. I would book another room but he won’t be able to stay in a room alone.

I can’t seem to find a better option.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did London and Paris in 2019 with our then 8, 8, 6, and 1.5 year olds.

Our kids' favorite things in London were: Tower of London British Museum, St. James Park and the playground there, Convent Garden, Leicester Square and the huge lego store.

They weren't crazy about Westminster Abbey and got scared of the idea of all the dead people there.

Highlights in Paris were the Eiffel Tower, Louvre to see the Mona Lisa, and the trampolines in Le Jardin Tuileries. We also went to Disneyland Paris for 3 days after, which was fun.

In London, we stayed at Citadines Trafalgar Square. In Paris, we stayed at Aparthotel Adagio Paris Centre Eiffel Tower.

https://www.discoverasr.com/en/citadines/united-kingdom/citadines-trafalgar-square-london

https://www.adagio-city.com/gb/hotel-6790-aparthotel-adagio-paris-centre-tour-eiffel/index.shtml

The views from our room to the Eiffel Tower, especially all lit up at night, were amazing.

Did you think Disneyland Paris was worth it?

Trying to decide if we should stay by the Eiffel Tower Vendome or Arc de Triomphe.

Most hotels seem to have only one bed. I need a hotel with a king and 2 queens/twins. It seems like no hotels in Paris have 2 queens.

The Paris hotel that I posted above has an apartment for 6 that would fit your family. I also saw this posted in another travel group, and while it's a far cry from the $2,000/night hotels, my kids would think sleeping in the bunk bed pod things was amazing.

And, Disneyland was fun and worth it for a one-time visit with small kids. I wouldn't sub it for a regular WDW visit. The only thing we disliked as the food. It was SO expensive (like way more than food in Paris or at other Disney parks) in the parks and pretty limited. The parks were undergoing construction when we went and some food places were closed so it might be better now. My kids basically lived off ice cream for the time we were there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did London and Paris in 2019 with our then 8, 8, 6, and 1.5 year olds.

Our kids' favorite things in London were: Tower of London British Museum, St. James Park and the playground there, Convent Garden, Leicester Square and the huge lego store.

They weren't crazy about Westminster Abbey and got scared of the idea of all the dead people there.

Highlights in Paris were the Eiffel Tower, Louvre to see the Mona Lisa, and the trampolines in Le Jardin Tuileries. We also went to Disneyland Paris for 3 days after, which was fun.

In London, we stayed at Citadines Trafalgar Square. In Paris, we stayed at Aparthotel Adagio Paris Centre Eiffel Tower.

https://www.discoverasr.com/en/citadines/united-kingdom/citadines-trafalgar-square-london

https://www.adagio-city.com/gb/hotel-6790-aparthotel-adagio-paris-centre-tour-eiffel/index.shtml

The views from our room to the Eiffel Tower, especially all lit up at night, were amazing.

Did you think Disneyland Paris was worth it?

Trying to decide if we should stay by the Eiffel Tower Vendome or Arc de Triomphe.

Most hotels seem to have only one bed. I need a hotel with a king and 2 queens/twins. It seems like no hotels in Paris have 2 queens.

The Paris hotel that I posted above has an apartment for 6 that would fit your family. I also saw this posted in another travel group, and while it's a far cry from the $2,000/night hotels, my kids would think sleeping in the bunk bed pod things was amazing.

Anonymous wrote:Try Paris Perfect for apartments: https://www.parisperfect.com

Paris Perfect once rented an apt to both us and someone else and told us we were out of luck with no help or compensation

Try Paris Perfect for apartments: https://www.parisperfect.com

In Europe with young kids, we were much happier in apartments. Spent 2 weeks in London in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment in Kensington. The alternative was often adjacent (NOT connected) rooms; with young kids like yours, you would need to split up the adults at night. However, we booked well in advance to get Parisian style hotels with charm that wouldn't break the budget.