reignman4

Hi All,
My fiance & I will be traveling to London & Paris for 10 days in October, 2004..We would like to know about the hotel accomodations, sightseeing tours, and any other leisure type activities..We would appreciate all replies...


Thanks

Travelnut

You are requesting an awful lot of information without giving any. Why don't you first try creating an outline of what you'd like to do or see by reading threads on the board, or by using the "Destinations" feature on Fodor's? Many guidebooks offer an itinerary of the high points for 3 days, or 5 days, whatever fits your schedule.

You should offer up info regarding your budget for accomodations, otherwise no one will know whether you want budget lodging or luxury digs.

You can read a library-full of information if you type either "london" or "paris" and click the FIND button.

I'm sure you're very busy with wedding plans, but do a little legwork to help us out, please?

oberost

Check British Airways today! Saw some good airfares there for October.

Travelnut

This should give you a jump-start:

100 great things to do in Paris
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...mp;tid=1277898

helpful hints for France
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34479132

honeymoon in Paris
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34500775
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34482433
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34483790
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34514384
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34428800

"Hotel in London & Paris"
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34513574

Travelnut

and a bit more...

London in 4 Days:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34483678

London in 5 Days:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34480930

London (sights, tours):
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34514614
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34513080

Honeymoon / Hotels in London:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34495744
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34457279
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34434632
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34509600

reignman4

Thanks Travelnut, This gives me a great start and I'll check them out and then post a reply based on the types of activities my fiance and I are interested in...

reignman4

Hi,
This is a preliminary itinerary that my fiance & I have discussed for our honeymoon trip to London & Paris.

10/13- 10/14: Take off on 10/13 and arrive in London 10/14. Explore Westminster Abbey

10/15: Full day Tour of London (91/2 hrs).

10/16- South Hall and do some shopping!!

10/17- Windsor Castle Tour (All day)
10/18 - Oxford and Stratford tour.

10/19 Go to Paris!!- Seine River Illumination tour start at 7:30pm

10/20-Full Day City tour of Paris!!(8 1/2 hrs-

10/21- Versailles Tour (1/2 day- Hang out the rest of the day in Paris!!

10/22- Spend day at the Louvre and enjoy the nearby attractions i.e. cafe, shops, etc.

10/23 Back to London (check schedule for EuroStar)
10/24 Back to U.S.

Thanks and let us know from your experiences..

ilovelabs2003

With only a few days in Paris, I would skip Versailles and do it on your next trip, unless you have been to Paris before and have seen most of the sights. I think spending a half day there would be pushing it, but perhaps the crowds will be less in October.

My hubby and I spent 5 1/2 days in Paris in April and did go to Versailles, and we still did not get to everything in Paris. Remember, you want some DOWN time on your honeymoon as well, especially after all of the stress of wedding planning! Been there!

missypie

You are planning on doing a whole lot. I'd cut out all or all but one of the out of town tours and just concentrate on the cities. If this is a "real" honeymoon (i.e. if the two of you haven't been living together for the last few years), you'll want to allow time for sleeping in after that long romantic dinner and walk along the river, gazing at each other over coffee, or pastries or ice cream, etc, and other activites that I think you either know about or will figure out.

Just FYI, when I was young and deeply in love, I thought the Musee D'Orsay was about the most romantic place we visited...the art was just so darned pretty and the building was just so cool and my sweetie looked so darned attractive looking at the pretty art! Ah, memories!

Also, read up on what shows will be playing in London while you are there. Makes for a great evening activity.

taggie

First of all, whne you arrive you'll be pretty bogged down with jet lag. Doesn't mean you can't do anything that day, but your brains will be kind of foggy and you might not absorb too much info.

Second, that's an awful lot of day tours for such a short visit to London.
The 9.5 hour tour day will be pretty much spent in a coach (bus). Better to maybe only take a half-day city tour and leave time to explore on your own. Or take the hop on/hop off bus instead - it's a great way to get see the main sights and you can get off the tour when you want to stop at something that piques your interest, then rejoin the tour later. I would also nix the Oxford/Stratford tour - save it for another, longer, trip. You will see so much in London that you will regret not having a bit more time there. You've no time for the Tower of London, the London Eye, no museums, no palaces, no markets, etc etc.
Same with Paris - for such a short visit you might want to nix the jaunt to Versailles. It's worth seeing but I'd only do it if I had more time to spend in Paris itself.
Everytime I go to either of these cities I leave with regret that I didn't have more time.

ira

Hi reign

I also suggest leaving Versailles and Oxford/Stratford for another visit.

I don't think that you need an all day tour of Paris. Have you considered the hop on/off Batobus?
www.batobus.com

I think that you might like the Musee d'Orsay more than the Louvre.

elaine

Hi
The day you travel between the cities will essentially be lost to sightseeing, so you will really have 4 days in each place, or maybe 5 in one place, don't know if you are counting your arrival and departure days.

Info on your budget for hotels and restaurants would be helpful, as mentioned.

I have files on the two cities; if you'd like to see them, email me at
[email protected]

I don't know if this is one of the discussion threads that has been provided above, but else to do a search on the name ben haines. He is a Londoner and has made wonderful suggestions in the past to first-time visitors.

I recommend the Streetwise maps for London and for Paris, they show almost everything the first-time visitor needs to find, and they are pocket-sized and waterproof. Speaking of which, do pack jackets, waterproof footwear, and umbrellas, you are going to two cities known for their fickle weather. October can be lovely, but some rain is likely.

ilovelabs2003

I agree with Missypie. You are planning too much.

BTW, Missypie, I lived with my husband for two years before we got married and we had a "real" honeymoon doing many of the things you described! I think that those things can be done after living together for 25 years, married or not!

reignman4

Hi All,
Thanks for all the suggestions about limited the number of tours and activities for the trip to London & Paris..That's very true since we want this to be a relaxing trip after all..

I needed to know about the food & restaurants. My fiance & I are not vegetarian so we're open to anything..

Also, needed some help on hotels as the ones our travel agent suggested us has not gotten good reviews...

Anything that's not too high like "Superior First Class" nor "Moderate"

Thanks again..

SusanP

reignman4, People can help a lot more with hotel suggestions if we know how much you want to spend. Same goes for restaurants, how much do you want to spend for an average dinner? Do you want a big splurge one night? (Most high-end restaurants need to be reserved way ahead. For example, it's most likely already too late to get a reservation at the Jules Verne in the Eiffel Tower.) The more info you give us, the more we can help!

As far as sightseeing, I recommend that you make a list of the things you most want to see in each city. Then look at a map of each city and group them according to location so you can do things that are close together in the same day. You don't want to spend a lot of time backtracking across the city. Hope this helps.