mamacare

Surprise first trip to London area. Two adults. 5 days six nights in London February- March. Additional 7 days 8 nights outside of London- (Paris or Scotland or Ireland). Must sees if this will be your only trip to Europe? Don't drink alcohol. Enjoy history and stories from the locals. Suggestions?

Things I found interesting in my research:
Ride the train- The “tube”
Tower of London
Buckingham Palace and changing of the guard
National Gallery
British Museum
Globe theater
Warwick castle
Portabello road

Edinburg castle
Cobblestone roads
Ring of Kerry
Queen of Tarts restaurant- scones

halfapair

I can give you some suggestions for London, since you don't seem to know the second part of your trip, exactly (or are you just trying to decide what the second part should be?).

Here goes:
The "ride the tube" part is easy - just use it to get around London when sightseeing.

Since you say you enjoy history and stories from locals you should check out walking tours: http://www.walks.com/

Top sights around London would be:
The Tower of London, be sure to take the Beefeater tour!
http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/

Take a Thames river cruise to Greenwich:
http://www.thames-river-cruises.co.u....aspx?id=23101

The London Eye Ferris Wheel
Trafalgar Square
Buckingham Palace Changing of the Guard & St. James Park
-- combine with the War Rooms & Churchill Museum

mamacare

Just trying to decide what is really possible. Thank you so much! Last night we talked about riding the train to Paris to see the Louve and other things for three of the seven days. Don't really know what is possible within the time limit. Never traveled Europe before.

Bitter

Your list is a good start for London.

Pick up a rick steves book. Often reviled on this forum, but his info is great for first timers and helps make realistic time planning and prioritization.

Additionally, if you search this forum, you'll find plenty of other first timer threads and must sees.

Depending on what you find out, just know that London is a bit overwhelming, exhausting and expensive. Folks here will disagree with me, but consider a day trip or an overnight trip out of London to get to a more quaint area.

jamikins

I highly recommend the green guide rather than rick Steve - his books on London are not great!!!

Fra_Diavolo

Given your interests I think you'd love touring Westminster Abbey. Take one of the verger tours to gain a full understanding of what you're seeing. http://www.westminster-abbey.org/home

SusieQQ

Don't miss going to the theatre.

dwdvagamundo

mamacare--

You've got a pretty good itinerary for a few days in London. I would add Westminster Abbey to your plans, as Fra_Diavolo suggests.

It's certainly possible to go to Paris for three days, which IMO is enough for a look at the most important things. Then you could take a look at Normandy or the Loire Valley for a few days.

Do get a good guidebook and read about the things to do outside London e.g. Cotswolds, which you could visit in connection with a visit to Warwick Castle, which is fun. If you get a car, you could also visit Hampton Court Palace on your way west--one of the neatest things we did in the UK.

BigRuss

Rick Steves is a bit Anglophobic. He likes Continental Europe (so if you go to Paris, get a guide) but he doesn't like the Brits.

Here's what you absolutely MUST do because there are two of you.

(1) Go to daysoutguide.co.uk, review the attractions, and <b>print out every 2for1 voucher that is even mildly interesting</b>. The Tower will be on there, St. Paul's may be, Hampton Court Palace will be, Churchill War Rooms, HMS Belfast and more will also have offers. THERE IS NO LIMIT TO THE NUMBER OF VOUCHERS YOU CAN OBTAIN. (And there are offers for places outside London too).

(2) Bring passport-size head shots of yourselves with you.

(3) When you get to London, purchase a SEVEN-DAY PAPER TRAVELCARD at the nearest National Rail station: London Bridge, St. Pancras, whatever. Do NOT get an Oyster card. You get an orange, flimsy seven day zone 1-2 travelcard from a manned ticket booth at a National Rail station (not a Tube station). The travelcard is good for buses and Tube trains in zones 1-2 in London, which will be about all you need.

(4) Present said travelcard and vouchers at whatever attraction they apply to. You receive two entries for the price of one admission.

Here are the savings:
Tower of London = 21.45 GBP ($34+)
Hampton Court Palace = 17.60 ($28+)
Churchill War Rooms = 17.50 ($28+)
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre & Exhibition = 13.50 GBP (~$22)

Just four top attractions and you save $112 for doing nothing more than printing stuff on your computer.

<b>DO NOT BUY THE LONDON PASS</b>

BTW, this is a mess: Buckingham Palace and changing of the guard.

Walk by the Palace and perhaps investigate one of the few tours of the inside. But the changing of the guard is nonsense - you need to get there 3 hours early, stand in a large crowd, and then watch the lads tromp around playing Broadway show tunes on their instruments.

janisj

>>Pick up a rick steves book. Often reviled on this forum, but his info is great for first timers and helps make realistic time planning and prioritization. << . . . His advice for London, and the UK in general is not great. Get one for Paris if you want -- but don't waste your money on RS for London.

It looks like you have 2 weeks -- divide it up evenly between London and Paris. Then take one or two day trips from both cities. Remember - you will be jet lagged for at least a day or two at the beginning, will lose half a day traveling between cities, and will probably eat the last day packing and getting ready to fly home so you won't have a lot of extra time to visit other places.

poole

BigRuss:

Do you have a link to the 2 for 1 vouchers? I checked the
daysoutguide site but couldn't find blank vouchers to print.

Thanks for the info !!

janisj

>> couldn't find blank vouchers to print<<

They aren't 'blank' vouchers. You need to access each offer and print out its specific voucher.

http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/landma...storical-sites

mamacare

You are incredible! I am getting so excited. At first, I was worried about traveling to Europe. I wish there was a thumbs up or thank you button I could use for those who are so kind.

nini

If time permits I would add the Wallace Collection, Borough Market, Victoria &Albert Museum, and St Bartholomew The Great Church. The London Silver Vaults is interesting if you love silver.

voyager61

Try to schedule some time in the countryside because, as noted above, London and Paris will be stimulating and exhausting, especially for a first-time traveler to Europe. Normandy is a great choice; look at Bayeux. It's a nice size, easy to walk around, great cathedral, the Bayeux Tapestry, excellent restaurants and it's where most D-Day tours depart from.

lanejohann

hi janisj
i have looked at the 2 for 1 offers....
but dont you have to type in the date of your travel before you print the vouchers?
so you do that the day before yes?
no use doing it at home before you leave?
sorry im a bit confused

Tulips

Read MaitaiTom's excellent London trip report on this forum, also for info on the 2 for 1 offers.

Buckingham Palace is not open to visit when you are there; just walk past.
Portobello Road - if you go on a Saturday, go early. It gets packed later in the day. Camden Lock is also an interesting market to visit (bit more for the teenage market though, Portobello also has antiques, silver).

janisj

No, you can print them all off any time. Best to do it at home just to be sure you have them.

propita

We’re still planning our springtime trip, but we’re hoping to go to a service in St. Paul’s, to hear the choir. We’re not religious, but we have got to hear that cathedral filled with music. We hope to do the same at Notre Dame.