pianoguy89

Hi again,

I am taking my mom to Paris and London in June, and I am looking for suggestions of out of the way/not commonly known/interesting things to do in both cities. I have been to both cities before and have the standard, most famous things covered; I'm looking for things that don't necessarily make it into the top 10 lists in the guidebooks. What are some interesting things you all have found to do in these cities that you may have just stumbled upon accidentally, but would now say are "must do?"

ssander

Here are two of our favorites from each.

Paris:

St Denis Cathedral...burial place of many monarchs, reputed to be the very first Gothic cathedral, and IMHO more mystical that wither Notre Dame or St-Chappelle.
-- near the north end of Metro 13.

Carnavalet Museum...history of the city of Paris. Everything from paintings, to furniture to artifacts from buildings to scale models of the city.
-- in the Marais

London:

Churchill War Rooms...the underground HQ during WWII, nearly exactly as is was when the closed it up after the war...but with explanatory material.
-- near Parliament Square at the east edge of St James' Park

Courtauld Gallery - if you like early 20th c. art...fauves, expressionists, etc.
-- on the Strand in the entrance to Somerset House.

ssander

crefloors

I was surprised how much I enjoyed the Imperial War Museum. My brother wanted to go and so we humored him, and honestly, it was a great museum.

crefloors

To clarify, I'm talking about London. I'm sure you know that, but just making sure.

texasbookworm

Might be helpful if you listed the things you have done/seen you don't intend to repeat. You don't say how long you've spent (or plan to spend now) in either city, so hard to guess how much of the "normal" top listed things you have been to.

texasbookworm

Might be helpful if you listed the things you have done/seen you don't intend to repeat. You don't say how long you've spent (or plan to spend now) in either city, so hard to guess how much of the "normal" top listed things you have been to.

RM67

London:-

St Dunstan in the East (ruined church)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/494523...57649613857118

View from Primrose Hill (followed by Campari and blood orange sorbet at Marine Ices).

Walk on Hampstead Heath by the ponds.

Paul A Young for hot chocolate in Camden Psssage

RM67

PS They are things I like, not must dos. Nothing I/we like is necessarily a must do for anyone else.

KTtravel

I've enjoyed taking walking tours in both cities. There are many companies but I am used the ones below:

London: http://www.walks.com.
Paris: http://www.paris-walks.com and http://parisbymouth.com/paris-food-wine-tours.

All were good but my favorite was the Paris By Mouth food tour. It was more expensive but we thoroughly enjoyed it.

nytraveler

From London take a day trip to Hampton court Palace - esp if you have any interest in the Tudors. You can do train one way and boat the other.

Or take a day trip by boat to Greenwich to see the town and the Maritime Museum.

Or visit the botanical gardens at Kew.

In paris a lot of people don;t get to the Cluny Museum of the Middle Ages with the famous Unicorn Tapestries.

pianoguy89

Thanks to all for the quick response! RM67, St. Dunstan in the East looks really cool! Texasbookworm, I've only been to each city once for 4-5 days in each place. We will have a week in each city for this trip. By normal top-listed things, I mean like the Eiffel, Louvre, Versailles, Orsay, Notre Dame in Paris, and Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, British Museum in London. I'm looking more for "hidden gems." Thanks again to all for responding; the suggestions have been great!

KyraS

In London:

Cecil Court

A play at the Globe (I prefer to stand)

Walk across all the bridges at night, to decide which one offers my favo(u)rite view

Tea at the restaurant at the Wallace Collection

Crossness Pumping Station (I didn't stumble across the location, but rather a mention of the location; you'd need to check the opening times here carefully)

The behind-the-scenes tour of the British Library

Backstage tour of the National Theatre (haven't done this yet, but hope to!)

Founder's Arms for a beverage with a view

Sunday roast at the Swan at the Globe (nice view from upstairs)

The view of St Paul's from One New Change (not a secret, but I enjoyed it). Also not a secret is climbing the dome at St Paul's, which took me three trips to London and two tries (I'm afraid of heights) but I would go back again in a heartbeat. The view was that good.

I think you might find the websites Diamond Geezer and Ian Visits would give you more ideas for interesting things to do in London. I would check a lot of the smaller museums and galleries (Royal Academy of Physicians, for example, or the Guildhall Art Gallery) to see if there's anything special on that you would enjoy.

I also love the London Walks guided walks. This is now our go-to activity for the afternoon of arrival day (to get outside and keep moving to fight jet lag, but without having to navigate). But they have all been very good.

In Paris, I greatly enjoyed the afternoon we ditched our itinerary and just wandered around, and stumbled across at least three places we had meant to go anyway. I also loved the Musee Carnavalet, as above, and the Musee Marmottan was also a big hit with the Monet lovers.

Southam

In London, the house of leading architect Sir John Soame is a surprising combination of abode, workshop and museum. He designed the Bank of England and other major structures while training young architects in his house. The docents on duty in the various rooms will talk your ear off if you ask a question. http://www.soane.org/

hetismij2

Climb the Monument. http://www.themonument.info/visitor-information.html

hetismij2

Since you are the piano guy look for free concerts, such as the lunchtime ones as St Martins in the Fields.
http://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/music/concerts/

ssander

...oh yeah...I forgot about the Soane house...very quirky, and not to be missed if you've already been to the A-list sights.

http://www.soane.org/

ssander

ssander

also...the Museum of Childhood is another great place to go.

We thought we'd drop in for a quick look (since it is affiliated with the V&A and is free) and ended up spending all morning there.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/

ssander

carolyn

London: Southwick Cathedral, the Museum of London, Geoffrye Museum, Selfridge's if you like the PBS show, afternoon tea, Greenwich, Parliament, the Dickens house, the Dennis Severs House, St. Bartholomew the Great and/or St. Etheldreda’s church, Queen Mary's rose garden in Regent's Park, Sherlock Holmes Museum

Paris: Les Invalides, Jaquemart-Andre Museum, Deportation Museum, St. Severin, St. Julien de Pouvre, St. Germain des Pres, and St. Sulpice churches, Ste Chappelle, Luxemburg Gardens, Laduree for macarons

Google to see what you might like, of course.

Scootoir

You don't say if your mother has been to Paris and London. If this is her first visit she may want to see the favorite tourist spots in both cities. That said the Musee Jacquemart Andre is one of our favorites in Paris.

ssander

London: Walk the Regent's Canal towpath from Little Venice to Camden Locks.

There are a number of sources for self-guided walks. Just google "regent's canal walk"...here's one:

http://sandalroad.com/destinations/e...ts-canal-walk/

ssander