smetz

My wife and I are going to London & Paris (with smaller stops in Bath and Cologne) in a couple of weeks, spending four nights in both places. In London we're staying near the Tower Bridge on the north side of the Thames, and in Paris we're staying in Monmartre.

We're leaving in about 2 weeks - I have all the hotels and connections set, but I haven't planned anything out for sightseeing, restaurants, etc. Normally I plan well in advance, but I've been so busy lately that I've only left myself a couple of weeks to get set (though maybe going free-form for a change would be a good thing).

So if you Fodorites have any suggestions for sights, activities, foods, or restaurants that you wouldn't miss, please tell me about them!

denisea

Well, in London the British Museum and the tower of London were my favorites. Also, Westminster Abbey and Canterbury were favorites. You may not have time to venture to Canterbury, but I liked it more than Bath.

Paris is loaded and it's all a matter of your personal interests. Climbing the towers at Notre Dame, Ste Chapelle and Musee D'Orsay are my favorites. If you don't mind venturing away from the city center, St Denis is terrific and not crowded. It is the burial place of French Kings. I also love Musee Rodin. It is a beautiful city with so many attractions and I still have not gotten everywhere I want to. If you are Monet fans than L'Orangerie and Musee Marmottan would be of interest to you. You are so close to Sacre Coeur that you will obviously want to go there.

Lots of restaurant choices...depends on what you want to spend. We love Le Souffle (1st)Reed (in the 7th), les cocottes (7th), Cafe Constant (7th), Le Comptoir (6th), Marco Polo for Italian (6th), L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon (6th) if you want to splurge. We also enjoyed L'Orangerie on Ile St Louis.

latedaytraveler

Smetz, there are so many attractions/sites/museums in these cities, but I will suggest just two museums in each.

LONDON: Churchill War Rooms and the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square.

PARIS: the Musee Rodin and the Musee d’Orsay.

Also, river cruises on the Thames and the Seine give newcomers great overviews of each city. Enjoy!

albionbythesea

I sense from your question that you have been to these places before and may be looking for something beyond the top 10 in a tour book (which are generally there for a reason). Since you are staying near the Tower a few more unique things in the city of London area and close to the Tower are as follows:
- All Hallows by the Tower Church (right next to the tower and it has a great crypt, some Roman antiquities, and tie ins to USA Presidents / founders (see: http://wp.me/p2r6no-60 for more info).
- Just south of the Thames is the National Trust owned 'George Inn'. The only remaining galleried coaching inn / pub in London - well worth a visit - see: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/george-inn/
- Also close by is the Guildhall Art Gallery and Roman Amphitheatre - an often ignored gallery and more ignored fantastic Roman relic below ground in London - see: http://wp.me/p2r6no-8E

Hopefully this gives you a few different ideas beyond the usual, that are all close to your London hotel. As to Paris, I'll leave that for experts from there.

Avalon2

ASllof the above. I always include a visit to Borough Market and walk over to Southbank fron there you can catch a boat to The Tate . We always go to the Imperial war Museum,the doorman recognizes me we've been so often.

InParis Go the the Shoah memorial for something different It will break you heart but is inspiring. I love the street food markets, there is one every day somewhere except Monday. We always visit the Rodin even if just to walk thru the gardens and have lunch The Petit Palais is my favorite museum And it's freeTry london eating for some good deals on good u\restassuranrs. I was just looking at them today and they had 0ne of our favorites 50% off, The Criterion on Piccadilly

Soem inexpensive places near South kENSINGTON Orsini across from the V&A. cafe Montepeliano, Carluccio's (noisy but Good),Racine.

In Pas
ris we especially like Bistr
o des Gastronomes in,the5th and le Reminet and Buisson Ardent

LoveMyLab

The Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. Talk about an historic experience..

catcrazyaf

I agree with Avalon about a visit to the Memorial de la Shoah. It is very moving. Also, I enjoyed a tour to the Palais de Garnier - so beautiful and lots of stories about its history. Have a fabulous trip - I love love Paris.

smetz

Thanks everyone for these great suggestions. Albion, we haven't been to either London or France before, so if that would cause you to add anything, please do so!

mamcalice

I don't think anyone mentioned a Seine cruise in Paris. We like the Vedettes du Pont Neuf which leaves (naturally) from the Pont Neuf. Take the cruise around sunset and you will see the lights come on all over Paris - really lovely. The trip lasts about an hour and passes many Paris sights including Notre Dame, the Louvre, the D'Orsay and the Eiffel Tour.

AussieFrance

From Rue de Rivoli just opposite the Louvre take bus #72 town to Bir hakeim bridge and walk across. On the way you'll have some wonderful views of the city and when you walk across the bridge you'll get the best views of the Eiffel Tower to which you can then walk. Take a walk from the Louvre down to Concorde and have a drink or lunch at Cafe Diiane on the way. Sit facing the Louvre. Breathtaking at sunset.

Sloane_428

In Paris:
- Vedettes du Pont Neuf seine cruise, and be sure to buy your ticket online in advance - you can go any time and there is a discount!
- Musee de l'Orangerie and Musee d'Orsay were my favorites - there's a "passport" pass that will give you a better deal on tickets to both museums if you don't get the Paris Museum Pass
- If you want a view of the city and the Eiffel Tower is still having elevator issues, go to Tour Montparnasse instead where you can see the Eiffel tower and the entire city
- I went on a Paris Walks walking tour of Montmartre which was wonderful. Might be interesting if you want to learn more about the area you're staying in.
- Place de Vosges, Rue des Roisiers and the surrounding area of the Marais

In London:
- Tower of London
- Churchill War Rooms
- Afternoon tea at The Orangery (Kensington Palace)
- I had a really delicious dinner at Salt Yard, near the British Museum. If you like Spanish tapas, it was excellent!

I also recently went to Bath and I highly recommend the Mayor's Free Walking Tours they have available. Obviously a trip to the Roman Baths is a must, and we also really enjoyed lunch at Sally Lunn's, the oldest house in Bath.

lovs2travel

In London, I really enjoyed the Victoria and Albert Museum, as well as Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. Temple Church is really interesting, but their opening times change a lot so you’d need to check their website a few days before your visit. I think Westminster Abbey was my favorite. London Walks also has some great walks that you might enjoy. www.walks.com

KayF

In London I'd recommend doing a guided walk with www.walks.com

We've done quite a few over the years, check online to see what is on the days you are in London and what appeals to you. No need to prebook, just turn up and pay. 9 pounds for about 2 hours entertainment - good value.

If you like books you would enjoy the huge Waterstones store on Piccadilly, 5 floors with cafes etc. There is a secondhand book market under the bridge at Southbank, someone may know what days it is on.

Shopping on Oxford Street can be good but avoid Saturdays, particularly the afternoons. Waaay too busy. St Paul's is fabulous, if you have time and are reasonably fit, you can climb to the top of the dome for views over London.

Greenwich is an interesting place to visit, full of history. One of the London Walks we did went to Greenwich, we started near the The Tower and caught a ferry to Greenwich (discounted group rate) then started the guided walk once we got there. You can easily do this on your own. Some of the ferries on the Thames go down past the Thames Barrier.

Theatre is another must for us. You can prebook tickets or go the half-tix booth in Leicester Square for tickets for that night's performance.
http://www.tkts.co.uk/

In your planning, don't forget to factor in time to get from one place to another, also getting lost, finding toilets, stopping for coffee or lunch etc. I would recommend studying the tube map for London and the metro map for Paris, before you leave.

So much to see, so little time

Kay

girlonthego

I don't know if you like to bike ride, but we did a bike tour of Paris and we all liked it. The ages ranged from little kids to the elderly. It is a leisure bike ride with a stop for ice cream. I enjoyed seeing many sights by biking around.

texasbookworm

For first time trip to London, not knowing any of your likes:

The Tower of London and a walk across the Tower Bridge, along the South Bank. If it's on a Borough Market day, that's cool.
(which is further up river, near London Bridge, but doable. Be at the Tower before it opens, go straight to the Crown Jewels and then see rest.)

Westminster Abbey and the surrounds, including a walk onto or across the Westminster Bridge and walk up to Trafalgar Square (and the National Gallery maybe?)

The British Museum --allow SEVERAL hours(and the British Library if so inclined--an hour or so inside will be a good introduction. I have 3 times combined these two with a trip to the Library at opening and then the afternoon in the Museum)

St. Paul's and the Millineum Bridge. If it's a pretty day and you are so inclined, a walk UP UP UP to the Dome will afford you incredible views.

Also one or more of the royal parks (Hyde, Green, St. James), which will allow you a glance at Buckingham Palace

The Imperial War Museum, other museums, the Globe (which can be seen from the outside on a Southbank stroll or from Millineum Bridge) would be great but not as high on my list as all the above. If you plan 2 major sites each day and have one or two maybes and plan by neighborhood, you can see a good bit in what is probably 3 days. It is a HUGE city though, so factor in all that travel time! Enjoy!

smetz

Obviously lots of London and Paris lovers here. These are such great suggestions I think I'm going to copy this and re-organize it in Word and just print it out to take with us.

girlonthego, we are not bike riders at home, but we love to do it when we travel, eg Key West, C&O Canal, etc. The ride you described in Paris sounds perfect for us & I will definitely check into it.

girlonthego

http://fattirebiketours.com/paris smetz, this was the name of the company we used. I think we met near the Eiffel tower area on a side street.
I am not a big bike rider, but really enjoyed seeing Paris this way. The tour guide was informative and funny and we got a great overview of the city in a short amount of time. I wish we had more time in Paris because we would have gone on their bike trip outside of the city, I think it was to Versailles.(by train and then bike!) Enjoy your trip!

My one other suggestion is to get good restaurant recommendations from fodorites here. I found we ate in too many tourist restaurants and the food was so-so. We ate better off the cart on the street sometimes!

golfernz1

As you are going to be near the Sacre Coeur you might like to consider going to a service there, I have been to both there and the Notre Dame and to hear the sisters and choir boys raise their soprano voices in such incredible surroundings is a memory that stays with me always. I would also recommend the Seine cruise leaving from Pont Neuf, I did that last time in Paris and it was well worth it. I also enjoyed a trip to Chartres, the cathedral is majestic and the town itself is delightful. The train trip took about one hour and leaves from Montparnasse. Of course everyone and not least myself enjoys the architecture, art museums and ambience of Paris, it is my favourite European city. Have a nice time.

albionbythesea

Hi Smetz - your reply indicated this is your first trip to London- and I would concur with many posters here about must see activities - that said, I strongly recommend 1st time visitors to do a few things that most tourists don't do - it will give you a better feel for London. One of the posters rec'd the Borough Market (Thu-Sat) - I strongly rec'd that too. Also, on Sunday - check out the Columbia Flower market - see: http://wp.me/p2r6no-3P . I think the street markets are one of London's best experiences. I don't know your like of football/soccer, but attending a football game in London is a unique experience. Tickets to a team like Fulham or Queens Park Rangers may be available depending on who they are playing. Lastly, riding the River bus - see http://www.tfl.gov.uk/modalpages/21315.aspx - is a great and affordable way to see most of london's thamesside landmarks.