mrscpa10

Anyone have any info on the Chelsea Flower Show. Price, where to stay, any side trips. We can be away from home for 10-14 days. We are also interested in Nice, France. Would like to smell the flowers and perfume.

Underhill

Well, the Chelsea Flower Show takes place in London; so I'm not sure what you mean about side trips. Check the web site for dates and prices of the flower show.

If it's perfume you're after, you'll find that in the town of Grasse, not Nice. If you want to smell flowers in Nice itself your best bet is to go to the flower market at the Cours Saléya, adjacent to Old Nice.

mercy

If you do a Search on Chelsea Flower Show, quite a bit of info comes up. I just did and found a posting I put in on the subject in May 2004.

While in England, we took a couple day trips--Evan Evans operated them--to nearby gardesn, etc. Had looked in to them in advance. Not always easy to book when you get there.

We ordered our tickets for the CFS on the Internet, in early Feb. of the year we went (2000, I think).

Nice is quite a way for London and would require a more developed itinerary. I suggest trying for Paris and doing some of the French gardens in the area--we went to Giverny (Monet's home) and there are others of note--the gardens at Versailles are worth a look too. another thought is that you would be on the tail-end of the tulip season in Holland, but Keukenhof Gardens are open most of the year, and that is really worth seeing.

Hope this gives you some info that is usuable. MHM

Patrick

You can get cheap flights from London to Nice on Easy Jet, so it is a good combination to do. Book now for May/June and it will cost you as little as 23 pounds per ticket. It's a short drive to Grasse from Nice.

Go to www.rhs.org.uk/ for Chelsea Flower Show information and tickets.

ucsun

i've been in london when the Chelsea flower show has been going on and didn't get to go. but what i can tell you is that hotel space books up very quickly as this is a big event. so plan ahead.

mclaurie

I've never been to the flower show but have been in London while it was on. My best advice is to join the Royal Horticultural Society so you can go on member only days which are less crowded (but still crowded) than a regular day.

http://www.rhs.org.uk

On that site you can also find info on other gardens you might be able to tour at that time in England. You might also check here.

National Garden Society:
http://www.ngs.org.uk/search.htm

As Patrick says, there are cheap flights b/w London & Nice. Don't know where you live but there are also direct flights b/w Nice and NY so you might consider flying into London and out of Nice. Probably not cost effective but worth a look.

I wouldn't worry about staying near the show. It gets mobbed and you'd be better off staying elsewhere.

Maria_H

You don't say where you are coming from but why not consider one up the other RHS shows. The Tatton Show is also fantastic - I've been 4 of the last 5 years and there is so much to see there. It's a 20 acre site in the grounds of a National Trust stately home and not far from Manchester airport - away from the crowds of London. The show and also accommodation is likely to be cheaper "up north" and there are other gardens to visit in the area. See the RHS web site, as mentioned in a previous post.

CarolA

The Chelsea show is great.

We have always joined the RHS and ordered our tickets from them. That way you can get the first day tickets. Well worth it!

We rented apartments and for a long trip that might be good idea.

Underhill

Several horticultural societies have shows alongside the Chelsea Flower Show. One year we saw the orchid show, and it was marvelous.

mrscpa10

Thanks everyone for the info. I live in Philadelphia, PA and have frequent flyer miles, so airfare should not be a problem.

Does anyone know how the Chelsea Flower show compares to the one in Philadelphia?

While I'm asking questions: what is the conversion rate from pounds to dollars. Thanks again.

CarolA

If you are going this year. Start attempting to book those flights NOW! For our May trip last year which included the flower show I booked about 9 months in advance and had to be very flexible.

As for the currency conversion.... OUCH!

1 US Dollar = 0.51422 British Pound
1 British Pound (GBP) = 1.94470 US Dollar (USD)