okeurotripper

Hello! My parents and I (ages 32, 57, and 61) are planning a trip back to our favorite city, London. We're from the midwest USA, and we'll have one layover. We're padding a day (no event tickets) for flight delays as it's February and weather is so unpredictable. I'm a massive Potterhead and cannot miss the current exhibition at The British Library (runs through Feb 28). We love art, museums, antiques, shopping, and local restaurants.

All of our other times in the Europe (UK, Ireland, France, Italy, and Spain), we've traveled in March-May. We've experienced nothing but perfect weather. Even during our week in Scotland, it rained for maybe an hour one night. It's been super sunny, green, and gorgeous. I'm now planning a 10-day trip, with 5-6 days in London itself. I'm wondering where else to tack on for a few days? We've done York and the Cotswolds, and would like to try somewhere new. We did miss seeing Bath. Maybe there and/or Salisbury Cathedral? What about the Cliffs of Dover? Any ideas on an area we could stay for a few days? We'd like to avoid renting a car again and just stick to trains.

We were maybe thinking of hopping on the Eurostar and ending our trip in Paris. Any thoughts on Paris in February? Flying out of CDG happens to be cheaper than London, so why not? If we did this, we'd just do London and Paris only. We prefer to stay and enjoy vs. hopping around.

Am I overthinking this weather thing? If it's just chilly, we don't really care. In our neck of the woods, cold comes with ice and snow.

PatrickLondon

The weather thing: be prepared for alternatives. It might be sunny and either crisp or with a hint of spring to come, or it might be grey and damp, or....

As long as you're flexible and have options and the outerwear to match, the weather doesn't matter that much, and certainly not in Paris. Bath and/or Salisbury you could do as separate day trips by train from London, if they really call to you. Dover as a town is also a day trip, but not much more than the Castle and WW2 history (though that fascinates a lot of people) - you don't see much of the cliffs if you're actually on top of them and I wouldn't fancy actually climbing up the paths in February.

fourfortravel

We have been to both London and Paris in February; and as PatrickLondon writes, be prepared for all kinds of weather, especially damp and gray. Proper footwear will keep your sightseeing spirits up, and there will always be a cafe or museum or store to pop into if the weather turns.

fuzzbucket

Look for the SNCF "flexible plans" calendar. Go early and stay late.
Paris will be gloomy and grey, rains sometimes and the days are dark at around 16h30.
I would stay most of the time in London, and the rest of the time in Paris.

bilboburgler

London is super dry city, 23 inches a year, and lots of places you can drop into to keep dry.

Oxford has two fantastic museums and the odd college (potter heads will recognise the place)

Southam

It's still winter, so take clothes that can be worn in layers depending on the day. That day will also be shorter than you may be used to, as the nights are long in winter.

julies

Paris outside can be cold and very damp. Good shoes that will keep your feet dry are essential. Then, the next issue is going from outside to inside. We found many places to be extremely overheated, and really needed to strip down in order to be comfortable. That means that the nice wool sweater layer that is keeping you warm outside will make you roast when indoors.

I live in Minneapolis, so I know winter weather well.

StCirq

<<Am I overthinking this weather thing? If it's just chilly, we don't really care. In our neck of the woods, cold comes with ice and snow.>>

I don't think you can even think it, never mind overthink it. I live in the SW of France, where it's usually balmy this time of year, and it's freezing cold right now and forecast the same for a week or more. If I were a tourist here now I would find it brutal.

Go prepared.

PalenQ

We did miss seeing Bath.>

Bath would be great then Lake District and summer home of Beatrix Potter near Windermere

London-Paris book Eurostar tickets ASAP for deep discounts (www.eurostar.com). Same for long-distance British trains at www.nationalrail.co.uk.

Good rail info - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Paris in February will not be cold nor warm usually but very tolerable IME.

northie

Cambridge is another lovely day trip from London

okeurotripper

Thank you all so much for your input and replies! We'll be sure to wear layers, and pack shoes that will stay dry. Julies, you're right about necessary outdoor layers, then getting hot while inside. I'm from OK, so our days can stay warm (high 70s), but mornings and nights can get chilly (20s). Then, you're stuck lugging around a coat all afternoon. Ha! Sounds like it'll be the same in Paris!

Bilboburgler, I didn't realize London was such a dry city. That makes me feel more optimistic. We visited Oxford in 2016, and loved staying in the Cotswolds.

I'm still debating Paris because we packed our days so full that we never saw the Eiffel Tower lit up at night (shameful!). Sounds like I'd be able to make that happen because it'll be dark around 4:30pm! Haha. Also, we happened to hit Versailles on the one free Sunday of the month. It was wall-to-wall people; crowd control was nonexistent. I didn't even have elbow room to take a decent picture in the Hall of Mirrors. We'd love to visit the Louvre again, too. Fuzzbucket, you're right about spending the majority of the trip in London. Paris is just a "why not?" tack on.

PalenQ, I totally forgot about the Lake District! I'll look into that. I hate that everything won't yet be blooming and green, though. Can you tell I love Springtime?

Again, thanks so much for all of your insights, advice, and thoughts! Now, I'm even more excited and optimistic about a winter trip!

historytraveler

Instead of the Lake District where the weather may be iffy and some sites may not be open, consider Shropshire. In particular, Ludlow and Shrewsbury. Both are beautifully situated, Ludlow on a cliff overlooking the River Teme and Shrewsbury along the Severn. Both have their own castles and plenty of medieval architecture. Both have several hotels and B& B's with lots of character and charm as well as some excellent restaurants. The towns are only about 30 miles apart and there's a number of other possibilities for visits in the area.

I'm also a fan of Salisbury.

historytraveler

One more idea. You mentioned the Cliffs of Dover. Personally I'm not an enthusiast of the cliffs as I think they are best seen from the channel, but Kent would be an excellent place to visit especially in February. There is plenty to see and do with castles, gardens (February ?) charming villages etc. As with many places in England, you'll need to check to see about openings.

5alive

Paris when it's less crowded sounds like your best plan. We also found it to be cheaper to fly home from CDG when we went last summer. Seeing museums without the crowds is really pretty great. Did you make it to the Cluny yet?

Otherwise, I would not go to the Lake Country that early. I don't know the weather patterns like a local. But, I once went in late November--and I think you'd rather see it in better weather.

If you decide on Cambridge, you could add on Norwich.

bilboburgler

good point, salisbury and winchester might be nice