Hi, I am new to this forum. I would need the advise and ideas from the experienced travelers here. My wife and 2 daughters of 8 are planning for our first trip to Europe in end of november. We plan to spend about 10 days in Paris (Disneyland), London and perhaps Glasgow.How long should we stay in each city, and how do we move from one city to another. We will be flying direct to Paris or London.And which hotels and shopping(for the wife) are must visits. thank you.

Try to see if you can fly into or out of Scotland and then take the train to London (or fly) and then the Eurostar 'Chunnel' train from London to Paris (about 2 hrs). Eurostar tickets should be booked months in advance to nab the relatively few much cheaper tickets - an airline type fare structure with wildly varying fares. Just show up and you'll pay literally perhaps hundreds of bucks more.

You would want to book your flights so to land in one city and leave from your last city, not having to travel back to original city (Open jaw).

Three cities might be too much for 10 days...it can be done, but with travelling from airport into city, travel between cities, travel to airport the last day..and jet lag...those 10 days get used up fast.

London Paris is a nice combo, with time split between the two.

What are your interests?

For hotels, it would help to have an idea of your budget, and expectations (room service versus a place to sleep)..OK to use public transportation or want to be "right there"?

Unless Glasgow is a must - I'd do London and Paris. 10 days really only leaves about 8 days free for sightseeing. So that 3rd city really stretches you thin.

Fly Into London and out of Paris. It costs much more to fly out of the UK due to higher departure fees. Five days London and 5 days Paris is a great first taste of both cities.

Now IF Glasgow is a "must" - then I'd do just London, Glasgow and maybe a day in Edinburgh. You really wouldn't have time to squeeze in Paris too. But - if you can eke out two full weeks you could do 5 days in London, 2 days in Glasgow, and approx 4 days in Paris. (14 days will net about 11+ days free time - one day/night is spent flying to Europe, 1 day flying home, and one day is your arrival day which is mostly spent recovering from jetlag)

Is there a specific reason to go to Eurodisney? In <b>late November</b>? It's not exactly the theme park and outdoors season.. or is there some pre-Christmas things going on? Usually late November is a truly ghastly time of year..

janis dear - you have said before that it would be cheaper to fly into London and out of Paris rather than vice versa due to steep departure fees

Q- why are not landing fees at British airport as pricey as departure fees - this would have to be so in your advice.

I am not disputing it but looking for clarification that what i seem to hear you saying is correct

Palenque--here's an article that explains some of the issues:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/tr...assengers.html

If you want to see what to do in Paris with kids, use the search function. I typed in "Paris with kids" (no quotes) into the search box at the top of the page, and I got a whole list of threads that discuss the topic. I didn't read them, but I'll just bet there are a LOT of neat suggestions there, though I'll bet Disney in November will not be among them.

BTW, if you feel Paris may be too cold for you in November, don't even think about Glasgow.

PQ - it was explained on the last thread where you questioned that. The situation hasn't changed since then . . .

The link ellenem provided is about EVEN higher departure fees from next year. But a couple of years ago - UK <u>departure</u> taxes/fees were greatly increased.

Hi,

I too am planning my 1st trip to Europe and have received a LOT of great advice on this forum. In fact, the amount of info can be a bit intimidating, there is so much of it. Based on my planning experience so far, I would also recommend scaling back to only two destinations for your 10 days. Keep in mind, travel between cities can eat up 1/2 a day or more, and you'll want to allow time when you arrive to adjust. As a father of 4, I've learned a thing or two about traveling with kids, and a pair of tired, cranky 8-year olds can completely blow up even the best of plans. By dropping back to two destinations, I think you'll find some more slack in your schedule which could prove of great value. I learned this lesson the hard way on a family trip to Disney World this past January. Our itinerary was way too tight, which led to some stress. While it was still a great family trip, I've vowed to take more time, allow for down time on the trip, etc...I think that will make your wife, your daughter and you a lot happier.

Split the days between London and Paris. Or spend the entire time in either London or Paris. With two children, you might want to consider renting apartments instead of staying in hotels.

I've been to Eurodisney in November and if the weather is good enough for you to be IN Paris then it will be just as good there

Janis dear - it still don't seem that departure fees should be higher than landing fees? I'm sure they are but that is what does not compute to me. How much are we talking about in British Airports departure fees vs Paris or Amsterdam - $10 - $50 - is it worth even thinking about. Some numbers please would help.

I would only pick one place or the other. My choice would be Paris. You could pick a overnight trip to Normandy or something close by and that would be about it.

Isn't november a rainy season in both London and Paris? By the way, I agree with janisj. Unless you have to go to Glasgow, I think it's better to visit London and Paris. I've just come back from my London-Milan-Venice-Paris trip (first timer, spent 12 days exploring all 4 cities I suggest the following: 5 days in Paris (1 day Eurodisney, 3 days to explore the city, 1 day for shopping) and 5 days in London (4 days in central London, 1 day to visit the Stonehenge and Windsor castle). I did not have a chance to visit the Stonehenge because I only had 2 days in London.

Paris to London is about 2 hr by Eurorail, or 1 hr by plane. Some people like to take the train so they can see the view along the way.

My 1st trip to Europe was magnificent. So let me share with you about London & Paris.

London:
Very convenient to visit all tourist places by underground (called "tube"). You can take the "hop-on hop-off city tour" or explore the city by subway yourself. The underground, to my opinion, feels a lot safer and is a lot cleaner than Paris'. I bought the day-pass tube (only had 2 days in London, no kids though). I stayed in Club Quarter St Paul (next to St Paul church in London financial district). I visited:
Buckingham Palace "changing of the Guards"
St Paul church & Westminster Church
Big Ben & House of Parliament, London Eye, Westminster Abbey (close to one another)
Picadilly Circus & Soho chinatown (close to each other)
Notting Hill (Little Italy)
Wimbledon (I am a big tennis fan
Tower of London (Medieval Castle) & Tower Bridge
Harrod's dept store (plus lots of stores around Harrod's)

Paris:
The underground is a dirty, no AC, no escalators. Be extra careful due to pickpockets. Always put your wallet in the front pocket. I stayed in Hotel Madeleine Plaza. Quite small, but it's near shopping areas, right in front of Madeleine "Greek style" church. I took the subway and hop-on hop-off city tour to explore the city. I visited:
Versailles castle (a guided-tour includes roundtrip train ticket). It's about 45 minutes by train from central Paris.
Arc de Triomphe & Champs Elysees shopping area (close to each other)
Notre Dame cathedral
Eiffel tower
Centre de Pompidou
Louvre museum (Monalisa painting)
The Tuileries (garden in front of Louvre museum)
Basilique de Sacre Cour
Galleries Lafayette, Rue Cambon, & Place de la Madeleine (must-visit shopping centers). All 3 places are close to one another. Oh, there is also a huge outlet shopping near Eurodisney.

Have fun in Europe

PQ: "<i>it still don't seem that departure fees should be higher than landing fees? I'm sure they are but that is what does not compute to me.</i>"

As has been explained to you on other threads - them's the facts. If they don't compute to you, I don't know how to make it easier to understand.

Did you read the link ellenem provided? The APD is on departures -- not landings. It was doubled 2 years ago and will go up much more next year. All the amounts are there in the link . . . .