Kathy Raines

My family and I are planning our first trip to Europe in the spring of '99. We plan to go to London, Paris, Rome and Florence. We'll have 2 weeks, and I hope that we will not be pushed to do
everything that we want to do. Any help or information will be extremely appreciated. Has anyone used British Airways packages. If so, were
you satisified? Is 5 days long enough in London?
We want to take a couple of day trips from there. Thanks!

Mary

With 5 days in London, you will be able to see the highlights. I don't think there is ever enough time for everything. I have been to London 5 times and still haven't seen everything I would like to see. Get a good guide book (I like Eyewitness Guides) and a map of London. Plan your days carefully so that you won't waste time. Paris is also a place where you need a week. I have not been in Italy, but I'm sure there is just as much to see and do there. My suggestion is to read, read, read before you go. Know what you want to see and prioritize. The planning and reading is part of the fun of the trip and helps so much after you get there. Have fun! Your first trip will just whet your appetite!

JOAN DOYLE

Dear Kathy:I agree with the previous poster--you will be able to hit the highlights of a destination such as London, Paris, or Rome--but not much more. Still it will give you an idea of where you want to go NEXT time. I've been to all the places you mentioned but London is my favorite. The language is roughly the same, for one thing; and the British still like Americans. If you choose to go OUT of London I recommend you limit yourselves to Oxford and possibly Cambridge. There's just too much in London to give it less. Haven't done any British Airways tours--but I lucked into one of their flights one time when United's service from New Orleans got us to Washington too late for our trans-atlantic connection and they were SUPER. (On the other hand, my sister who lives in London HATES them.) Hope you have a good trip though. Joan

Lisa Brown

Hi there. I live near London and although I am biased, I love it. It is like a collection of different worlds in one city. As for info, apart fromthe Net, I recommend getting hold of guide books or writing to the British Tourist Board in the States who will send you leaflets etc about all the attractions. The key is to plan well as time will go quickly. As for good attractions, I like Madame Tussauds (good for all the family), the London Dungeons and The Tower of London. There are also loads of musuems, the best for kids being the Science musuen or the Natural History musueum which has giant skeletons of dinosaurs! You could also try and fit in a show - there are loads of good ones on at the moment. If you don't book in advance, there is a half-price ticket booth which you can go to on the day and see what cheap tickets are available. If there is a particular show you want to see, they sometimes have a few tickets left in the box office of the theatre, so that would be worth a try. Of course, there are the sightseeing buses which will give you brief glimpses of all the main sights, and the tourust board should be able to tell you when the changing of the guard is at Buckingham Palace, so try and schedule that in. For shopping, we have Harrods and Oxford street etc, but Covent Garden has a market which is popular. If you need a cab, the black cabs are all licensed and the drivers have had to do 'the knowledge' which is really difficult. This involves learning the way to get to everywhere in London basically, so they are reliable. The cab drivers can also give you loads of information and tell you who they've driven before. We have all the usual fast food outlets and a Hard Rock Cafe, Planet Hollywood, Fashion Cafe etc if you fancy visiting them, or you could have a picnic in Hyde Park where there is Speaker's Corner. If you're around at the right time, there will be someone standing on a box giving their opinion on something, and sometimes being heckled by the audience! As for day trips, Cambridge and Oxford are pretty and have the Catherdrals and universities to look round (guided tours are in abundance)or you could try Bath, which is further away but lovely.

I have also lived in France, and again, you will need to plan before you go to Paris. If you have a spare day, Rouen is a pretty town where Joan of Arc came from. There is a cathedral there, lots of abbeys, a Joan of Arc museum and cobbled streets.

Have fun!

Dean Hicks

Paris is wonderful. Go to www.paris.org and get the subway maps. If it is not there do a subway search.
It will let you put in starting point and destination,give exact stops, and will print you a map of the system. Get this because it will save you valuable time and with the places you are going, you
will not want to waste a second. Also take the metro from the airport(de Gaulle)

Bethe Warrick

My husband and I booked a Globus tour for late August. Has anyone ever toured with this company?