Girls trip
 

Looking for ideas for a grandma/daughter/grandaugher(17 y/o) trip to London/Paris. Would like some free time for shopping in London, cooking class (chocolate/pastry in Paris).

So what info do you need here?

When will the trip take place?
How long do you have?

What is the budget per night for hotels?
How will you travel from London to Paris?

Do you want to go to museums? Gardens?
Are you keen on any type of restaurant?

Have you been to either city before?

Do you have a guidebook?

Where is your starting point--where do you begin your trip?

Was looking for a escorted tour, start in London, finish in Paris. Musuems, famous attractions, little bit of shopping, and maybe a cooking class in paris.
Late June 2026 time frame.

Go to a depot vente in Paris. Consignment shop. They are all over, but just for kicks you can go to one that has high end couture as well as the usual. You will find things you can't find at home. You can search on Google Maps for 'Depot Vente Luxe near Paris' Or omit the luxe if you want just any consignment shop.

One example is La Marelle in Galleire Vivienne, which is an arcade built in 1823, so it's a bit of history as well.

I have to say, your OP is a bit taciturn..... but since you used the phrase "Girl's Trip" I can probably jump to some conclusions.

In addition the two major department stores in Paris, Galleries Lafayette and Printemps, are historic sites and they both have incredible domes inside that are jaw-dropping.

no cooking classes in London https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attrac...n_England.html crazy

spring, summer, autumn, winter. A little information goes a long w...

You don't need as escorted tour to do what you want to do. And, in fact, it would be very difficult to find a tour that would include things of interest to the generational spread here.

In your place, what I would do:

• First figure out if there are any special events in either city during your time frame that would make it more sensible to schedule a visit during those dates or to avoid those dates.
• Book an open jaw plane ticket where you fly into one city and out of the other.
• Get 2 or 3 really good guidebooks for each city and figure out things in that city you would like to do. I like Fodors, Frommers, Rough Guides, and, for the nitty-gritty basics (how to use public transportation, opening days and hours etc.) of operating in a city, Rich Steves.
• Find a hotel or flat in each city and book that.
• Figure out transportation between each city (easy peasy).
• Find a good private guide or a good small group introductory tour of each city. Walking tours are great!
• Figure out a rough calendar of what you want to visit and when. But, then let serendipity be your guide and remain flexible if something completely unplanned calls to you at the last minute.
• Investigate which cooking class in Paris you want to sign up for, and sign on.
• Shop to your heart's content wherever and whenever you want to.

With this approach you'll have much more fun as a family group, and you'll get to do exactly what you want to do. Plus, empower the teen granddaughter and let her make decisions about what she wants to do and where she wants to go.

I am assuming this may be your first European trip (and I could be wrong). If so, western Europe is super easy for a DIY trip.

Welcome to Fodors. julies list is good -- but at first glance may look a bit daunting. Its really not very complicated. Do I understand correctly you want a private tour for just the three of you? That would be VERY expensive (though we do not know your budget - that might be OK). Or - do you just mean a regular 'commercial' group tour where you would be with other travelers? If so very few group tours would be satisfactory for all ages 17 years old, mom, and grandmother. A tour geared to high school and college ages would have an entirely different focus than one geared to 'seasoned citizens'.

Paris and London are just about the two easiest cities anywhere for visiting independently. Fly in to London, take the Eurostar train from central London to central Paris, fly home from Paris. How many days do you have for the entire trip?

Oh -- and you have so much time to plan this trip it wouldn't be tough at all.