itsmesophia

Hi all.

I'm heading to London in a month for 1.5 weeks. Want to spend a couple of days outside of London (but not too far). My boyfriend and I are in our mid-twenties so want to experience fun/nightlife/touristy spots. We may visit Paris..but any others?

Any suggestions would be great!

Reisender

Windsor Castle is worth a visit.

1.5 weeks won't give you enough time to even scratch the surface of London let alone spend a few days outside of it.

happy_train

No offense, but I don't really think that Windsor Castle is fun/nightlife-ey at all! Stodgy and historical is more like it. It's fun to do if you're into the royals, but not if you're going there looking for action.

I would recommend going up to one of the college towns (Oxford of Cambridge). It won't be "clubby", but you'll probably fund some fun pubs and great intellectual conversation.

London itself has plenty to keep you occupied. Paris is fun, take the Eurostar, but book your ticket now to save money.

laustic

Agree with happy_train - based on your age and desire to experience night life I'd hesitate to recommend a lot of the usual English spots. I second the Cambridge and/or Oxford recommendation. Both are very fun towns imo. It could have been the day I visited, but Cambridge had a slightly more young seeming vibe than Oxford. Paris for a couple of days is a great idea. In reality though you really can't run out of stuff to do in London.

Nonconformist

What about Brighton?

flanneruk

I really can't go along with this "Oxford=fun" stuff. And I can't speak for Cambridge, but I doubt it's significantly different.

What Oxford's good at is mid-price pubs and restaurants for undiscriminating students. If you want to get pissed close to beautiful buildings, few places on earth compare. Grow up from that, though, and the choice really comes down to barely adequate restaurants, pubs dominated by raucous undergraduates in term time and simpering summer school students during vacations, or getting the bus into London - which Oxford is simply a medieval suburb of.

In practice, most grownups decide they've grown out of nightlife and eat and get drunk in each others' houses.

Oxford (and Cambridge) are remarkably beautiful, interesting and pleasant places to live or visit. But nightlife isn't their forte.

For fun/nightlife/touristy spots, you simply can't beat London if you can afford it. It's different in Manchester - but that's a hell of a way to go just to drink in the same room as a bunch of footballers' girlfriends or wannabe groupies.

janisj

I was reading down the thread and saw &quot;Oxford/Cambridge&quot; and said to myself &quot;<i>whoa !!</i>&quot; definitely not the Oxbridge I'm familiar w/. And then I came to flanner's post - he beat me to it

For nightspots you will never do better than London - not some stodgy cities or towns out in the countryside . . . . .

Now, for touring - that's different. Oxford or Cambridge would make a great day trip. But be to have fun be back in London by nightfall.

laustic

Okay, I'll be honest, partying in Oxford or Cambridge wouldn't be MY idea of fun, but I'm also in my early 30s. Flanner pretty much nailed my idea of nightlife these days. I can't stand shouting at friends in noisy, expensive, crowded bars. I was happy to do a day trip to each place and be back in London by evening myself. But I was really just speculating that they might be a good time for younger twenties. But I'm not a UK expert and I'm certainly not a nightlife expert

nytraveler

I can;t imagine Brighton in early April as exactly a hot spot. Not sure why you want to leave London frankly. And if you do - I would head to Paris for a few days for a different type of nightlife.

Cholmondley_Warner

You want either Brighton or Bournemouth. Brighton is Britain's gay capital and has a huge gay scene, but that also means that there are a lot of straight and mixed venues. All the &quot;name&quot; DJs play there (if putting records on a record player can be considered &quot;playing&quot

Bournemouth is much the same but mainly straight with a lot of stag and hen groups.

flanneruk

...and Brighton's hotness (and visitability) is pretty standard year round.

Brighton's not some third rate seaside resort like Coney Island: it's a substantial Regency-era town, with excellent universities, interesting historical stuff, pleasant architecture and Britain's quirkiest museum. As well as some wonderful cliff walks nearby. Why anyone thinks any of that depends on the weather is beyond me.

itsmesophia

so all these places(oxford, cambridge, brighton)..should i stay there over night? or just visit for the whole day?

Cholmondley_Warner

Either really. If yopu're planning on enjoying the nightlife you do need to stay over. if you just want to potter about (and Brighton in particular is great for pottering) then they are easy day trips.

laustic

I think the consensus is that Oxford and Cambridge make good day trips. I found this to be true for both places. I enjoyed them both a great deal for the day. For nightlife your best bet is to stay in London. Brighton, on the other hand, may offer more for an extended/over night stay.

itsmesophia

all these destinations are about 2-3 hours away from bloomsbury. Thanks for everyone's feedback.

About Paris, will be staying near where the eurostar is. what is the best/closest paris airport?

Cholmondley_Warner

Paris CDG.

Cholmondley_Warner

Also it sounds like you're staying in the 10th - ie near Gare du Nord. That can be quite a lively area (in all sorts of ways!)

itsmesophia

Any suggestions for places in Europe for a couple of days?

arcoiris

Are you considering Spain? Madrid and Barcelona have quite a lively scene. Have fun!

itsmesophia

I will start my Trip in Paris for a couple of days. Want to hit another place before I head to London.

Thinking about Amsterdam. Isnt Spain a bit far from Paris?