Help with first trip to London/Paris for Valentines
 

I have enjoyed the insights here from everyone so much.....so hope that you can help with ideas. My husband and I are thinking of taking a trip during February. I would really like to spend Valentine's day in Paris. I know that it will be cold, but I rather enjoy traveling in the off season. The only other trip we have taken to Europe was to Rome and Venice (in January) almost 7 years ago shortly after we were married. I would be okay spending a week in Paris, but I think that if we are going to travel all the way from the San Francisco area, my husband wants to see a couple of places. Who knows when we'll be back. So here are my thoughts on flight/hotel plans only. I would love any feedback and/or alternative ideas. I have some itinerary plans in mind but will hit you up for those later.

Here are my thoughts. I am thinking of a six night itinerary during the week leading up to Valentines. I thought of flying to London first and spending two nights at Rubens at the Palace,then catching a plane to Paris and spending three nights at the Le Madison Hotel. We would then fly back to London for one night, flying out the following morning. I like the location/price of both of these hotels. Any thoughts/feedback/alternate ideas appreciated.

You have such a short time I would definitely look into open jaw and save a travel day. Fly into London and spend 3 full days then fly or (my preference) take the Eurostar to Paris early in the morning and spend 3 days there. Then fly back to SFO from Paris. 3 days is a little short for London but you could still see a lot. Paris is more compact and manageable for a short visit so 3 days would be pretty good there.

Spend the whole time in Paris and do it half way right. You will really enjoy the "leisure" of being in one place and feeling no rushed. You could even go to London via the Eurostar (it is too time consuming to fly) for a day and a night if you really wanted to returning to Paris. February is not necessarily very cold--you just never know.

I'd take the Eurostar to Paris, to avoid schlepping back and forth to airports.

I agree if it's possible to fly into one & out of the other it would be better. I've never done the train but there have been previous threads about how travelling city ceneter to city center actually saves time vs flying.

The other option is to spend all 6 days in Paris but plan a day trip or two outside of Paris so your husband feels you've "seen a few places". The downside to this is many of the popular daytrips (Versailles, Chantilly etc.) involve gardens & it's not the ideal time of year.

Can't comment personally on your hotel choices but they certainly get good reviews here.

One thought to consider, I came across a thread this morning on air + hotel packages that might interest you (although the hotel choices may not suit.) You might try looking on Go-today.com and offpeaktravel.com. The latter had a combo London/Paris option.

I would spend the entire time in Paris if I were going for so few days. The flight from SF is long and jet lag will be a factor the first day, so basically you can write that day off unless you are superman! First days are not a total loss, but it's hard to really do much more then getting outdoors and walking around a little. Heavy duty sightseeing really is a waste, you won't remember what you saw. You can do both cities, but it will be more rushed then romantic and I don't think that is your aim considering you are planning the trip around Valentine's Day. Everytime you change cities/countries figure on losing a big hunk of that day. That goes for taking Eurostar too. It's a 3 hr train ride and you still need to be at the station a hr or so beforehand. Save a two city trip till you have more time to enjoy both places.

Also, it gets dark really early in Feb. which can cut down on sightseeing time a great deal.

Thank you all for taking the time to reply. This was just the info. I was looking for. Even though we are on-the-go types, I was concerned about all the hopping on/off flights. Didn't sound the best. Paris for the week sounds good, but my husband does want to go to London too.. so I am trying to work the logistics. Janis- Thank you. I am looking into the open jaw flights now. Looks like the route we will take. I'll keep you posted.