Help! My family and I are going to London and Paris the end of May and I am totally overwhelmed. I have read so many guide books and talked to so many people that I am confussed. I would like to know if anyone has a good itenarary for London and Paris. We will be staying in London in the Kensington area for 5 days. Then we will go to Woodstock for two days and then to Paris for only 3 days. Any help would be appreciated. I know there is a lot to see but I don't know in what order would be most efficient with our time. We have theater tickets for 3 shows in London. Thanks, Marilyn

Marilyn, you've come to the right place! There are some wonderful, detailed postings on this site, for the very things you seek! I remember an extensive one posted a few months back by Wes Fowler, if I'm not mistaken. I printed it out for a friend who was going to London for a few days, and she loved it. Try doing an archives search with key words "London," "Paris," and "Itinerary." That should get you started, at least.

Marilyn, you've come to the right place! There are some wonderful, detailed postings on this site, for the very things you seek! I remember an extensive one posted a few months back by Wes Fowler, if I'm not mistaken. I printed it out for a friend who was going to London for a few days, and she loved it. Try doing an archives search with key words "London," "Paris," and "Itinerary." That should get you started, at least.

Marilyn, My wife and I just recently returned from a trip to London and Paris. I would suggest spending one of the first days in London on the Big Red Bus tour. It gives a good overview of London and orients one to the city. It allows you to get off at any stop and get on another bus later. It seems your evenings are booked with three plays. We attended an evening performance of Les Miserables at the Palace. It was FANTASTIC! If you are near there for dinner or lunch, there is an Italian restaurant around the corner called the Pollo. It is inexpensive (6GBP/person), good food and neat atmosphere. With only three days in Paris, I would pick five or six sights and truly spend a half day absorbing each; rather than zipping through as many as possible. If you enjoy art, the Rick Steve's books give a good quick tour of the Louvre and the D'Orsay. Check the hours at the Louvre. Some evenings they are open late. The crowds are thinned and it makes for a nice stroll after an early dinner (followed by wine and cheese back in the hotel). If you would like more information, you may e-mail me. Have a wonderful trip!

Far be it from me to even attempt to <BR>provide information a la wes, but I <BR>will reproduce here some London and Paris info that I have gleaned from my own experiences and files, and also that I've shamelessly cribbed from previous postings on this forum by wes and others. Wes's originals can't be beat but think of this as the bare bones summary. <BR> <BR>London must sees: <BR>The Tower of London <BR>Strategy:arrive about ten minutes before the tickets go on sale at 9am and go <BR>directly to the crown jewels. By arriving early you’ll have a chance to look at the jewels for a longer than usual period. <BR> <BR>Victoria and Albert Museum (The V & A) <BR>Cromwell Road, South Kensington tube stop. Tours are available. <BR>The world’s largest collection of decorative arts. Has entire furnished rooms, collections of silver, costumes, china, Italian Renaissance,sculptures, spoons, shoes. Objects come from Britain, France, Italy, Spain, India, everywhere. There’s a Frank Lloyd Wright Gallery, a dress collection, an Islamic Gallery. There is a sizeable collection of paintings by Constable. <BR>The place can be overwhelming, you’ll have to pick and choose. The gift shop is an excellent place to find souvenirs and gifts, available items cover the price range from jewelry to beautiful paper napkins for entertaining. <BR>Westminster Abbey. Take the tour, it’s excellent. There is also a brass rubbing area if you are interested in making your own souvenir. <BR>Harrod's and its food halls or equally impressive Fortnum & Mason's food halls. Good place to buy inexp. gifts such as store-brand teas,jams, and cookies. <BR>The British Museum. Impossible to see it all. Do see the Rosetta Stone,andthe Elgin Marbles which are near each other. The British Library, if it has reopened in its new building, has many priceless historical documents like the Magna Carta. <BR>Trafalgar Square area: <BR>1. The National Gallery.Again you'll have to pick and choose, but the collection of paintings is wonderful. <BR>2. National Portrait Gallery: everyone from Elizabeth I to Princess Di. Fascinating, not too taxing. <BR>3.St.Martin's in the Fields at Trafalgar Square. A church housing an inexpensive, <BR>restaurant, a brass rubbing center and it also stages periodic concerts. <BR>St Paul's Cathedral. Wren's masterpiece. Look for his tomb in the crypt:his epitaph translates as "If you seek his monument, look around you." <BR>I also love Churchill's Cabinet War Rooms on King Charles St near the palace of Westminster (Parliament). This was the British gov't's headquarters during WWII. <BR>And I am also a special fan of the <BR>Banqueting House on Whitehall, not far from the preceding. It was originally part of the palace at Whitehall, designed by Inigo Jones, classic <BR>architecture. Ceiling paintings by Rubens. King Charles I mounted his execution scaffold from a window in this beautiful structure.You can get by with spending only a few minutes here. <BR> <BR>Paris: 3 days is hard, but here are a few highlights. (It's hard to recommend things without knowing your interests, but here are some favorites). I'll bet your guidebook has suggestions for walks and itineraries that include the following, plus much more: <BR>Notre Dame, see inside and out. <BR>(It's the Cite metro stop). Then walk a few minutes to Sainte Chapelle, a masterpiece of gothic architecture and breathtaking stained glass. If possible go on a sunny day to see the glass in it's glory. From there it's only a few steps to the Conciergerie where many prisoners of the Revolution were held before execution. You can see Marie Antoinette's last cell, a guillotine blade, etc. <BR>Assuming you have bought museum passes <BR>(you don't want to waste time waiting in lines) head for the Louvre. It is beyond overwhelming, so do a little reading before hand and decide what you absolutely must see. On such a short trip I would not plan on spending more than a couple of hours there. <BR>Take a walk through the Tuileries Gardens and then head to Place de la Concorde. From Place de la Concorde you can walk up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe, or explore the gorgeous shops on rue du Faubourg St Honore. <BR>On another day, explore the left bank. <BR>See the wonderful Musee D'Orsay, spend what ever amount of time you can. Walk the blvd St Germain, explore the charming sidestreets and cafes and shops, go to the Rodin Museum which has beautiful sculptures and a pretty garden. If you like include les Invalides where Napoleon's tomb is. You can walk to the Eiffel Tower. <BR>On another day, perhaps take a bateau mouche boat ride on the Seine. It's touristy but especially beautiful at night And on such a short trip you might do well to do a half day guided coach tour of Paris such as are run by Cityrama or Parisvision. They are a bit pricey but can give you an overview and <BR>an orientation. And if you have time and stamina left over, try to take a walk to Ile St Louis (stop for icecream at Berthillon) cross another bridge and then wander through the Marias area, stopping for lunch or dinner along the way. <BR> <BR>If you want any restaurant suggestions, ask away, or do a Search on this forum. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

I strongly agree with the suggestion to take a Big Red Bus tour in London on the first or second day (even if you're not that into group tours, as I am not) -- it is a great way to get oriented to the city and get some ideas about where you would like to spend more time exploring, plus the tour guide will give you a smattering of history and odd facts, etc. Personally, I have to admit that while I enjoyed London, I am not the hugest fan (except for the fabulous theatre scene, which is where I ended up spending most of my time and money!) and liked other parts of England better, so if you have any urge to get out of the city there are some great daytrips you can take that are a lot of fun. We did one such coach tour to Bath and Stonehenge that was lovely and fascinating (alternatively, Cambridge is also close by and you can take a short train ride out of the city and explore it yourself -- I loved it). <BR>I also agree that doing a similar city tour upon arriving in Paris is a good idea, or at least one of the boat tours on the Seine from which you can see some of the major monuments and get oriented as to what is where. It is really too bad that you only have 3 days in Paris! If you decide to attempt the Louvre, it can be overwhelming due to its size, so again, I recommend one of the museum's tours which will give you a more manageable overview of a small part of the collection. I'm not sure I would even try it if you only have three days. The Musee d'Orsay is terrific (especially if you like Impressionism) and smaller which is an asset. My favorite museum in Paris is the Picasso museum (in the lovely Marais district). Try to see Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur and Montmartre. You probably won't have time for Versailles which is too bad -- ah, 3 days in Paris is almost a curse -- just enough of a tease to give you a taste for what you don't really have time to see! <BR>Be sure to save the bulk of your restaurant budget for Paris where it can be put to best use (although I had great Indian and Pakistani meals in London). <BR>Have a wonderful time.

Oh,Marilyn,let's be adventurous (and economical, too). Rather than attempting to orient yourself to London by taking "the big red bus tour" with a bunch of other tourists from Idaho, Hong Kong and Sydney, pick up a copy of the A-Z Visitors' London Atlas and Guide. It's about the size of a postcard and less than half an inch thick, but it lists every major attraction in London, opening and closing hours and nearest underground station. It also has a superbly detailed set of maps that identify every street, attraction on it, underground stations and bus routes identified by street. Now, purchase a London transport ticket for Zone 1 (where almost all of the attractions are located). Costs will range from 10 pounds for a "carnet" of 10 tickets, to 3.80 for an all day pass to 14.80 for a weekly pass. With A-Z Guide in hand, you have a couple of inexpensive sightseeing options. At Victoria Station, board one of the red double decker London Transport buses marked "11 Liverpool Street Station". Sit up top up front. You'll drive past Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, up Whitehall past 10 Downing Street, Horse Guards and Banqueting Hall to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery, then onto the Strand past the Courtauld Institute, to Fleet Street and the Royal Courts of Justice, and on to St. Paul's Cathedral. As an alternate, at Paddington Station or Marble Arch, board the city bus marked "15 Canningtown" and ride down Oxford Street past Selfridge's department store to Oxford Circus then down Regent Street past Liberty's and Josiah Wedgewood to Piccadilly Circus and on to Trafalgar Square, St. Paul's and the Tower of London. If you have a one day, family or weekly pass, get on and off as frequently as you please, your ticket (which may cost less than 10% of the one for "the big red bus") is good all day.