P_M

I am facing the most difficult decision. Poor, poor me. ;-)

I have been invited to a wedding in Madeira on Easter weekend 2006. I will spend 4 1/2 days in Madeira. I am planning to spend the preceding 4 days in another European city, and I'm pretty sure it will be either London or Paris. I have been to both cities several times and I know they both offer loads of activities. My decision will be based on many factors, but I would appreciate your input on the following: Can you tell me please, which city is better in terms of crowds, weather, and special events in the month of April? I love gardens, so I would also be interested to know where the gardens will be better. If you’ve only been to one of these cities in April, I would still love to hear from you.

Thanks, and happy holidays to all.

StuDudley

We've visited both cities in April. I just looked at our Paris pictures from when we were there in late April. There were lots of photos of tulips & other early spring bulb plants, in various areas around Paris.

Don't recall lots of similar plants in London - we didn't take any pics.

I'de like to get other people's opinion on this, but I think a big difference between the two cities is that in Paris, flowers/plants are scattered almost everywhere. In London, there may be just as many flowers/plants, but they are concentrated in fewer places (Hyde Park).

Stu Dudley

ira

Hi P,

I am biased toward Paris.

Since you will be there in mid April, the chestnut trees might be in blossom. Tulips, etc will be in bloom.

Take a 1/2 day to visit the Parc Monceau.

ira

PS,

Also the Jardin des Plantes.

Seamus

Well, gosh, if you are going to have miss Fiesta in San Antonio, it may as well be Paris...;-)

thit_cho

Why not Lisbon, which has more frequent connections to Funchal? If you've been to both London and Paris several times and if you haven't been to Lisbon, it may be worth considering. Lisbon for the first time is, in my opinion, more interesting than London or Paris for the third (and I love both of those cities, having been to both more than a dozen times).

BAK

Can you hum "April in London"?

Didn't think so.

And how about "April showers bring May flowers." You may be early in either city.

In fact, it does not matter. A plant is a plant, anywhere.

I've been in Paris in April in gloomy rain. I've been in London in April in the sunshine.

Either flip a coin, or go somewhere more southern.

Rome? Somewhere in Spain?

janisj

Actually - I think the gardens will probably be a bit better in London. Kew is <b>AMAZING</b> in the Spring. But both cities are so wonderful you can't make a wrong decision. Weather could be lovely -- or horrible in either city, and you won't know which until right before you get there.

I'd have a hard time deciding (heck, I'd probably add 4 or 5 more days and go to both).

The weight of opinion on here always leans towards Paris - but if I were you I'd just go to the one that has the stronger pull on your emotions/heart.

P_M

Thanks to everyone for your replies.

thit cho, Lisbon is a great idea. I did consider Lisbon because that's another city I liked very much. But I will be traveling on an AA award ticket, so logistically it works better if I go through London or Paris.

janisj is correct about going to the city which has the stronger pull on the emotions/heart. The problem is that I feel drawn to both cities, and there's really not time to do both. Oh, well, I'll mull over it a few more days, and I'll have great fun reading my travel books and writing up the pros and cons each way.

Thanks again.

Scarlett

I have been to both in March/April and both were clear and cold and flowers were blooming in the parks and it was just great
But I haven't been to London in a while, so I would pick London. Kew is wonderful as janis says. Hampton Court ( take the boat on the Thames), walk til you get cold, have some tea and scones, walk some more, have some port and biscuits lol.
Poor you, it IS a difficult choice!
I wish I were having to make it

Scarlett

The Royal Hospital in Chelsea has gardens that had masses of daffodils when we were there one year. And you are just by Sloan Street to do a wee bit of shopping~

P_M

Thanks, Scarlett. Hopefully I'll decide in the next few days.

lucielou

Paris...Always!!

mamc

Paris in any month. If you can see the chestnuts blooming, I'd go for that.

sandykins

I was in London in early April 2004, and there happened to be a cold spell. We were very cold and drank cups and cups of bracing tea. However, the gardens at Kew were glorious with carpets of crocus and of fritillary.

This year we have chosen Paris for spring break. I have never been in April, but there must be a reason why there's a song about Paris in April.

If I had the choice, I'd always choose Paris. It's such a beautiful, romantic city.

WillTravel

The anecdote I read was that the songwriter of &quot;April in Paris&quot; said that the song should really have been about Paris in May, but that &quot;April in Paris&quot; sounded better.

For this sort of thing, I'd probably choose Paris, because I want to see Chartres, and haven't done that. Which doesn't help you, because you were asking about gardens. What would be the state of Giverny?

Nikki

Actually, I heard that the reason there is a song about April in Paris is that it fit the meter of the tune better than May. May is probably much better. I was in Paris for April 1 once, which is known as &quot;poisson d'Avril&quot; (April fish). People supposedly stick fish stickers on each other's backs. Mostly it was evident because of all the fish for sale in the chocolate shops (like chocolate Easter bunnies only, well, fish). Also by the sign in the little restaurant where we had lunch, advertising horse meat. The proprietress informed us it was an April fish joke.

Nikki

Great minds run on the same track.

nona1

The weather and crowds will be pretty much the same in both.

Whichever one you stay in, you could get on the Eurostar train and do a day trip to the other. City centre to city centre takes from 2 1/2 hours each way and it is a comfortable trip.

P_M

Thanks again for all of the good input. I truly love both cities and I’ve been walking the fence on this decision for several days now. After reading these posts and going through my travel books I started leaning toward Paris. I called AA to find out the flight schedules for award travel in order to compare the London plan with the Paris plan. Here’s what I found:

The transatlantic flight schedules are roughly the same for flying to either London or Paris. The difference is getting to Madeira, as the only One World carrier that flies to Madeira is British Airways. On the day I leave for Madeira here’s the comparison between flying from London vs. Paris:

From London I can take a non-stop flight on British Airways leaving LGW at 3:40pm, therefore I can piddle around town until about 1:00pm, then I would catch the train to LGW.

From Paris I would leave CDG around 9am and fly British Airways to LHR. From there I would have to transfer to LGW, then take the above flight to Madeira.

The Paris plan would be a lot more palatable if it didn’t involve an airport change. But as we travelers know, an airport change is a hassle and an expense. I would have to collect my bags at LHR, go through customs, take the bus to LGW, then go through the check-in and security process again at LGW. Then there’s always the outside chance that my flight from Paris could be delayed, causing me to miss the flight to Madeira. There is only one flight per day to Madeira, so if I miss that flight I must go the next day, assuming there is seating available on the next day’s flight. After hearing this, I am thinking the scales are now tipped in favor of London. I think my mind is now made up, but your input is still quite welcome.