Just got back from 9 days in Kent, London and Paris. We had a fabulous time, and the weather couldn’t have been better for England, no rain! We never had to use our umbrellas. Thanks to all for the wonderful advice <BR><BR>Mom and I arrived at Gatwick on Friday morning picked up the rental car and drove directly to Canterbury. I had reserved the car through AutoEurope several months prior to the trip and had no trouble at all picking it up at National. The drive to Canterbury was easy, but driving on the left was interesting. One of the best pieces of advice I received from this forum to have one person drive the whole time and the other to be the navigator and to keep reminding the driver to stay left. It took a little getting used, but after a while, it was no problem at all. <BR><BR>We stayed two nights in Canterbury at the Ersham Lodge Hotel (59 pounds/night). The room was small, but nice with a window view of the back garden. The hotel was only a 5 minute walk from the old city center and a full english breakfast was included in the cost of the room. <BR><BR>Canterbury is a great town. I loved its narrow medieval streets near the cathedral, along with remains of the city walls. The highlights for me were the Cathedral and St. Augustine’s Abbey. Upon research I decided it would be beneficial for us to buy the 7-day Heritage Pass. I knew it would save us some money, but they were running a special and I got 2 passes for the price of one (35 pounds). We saved a ton of money with the pass. <BR><BR>The next morning we drove to St. Margaret’s Cliffe to see the views of the white cliffs. The day was clear enough that you could see France a little over 20 miles away. I’m glad we went to St. Margaret’s because when you are at Dover Castle you never able to see a good view of the white cliffs.

We then drove on to Dover Castle. We went directly to the secret war time tunnels to make a reservation for the guided tour. Since it wasn’t crowded, we were able to take the tour immediately. The tour was great because it allowed you to touch and pick up any of the items displayed. This was especially nice for both children and adults. After the tour of the tunnels we walked up to the castle along the fortified walls and towers. Of the castles we visited, I think Dover was my favorite because it captured my imagination of how I always dreamed a castle should look like, strong and powerful. The castle keep had a self guided tour with the preparations in place for the arrival of Henry VIII. They also had audio/video tour of 1216 attack on the castle. We also visited the Saxon church and Roman lighthouse. <BR><BR>After most of the day at Dover Castle we drove on to Leeds Castle. The grounds of Leeds are absolutely beautiful, which I found more enjoyable than the interior of the castle itself. Since we only had short time at Leeds we walked mainly around the grounds and took a short tour through the castle. After a full day we drove back to Canterbury. <BR><BR>On Sunday morning we drove towards Gatwick stopping at both Chartwell and Hever Castle. Since it was the day before the bank holiday both places were crowded, but especially Hever. I decided to go to Chartwell based on recommendations from other Fodorites and I wasn’t disappointed. Chartwell was one of the surprise highlights of our trip. Both the gardens and house are wonderful and it allows you to see a glimpse of not only Churchill the leader but Churchill the family man. <BR><BR>Afterwards, we drove on to Hever Castle. The crowds were huge! I had always wanted to visit Hever Castle, but I think I would have enjoyed it much more if we hadn’t visited it on a holiday weekend. I did enjoy the grounds, but the interior of the castle was just too crowded for my taste. We then returned the rental car and took the Gatwick Express into London and then a taxi to the hotel.

In London, we stayed four nights at the Avonmore Hotel. The hotel (105 pounds a night) is located in a residential area in West Kensington and included a full english breakfast with a large bathroom and living space. We didn’t arrive until relatively late on Sunday so we just went to dinner and came back to the hotel. <BR><BR>Since this was not our first trip to London, we weren’t rushed to see all the big sites. Instead there were just a few places that we definitely wanted to visit. The next morning we first visited Kensington Palace with the dress collection and the state apartments and then walked through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. We stopped off at Harrods to pick up a few souvenirs and sandwiches at the food hall and then took the tube to Green Park for lunch. It was a beautiful day, and sitting on a park bench eating lunch was great. <BR><BR>After lunch we toured the Royal Mews. This was something I wanted to do on my first trip to London, but ran out of time. I thoroughly enjoyed the Mews, seeing the royal coaches and the golden coach that will be used during the Jubilee celebration next month. After the Mews, we just spent the day shopping and wandering the streets before our 5:30 reservation for tea at the Browns Hotel. After tea, we wandered around a little more taking in the views from the Thames. <BR>

The following day was spent at Hampton Court Palace. I had originally planned to take the train from Waterloo, but I decided instead to take the tube from West Kensington to the end of the line and then the bus on to Hampton Court Gardens. It took about a total time of an hour to travel by tube and bus. We basically spent the entire day at Hampton Court. There are so many things to see, and I definitely recommend taking one of the guided costume tours that’s included in the admission price. We were going to try and take the boat from Hampton Court to Westminster, but the boats left at 2pm and 3pm so it didn’t fit into our schedule. That night after returning we went to Covent Garden and had dinner at a nearby pub. <BR><BR>Our last full day in London started with a visit to St. Paul’s cathedral and a climb to the top. The view would have been great, but that morning it was foggy so you could see very clearly. Afterwards we walked towards the Strand and stopped at St. Brides. St. Brides was an unexpected gem. I know it’s famous for its spiral but the contents crypt surprised me. The crypt house a small museum that showed both Roman and Saxon foundations. We then walked out the Strand, stopping at Twinings Tea shop, and then a little more shopping. <BR><BR>More to follow about Paris...<BR>

Thanks for the posting ... it's so nice when someone tells about the trip they asked questions for!! I was one of the people who said choose one driver and stick with it so I am glad it worked for you (it always has for us). It's too bad Hever Castle was so crowded, it's a lovely place. When we went there were about 20 people there (no kidding) and we had a marvelous day. I'm so glad the trip worked out well.

Thanks Lori! There was more than one occassion that my mom had to remind me that I was in the wrong lane (actually, it was more like, GET IN THE LEFT LANE). I found making right hand turns the most tricky because I always veered into the right lane. Lucky there were never cars coming the other way when I was in the wrong lane. Oh, can't imagine only 20 people at Hever! There had to have been thousands there that day, and I'm not exaggerating.

The next day we caught our 7:23 train to Paris. The Eurostar is extremely smooth, going more slowly in the English countryside and then speeding up through the tunnel and French countryside. Once we arrived in Paris, we took a taxi to the hotel, Hotel Mugeut in the 7th (90 Euros a night). <BR><BR>This was my mom’s first trip to Paris so I wanted her to see all the big sites, but to enjoy the city. Of all the bad weather, Paris was the worst. It was dreary and overcast the first two days and then the 3rd day it rained. Otherwise it was great! <BR><BR>Since our hotel was so close to the Eiffel Tower, we first walked through the rue Cler area stopping at a caf&eacute; for lunch. After lunch we visited Napoleons Tomb where we bought our 3 day museum pass. I can honestly say that the pass didn’t save us any money but it sure saved a ton of time being able to bypass the long lines, particularly at the Louvre, Musee d’Orsay and Arc de Triomphe. <BR><BR>Our next stop was the Rodin. The last time I was in Paris was in the winter and I was looking forward to visiting the Rodin gardens in the spring. I was not disappointed. The sculptures in the garden are only enhanced by the gorgeous roses. Next we took a Seine cruise. I thought this would be a great way for my mom to see Notre Dame for the first time. After the cruise we took the metro to the Latin Quarter and just walked around a bit and had dinner on the Ile St. Louis. After dinner, even though we had dessert, we still stopped for ice cream at Berthillon. This was my 4th trip to Paris and my first time to try ice cream at Berthillon. YUM.

The next full day in Paris was spent touring Notre Dame, Ste Chapelle and quick stop at the Louvre to see the biggies. Notre Dame was absolutely crowded with people I found out why once we got towards the south rose window, they had the back of the church closed off, so everyone was just crowded into a small space. We went to the deportation memorial behind Notre Dame, but the gates were locked. We then went to Ste Chapelle, one of my favorite places in all of Paris. Even though it was overcast outside, the stained glass windows were still spectacular. <BR><BR>We did the world wind tour of the Louvre. Thank goodness we had our museum pass, I couldn’t imagine standing in those lines and wasting all that precious time in Paris. We saw Mona, Venus, Nike and David’s crowing of Napoleon. The crowds were crazy in the Louvre also, and my mom was amazed at the sheer size. Once in the courtyard of the Louvre, I told her that we only briefly stopped at one wing and that the whole building was basically a museum.

For our last day in Paris our first stop was the Arc de Triomphe. Thanks again to the pass, we were one of the first to climb to the top. After climbing back down we walked along the Champs Elysees and then headed over to the Musee d’Orsay. Long lines again waiting to go into the museum, but this time people were having to stand in the rain. We had lunch at the small cafeteria on the top floor and had a pretty good view of the clock. After touring, mom wanted to do a bit of shopping so we went to Galleries Lafayette. While there I finally had the famous Angelina’s African hot chocolate, absolutely amazing, now I know what all the talk is about on this forum. <BR><BR>After dinner, we walked over to the Eiffel Tower and miraculously there were no lines. We immediately went to the top for some incredible views of the city at night. Even though it was raining a bit, it was still pretty clear. <BR><BR>The next day, we took a taxi to the airport and our adventure was over. <BR><BR>If I can help answer any questions, please feel free to either post them here or email me. Thanks!!!!<BR>

Your trip sounds wonderful! Made my heart beat faster! I cannot wait! We June 2nd for London/Paris! Thank you for the bit of excitement!

Great report Tammy. You squeezed in a lot without rushing to do EVERYTHING. <BR><BR>Too bad about Hever. At least did you get to wander through the gardens? Chartwell is wonderful - wish more Americans would go there, Hever and Penshurst Place instead of Leeds (just my 2¢ worth).

Welcome home, Tammy. Your report was super, and I am so glad you had a good trip. (Hard to have a bad one, though, isn't it?)

<BR>Janis, <BR>Yes, we did explore the grounds at Hever quite extensively, but didn't make it to the maze (which was fine since we did go through the maze at Hampton Court). I totally agree about visiting Chartwell. I had read about it in guidebooks but never really gave it much thought until I heard about it a little more here on Fodors. It was definitely one of the best places that we saw while in Kent.

What town is Chartwell nearest?

Chartwell is near the village of Westerham. The nearest large town is Sevenoaks which is about 6 miles NE.<BR><BR>Chartwell, Hever. Pennshurst Place and Knole are all within 5 or 6 miles of each other.

I'm so glad you went to St Margarets. My parents lived there for years and your mention of the cliffs and being able to see France brought back memories. We used to take the dogs along the clifftop walk and watch the ferries going across the channel.