Last minute advice for London/Paris trip?
 

We're about 1 month away from a first time family trip to London and Paris. We have all the travel arrangements, passports and documents; we've ordered some currency and have travel and credit cards ready; we have theatre tickets in hand, London passes, and Paris museum tickets in hand. We've roughed out an itinerary (we're on our own, not a tour) and we've got Tube and metro maps at the ready. We've done a dry run of packing and made a short list of a few extra things we still have to get. Got presecriptions, eyeglasses, extra contact lenses, all ready to go. Any suggestions about what we're forgetting?

Get the book, Bistros of Paris by Barbara Hamberger for a great selection of French restaurants!

In a way, I sort of miss being able to get as wired as you are right now. :)
If you simply remember to bring what you've already got, you'll have a wonderful time. Stop preparing. Relax. ;)

You've already done about 90% more than I usualy do before a trip to London/Paris. I call my bank and credit card company to let them know I'll be out of the country and make sure my passport is in my travel wallet and that's about it.

I never get money ahead of time, pre-purchase tube passes, museum passes, London Pass or (seldom anyway) theatre tkts.

You'll be just fine . . . . .

Make sure you've left time for the totally unplanned and serendipitous.

Don't worry about packing everything. They do have shops abroad, and finding everyday things can be part of the fun of a trip away. As long as you have each other and your passports, credit cards and return tickets safe, you can always get by.

Pack less than you think you will need. Bring copies of passports. Be ready to accommodate changes in your intinerary. Pack your common sense. Relax.

You mentioned tube and Metro maps, but do you also have good street maps, so you can find your way when walking around? I find Michael Middleditch's maps (The London Mapguide and The Paris Mapguide) indispensable: they're very detailed (more so than the Streetwise maps), and they have a convenient format (shaped like a paperback book, so you don't have to do a lot of folding and unfolding, and the right size and weight to slip into the outside pocket of a day bag).

I agree, The London Mapguide and The Paris Mapguide booklets are the best!

You might check with your health insurance company and see if there is anything special you need to do if you have health problems out of the country.

When you tell your bank you will be out of the country get the phone number to use if you have a problem. You will not be able to call their 800 number.

Keith

Are the mapguides mentioned here available in bookstores in the states? I'll be going to London in June. thanks

Make sure your ATM card is up todate and works. I never use an ATM card so a week before I'm ready to go, I try my ATM card. IT'S EXPIRED!!!!!!!!!! bank can't promise they can send me another one. Thankfully it showed up yesterday (I leave tomorrow) All my planning and it never occurred to me my ATM card didn't work.

Joelle

Here's another huge recommendation for the Paris and London Mapguides (available online at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc. - often at your local bookstore).

They're slim, easy to read, have all the sights and attractions on them. Best is the bus routes.

Bring extra money. Prices in London, oy.

We enjoy getting around by city bus, when possible, and the Paris/London Mapguides have bus route numbers printed on the streets, and the edges of quadrants on each page. That way you can follow a route.

We go to Paris a couple of times a year and use the buses most of the time. On a first trip to London, with our Mapguide, we used buses exclusively.

In Paris we also carry a poocket-sized booklet ["le Bus" by L'Indispensible] showing all of the bus routes [and the transfer points], overlayed on maps of the city. The idea is to locate a route in the Mapguide, then to "Le Bus" for the details. Every stop has a name, so you can follow along in the booklet to see where to get off.

One problem in Paris is finding the right bus stop in places where there are several lines. Printable street maps are listed by metro stop on the ratp web site [google for Paris Visite].

All excellent advice. I've located the mapguides at a local Barnes and Noble that had them in stock. On the website too, I believe. I also got a great Tube guide downloaded on my pocket PC (which I'll have with me)that animates a route and estimates travel time.

smiroglotta, have a great trip, make sure you have made a photo copy of everyone's passport, have the contact phone numbers of all your credit card companies with you, if the card disappears so does the contact number!!!, make sure you know which of your credit card charges additional fees for foreign currency conversion. Deborah