Last minute London-Paris ????
 

A few last minute questions about my upcoming trip to London and Paris.

I'll get into Heathrow around noon. Not knowing jet lag, I'm not sure how I'll be feeling so want to take it easy, but what I do want to try to do the first day is this:

1) Hit Boots for toiletries. This recent security shakeup has convinced me to leave all mine at home and just buy them in London. I know I could check them, but I think this "might" be fun. Are all UK toiletries the same as the US? Want something "new!"

2) Get a handful of postcards and stamps to get them back to the US. I don't know if this is something I can do at Heathrow before/after customs or at Boots. Thoughts? I may also send a package of souveniers home, so is there a UPS or FedEx on every corner? Anything better? Staying in Kensington and Westminster.

3) Get tickets to shows. I was recently in Chicago and missed Wicked because I just didn't get on it soon enough. I'm not going to do that in London. Want to see Mary Poppins and Billy Elliot for sure, open to other suggestions Maybe a non-musical. How do I get tickets, either before I go or as soon as I get in. Don't want to wait to the day of.

4) Tube pass/card/whatever. Probably take the Tube from Heathrow, so I probably should get it there, but what are my best options for 6 days?

5) If I haven't already done this, change dollars to pounds. Hoping to do this pre-flight. If not should I do this at the airport?

6) Is there a card/pass for touristy locations? Museums and such. Like the Paris Museum Pass? My only firm plan is Tate Modern, Westminster Abbey and the Eye. Other things as the mood strikes, but if a pass exists that would help narrow some things down. Not looking to save money, but save time.

7) Lastly, for London, I plan to go to Ronnie Scott's Jazz club. Anyone been there, eaten there? Anything to know?

Almost the same plan and questions for Paris. I'll get into Gare du Nord around noon, have a hotel near the Arc de Triomphe. May toss my London toiletries and buy new again. For fun. Where?

1) Not planning on seeing any "shows" but am open to suggestions for things along those lines.

2) Paris Museum Card. Postcards. Stamps. Where?

3) Metro pass for 3 days. Where, best options?

DEN to LHR, where are customs, how are they to get through?

CDG to LHR to DEN, again how are customs and where will I go through?

Thanks in advance for the help. I've learned a lot here and I'm getting that tingly, anxiety thing I'm sure you've all felt before a trip. This is my first outside of North America!

OOf!

Start with the immediate thing: check with your bank about using ATMs in the UK and France to draw pounds direct from your US account. This should certainly be possible if you card has a Cirrus symbol on it, or some similar international banking network. This is almost certainly the most cost-effective way to get money in the UK, though it might help to change some dollars on arrival just in case of any problems.

You won't have any trouble working out how to get to immigration and customs when you get off the plane - it's in their interests to get you there as quickly as possible, after all.

Travel in London: I'd get a weekly Travelcard for zones 1 and 2, but search the forums for "travelcard" or "oyster" to see endless exchanges of opinion about precisely what the best bargain is. A lot will depend on whether you want to spend time working out the exact balance between how much use you'll be making of buses and tubes and Oyster prepay, or buying a weekly travelcard from the outset. I think you could probably (depending on the queues) do it all at Heathrow on arrival - ask for a weekly travelcard for zones 1 and 2 with an add-on to get from Heathrow to central London.

Boots are everywhere, including in airport terminals.

Postcards are everywhere. You could ask in the shop selling them if they have stamps, though mostly you would need to go to a Post Office (this could often be a small specialist section of a general-purpose convenience store, as much as a central post office that does nothing else). Likewise ask at a Post Office about sending packages to the US.

For shows, check out http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/ and get a copy of Time Out to read on the way in from Heathrow.

Most museums in London are free. I don't know how many of the attractions you want to see are involved with the London Pass, but there seems to be a strong view that it may not be worth the money for a lot of people.

For toiletries in Paris, you can spend the earth, of course. Any chain supermarket might look interestingly different, I don't know; more upmarket (and accordingly pricey) are L'Occitane en Provence (they also have shops in London) and Sephora, but they won't be on any street corner, unlike Monoprix. Or you could go to the big department stores like Galeries Lafayette or Au Printemps.

In Paris, postcards are everywhere, and when you by them you can ask where the nearest place for stamps is. Often a street corner newspaper stand, especially if it's selling tobacco as well, will have some.

For travel in Paris:

www.ratp.fr and click on the link for "international passengers". A Paris Visite card for three days would be simplest.

Hi B,

>change dollars to pounds. Hoping to do this pre-flight. If not should I do this at the airport?<

Some folks like to change about $75 into foreign currency at the departure airport so that they don't have to look for an ATM machine upon arrival.

Otherwise, you should get all the GBP and Euro you need from ATMs.

>Metro pass for 3 days. Where, best options?<

Paris is a very good walking city. We have never used more than one 10 ticket carnet (11.5E) pp/week.

Enjoy your visit.

Don't worry about Customs. The lines are at passport control.

You will have your passport checked in the UK, both ways.

Enjoy your visit.
((I))

London Tube pass: get an Oyster card with a 7-day, 2-zone Travelcard loaded on it, plus £2 - £3.60 for Heathrow extensions (the exact amount will depend on when you travel). Here are some maps:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/cen_bus.pdf
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/buses/pdfdocs/centlond.pdf

There is a LondonPass.com that purports to save money on sights, but unless you're planning a really rigorous itinerary, forget it. Most of the very top attractions are free anyway (with the notable exceptions of the Tower and Eye).

For transport in Paris: if you will board a bus or go into the M&eacute;tro/RER more than four times on a given day, buy a <i>Mobilis</i> pass for that day. You can have a very nice overview tour with a &euro;5,50 card and this map:

http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan...aux&amp;fm=pdf

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Hit Boots for toiletries. This recent security shakeup has convinced me to leave all mine at home and just buy them in London. I know I could check them, but I think this &quot;might&quot; be fun.
....Are all UK toiletries the same as the US?
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boots = walgreens at 170% the cost. i really don't understand why someone would want to spend valuable holiday time shopping in an ordinary store like boots that is really not much different from a walgreens or cvs that they have at home. i don't see the fun. the brands will be mostly the same except smaller sizes at greater cost.

for theatre tickets, check out www.lastminute.co.uk they might have something you are interested in but they will not have the hottest shows. also check out www.nationaltheatre.org for shows that are generally much higher quality than you will see in the west end.

Here is a link to a very helpful article about changing money in Europe, including what you need to do BEFORE leaving home to be sure your credit cards and ATM cards will work in Europe: http://tinyurl.com/k3vy6.

One small correction to ira's post: A ten-ticket carnet for the Paris Metro costs E10.90.

Here is the URL for the Paris Museum Pass: www.parismuseumpass.com.

Cosmetics in London are expensive, even the &quot;cheap&quot; ones. Figure double and then some for everything. You can take cosmetics in checked luggage (and actually I believe you can take cosmetics TO the UK, it's the flights FROM the UK to US that limited hand baggage. Lipstick, compact powder &amp; blusher are ok going as far as I know as of now. Coming back you fly &quot;without&quot;. No liquid makeup or mascara or gel like stuff tho. Take a look at British Airways website for UK rules, also look at US Security site for their rules.

As for things like shampoo, etc. pack them in small plastic bottles, then triple wrap them in plastic baggies.

You will be tired when you arrive, is the first thing you want to do really go out looking for shampoo ???

Don't plan on getting tickets to top shows if you did not book in advance. I always use TicketmasterUK and Yes, you do pay a fee, but it's no worse then fees charged in the US when you buy tickets for shows/concerts.

Pack you toiletries in plastic bags and take them to Paris.

Yeah, I know, not really a &quot;few&quot; questions. My appologies and thanks for the replies so far.

My bank debit card and my credit card will both work in Europe and the credit card is one of those &quot;smart&quot; cards talked about in the thread about them not always working. I'm not too worried. I will for sure try to change some here in Denver before the flight.

Awesome article about changing money and getting more from ATMs! Thanks!

Is the Heathrow Terminal 4 Tube station re-opened yet?

The first time I went to Canada I didn't take toiletries because I had this weird belief that they would be different and exotic. Beer or poutine flavored toothpaste or whatever. Other than having French instructions, they weren't different. Later trips I just took my regular stuff. My wanting to buy them in London is for the same reason, or was. I've never been to London so I don't know what there are for toiletries. Maybe a fish and chips flavored toothpaste? If it's mostly the same, I'll probably just take stuff from home. I'm not an experienced world travler, so all of this is new and exciting to me. Just wanted to get a &quot;Welcome to London&quot; kit with postcards, stamps, travel and show tickets and what not. Not a big deal, but didn't plan to spend hours at Boots. I hope not to need mascara! That would get some looks! :-)

Is it possible or advisable to get any of these travel, show or museum tickets/passes before I leave? I will look at Tickemaster for sure.

Thanks again everyone! Most helpful. I turn 40 the day before I leave, so this is a birthday present to myself. Hoping to see more of the world in the second 40.

Billy Elliot is probably still a very hot ticket and if you have your heart set on seeing it, you better buy the ticket NOW, TODAY, online. Don't wait.

With the exchange rate between the dollar and the pound at almost 2 (dollars) for 1(pound) EVERYTHING from tooth paste to fish will cost almost double. Bring what you can. Save purchases for things you can't get at home. ;)

Happy birthday!

b_in_d; I try to stock up on cosmetics when I'm in the US, as they are so much more expensive in Europe, even more so in London. And I don't know about you, but I would rather not try something new on holiday, as I get allergic reactions to some cosmetics.

If there's a show you really want to see, get tickets now. You will be able to see on Ticketmaster and other sites like that if the show you want to see is likely to be sold out. My daughter and I loved Mamma Mia. If weather is good (which seems doubtful at the moment), have a look at the Open Air Theatre in Regents Park.

If the show is not sold out the easiest and cheapest thing to do is to call the box office from the US - you pick the tickets up at the theatre the day of the show. http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/ will give you the phone numbers. See http://www.theatremonkey.com/ for info on the best seats. There's also the half-price TKTS kiosk in Leicester Square for day-of-show tickets. (Make sure you use the kiosk, not the shops claiming to half-price tickets.)

Billy Elliot is at the Victoria Palace. I can get tickets on September 15th, but I'm not sure the best location to sit. It gives me Stalls, Row C if I say best available, but I'm not totally certain if this is the best. Looks like 3 rows back from the stage, but I wouldn't see a movie in the 3rd row. Any thoughts about where to sit? They also have Dress and Grand Circles.

Same question about Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward Theatre. Where to sit?

Happy birthday! I can't think of a better way to treat yourself than taking a trip to Europe.

If you exchange dollars for pounds in Denver, the rate will be terrible. You'll get a slightly less terrible rate if you get pounds at Heathrow, but I don't recommend doing that either. Take a few hundred dollars in cash to exchange only in an emergency, but plan to bring it all home untouched. Get pounds from the first ATM you see at Heathrow.

If you're ready now to commit to booking shows in London, do what PatrickLondon suggests and use the Official London Theatre site.

There is no advantage to getting travel passes or museum passes in advance. Follow Robespierre's advice about getting an Oyster card and loading it with a seven-day travelcard plus extensions for Heathrow.

Go to www.tfl.gov.uk to download and print a London Tube map. Go to www.ratp.fr to download and print a Metro/RER map for central Paris.

It appears that you are going to fly from Paris to London to Denver. If you take the RER B from Paris to CDG, be aware that the B line divides northeast of Paris so be sure to get on a train that is going to the airport.

Thanks Tim!

Good idea about taking US currency for emergencies. Would travelers checks be safer?

Fortunately or unfortunately, I'm a time phobe on travel days. I end up at airports at least 3 hours early. I blame the Army for that. I am staying at the CDG Hilton my last night just to help avoid the anxiety.

Thanks again to everyone! I'm starting to get even more excited.

Don't sit in the Grand Circle at the Victoria Palace if your legs are more than six inches long. The leg space is TINY - I am only 5' 4&quot; and I found it unbearable. Wouldn't worry too much about being close to the stage, theatre isn't like a movie, after all, much more intimate experience where being close up is an advantage.
Boots is as good a place as any to buy toiletries but when I come to the US I always stock up there because it's much cheaper your side of the pond.
For fun experience at theatre try The Boyfriend (British musical, very quaint) at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park or The Comedy of Errors at The Globe (also open air), if you're into Shakespeare. If you want the authentic Elizabethan experience be a 'groundling' and stand in front of the stage but only if you can last on your feet for two and a half hours. I would recommend buying a seat, at least you get some cover if it rains.
It's a good idea to book the Eye in advance as queues can get very long at this time of year. You can do it online at www.londoneye.com
Ronnie Scotts has recently been refurbished and I haven't been there since, but no-one ever went there for the food...

The downside to booking the Eye in advance is that if your scheduled flight takes off in rain and fog, you won't get your money's worth.

We've always bought tickets on a walk-up basis when the weather was good, and never had to queue more than a few minutes.

I'll see about sitting near the stage then. I'm 6'1&quot;, so more room would be great.

OK! I'll take toiletries! :-P

Any recommendation near Ronnie Scott's for dinner? I've heard the area is kind of youthful clubby, so I'm willing to have dinner further away if that's better.

Thanks again everyone!

Assuming you'll have a secure place (like a money belt or neck pouch) to keep the pounds and euros you'll be getting from ATMs, use it for your emergency US dollars, too. Travelers checks are best as another emergency source but not for much else. Few businesses accept them and the banks that do will charge you plenty for cashing them.

I see that Wicked is about to start in London and there is something called Previews going on before the actual opening. What's that about? Paying to see a rehearsal?

Here are my London responses:

You can get seating charts for theatres and recommendations for good and bad seats at theatremonkey.com.

I guess I'm in the minority, but my girls and I always have a lot of fun poking around at Boots.

I think that newsagents sell postcard stamps - you'll find them in the tube stations. They also sell phone cards.

Be aware that mailing packages from the UK is beastly expensive. I'd buy nonbreakable or lightweight souvenirs and check them in baggage (bring a small lightweight duffle bag folded in your suitcase).

Definitely the 7 day travelcard loaded on an Oyster pass - with that Heathrow extension.

Nearly all the wonderful museums are free (but of course they request a donation). Westminster, St. Paul's (tower), the Eye, Madame Tussauds, the Tower of London are not free (and not cheap).

Previews are just before the official opening when the critics come and review the show. In a way, it's time to smooth out any last minute issues. Good idea, esp. if you want to see Wicked. Do it. ;)

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Any recommendation near Ronnie Scott's for dinner? I've heard the area is kind of youthful clubby,
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andrew edmunds is good and nearby (10-15 min walk). booking ahead is a must. the restaurant is not at all clubby or youthful. but yes, this area does have a lot of very bad pubs frequented by loutish youths.

Well, I have Wicked and Billy Elliot tickets! Whoooo!

The Victoria Palace Theatre where Billy Elliot is playing is walking distance from my hotel. Sitting in the Grand Circle unfortunately, but I'm on the middle aisle, so hopefully it will have more leg room. Theatre Monkey says it might.

Ronnie Scott's was supposed to have online booking available, but it looks like I'm going to have to call. Trying to see Stacey Kent, who, because she's playing there, I've listened to quite a bit lately and really like.

Went out today to get travel bottles for shampoo and stuff like that. Had a chat with the girl at the check out who is going to Africa next month. Everyone is travelling.

Thanks again to everyone!

I'm fascinated by all these retail experts who tell us there's nothing in a Boots they can't find in a Walgreens of CVS.

Are there more than a handful of either chain's branches selling even the tinest proportion of Boots No 7 toiletries and cosmetics? Or any at all selling Botanics, Detox or Time Dimensions?

It's no accident that our women have the world's best complexions and that they almost ALL choose their basic skincare from Boots' private label products.

It is, however, tricky to buy more than emergency products from the Heathrow Boots branches available to arriving passengers. Go to a decent-sized branch in town (store locator at boots.co.uk) for the full cosmetic and skincare range.

&quot;It's no accident that our women have the world's best complexions and that they almost ALL choose their basic skincare from Boots' private label products.&quot;

Some British women have beautiful complexions; some have terrible complexions and most have average. No better than I've seen elsewhere in Europe. Sun exposure and cigarette smoking do plenty of harm to those British complexious that bucket loads of Boots products won't fix. And British women do love those beach holidays, tanning salons and nicotine.

As for all women with beautiful complexions shopping at Boots, again, how silly. Our nearest Space NK does booming business with British women.

I've used some of those lines mentioned above and found that some worked great and some I tossed after the first couple of uses. Among those we tossed were the &quot;Takeaways&quot; travel size hair products.

i do not wish to offend here...but if one wishes to use evaluation of a nation's compexions as an indicator of where to purchase toiletries (a scientifically problematic pursuit, indeed), i would suggest france over england (the OP is also travelling to paris). french women age very well as compared to her cousins north of the channel. btilke cites ciggies and sun...my first thought was drink and rough living but this is debatable and probably in questionable taste anyway....i will end this strand of debate here and let the OP and the rest of us make up our own minds.

as for boots itself, each consumer has his or her own thoughts. the store is really nothing special and it is clearly struggling with its business model. they have the worst dentists in the country so they are inept as providing healthcare (ughhh, nhs surgeries are next).

they sell prams but can't decide if they want to go high end or low end...and they don't have anyone available to talk about the &pound;600 prams (lashed to the floor so trying them is not possible) so they should not bother trying to sell them and should just aim at the low end. poor business model.

boots suffers from many of the same problems as M&amp;S....the &quot;they just do&quot; business model. the idea that britons just buy their _____ at the store and that's the way it always has been and always will be. the problem is that they increasingly don't. young people don't care about boots any more than they care about m&amp;s. tesco, sainsbury, etc are eating boots lunch when it comes to selling low to mid-range personal care products. specialty retailers that offer a more interesting and fun shopping experience like lush, body shop etc have stepped in to take the mid to higher end.

just about every store sells store brand products (boots, cvs, morrisons, superdrug, walgreens, asda, etc). most products are made by just a few suppliers and most store brands are lower priced copies of the proprietary brands - with the packaging of the store brands closely resembling the famous brands. boots was no exception to this.

a while ago boots decided to market their store brand not as lower priced copies but as a distinct boots brand with a more unified look across the whole range rather than each individual product made to resemble the market leading product from the famous brands. same products just a different marketing strategy.

this is why boots brand products enjoy a greater status than store brand copies of famous brands that are offered in stores such as morrisons, cvs, walgreens etc. as btilke says, some are good, some are bad...but overall, they are nothing special, just regular store brand products marketed in a different way. probably a good marketing decision but not enough to rescue boots from its perpetual decline.

it's heresy to say but boots and m&amp;s are nothing special.

My apologies, I guess maybe I should have been clearer. I'm a 40 year old, straight, single, male who has no interest in cosmetics. Maybe the questions about musicals threw people off. I guess I should have asked about pubs and football.

I am finding the discussion about complexion and nationality very interesting though. So, please, continue. :-))

Another question. I arrive in Paris at Gare du Nord. My hotel is the Hilton Arc de Triomphe located between the Arc and Parc Monceau. Closest metro station is Courcelles.

Am I OK taking the metro from La Chapelle to Courcelles or better to take a taxi? A couple bags to tote. How does one get to the La Chapelle station from Gare du Nord? Is it a walk outside or can I get there inside the station or through the metro underground? Is there a better way?

Thanks again! This site is awesome!

bookmark

From the gare du Nord to La Chapelle metro is a walk of a couple of hundred yards. The metro map implies there's some sort of dedicated walkway from the gare du Nord, but I don't remember seeing it.

Line 2 is elevated at this point. I can't remember if there's a lift at la Chapelle, but if not, there's a deal of stairs to climb. The same applies if you take line 4 to change at Barbes- Rochechouart. Come to that, it's a bit of a hike from Metro Courcelles to the hotel, which is much nearer Bvd. Haussmann.

But it looks to me as though Bus 43 direct from the Gare du Nord would get you a within a few hundred yards of the hotel without having to change lines or climb stairs. Compare the map for the hotel's address at www.pagesjaunes.fr with the bus map at www.ratp.info/orienter/cv/cartebus.php (just click on the gare du Nord for the route to be highlighted).

Thanks Patrick!

Is there any problems with baggage on a bus? Close quarters?

I would favor the bus, too. Not 0nly is M&eacute;tro La Chapelle about a half mile from Gare du Nord (there is a rear entrance to the RER platform, but I don't know where it comes out), but climbing up and down is unavoidable.

There is room for luggage on the floor adjacent to the rear doors of RATP buses. During commuting hours, this space may not be available.

Here is where to get on the N&deg; 43 at Gare du Nord:

http://www.ratp.info/picts/plans/pdf.../gare_nord.pdf

And where to alight at Haussman-Courcelles:

http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan...mp;partenaire=

museums in london are free

son't buyt cosmetics unless you have to - head for oxford st or harrods and ask for samples of your favorites from the counter. They have them hidden but will usually find some for you.

The body shop also gives samples if you ask.

if you want things like shampoo go to a supermarket (tesco / sainsbury / waitrose in london) and buy their own brands &pound;0.40 for a huge bottle.

We tend to use the post office rather than fed ex.

Tate modern is a great idea. Enjoy yourself

Thank you sashh.

I've gone back and forth and have finally decided a few things. Contrary to popular opinion, I am going to buy toiletries in London, so I can avoid taking them. I'm trying to get my baggage down to one check and one carry. Something had to go.

I also got $50 in Pounds and $50 in Euros before the trip. First trip out of the country, travel and time anxiety, I just wanted one less thing to worry about. Once I become a seasoned world traveller, maybe I'll stop doing that. I just want to get from LHR to my hotel in the daze I'm likely to be in from jet lag and excitement.

Have all hotels confirmed, though Priceline did screw up the name on one of the reservations, which I had corrected when I confirmed. Glad I took the time to do that.

I had an interesting conversation with my boss yesterday. About 6 months ago when I started planning this trip, I had read an article about people taking a year and living in a different country. The article mostly focused on a family that moved from the US to Italy to live and work for a year. They called it a &quot;cultural sabatical.&quot; Anyway, I thought that might be fun, but I wasn't sure about a whole year. I have dogs and wouldn't want to upset their lives or be without them.

I work for a mega-corp with offices all over the globe. I asked my boss if he'd be OK with my going to Paris for a month, and just working from the Paris office. Paris was just an example, I'm not sure that I'd want to go there, but who knows. This trip is a bit of a scouting trip. He was almost giddy about that idea. Secretly I think he wants to go to Italy. So much so that he's told anyone who would listen about the idea.

Fast forward to yesterday. My boss' wife wants them to go to Columbia for 6 weeks so they can adopt another child. Her justification for going for 6 weeks, was because he agreed that I could go to Paris for a month. I had to appologize to him for putting the idea in her head. :-)

So along with visiting Paris, I may actually HAVE to give it some thought about going for a month. I can work anywhere as long as I can connect to the Internet. My previous boss just moved to London, so there is that option too. And I know a few people in Hong Kong. Anyway.

Thanks again to everyone! I think I'm ready to go and have a much better plan.

Lifestyle sabbatical. My mistake.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12666060/site/newsweek/