London and Paris

Old Jan 25th, 2013, 07:40 AM
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London and Paris

First time to London and Paris, travelling in August for 2 weeks, week in London and a week in Paris. Travelling with a teenager (17) and my husband. Looking for hotel, restaurant recommendations . Any day trip ideas?... basically anything you'd like to suggest we're open.
Love architecture, history, pop culture, great food and wine....if that helps...nightlife not important...we will not be renting a car in either place so location important for walking and train...
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Old Jan 25th, 2013, 07:52 AM
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Knowing your budget for the hotel would be helpful. With 3 of you and a week in each city apartments would make more sense than hotel rooms and possibly less expensive.

I like AirBnB for the range of choices and ease of using the website as well as payment. www.airbnb.com
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Old Jan 25th, 2013, 08:34 AM
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Lucky you! Two great cities to visit.

We liked the Hotel St Jacques in Paris, and our room would have slept three, if you are wanting to do that. We had a twin bed and a double bed. The room wasn't too small, but the beds did take up most of the space, obviously. This hotel is in a great area for walking, with shops close by to grab breakfast pastries.

In London, try londontown.com to find accomodations.
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Old Jan 25th, 2013, 08:38 AM
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Thank you so much , love the website. a little confusing however because im not familiar with the areas.
Are there certain neighborhoods that you would recommend .
Our budget for a hotel for a week would be around 2500.00 if that helps.
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Old Jan 25th, 2013, 08:41 AM
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Thank you PeaceOut...another great. Website
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Old Jan 25th, 2013, 08:49 AM
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We have stayed in Sussex Gardens, near Hyde Park, in the Bayswater / Notting Hill / Lancaster Gate neighborhood. It is a cute neighborhood, with lots of B&Bs and restaurants. Close to public transit and Paddington.

Last visit, we stayed at St Ermin's, close to Westminster. Better location for walking. (Expensive hotel, but we were on business expenses. Yay!)

If the $2500 is for 7 nights, that's plenty to get a nice hotel.
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Old Jan 25th, 2013, 09:38 AM
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I took my neice ( 16 years old) to Paris, London, and Venice this past June. In Paris,we rented an apartment from www.vacationinparis.com in the Latin Quarter. We had a one bedroom and a pullout sofa in the living room. It worked wonderfully because it gave us space and if she wanted to sleep in I could read and have coffee in the living room. I really think an apartment is the way to go! For London, we stayed a shorter amount of time and stayed in SoHo /Covent garden area which we absolutley loved at the St Martin's Lane hotel. The hotel was modern and fun and in an absolutely great location. Have a great trip!
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Old Jan 25th, 2013, 09:39 AM
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We stayed at the Hotel Cecelia a couple of blocks from the Arc; Easy access to Metro. Rooms aren't large, but that is typical for most of Europe. There was a really good creperie about a block away on the opposite side of the street; it seemed as if many of the customers were local. Make sure you buy enough tickets for the Metro to cover later in the evening; The ticket booths are not manned then and our American credit cards didn't work when we were there three years ago.
London: We have Oyster cards which are good on the tube; www.tfl.gov.uk/oyster. You can order them on line and have them when you arrive. They are re-loadable if you run out of credit on the card.
If your teenager is a Harry Potter fan, the Warner Bros. Studio is open for tours. But you must have advance tickets as they do not sell tickets at the site. The studio is about 45 minutes from London, and a bus is outside the train station to take you to the studio. We may not be teenagers, but love HP and spent most of a day there!
Also, since you will probably be there when the Queen is not in residence, you may want to check out reservations to see Buckingham Palace. Parliament is also open at certain times for tours.
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Old Jan 25th, 2013, 10:33 AM
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Why do you need a hotel? Rent apartments. You'll have more room for probably less cost and can still get nice places to stay in good locations.

A Place Like Home and various other apartment rental agencies cater to the tourist market. With an apartment you could easily get a 2 bedroom rental in your price range in both cities, which means the girl can get some privacy away from her parents and vice versa. You should also get seven-day PAPER travelcards in London, not Oyster cards, so you can take advantage of the Days Out Guide discounts. Even with a fat budget of $357/night for lodging, why pay more for site entrance fees, especially considering that the places that charge for entry (most major museums are free) charge a LOT (e.g., Tower of London, 20.90 GBP adult = $33)?

Do NOT go with Airbnb or VRBO in another country unless the renter has a long history of successful rentals with Americans that is obvious from the listing. Neither airbnb nor VRBO (or homeaway) guarantee the listings in any manner and you don't need to have to deal with uncertainties in foreign countries.
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