London, Paris, and Brussels 2014
 

Hello all,

My husband and I are planning a trip to London, Paris, and Brussels in February 2014 (yes, I know it will be cold, but it's the only time we can travel next year).

I am looking for advice on hotels and train transportations between the cities.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance!

London to Paris is via Eurostar trains thru the Channel Tunnel - in about two hours now - to Gare du Nord - buy your tickets at www.eurostar.com and nab some nifty discounts if you book way early (but those are non-changeable non-refundable)

Paris to Brussels is via Thalys trains (www.thalys.com) and similarly booking early gets the limited in number discounted tickets - walk up and buy tickets on either Eurostar or Thalys means paying a whole lot more than early booking - again non-changeable nor refundable. Travel time to Brussels is about 1.25 - are you returning to London - then the Eurostar train links Brussels to London - www.eurostar.com again.

For lots on these trains and trains in general check out these IMO fantastic sites - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com - check this site for great info on the discounted ducats.

Why Brussels?

And where are you going into and back from?

My husband really wants to go to Brussels and we have had friends that loved it. Do you have a recommendation for another destination easily accessed by train from Paris?

We are planning on flying into London and out of Brussels. Another reason we picked it was super cheap flights from these airports. We have not booked the tickets though, so are open to suggestions!

Funny how Brussels always evokes the "either totally hot or totally cold" responses.

If your husband really wants to see Brussels, plan on having enough time to do so - the days will be short, weather might be very inclement and getting around becomes a bother, so don't be in a rush. There is a lot to see for those who have the interest in what's there to see, while others see the Grand' Place and Manneken Pis and eat a waffle or moules-frites and off they go.

See this website for lots of "hidden gem" suggestions - your husband may already know these, but maybe others would like to learn: http://tinyurl.com/kmsw37k

Realize that there are three train stations - Midi (= south), Central (walking distance from Grand' Place and old center), and Nord. Plus the train station out by the airport of course. Not all trains stop at all three, but if you have to make a quick switch it's no big deal.

If you are not loving Brussels, you can easily do a day trip to Bruges.

How long is the entire trip?

We will have 10 full days

Wouldn't shirk Paris or London for time in Brussels, and 10 full days will scratch the surface of London and Paris with an even split . . .

Have you been to London & Paris before?

I have been to Paris once before for a couple of days, but it was a long time ago, so I barely remember it. We have not been to London or Brussels.

If we skipped Brussels, are there any day trips you would recommend from Paris that would be fun?

leverett: I'm think the point some are making is to skip Brussels to spend more time IN Paris and London.

That said, you could have a great time spending 3 days in each locale. Brussels (IMHO) doesn't need 3 so go straight to Bruges, spend two nights and return to Brussels for a day or two and fly out.

Assuming you stay near the Grand Place its an amazingly short train trip to the Brussels airport.

If we skipped Brussels, are there any day trips you would recommend from Paris that would be fun?>

Chartres and its great Gothic cathedral

Reims - Champagne cave tours and another dynamite cathedral

Versailles - well to me it is in Paris but many say it is not
The Loire Valley - take a train to Tours and hook up with mini-buses that take you to some of the great chateaus of the Loire, like Chenonceau

Fontainebleu

Giverney - a village where Money lived in his older age - his house and gardens are famous

Auvers-sur-Oisae - Impressionists flocked here too and Van Gogh shot himself in a cornfield - many of his paintings are shown as reproductions spoted right after the and other artists (Cwzanna) painted them.

All of these are easily done by train.

Farther afield - Normandy and the D-day beaches - take train to Bayeux then mini-bus tours to the nearby beaches and military cemetery at Colville-sur-Mer.

I've been to all three of them and my DH and I didn't like Brussels at all.

We arrived in Brussels from Holland and this EU gateway city comparing to cities in Holland were just really bad. Not much to see & do with some safety concerns even when we stayed at really high end locations.

I'd think you are better off do a day trip to Brugges.

If your husband wants to go to Brussels, go! I think it's a great city, with possibly the best food in all of Europe. And as mentioned, if it doesn't suit you, hop on a train to Bruges, which for a first-time traveler is exceedingly hard to dislike.

I would allocate more time to London and Paris than to Brussels, though. And don't forget to factor in traveling time between places and subtract it from your actual on-the-ground time.

We can't reasonably suggest hotels until you state your budget, preferably in euros and GBPs.

There was a post on this forum in the last week with a truly amazing list of Paris day trips.

Thank you all for your advice! I think we decided to skip Brussels to focus on London and Paris.

The question then becomes - are there any hotels or hotel websites you recommend for the trip? We would like to be in the heart of both cities and close to the main attractions. The budget would be around $100/night.

>>The budget would be around $100/night.<<

That is not terribly realistic. $100 is approx £60 and €70 - which is about hostel/shared bath range. But since you aren't going to Brussels - and don't have to pay for the extra transport - shouldn't you be able to raise the budget a bit? ($100 isn't even doable via Priceline in London)

Meant to add -- but IF hostels are OK w/ you they can fit in your budget w/ a teensy bit to spare.

($100 isn't even doable via Priceline in London)>

It's doable for me - staying in a now 30 pound B&B - eating a hearty breakfast and doing the supermarket dine in room or on park bench leaves me way under the 100 pound mark - not for everyone for sure but it is possible, right in greater London if not right in central London - my Eltham B&B is a 20-minute train ride from Charing Cross.

Many sites in London are free - British Museum; Tate galleries; V&A, etc

PQ - they asked for something in the center not out in Eltham.

Plus your B&B is £30 for a <u>single</u>. So still barely w/i their budget and there is all the extra travel time/cost.

So sure it is an option - but w/ the extra transport not in their $100 budget.

The question then becomes - are there any hotels or hotel websites you recommend for the trip? We would like to be in the heart of both cities and close to the main attractions. The budget would be around $100/night.>

OK my mistake - agreed not practical in central London. Sorry about my miscue!

PQ - does your £30 b&b have a name?

yes it does but I do not know it - have not been there in two years - run by an elderly lady - there were a string on them though and all about the same price. I do have the name some place - I found it thru the Greenwich Tourist Information web site - they list many in tha price range in greater Greenwich, of which Eltham is a part.

Think it had some "Villa" in it - it was 22 pounds (Continental breakfast - 25 quid with full English) so I bumped u the price to 30 pounds now.

I stayed there for several years - one old lady died and another took her place - the first old lady fed a pet fox - lots of fozes in London neighborhoods! - really friendly and in a nice area - I tire of central London where tourists seem to outnumber locals so love staying the the burbs - right next to an Overhead rail station - Eltham or is it New Eltham.

but for a first-time traveler to London I would stay in central London too though I probably could not afford that any more.

Plan your open jaw according to your plane tickets cost. One can take the train from London to Paris or Brussels. Either London-Paris-Brussels or London-Brussels-Paris would work. The question remains: which city has the most desirable (cost and convenience) flight back home?

PQ has been recommending this elusive B&B for many years on here -- I don't think he's ever told us the name (even when the visit wasn't two years in the past)

But he keeps trotting it out - suggesting it to folks on a budget.

<<...leaves me way under the 100 pound mark...>>

But the OP was looking for under $100, a significant difference.

I don't wish to hijack this thread but it's important to note that in 2013 £30 would barely get the most basic of b&bs in very few places in the UK. In London, with fancy extras, such as an indoor toilet and hot and cold running water, you would easily double that.

£30 isn't what it was.

sofarsogood . . . most of us realize that ;)

£30 won't get a 2 star B&B in the hinterlands let alone in London.

But jeeze -- I stayed in a fabulous hotel in central London for £7 double . . . in <i>1975</i>

<i>But the OP was looking for under $100, a significant difference.</i>

This was the cost of our stay in London: We used Airbnb for our July 7 to July 11 London stay which cost us $385. It was in a new apartment building near the Limehouse Basin.

Honestly, I just threw the $100 out there, so don't be limited by that. We don't have a set budget. We just want somewhere comfortable to stay (not a hostel). I would say moderate priced hotel in the heart of the city. We are saving by going in Feb., so we can spend more on the hotel.

Sorry about the confusion!!

>>I would say moderate priced hotel in the heart of the city<<

That honestly does not help us. We asked for your budget and you said around $100 a night. Now you say ignore that. One person'r 'moderate' is the next person's cheap/expensive/whatever. So - before anyone can give you <u>useful</u> recommendations we really do need to know a number.

$150/€110/£90 (still pretty low)? $250/€180/£150? something else?

>>I would say moderate priced hotel in the heart of the city<<

That honestly does not help us. We asked for your budget and you said around $100 a night. Now you say ignore that. One person'r 'moderate' is the next person's cheap/expensive/whatever. So - before anyone can give you <u>useful</u> recommendations we really do need to know a number.

$150/€110/£90 (still pretty low)? $250/€180/£150? something else?

>>I would say moderate priced hotel in the heart of the city<<

That honestly does not help us. We asked for your budget and you said around $100 a night. Now you say ignore that. One person'r 'moderate' is the next person's cheap/expensive/whatever. So - before anyone can give you <u>useful</u> recommendations we really do need to know a number.

$150/€110/£90 (still pretty low)? $250/€180/£150? something else?

I would say max $250.

I apologize for not being more specific. I don't know how much rooms cost in Paris and London since I have never been there.

Well, if you change your mind and do give Brussels a go ... if you want to save money, go on a weekend, because hotel rooms are substantially cheaper as the politicians and hangers-on have all gone home for the weekend. And another tip - most holiday-makers stay near Central, which is safe and in walking distance of most of the attractions. However, instead there are better bargains to be had in the district close to the EU institutions (again, on the weekend). It's a little bland in attractiveness (think modern architecture) but safe, and there is an excellent metro system servicing that area. Metro stops to look out for are Trône, Arts-Loi, Maelbeek and Schuman.

Lavandula

If you do decide to go to Brussels, a friend just told me about this;
http://www.cookandbook.be/

Lavandula; have you been there? Looks amazing. Site only in French, alas.

PQ has been recommending this elusive B&B for many years on here>

I have never recommended that exact B&B but I think it is good info to alert folks that there are indeed typical British B&Bs in greater London that are a short Overground train ride away for 25-30 pounds - great price for a single traveler - so janis can malign me and call me a liar but I will continue to say that such options exist - janis I guess does not realize that there are a bevy of such places in greater London - I suggest she get out and discover that indeed there are such places and they are a viable option for folks on a budget and who want to experience a real B&B.

I only present information, based on personal experiences, the more options and info the better.

There are zillions of such B&Bs ringing central London - I would suggest airb'n -

https://www.airbnb.com/

I've looked and there are zillions of B&Bs listed in London itself - I suggest janis take a look and inform herself that these do exist to clear up her doubts that they do.

Ok, let's skip the debate on PalenQ's ephemeral B&B and get serious.

If you're talking $250/night, then you're going to be fine. But you don't need a HOTEL in London. London is shot full of short term rental apartments and you can find one easily for less than 150 quid. Check http://www.aplacelikehome.co.uk/ and google for its competitors. Paris has the same situation, it's easy to find rental flats.

Do NOT use airbnb in a foreign country where you have no recourse if something fouls up unless the lessor has a track record of excellence a mile long (e.g., 20+ rave reviews, cross-checked on trip advisor, etc.).

<We would like to be in the heart of both cities and close to the main attractions.>

You really need to hit the books. You're talking about cities the size of New York and Chicago, there is no SINGLE heart. Similarly, cities in Europe have not conveniently packaged all their main attractions in one area.

Paris is arranged by "arrondissements" and any of 4, 5, 6 will do fine as a central location with good transit options; 2 and 3 may work as well depending upon exact location: http://www.planetware.com/map/france...-map-f-f20.htm

In London, there are various neighborhoods that will be convenient. This may be useful for London: http://www.offtolondon.com/where_to_stay.html. Basically, you want to stay within the area encompassed by the Underground's Circle Line, or close to it. Check out londontown.com for a good map that includes the Tube and streets in one.

You will also need to know how to use the Tube and Metro. And for London you MUST check out www.daysoutguide.co.uk for huge discounts (London has many admission-free attractions, but those that are not free admission have substantial entry fees and saving 50% is quite useful - would you rather pay $65 for the two of you to visit the Tower, or $32+?) and buy a 7 day paper travelcard at a national rail station (e.g., Waterloo, Victoria). Bring a passport-size photo for the card. <b>DO NOT BUY A LONDON PASS</b>.

< I don't know how much rooms cost in Paris and London since I have never been there.>

Ok, but $100 won't get you a decent hotel in the center of any US city, it's not going to be better for Europe.

In defense of PalenQ, one can find rooms for less than $100 per night within London. I found one on airbnb, described in my trip report that starts in Lyme Regis.