My husband and I, my 20 year old daughter and 74 year old mother are taking our first trip to Europe in April/May next year. This is a trip my mother has dreamed of taking since she learned French in high school. We will have 12 days and Mom wants to see London, Paris and Edinburgh.

I gather from previous posts that Eurostar is a great way to get from London to Paris. I was wondering what is the best way to get from Paris to Edinburgh. I checked EasyJet and it doesn't fly that route. Is there another inexpensive airline that does? Thanks!

Check with Ryan Air.

British Midland flies that route, but you do change planes in London. (looking at Expedia, it's $119 one-way in September of this year).

Would it be better/cheaper to take Eurostar round trip back to London and then fly Easy Jet to Edinburgh?

Barbara: I'm not sure why you want to go to London, then cross the channel to Paris, then return to the U.K. to go to Edinburgh. Logistically and financially, it would seem to me to make better sense to fly into Edinburgh first, then when ready to move on, take the train to London (4.5 hrs--very scenic). When finished in London, take the Eurostar to Paris and fly directly home to Cleveland from there.

If you decide to fly from place to place, keep in mind the transportation cost and distance (time required) to get from city center to the airport each time.

For example, your original post says you are planning to go to London first. From your last post, I'm thinking you will then go Eurostar London to Paris and return, then fly to Edinburgh? Your thought of taking the Eurostar from Paris to London then Easyjet to Edinburgh might be inconvenient--particularly for your 74-year old mother. The Eurostar will let you off at Waterloo station and you'll need to get transportation to Heathrow to catch the flight to Edinburgh. Quite a distance. If you take the tube from Waterloo you'll need to make a change to the Piccadilly line. If you take a taxi you are probably talking about $80-100.

Think about flying from Cleveland into London and out of Paris, or vice versa. In other words, Do Paris either first or last and save the time and money of a round trip on the Eurostar.

This sounds like a great trip! I'm planning to take my 85-year old father back to England in September. It will be an adventure, I'm sure

Mel -thanks for the encouragement. I wanted to fly into London because my daughter will be finishing up a semester abroad in London. I would rather fly to Edinburgh than drive because my husband is a train conductor and not thrilled about spending his vacation time on a train.

I thought it would be very expensive to fly into London and out of Paris. Although your suggestion makes sense. Any more thoughts? Thanks!

Open-jaw tickets (for example Cleveland to London then Paris to Cleveland) are sometimes not much more than a regular round trip ticket. Even if the ticket is more, you need to see if it is more than the cost of getting everyone back to your arrival point for that cheap round trip.

www.orbitz.com is a web site that will search for open-jaw tickets. It's the multi-city option on the first page.

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London, Paris, Edinburgh Transportation Questions

BMI Baby, http://www.bmibaby.com, ++44 870 264 2229, fly from East Midlands, Derby-Nottingham. I think the change with BMI is at East Midlands airport rather than a London airport. Easyjet, http://www.easyjet.com, ++44 870 6 000 000, do fly with a change at Luton or Gatwick. With either line, you need two hours from arrival to departure, as booking-in starts two hours before take-off and closes in principle an hour before. Nor can you carry over your ticket: if the plane from Paris is late they do not offer you the next plane to Edinburgh. So central Paris to central Edinburgh is, taking theoretical hours, Paris Gare du Nord 0900, CdeG 0930 to 1110, East Midlands 1120 to 1330, Edinburgh airport 1430 to 1500, central Edinburgh 1530. A lot of sitting about.

Could your husband reconsider the idea of trains ? Between central Lonfdon nd Ce ntral Pais Eurostar takes 3 ? hoiurs, including check-in, an hour less that the chop, change, and wait air trip. By Eurostar train Paris to London return, booked here in London, currently costs 90 euros. If you phone the train operators (I can find you their number) to book now a return trip to Scotland with a berth in a 2-berth sleeping compartment is about 120 euros. So you might book a midday train from London Waterloo to Paris Gare du Nord, take a packed lunch, enjoy Paris, then come back thus: Gare du Nord Sunday to Thursday only check in 1845, leave 1919, London Waterloo 2113, taxi, dinner as your daughter advises, London Euston board your train 2300, leave 2340, Edinburgh arrive 0717, stay in bed, leave train 0800. Board at Edinburgh 2300 or 2330, reach London Euston 0700, stay in bed, leave 0800 (I can send you a detailed note on the Euston arrival if you ask me). Much less waiting about, a hotel bill saved, only an evening?s sightseeing lost, your husband can forget he is in a train if he sleeps, and no stairs anywhere (Charles de Gaulle, London Waterloo, and Edinburgh have luggage trolleys and lifts: London Euston is on the level).

Please write if I can help further. Welcome to Europe, especially your mother, who may be the only one among you who can tell you what a sleeper feels like. Sleeping in it is quite different to driving it.

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Ben - Your idea about the sleeper train does appeal to me, but it'll take a lot to convince my husband. I'll have to work on it.

It should not cost you any extra to fly into London and out of Paris. We just did it using mileage for the ticket (on United) and there was no penalty at all. I agree that it is a waste of time and money to backtrack to the UK.

The Scotrail page http://www.scotrail.co.uk/slprinfo.htm has a link to two rather dull photographs and has this persuasive prose.

Single and Twin berth cabins are available, each equipped with everything you need for a relaxing nights sleep... a comfortable bed with blankets and fresh cotton sheets; air-conditioning and bedside lighting which can be controlled at the touch of a button; wash basin with shaver point and soft hand towel. All berths are non smoking.

Travel Standard Class in a twin berth, air-conditioned cabin. A steward is available to serve you light snacks from our room service selection or you may wish to visit the on-board Lounge Car. (I do not advise this: you need your slreep ? BH). A complimentary toilet pack is also provided and early morning wake up call with a hot tea/coffee and morning snack.

Station lounges
At Euston the Railtrack Passenger Lounge is situated on the main concourse.
At Edinburgh Waverley the ScotRail Lounge is available next to platforms 11/14.

There are no on-board showers. Chargeable shower facilities are available at Edinburgh Waverley.
Sleeper lounge car
All Caledonian Sleeper services convey a Lounge car where you can relax in a pleasant atmosphere. Enjoy a light snack, hot or cold drink or unwind with something stronger from our well stocked bar. At busy times, use of the Lounge Car, may be restricted to First Class customers.

If you wish to stay in the comfort of your own cabin, both First and Standard Class customers may purchase food and drink from the Lounge car and take it back to their cabin.
Luggage
Sleeper travel can also be to your advantage if you wish to travel with awkward or heavy items. Secure storage space, with room for 6 cycles, is available in the seated coach. Reservations are free and must be booked in advance.

Luggage trolleys
Luggage trolleys are available throughout the stations at Edinburgh, free, and at Euston, chargeable
Disabled customer facilities
Specially adapted disabled accessible berth and toilet facilities have been introduced onto Sleeper services. As there is limited availability the berth must be booked in advance and at least a full day before travel. (Minimum 2 days in advance for the Fort William service).

All passengers must be able to manoeuvre into and out of the wheelchair unaided or have a travelling companion to assist.

A second bed is available in the cabin, if required, for a companion, who is entitled to a 10% discount on Standard fares.

Manual wheelchairs, up to a maximum width of 67cm (26 ins) and length of 120cm (47 ins) can be accommodated on the Caledonian Sleeper services.

Ben Haines, London

My daughter wasn't accepted to the study abroad program, but the four of us are still doing the trip.

I booked tickets to London during the recent BA 3 day sale. We arrive in London May 3 and leave London May 17. We will travel by Eurostar (daughter really wanted to) to Paris on May 6. We have arranged an apartment through Paris Perfect for May 6-11.

So we have May 11 - 17 to plan. Mom still wants to travel to Edinburgh, but now also mentioned a stop in York. We are considering renting a car, the train, or a British European flight from Paris to Edinburgh. Any comments on British European?

We would like to spend a couple more nights in London, as well as see Windsor castle.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks for your help!

If you can alter your dates in Paris - Re-think your Itinerary.

It would make more sense to: Arrive at LHR, immediately fly to Paris. Spend your 6 nights in Paris. Then take the Eurostar to London and stay in London May 9 - 13. Take the train to York for May 14. Train to Edinburgh for May 15 - 16. On the 17th fly from Edinburgh to LHR and fly home.

This way you are not backtracking or doubling back and are getting a better use out of your limited time.

Janis - thanks for the response. I've put a deposit on the apartment, so can't really change the dates.

You think it would be better to take the train to York and Edinburgh rather than drive? I have to admit I rarely use public transportation, trains, taxis, or buses and I've never been on a subway. So the thought of having a car does appeal to me.

First of all - even if you have paid a deposit you might not be locked in. Afterall you are talking about next May. If you contact the owner/agency they might be able to switch your dates.

Driving is not hard - but you are talking about a long distance and not very many days. If you had a couple of weeks to tour around, driving would be fine - but you have only a few days. Trains would be MUCH faster. London to Edinburgh is about a 9 hour drive w/o stopps, but only a little over 4 hours by train city center to city center.

Also, hotels in the center of York and the center of Edinburgh seldom have parking (especially in Edinburgh). For getting around the countryside a car is the easiest way - but in medieval cities driving can be a REAL pain.

I didn't realize it would take so long to drive to Edinburgh. I guess I'll throw out the car rental idea.

I intentionally split up our stay in London for several reasons. First, Eurostar is cheaper Mon.-Thur. Second, Priceline suggests shorter stays when bidding for hotels. Third, we get in to London at 21:00. Fourth, we have a morning flight back to NY and I preferred to spend the night before departure in London. I didn't do an open jaw ticket as many suggested because my daughter wanted to take Eurostar to Paris and it was $400 more per ticket from Edinburgh.

So I guess my options are fly to Edinburgh on British European and not use the Eurostar return or return on Eurostar and take the train to Edinburgh. Any thoughts on that? Is York worth a stop?

I can't help with your prime concern but wanted to mention that Windsor is VERY close to Heathrow & is an excellent place to spend your last night (instead of London). In addition to the castle there's a charming town with lots of shops & restaurants & hotels are generally cheaper than London. Thought that might affect your planning. There is bus service from Windsor to Heathrow or the drive is maybe 20 minutes or so.

Mclaurie - thanks for the suggestion. Is there a particular hotel in Windsor that you would recommend?

I've not stayed in Windsor myself, but the hotel mentioned most often is the Christopher Wren House, quite old & historic (it was actually his home). The hotel offers a great breakfast and afternoon tea along with a good dining room for dinner according to other posters. There is also a Forte Castle Hotel right next to the Castle. Another place that looks lovely is Oakley Court. All these places & more have been mentioned here if you do a text search. Hope this helps.