priyab

Hello,

We are a family of four (myself, hubby, and kids 7 and 9) planning our first trip to Europe. We would like to visit London and Paris and have questions about what else to include in this itinerary. We have 11 days in August including travel to and from USA, and I am not sure if we have time to include nice in this trip or just split the days between London and Paris. Hubby is not a “city” person and wants to include nice in the itinerary, but I don’t want to take away valuable time in London or Paris, given that this is our first trip (and maybe only trip) to London and Paris. Flight tickets have been booked to London and back from Paris.

Draft itinerary:

Day 1: 10 pm flight to London
Day 2: reach London at 10 am, tour London
Day 3: London
Day 4: London
Day 5: London
Day 6: go from London to Nice?
Day 7: Nice?
Day 8: go to Paris
Day 9: Paris
Day 10: Paris
Day 11: flight from Paris at 5 pm

thanks for your inputs!

janisj

Welcome to Fodors. No time for Nice unfortunately. Even with just London and Paris - you'll have a grand total of 8.5 days free for seeing and doing -- actually less since you'll spend nearly half a day London hotel to Paris Hotel.

Do JUST London and Paris. And even then you'll barely scratch the surface and will have to be VERY selective which sites you can squeeze in.

janisj

. . . don't count on much of any 'touring of London' on day 1. With a 10 AM arrival (LHR? ) you'll be lucky to get to your hotel by 12:30 or 1PM, and at least some of you will be in a jet lagged fog. Count arrival day as a non-day and just Check in/unpack, acclimate, maybe a walk in a park, early dinner and to bed by 9-ish.

Ad on day 11 with a 5PM flight you'll be leaving central Paris around 1PM - so with packing and checking out you'll have maybe a few morning hours for a nice breakfast, maybe a walk or low key site near your hotel.

Seamus

Agree with janis, not enough time for Nice this trip. Also, consider that your first day in London you will have to contend with jet lag so don't plan for a lot of activity. With a 10 am arrival you will likely not get to your accommodation anytime before noon, and may not be able to check in until later in the afternoon. You probably can deposit your bags at the hotel, do a bit of touring and return for later check in. Do work in some walking outdoors as it helps with jet lag. Plan on a relatively early bedtime that day.
Suggest make Day 6 a London morning activity, then take the 1430 or 1530 Eurostar to Paris. There'll still be plenty of sunlight when you arrive, you can check in then head out for a nice dinner and stroll.

SusanP

Another vote to skip Nice, a lot of travel for one day there and a bit of another, really not worth it. Definitely do just London and Paris.

mjs

As above. You barely have enough time for London and Paris so skip Nice.

bilboburgler

agreed, no to Nice

nyse

“ time in London or Paris, given that this is our first trip (and maybe only trip) to London and Paris.”

You’ll be back ~ these cities will cast their spell on your family 🌎

MaineGG

"Hubby is not a “city” person and wants to include nice in the itinerary,..."
He might not really enjoy Nice as it is the 5th largest city in France, population 340,000+. Take a daytrip from Paris to Provins, an hour or so by train, to get out of the big city and see a beautiful medieval town.

shelemm

I don't understand why you have chosen London and Paris if your husband is not a city person. Do a trip that combines city and rural areas. Cities are wonderful, but the glory of Europe is in the villages.

The biggest trap people fall into is going from monument to monument to see the highlights of a city and then they spend their entire vacation in long lines among crowds Especially difficult with kids.. I actually hate the idea of London and Paris for a first trip to Europe, especially if one of you will be unhappy. And I am a city person.

And it is doubly odd that you want to add a third city far away.

Your vacation doesn't really start until you land and ends your last night, so you only have nine nights.

I recommend flying into Paris and renting a car for 3/4 nights to see Normandy: the castle at La Roche-Guyon with its Medieval dungeon (and WWII defenses), the nearby Troglodyte Church of the Annonciation,
the ruined Abbey of Jumieges, the cliffs at Etretat (excellent coastal walking), and Honfleur. Then go back to Paris for the remainder. Now that would be an adventure.

KTtravel

I agree with skipping Nice. It will likely be very busy and crowded and there is so much to see and do in London and Paris. Nice has a very rocky beach and isn't really a "nature" experience.

What kinds of things does your husband like to do? We can try to make some suggestions.

mjs

It’s certainly fine to combine city with countryside for a trip but August is when the countryside is the busiest. it may be difficult to secure reasonable lodging for this August. Traffic can also be an issue. Would cut out either Paris or London if you want countryside.

janisj

City + countryside is absolutely fine -- that's what I'm doing a couple of weeks from now with a few days in Kent and a few in London. I booked flights that make that possible. The OP booked flights in to London, the biggest city in western Europe, and home from Paris nine days later. Except for maybe a day trip by train from one or the other to a smaller town (which would cut the already short time they have for each city) they haven't really given themselves any wiggle room for 'countryside'.

portobelloB

I agree with others that you don’t have enough time to go to Nice.

My husband isn’t a city person either but he still enjoys London and Paris visits. There are beautiful parks and gardens that you can visit besides the famous landmarks to avoid crowds.

Our flight arrived at 10am and I had called ahead to the hotel to make sure they had a secure place to drop off our luggage. We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived that our room was available. It doesn’t always happen that we get lucky but I don’t think it hurt to call a couple days in advance to let the hotel know your arrival is early. Also, some people aren’t always affected by jet lagged. We went to our room to dropped off the luggage, freshened up, and was out the door to do sightseeing. Have a fantastic time!

coral22

Congratulations on your first trip to London and Paris! And with your children! They are at a great age and it will be a wonderful memory!

Sorry, but another hard "no" to Nice. August is the absolute worst month to go and even if you wanted to go, getting accommodations for 4 at this point would be challenging.

I vote for sticking with London and Paris. You could take day trips to Windsor Castle,or Bath. Back in the day, I took a bus tour to Stratford-Upon-Avon/Oxford which I loved. There are many more with experience with the charming countryside locations to recommend, if you could get a driver to take you on a fantastic tour (paid for with your tickets to Nice money) that would be wonderful way to get out of London.
And, of course, there is Versailles!

As many have said, there are peaceful parks and out of the way locations within both cities that will give you serenity. but the city energy is refreshing and different from what you are used to. Enjoy!

shelemm

I think kids (and some spouses) are much happier exploring ruins or dunjeons on their own than a guided tour through opulent palaces. Those places are yet more standing in lines, especially in August.

coral22

I absolutely agree! Most of this trip should not be done with a tour or guide, including Versailles, if it makes the list.

I only thought since Husband does not like big cities, maybe, for instance, they could take the train to Bath, tour, then get a driver for a half day to take them from there, somewhere charming and off the beaten path. It would be a wonderful break from the crowds and could be tailored to their requests.

janisj

Or -- variation on the theme . . . Instead of another city (Bath), train to Moreton-in-Marsh or Charlbury or Kingham and hire a local taxi/driver guide to tour them around the Cotswolds for the day, then train back to London.

touringtimothy

If you want to see more of France consider doing a day trip from Paris to some place like Champagne or Normandy. Some ideas here :

https://theparisshortlist.com/best-d...ps-from-paris/

Otherwise you COULD go to Nice but will lose some time.. Eurostar to Paris is a few hours, and flight to Nice will be about the same door to door. You then have high speed train between Nice and Paris so you COULD do. Nice and the the whole Cote d'Azur is beautiful but London + Paris also has so much to offer so either way win win.

uktravelover

Is there a special reason for including Nice? If not, I would also probably skip it. If there is, then you might want to reconsider the itinerary, particularly since you’re travelling with kids. What about finishing the trip in Nice and flying back from there? On Day 1, you could book a sightseeing bus tour in the afternoon and not hop off/on. You can just sit, listen, look and soak up the atmosphere. Open top bus if the weather’s ok.