ahbonvraiment

Fleur_de_Lis

I don't have personal experience there, but I did a quick sweep and Hotel 34B has really good reviews across all of the reliable review sites I typically check when booking a hotel!

denisea

Well, we just returned from London and highly recommend:

Tandoor Chop House---wonderful food and steps away from the National Gallery and Charing Cross tube station.
Pollen Street Social--we went for dinner but I hear the lunch there is wonderful and less expensive.
Heddon Street Kitchen - excellent food and staff; Gordon Ramsey restaurant - we went a lunch and breakfast and loved both . (there are several restaurants in this little side "block" off Regent Street and they all looked wonderful

Head to Borough Market for a casual lunch one day - good to pair with Tower of London and walk across Tower Bridge on you way to Borough Market - get the cheese toastie at Kappacasein!! In fact, get two - it is so good and the market is full of wonderful foods...paella, oysters, salt beef sandwiches---they have it all

If you are in Kensington we loved Builders Arms and Hereford Arms - both have excellent food; Hereford Arms is very close to the Gloucester Road tube station. We stayed in Kensington and it has good access to the Tube and is quiet a night. Loved it. We rented an apartment through London Perfect. They often have sales so check their website.

I posted on the UK Fodors forum a few months ago for restaurant recs in London ---great resource for you....
London restaurant recs

Paris - we usually stay in the 6th; it's been awhile but we enjoyed Hotel Louis...lots of great cafes and restaurants are steps away and the Odeon metro stop is a few blocks

Le Souffle is a favorite for lunch
L'Atelier du Joel Robuchon - more of a splurge meal
Cafe Varenne - always good (we usually go for lunch) - not far from Musee Rodin---I love their warm goat cheese salad
Comptoir Poilâne - love the little tartine and salad lunch with a glass of wine - very reasonably priced (breakfast is also nice here) - next to Poilane bakery on rue du Cherche Midi
Marco Polo - Italian, always good across from Hotel Louis II
Cafe Danton (right by Odeon Metro stop), Le Bonaparte (steps away from the St Germain church) - both reliable cafes for breakast or lunch and a nice place to stop in for a coffee or glass of wine - both in the 6th
Le Saint Regis, Paris - 6 rue Jean du Bellay, Ile de la Cite

If you are in the !st, you might enjoy Verjus - they have a very reasonably priced prix fixe menu and a lovely wine bar downstairs

We have enjoyed multiple food tours with Paris by Mouth - great chance to sample many types of food and learn your way around a Paris neighborhood. Their website also recommends restaurants by arrondisement and by tourist attractions.

If you do stay at Hotel 34B, then go to the Le Grand Hotel Intercontinental. We stayed there a few years ago and love their bar (great stop post shopping at Galleries Lafayette or Printemps). Cafe de la Paix is also there with wonderful views of Opera Garnier (which for me is the most beautiful building in Paris).

I love Musee Marmottan - small and uncrowded. If you love Monet and Impressionism, it is a must. I would also take a half day to visit Giverny in summer. Buy your ticket online and get there early - we went in Spring and it was gorgeous!

Sainte Chappelle is gorgeous - try to go on a sunny day to really see the beauty of the stained glass. I also love St Denis - burial place of French Kings - it's a bit of a hike but easy by Metro.

You can click on my name to find my posts and trip reports, if you are interested. I just posted one a few weeks ago on London and have several for Paris.

Enjoy your trip!

Scootoir

Café Central was mentioned above and it became a favorite of ours 2 years ago when we stayed at the Hotel Relais Bosquet on the same block in the 7th. We have stayed there 3 or 4 times over 20 years and always find it clean and comfortable with the same manager over that time. Booked last time via facebook for a very nice discount and breakfast included. Also look into the Hotel de Varenne near the Rodin museum. Good location, lovely courtyard.

In London we prefer to stay in Bloomsbury and especially liked the Montague on the Garden near the British Museum. I saw an ad recently that offered 4 nights for the price of 3. Good pub dinner at the Princess Louise in Holborn: Princess Louise Pub in Holborn, London | Home I had a cherry beer which my husband said did not qualify as beer. If you prefer to stay in Kensington Bailey's Hotel has a good location near the Gloucester Road Underground.

After you have secured hotels then start planning out the days in each city. Group sights so you are not crossing town multiple times. In Paris you might want to plan one day trip and I would recommend a tour to Vaux le Vicomte and Fontainebleau that one of the big tour companies gives (might be Paris Vision). You can visit both on your own but after doing that I would have preferred to let someone else figure out the logistics. DH and I often start the day at a museum and have researched what else is in the area that we would like to see. When we were younger we might have set out walking or by Metro in the morning but more recently have taken a taxi to our first destination in Paris as our knees don't like all the Metro stairs. We still use the Metro but used more taxis on our last trip than in years past.

In London a day trip to Hampton Court Palace is wonderful and easy to do by train and return by boat if the weather is fine. Windsor is also easy by train and we enjoyed Kew Gardens and tea at Maids of Honour. Other favorite spots in London include St. Paul's, Westminster Abbey, Covent Garden, the London Transport Museum and the British Museum.

ahje

Thank you ALL again for you ideas, suggestions, restaurants and hotels. I am so grateful for your generosity in sharing your experiences and details (these are the BEST recommendations!)

tuscanlifeedit

Scootoir, I'm the person who had the great lunch at Cafe Central. I had a chestnut and squash puree soup, with BACON WHIPPED CREAM. I hope I get to have bacon whipped cream again someday. Also had smoked salmon and DH had a burger and frites. They were so nice there and the food was delicious.

Scootoir

OMG! Bacon Whipped Cream? How did we miss that? I would have had it just to lord it over a couple of my colleagues. ;-)

ahje

Agree with Scootoir OMG love bacon and can't wait to try the Bacon Whipped Cream! Smoked salmon is another favorite (problem is I have way too many favorites.)

Underhill

Someone needs to figure out how to make bacon whipped cream and tell us ASAP!

StCirq

https://www.baconaddicts.com/blog/ho...-whipped-cream

Scootoir

Bless you StCirq.

Scootoir

ahje, be sure your Paris hotel room is air conditioned and that guests can control it. We were in Paris in late June 2017 for our anniversary and the day we arrived in France it was 99 Fahrenheit and humid. It was warm for most of our stay.

starrs

For London -
Small rooms. High tech. Great locations. Great prices. Hub hotels.
https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hub.html
Get the "bigger room" for 2 people.

bumper

Hotel 34B looks very nice. It is in an excellent area of Paris, the 9th arrondissement, near some great department stores (think Macy's in New York, but better). You are also close to the Opera Garnier, which you must visit. Paris is an excellent walking city. If you are a little unsure about restaurants, ask your hotel for recommendations. For first time visitors, I always recommend the hop-on hop-off bus. It goes past most of the major sights and gives you the opportunity to decide when to get off the bus at a museum, landmark, etc .Also, check out Viator to see if there are any tours you would enjoy. It's great to visit restaurants that have been recommended. I research restaurants before I go, but often save a number of meals to eat at restaurants that look good to me as I walk around. Maybe you'll find some places that you can recommend to us when you get back.

Also, don't be reluctant to ask people around you what they are eating, if it looks good to you. Most of all, just enjoy Paris. Take your time to visit the parks, explore the museums, walk along the Seine and build some great memories.

Have a wonderful time!

StCirq

And despite all of the good advice above, I NEVER recommend the HOHO bus in Paris. It's overpriced and slow and completely unnecessary in a city that is eminently walkable and has a fabulous transportation system. If you want some sort of formulaic trip to the major city sights, the Batobus is a decent option.

ahje

Thank you we are actually staying at Hotel Luis 2 but I appreciate your comments and recommendations about the area of 34B. We are currently in Amsterdam having a great time, but it is a bit warmer than expected. Would recommend Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam. Lovely rooms w/AC, beautiful lobby, restaurant, great staff and centrally located. The breakfast (which we were lucky to receive as a special guest-not sure why) is to die for. It includes smoked fish varieties, all types of eggs, and omelets to order, cheese, meat, fruit, pastries, various bar coffee options and mimosas. With so many options, no need for lunch.

ahje

ahje

As all of you have helped us, I thought I would share some of the stops/recommendations from our trip to Amsterdam, Paris and London as a thank you to all for sharing with us.

AMSTERDAM
In Amsterdam we stayed at Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky, which I would recommend highly (great hotel, room, staff, location, food, etc.-their breakfast has a huge selection of everything including mimosas with fresh squeezed juices.)

We enjoyed small bites at https://piqniq.nl/, but what we enjoyed more than that was their Gin and Tonic w/cucumber. The drink was the best we had ever and a great size. We actually went back on our bikes for a 2nd time and just had the drinks. Another place we enjoyed is The Seafood Bar (not far from Van Gogh museum) (https://www.theseafoodbar.com/).

Here are other recommendations given to us, some we tried and some not.
Italian, Vasso - https://en.vasso.nl/#/home
Chinese, New King - http://www.newking.nl/wp-content/upl...2/A3_14CMa.jpg (good, but nothing to rave about.)
Steaks, Mr Porter https://www.mrportersteakhouse.com/a...am/#menu/roast
Romantic, fancy Dutch, d'Vijff Vlieghen, rated as one of the best in Amsterdam https://www.vijffvlieghen.nl/en/menu...t-food-flavors (good)
https://the-duchess.com/dinner/

Bike rentals at: https://black-bikes.com/location/bik...ight-district/

Took a train to Paris.

PARIS
We stayed at Hôtel Louis 2 Paris | Saint-Germain-des-Prés | Official Site. Very small rooms, but hotel was clean, had a great bathroom, great location, elevator, and the AC worked perfectly during the hottest days in Paris in June.

We used https://www.bluefox.travel/paris/d-day-beaches-trip to Normandy with a wonderful tour guide (Clem). A group of 8, we left Paris at 7AM in a very comfortable and cool van. Clem drove us to the major sites at Normandy Beaches and did a presentation/history discussion at each. We stopped for lunch and were back in Paris about 7:45PM.

We enjoyed most restaurants, but some a little more than others. It really depends on the area you are in, how tired you are from walking, and what you are in the mood to eat at the time you are ready to eat.

Had the best lunch of salmon and lentils at Le Comptoir de l'Arc. Also really liked Ici il y a: -, and did not get a chance to eat at Lobineau, but the menu looked really good. Loved everything at Maison Mulot - Saint Germain des Prés Patissary

Le Comptoire (1min wlk) Always a line at dinner. We did not eat here, because the menu is only in French. Casual French bistro with outdoor tables. L’Avart Comptoire next door. Le Dome for shellfish.

Visited Marais , had a good dinner at Au Bourguignon du Marais ? Restaurant à Paris and tried Schwartz’s Jewish Deli for lunch, but would NOT recommend pastrami (not the same as in the US)

Batobus was a great tip. We took the ride 2 different times and enjoyed the experience. Great view of the Eiffel tower from the Batobus!

Took the Eurostar to London.

LONDON
Stayed at the Radisson Blu Edwardian, Bloomsbury Street, 2 min walk to the British Museum and 5 minutes to Covent Gardens.

Had the best pasta dishes at https://www.bancone.co.uk/ I loved the Dill gnocchi with marinated & puréed artichoke, and my husband enjoyed Silk handkerchiefs, walnut butter & confit egg yolk. Good dinner at https://thehawksmoor.com. Great seafood at https://www.parsonslondon.co.uk/ (small portions.)
Excellent dinner and nice restaurant at https://www.margotrestaurant.com/ (expensive.)

Visited all the major attractions in London and https://skygarden.london/plan-your-visit (beautiful views of London.)

Someone also recommended checking this site for travel and restaurant tips: https://goop.com/

Tulips

Looks like a great trip, with some very nice restaurants.

'Le Comptoire (1min wlk) Always a line at dinner. We did not eat here, because the menu is only in French'
That would actually be an incentive to go there... Google translate helps.