still planning a trip to uk and paris sept 05
 

My husband and I are finalizing our trip to the U.K.in Sept. 05

We have decided to spend 4 nights in London, 2 in the Cotswolds, 3 in Wales, 1 in Birmingham (relatives and 3 days in Paris. We have a total of 15 days that includes travel time. We would like a recommendation of a cute hotel in Paris that is close to Eiffel Tower and Seine. We would also like info for a London hotel near Tralfalgar Square. Price should be less than 200.00 u.s dollars if possible. We both love quaint and atmosphere. Can anyone help?

Not a helpful reply at all but we are also in the UK in Sept....and in Wales for 3 nights. Out of curiousity what dates will you be in Wales and in what part?

Hi KP,

In Paris we always stay at the Hotel Bonaparte, 61 Rue Bonaparte in the 6th. About 124E dbl w/bkfst

Hotel Bonaparte
Tel 33 1 43 26 97 37
FAX 33 1 46 33 57 67

For more info, enter "Hotel Bonaparte" in the "search this forum" box.

Photos are at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-l95uyr

((I))

Do either Wales or the Cotswolds. Wales is picturesque in parts, but in my opinion its scenery is nothing compared to that in Spain/Italy/France. Cotswolds is more accessible, and has more "big name" historical sites.

But still, I'd just stay in London, The trouble with Britain is that unlike Spain/France/Italy I really don't feel it has many places you could spend much time except London. Well, certainly not that warrant flying transatlantic flights. The Southern seaside resorts are picturesque, the countryside is pleasant, but it's just very British, and by that I mean it's lacking something.

I'd never summer in Cornwall, the weather's too unpredicatable, and the food's overpriced and lousy.

However, back to your questions.. Spend more time in London!

Don't pay attention to m_kingdom2. You can assess what his/her opinion is worth by his/her statements - nothing in Britain is worth seeing other than London! Sheer insanity.

I must disagree with the Wales vs. Cotswolds although I'm sure it depends on what you are interested in. We spent 2 days in Wales before a 2 night Cotswolds stay in 2002 and although we did enjoy the Cotswolds we found we'd wished we'd spent that time in Wales. (that's North Wales, for the record). Just our 2 pence!

If you'd care to understand what I'm saying:

If one is making a trip to the UK from the USA, the rest of Britain pales into pretty chocolate box insignificance when compared to London. Yes, there are lots of pretty, nice things to see, but London holds the main attractions, and virtually everything a tourist could wish for. If one wants a countryside/touring holiday and is coming from the states, then Spain/Italy/France is far far far superior - for starters they drive on the same side as Americans, the petrol is cheaper, the scenery is more spectacular, the weather more reliable, the food is cheaper and of far greater quality, etc. etc. etc.

If I was travelling to NYC I wouldn't want to start hiring a car and exploring NY state.

I've toured most of this country that I live in during my life, and I still enjoy the occasional weekend trip to the seaside/Kent countryside, but that's because I live in London, it's convenient. I could go on, but I'd like to think that I've made my point clear.

Britain isn't like Spain or France or Italy where there are many "big" destinations. Manchester doesn't compare to Barcelona (and I'm not a fan of the latter), Birmingham doesn't compare to Seville, Liverpool doesn't compare to Bilbao etc. etc. etc. Britain is really very drab in places....

All I ask is that you rethink what it is that you want to see. Cotswolds has Shakespeare appeal. Wales for me is lots of driving in the rain, and pleasant scenery. That said I haven't been to Wales for decades, it holds no appeal to me. You're better off - if you're sick of London - spending some more time in Paris or something more worthwhile.

"If I was travelling to NYC I wouldn't want to start hiring a car and exploring NY state"

Obviously M Kingdom does not know that upper NY state has beautiful areas and much to see!

I totally disagree with what M_Kingdom says.

I LOVE LONDON, and never to to Europe without spending at least a full week there. But to put down the rest of the UK as being insignificant is pure hogwash. For a number of years, we'd always spend two weeks in the UK -- one week in London and one week "somewhere else". Sometimes that would be driving Cornwall and Devon, sometimes the Lake District, York, and Lincoln, sometimes Wales or Scotland.

What M_kingdom fails to realize is that the reason those other areas are "lacking something" to him is that he is from there. To the rest of us they are foreign, and very much worth visiting.

And yes, if someone were to come to the US for 15 days with the main point of seeing NYC, they would be very smart to tour upstate New York, Niagara Falls, the lakes, and maybe other parts of New England as well.

m_kingdom2's silliness doesn't really bother me. Afterall, who would WANT to run into m_k at some UK beauty spot? At least we now know that isn't very likely.

My problem is when m_k latches onto some poor newbie's thread and gives some truly ludicrous advice. It's sad because he really could help - every once in a blue moon he pops up w/ a useful morsel.

I'm going to London and Paris this fall as well...We only have 2 days in London, and we stay near Victoria station, only because it's less expensive and we found a place last time that we liked.

As for hotels in Paris, I'm staying at the Hotel Muguet in the 7th, very close to the Eiffel Tower and Rue Cler. It's gotten awesome reviews, and seems very affordable at $110 a night for a double. Our first choice, the Hotel du Champ de Mars was booked for September in APRIL. Ugh. So we kept looking, and it seems we've found a great place to stay... Here's the web site.

http://www.paris-hotel-muguet.com/

As for the outside areas of London, I've never had the chance to see the UK outside of the big city, mostly because of a lack of time and a firm belief that I will be back later. Someday, I'm going to do the full Scotland/Ireland/Britain tour.

Happy Travels,

Jules

Jules

I would recommand www.idealhotelparis.com, it is a 2 star hotel and 10 min walk from the eiffel tower, for september the price is 89€, but you can get a better deal by going through www.globalhoteldiscount.com

take care,
Nawar

That is, and always will be my opinon. British countryside places are very small-time (although perhaps that is the appeal to some people), and it's just pretty pretty. Obviously I'm not making my point with much clarity.

If I wasn't so firmly rooted in the UK, I'd move, no question. It's being overtaken by a generous of vile young things, there's no dignity, no sophistication, and when The Queen goes, that will be another nail in its coffin. All this political correctness is ludicrous where we're bending over backwards not to offend minorities at the expense of removing the liberties of the majority...and even the minorities themselves find this ridiculous. Catholic countries (not that I'm at all religious) have much more in the way of dignity, and family values.

If I was offered a week in San Sebastian/Biarritz or a week touring Devon it really isn't a difficult decision to make. Perhaps this clarifies my point?

Do your itinerary, and I'll be interested from your perspective whether you felt it was beneficial spending practically equal amounts of time in London as you did in Wales.

Hi kpilling,
Take no notice of MK2 unless it is made of concrete with some designer name outside MK2 thinks it's trash...just ignore...lol
Both Wales and Cotswolds have their own special points that appeal to different people in different ways.
What area of Wales were you considering?

Muck

Wow,

I am overwhelmed with the replys. I am going to go out on the websites offered. Thank you all very much. The dates we are traveling are September 24th through 27 London, 28th-29th Cotswolds, 30, 1st and 2nd Northern Wales (Bets-Y-Coed) 3rd Birmingham (relatives) 4th, 5th, 6th Paris and back to London for the 7th fly home the 8th.

Mkingdom, I am sorry you feel the way you do about the country that you live in. I have never been there or anywhere else in Europe and since my hubby is from England - thought it would be nice for my first trip - Paris is as daring as I want to go on my first trip to Europe. Italy, Spain etc... will be next time.

Karen

For hotels in London, try londontown.com. Also look at tripadvisor.com to read guests' reviews of the hotels in each location. It's very helpful.

If you click on my screen name above, you will find my recent trip report about London-Paris-Amsterdam, including information about our hotels-- both boutique-type; in Paris near the Eiffel Tower, in London near Hyde Park-- restaurants, and sites we saw.

Keep posting specific questions on this site, as you will receive a lot of good advice.

MK2 - are you the editor of the Daily Mail or the Evening Standard in disguise ?

I have relatives and friends who visit the UK, and always want to go to London. They all enjoy the city, but usually when they leave, tell me how much they enjoyed Salisbury, Bath, Winchester - and all the "pretty chocolate box" places. It is the "Englishness" of such places that they enjoy.

I do understand MK2's point - given a choice between Bath and Bologna, Portsmouth or Pisa - I'd go for the Italian option every time

I'm not Paul Dacre in disguise don't worry.

I'm pleased that one person so far can see my point!

Brighton or Sorrento? One's cheaper, has fabulous food, perfect sunshine, the sun, the setting, etc. etc. etc. and that one isn't Brighton!

Aww Karen, we'll miss you in Betws-Y-Coed by about 2 weeks...a shame! Where are you staying? We've been before and LOVE N. Wales. We find B-Y-C to be a great base, and really enjoy the Ty Gwyn Inn (the pub there, in particular).

Ani,

We have not booked a place yet. Thank you for the suggestion - I will check it out. I assume you will be in N. Wales first couple of weeks in September. It would have been cool to get together for a drink at that pub.

Are you at all worried about being in London after the explosions this morning?

Karen