Fizzer431

My 15 year old son and I are planning on taking a trip to London, England. While we are there, we were hoping to take the Eurostar over to Paris for about 3 or 4 days. We obviously have a budget but we would like to hear any ideas. We will be there for a total of about 8-9 days. So if you have any ideas about where to go and where to stay please let us know. Also keep in mind that we don't want to be spending tons of money on transportation so a good hotel in the center of all the sights would be appreciated.

Thanks for the help!

bardo1

Look through these for starters.:

http://www.eurocheapo.com/london/
(all of the neighborhoods in the above are central)

http://www.eurocheapo.com/paris/
(the Montmartre neighborhood in the above listings is not very central - all the others are)

When is the trip?

jrecm

Last night I was looking into this also. If you book somewhat ahead of time, you can get the Eurostar for $77 each way.

Fizzer431

Thanks for the advice so far. I also forgot to mention that the trip is from March 19 to March 30. I realize we are getting a late start so all the help we can get would be great!

Thanks again.

thursdaysd

Your dates would let you stay in university accommodation in London while the students are on vacation. For example, see www.lse.ac.uk/collections/vacations/

Carrybean

What's your budget for hotels? Anywhere in zone 1 would work as far as being in the center of things since the tube & bus will get you to most places you'd like to see - sights to visit aren't just in one location.

Carrybean

That should be "sites" to visit.

jamikins

Check out www.eurostar.com for your train to Paris. But book soon, you getter fares the earlier you book!

Barbara_in_CT

Visit your local mega book store or public library and look at the various guides to London and Paris. For a first trip, I recommend Rick Steves' London 2008 and Paris 2008.

I love the location of the Premier Inn County Hall but it is running about $200 per night. In Paris, the closer you are to the Seine and to Notre Dame, the more central you will feel.

bardo1

<i>So if you have any ideas about where to go and where to stay please let us know.</i>

I assume you already have plane tickets. Correct? I would buy the train tickets right now.

I would also reserve hotels right now.

Again refer to Eurocheapo above.

In London: all the 'hoods list are pretty central - except King's Cross. My first neighborhood choices in London would be Soho or Belgravia.

In Paris: all the 'hoods list are pretty central - except Montmartre.
My first neighborhood choices in Paris would be St. Germain des Pr&eacute;s and Ch&acirc;telet (though all the other neighborhoods listed are both nice and central).

Have you already read through these?:

http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/e...don/index.html

http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/f...ris/index.html

Fizzer431

Thank you everyone! We started to look into London as United still has seats available that week that we could have booked with our reward miles. I think we will wait until we have more time to study and plan. Sorry about having two threads. My son and I were having a contest to see who could get the most responses!

Andeesue

Since you haven't booked airfare yet and you'll be using miles, think about doing an &quot;open jaw&quot; ticket and flying into London and out of Paris. You'll only need to do a one-way Chunnel and won't waste time going back and forth. I'd suggest booking those flights ASAP, there are only so many seats available through award tickets and you do not want to be disappointed.This is spring break for many, so get moving

Bigal

Have to agree best way is to fly to London or Paris ,take the Eurostar one way to the other city and then home. Much easier and more time in each city.And cheaper since on mileage both cities are the same.

I do it all the time.