Fizzer431

Hi, My 15 year old son and I are planning a trip to London and Paris from the US the last week of March. We have about 9 days and would like to spend a few days in London and then take the Eurostar to Paris for a few days. Would anybody be able to recommend an area to stay in for each city that would allow us to maybe catch an on and off bus or walk to visit all the touristy spots? We do have a budget but that is OK as we are just excited to be able to go. Probably would like to find something for about $150usd/night. Could go a little more if the logistics make it worthwhile. Neither of us has ever been to Europe.

I have used this site so many times over the years to plan vacations and find it is so full of great and accurate information! This is my first posting. I'm comfortable planning in the US but since I have no experience in Europe I would be grateful for some help.

Happy New Year, Fodorites!

Cholmondley_Warner

If you do a search on London you will find millions of threads similar to yours.

It is hard to say what is a "good area" as they vary - and we would need to know more about what sort of things you like or are looking for.

alanRow

There's no one area where you can walk to see all the touristy places - well you could but you'd end up doing a route march

And $150 is a bit on the low side especially as you want to book for the 2nd week of Easter when half the schools in Europe are on holiday.

But do check out the Travelodge chain and the reviews of hotels on Tripadvisor

PatrickLondon

And to help any future readers, here's a link to your other thread, which also has some useful answers:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=35101072

rickandpat

We've been to London 4 times, and one area we found worked well was Victoria Station (particularly since we flew into Gatwick twice.) We walked to Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey, but no matter where you stay you'll be on the tube and buses - luckily they're easy to navigate. I think the Thistle Victoria is out of your price range, but perhaps check londontown.com, we got a good deal through them once. When we flew through Heathrow we stayed at places nearer Hyde Park. I don't remember names, but one was quite nice in the Knightsbridge area, the other one OK but a little more seedy nearer Paddington - just be careful of anything TOO inexpensive.
Enjoy, and put London Tower at the top of your sightseeing list.

W9London

If you haven't booked yet, you should consider booking Eurostar as early as reasonably possible.

tod

Fizzer431 - We have done this trip many times over the years and we have always stayed in different locations in London & Paris.
As it's your first experience make it easy on yourself and maybe go this route:

LONDON; Hotel Jesmond Dene, 27 Argyle Street, Kings Cross.
Ph: 020-78374654 Fax: 020-78331633
email:www.jesmonddenehotel.co.uk

This hotel is very near the new Eurostar terminal.

PARIS: You may like the Hotel des Grandes Ecoles, 75 Rue Cardinal Lemoine, 75005.
TelFax:43252815
This hotel is in the Latin Quartier and close to the "must sees" like Notre Dame, The Pantheon, and the two islands - Ile de la Cite and Ile St-Louis, Shakespeare & Co., one of the oldest trees in Paris, etc., etc.. This is the oldest part of Paris with a very rich history.
If you get hold of a book called "Around and About Paris" by Thirza Vallois - Volume One, which covers the 1st,2nd,3rd,4th, 5th, 6th and 7th (Eiffel Tower ) arrondissements. You will have one of the best guide books available. Read through and follow her guided walks. This way you will not pass by a historical buiding/street/passageway or anything else of interest.
When I read her books now I see how much I have missed even though I brought a travelguide.

yorkshire

For London, check out the Kensington and Earl's Court areas. Lots of hotels--and if you like walking you can walk to Hyde Park and nearby museums. Otherwise, there are plenty of buses and tube stops. I stayed at base2stay, which I found affordable and quite pleasant.

Mimar

I second the reservation for the Hotel des Grandes Ecoles, a charming hotel built around a courtyard and in a good location, but you must reserve early: www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75005ecoles2.htm

In London, you don't need to stay close to St. Pancras as long as you're close to a tube station. Bloomsbury is close-ish to St. Pancras, but a better neighborhood than King's Cross.

London is a very expensive city. Many posters on Fodor recommend using Priceline to get a good rate. (If you're unfamiliar with bidding for a hotel, read www.betterbidding.com first.) And look at www.tripadvisor.com for travelers' reviews of hotels.

nytraveler

Both are large cities with tourist sights spread out over a large area - so you will be using the tube or Metro a lot.

Since your hotel budget is very modest I would focus more on finding a decent hotel available in any reasonably central area close to a tube or metro stop.

If you look below there are tons of postings on budget accommodations in both cities.

Carolina

Priceline often have good deals for London, not sure about Paris. I am staying at Hilton Olympia in Kensington area in June for 2 nights. It's not terribly central but not a bad location and at $100 per night including taxes I'm pretty pleased.

WillTravel

For March, we (my 16-year-old daughter and I) booked a good deal for the Marciano hotel in Paris, in the 9th, near the Cadet metro stop. There are also nearby buses. It's 80 Euros per night including breakfast for a double room. We booked it at www.hrs.de . We stayed a couple blocks away last year, and we are happy with this neighborhod. It's quite convenient if you are coming and going by train, like we are.