garrett,<BR>for someone who seems concerned about 'class', you seem pretty classless yourself to write such an insulting post.

Agree with Paris with London theatre concept. I have 11 and 12 year old daughters and they prefer Paris as well.<BR>I have lived in london so know it reasonably well, and I could not believe how expensive it has become when I visited last March.

Hands down, Paris is the more beautiful between the two and, indeed, it is much less expensive. Having said that, I’ll take London ANY DAY. I’m not sure what others mean about the “attitude” in London…to me it is more friendly and more of a “people” town on a bad day than Paris could ever hope to be. Yes, parts of London are dirty, worn, threadbare and that is part of the over-all charm to me, adding to the absolutely indomitable spirit of Londoners. I tend to think of cities the same way I think of people. Some of the most interesting people I’ve had the pleasure of knowing are seriously flawed.

London is my favorite city. I find the atmosphere wonderful and the British to be a class act. In fact, I just saw Sherlock Holmes walking down Baker Street last month, cape, deerstalker hat, and all.

No contest. PARIS, Paris.

Well! These answers certainly have settled this question! LOL!!<BR>

Paris. In Paris a pizza dinner with pizza, salad,wine and dessert for 4 about 20 Euro. In London the same meal will cost you about 100Pounds and the pizza won't be that great.Thinking about the kid!

Lots of wisdom in most of the posts. One very discouraging (to me anyway)<BR>things about Paris is the INCREDIBLE amount of graffiti. Maybe worse than any city I've seen. Maybe it will become a recognized art form some day. In the meantime, it's disconcerting.

I don't understand why everyone complains that London is very expensive... if you eat in local cafes and restaurants or even buy picnic food from Marks and Sparks, it's no more expensive than anywhere else... just steer well clear of touristy places.

I hope you are right Senora. I have been to Paris three times and absolutely love it, and have only spent two days in London so am going back next March to really experience it. From what I have read (and the little that I did see) of London, and I what I know of Paris I think I tend to agree with the majority of the posters above. But in my research it does seem like there is plenty to do in London that is not that expensive. What about all the Indian restaurants that are suppossed to be so cheap and good. What about the fact that most of the museums are free. I know the chruches charge fees but I've read that you can go to them for free during evensong - seems like a good way to see them and be entertained at the same time. The hotel I've booked (with gotoday) looks fine on it's website and is less than some I've stayed at in Paris that look about the same. Am I missing something. Can't London be seen and enjoyed for a reasonable amount of money?

I would like to thank everyone for their<BR>straight-forward thoughts and opinions.<BR>Such information is not readily available in the many guidebooks out there which can make this forum quite valuable. Although I'd like to keep costs at a reasonable, yet somewhat predictable level, posts which state that a $20 pizza dinner in Paris would cost 100 pds. in London (or roughly $150) is scary. That and bad attitudes makes one lean toward Paris for the duration. However, after further deliberation, I decided to juggle the trip to stay a week in Paris and four days in London. Never having been to either place, I'd invite anyone to share their top three or so experiences (site, restaurant, activity, etc.) in either city for me to place on my itinerary. Such &quot;inside&quot; information would be most appreciated.<BR>Merci, and Cheers,<BR>Mark

Top Three :<BR>Musems:<BR>D'Orsay<BR>Musee Picasso<BR>Louvre<BR>Restaurants:<BR>Allards, rue St Andres des Arts<BR>Relais Louis 13 , rue Grandes des Augustines<BR>Le Violin D'Ingres<BR>Hotels:<BR>Lutece on Ille St Louis<BR>D'Angleterre on rue Jacob, Left Bank<BR>Parks:<BR>Luxembourg Gardens<BR>Things to do in Paris:<BR>Batueau Mouche<BR>Go to the Opera House<BR>Walk <BR>Shop<BR>Eat at Angelinas and Laduree<BR>Sit at Cafe Deux Magot in the afternoon <BR>Sit in Rodins Garden and just be still<BR>London:<BR>Favorite hotel:<BR> The Washington in Mayfair<BR> walk in Hyde Park<BR>feed the little birds in StJames Pk<BR>lunch in a pub<BR>dinner in Covent Garden<BR>shop for antiques<BR>ride on the Thames to Hampton Court<BR>go to the theatre<BR><BR>

From personal experience, be sure you understand what type of room you're getting if you choose the Hotel d'Angleterre. There are basically two standards: well-maintained and not so well-maintained. The reason for my disappointment was that our room was the latter.<BR><BR>All the larger rooms (ours included) are pricey-200 + euro per night-so try and reserve one of the nicer ones. You may have to talk with the clerks or directrice about it to be sure.<BR><BR>Don't take room #47-that was our room and I cannot recommend it.

Mark,<BR>I think a week in Paris and 4 days in London is perfect. I would stay in the 6th or 7th district,Hotel Relais Bosquet which is quite charming and a perfect location for everything! The wonderful Le Florimond a couple blocks away near the Rue Cler is our all time favorite with 5 course meals for around 28 Euro. Zagat's favorite! I would do the Louvre,Musee d'orsay, Picasso and Rodin. Just walking everywhere and using the Metro. I would climb the stairs of Sacre Coeur and take your daughter to Pere Lachaise cemetery to see Jim Morrisson grave and other famous people from 1600+. The cafes, Bistros and pastry shops are the most wonderful desserts I have every tasted! I would do a picnic at Rodin's and ride the elevator to the top of Eiffel tower. I would go to Versaille on Sunday for the fountain show and I would go where the Tutankamen mimes are and have a great time watching them. I would take the Eurostar to London and stay in the Kensigton area and try to go on a tour of Stonehege and the lovely countryside. I would drink lots of guinness and eat in the pubs. I would do a Indian dish in London but they are not as cheap as they used to be.. Have fun and keep us posted!

You know what they say....If you're tired of London then you're tired of life....London is fantastic. There is plenty for all to do and enjoy.

P-A-R-I-S

Just make sure you go to London first. You and the family will be let down if you visit London after Paris.

I think both are great cities and prefer Paris myself, but also can understand why your daughter might prefer London. I think London is a bit more expensive than Paris, but not nearly as much as it used to be, actually. I actually think hotels in London are cheaper than they were about 10 years ago, amazingly. Now, part of that is because the value of the US dollar was really low during some times I was there, but I also think things have changed in London and they've had to get more reasonable in pricing. I will agree, unfortunately, that I haven't had a lot of good meals in London (some were awful), except in ethnic restaurants. <BR><BR>However, the price differences aren't as great as some have stated on here, in my experience. In particular, the post that sounds so scary isn't true on either end (Paris or London). Believe me, you do not have to spend US$150 for a pizza dinner in London and you won't get a decent pizza dinner including wine and salad and dessert for four in Paris for $20, either. London seems to have an awful lot of pizza and Italian restaurants for some reason and many are quite reasonable.<BR><BR>I don't notice a big difference in attitudes in either place -- they're both big cities, but since you're from NY you should be used to attitudes. I probably would think Paris might be a bigger difference for you coming from New York. London isn't that charming to me, just another big city, but I enjoy it for theater and museums and classical music. Also, it's very stress-free for English-speakers because there is no language difference.

London first then Paris. The last person was right on the nose....<BR>Mark, Listen to all of us, We've been there and know!!!

I just got back from both Paris &amp; London and had Pizza in both places and Paris for 4 was around 25 Euro with salad,wine and dessert and London was about 90 Pounds with tip. The difference in the last year is unbelievable.<BR>