PalenQ

I'll have to ask my son what he thinks but you are no doubt right - but he was pointing and pointing to his member and it was a young gal not old hag.

suze

Your stay in each city is quite short. I think you have WAY too many "day trips" scheduled. You haven't left any time for seeing the city, except from the window of a tour bus!

PalenQ

Asseche - my son says to him "asseche" is a verb that means 'to dry it out' and this makes more sense in the context of the delivery man pointing each time he screamed it and each time he pointed at his groing - meaning my son says - to him at least -"to dry it out" as a verb. Makes more sense to me.

nukesafe

Back to the OP's questions --- You mention one of your goals is to see "Engineering Marvels". If you have the time to go to a museum while in Paris the one place you will get the biggest bang for your buck in the engineering/science department would be the Musee Arts et Metiers Visitor information | Musée des arts et métiers. It is a relatively small museum, and contains some truly amazing things, which are well displayed in a rather arcane, almost Jules Verne, manner. From the information on the labels you will see that the French invented EVERYTHING.

PalenQ

Love the Arts-et-Metiers museums - Faucault's original pendulum swings in the old church part.

TDudette

Yes, do double check your actual day of arrival for that tour.

DH and I used to take a city tour and just stayed on the bus. We returned to areas that called out. That doesn't take the place of pre-reading about a city/country of course. If things are busy and you get off, the HOHO bus might be mobbed and you have to wait and wait.

PalenQ

Sights of Paris -major ones - are in a very compact area and walking between them very easy - I'd do a 'road trip' walking the whole time. Buses give you an ephemerla glimpse of things - I always walk between Notre-Dame - Louvre - Eiffel Tower area.

sso

Perfect. Loved all the feedback and have taken down notes. All the advise makes sense and will definitely follow them in our trip. HOHO is now out.
We most likely will cancel the day trips and focus on touring the city and leaning towards taking a guided walking tour.

Any advise on the Eiffel Tower. How much time we should set aside for the tour and visit. Which days and timings are the best.

Thank you all for the great advise.
nukesafe, Thank you for that information.

Best
sso

PalenQ

Couple hours for Eiffel once you go up tops I would think - not that much to do but take in views. Book your time slot online or long waits.

AJPeabody

The view from the Eiffel Tower does not include the tower itself and is quite a bother to do. Best to view the Tower from across the river or from the Champs de Mars, and view Paris itself from the top of the Tour Montparnasse or from the tethered balloon at the Parc Andre Citroen (wind and weather permitting).

bakerstreet

You mentioned a canal cruise in Amsterdam -- we took one in August that was a highlight of our stay in that city and I highly recommend it. The classic, historic boat is owned by the Pulitzer Hotel in Amsterdam, on a canal so the boat is right outside the hotel. We were staying at the hotel, which is how we learned of the boat, but you don't have to be a hotel guest to buy a seat on the daily 5 p.m. cruise. We were a party of 7 so we reserved the boat for a private cruise, but if had been just the two of us we would have reserved two spots and taken the regular cruise. It was delightful and I'd do it again. It was a lovely way to see a lot more of the city than we would have seen by walking. Here's the link to the website: https://www.pulitzeramsterdam.com/concierge/boat/ If the link doesn't work, just google amsterdam pulitzer boat.

• Departs daily at 5 pm
• There is an extra departure at 11 am Thursday to Sunday
• The cruise lasts 75 minutes
• The cost of the tour is €39 per person
• We welcome passengers from the age of 4
• A minimum of three people is required to run the tour

From the website: "There is no better way to see Amsterdam than from the water. Pulitzer’s classic salon boat from 1909 is easy on the eyes to say the least. This sea-faring stunner has all of the classic characteristics you’d expect: polished teak and brass, traditional carpeting, marble, leather and beveled glass. A cruise down the canals on this beautiful vessel is an Amsterdam adventure you’ll never forget."

PalenQ

Wow Pulitzer cruise on canals sounds great - much better than boats that carry dozens. Good call.