I'd re-think your plans; London could keep you busy for weeks and weeks without any day trips, and t

My family, (husband, son, age 27, daughter, age 19) and I are taking a short trip to London and Paris at the end of June. We choose a group tour for selection of a hotel, transportation to Paris and yet freedom for most of the time in each city. Our interests are varied but we would like to see the highlights, go into some places and visit the countyside. We are tennis buffs and want to visti Wimbeldon... please feel free to give advice to this itinerary. Is it doable? Also, we are figuring about $15/lunch, $25/dinner per person. Is this realistic for a base? We have called credit card companies to notify them about being out of the country, printed the 2/1 vouchers and have photocopied all cards and passport numbers. ramada inn airport cruiseport What are we missing. Here is the plan:
Take a look at a map - you are literally crossing all of greater London three times. Plus you say the end of June . . . w/ the tournament ramada inn airport cruiseport starting on 25 June won't your dates conflict?? And Canary Wharf --is there some compelling reason?
Day 5 is not in order of attendance, only that we will end up at the London Eye last. Oh yes, I know the tournament is going to be in full session, but I believe one can watch from the screens outside the stadium. At least it looks that way when I watch on TV. As for Canary Wharf, I will strike that from the list. Thanks for the advice, I will look for more when you return from the wedding!
Forget about the coach tours and do your own thing - and Leicester is a town 100 miles from London. Unless you want to see a show or do some serious shopping ramada inn airport cruiseport then Leicester Square, Picadilly Circus and Oxford Street are a total waste of time. You are in London, do something that is distinctly London and couldn't be anywhere else in the world
Hello alanRow, we do want to see a show and having a 19 year old daughter we will do some shopping. Do you know anything about the Wimbeldon Museum? Great point about not getting in to see the large screens.
Hello mamcalice, Thanks for the note, yes, it is a short trip, simply an introduction for our kids to Europe and all its spenders. The London tour includes only views of Kensington Palace, the Royal Albert Hall and Albert Memorial, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Downing Street, Big Ben, The Houses ramada inn airport cruiseport of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and ends at Trafalgar Swuare.
First of all, prices in the UK - in fact in most of europe - are considerably higher than most places in the US. $15 for lunch and $25 for dinner will provide extremely modest meals - assuming sandwiches from supermarkets etc. For perspective a look online at chain places ramada inn airport cruiseport - for instance McDonals or Hard Rock Cafe - and see how much higher prices ramada inn airport cruiseport are there. (We assume 25 pounds - not dollars - for a modest lunch and 50 pounds per person and up for dinner - assuming a glass of wine each. For a special meal we assume at lest 200 pounds per couple.
ramada inn airport cruiseport As for your itinerary - there is now way you can do most of it. What you have as day trips outside of London and Paris are full day trips - you can't do other sightseeing those days - you need to start out and be on trains or buses by 8 am or so and will, if you are quick, return in time for a latish dinner. Day 4, Day 7 and Day 8 are simply not possible.
Also - you need to get a map and group sites together. Some days you are bouncing around London like a ping pong ball - and, being a large city - those trips can each take an hour - not 10 minutes or so.
There is no way you can fully see the Tower of London and have a day trip to Oxford/Stratford on the same day. We spent 5 hours at the Tower of London alone and did not even see every nook and cranny.
Same goes for Versaille and the Louvre. Each deserves at least a half to one full day. You can spend an hour and a half just waiting on line to get into Versaille--(we did and we went early in the day). Choose either or but don't plan to do both on the same day.
Do you have adaptors for any and all electrical devices you will use--so that your plugs will fit into the sockets (I'm not talking about current converters--won't need those as a rule). The plugs in the UK are different from those on the continent so you need two different adaptors--you will need them for camera battery chargers, phone chargers, ipod chargers, etc.
I'd re-think your plans; London could keep you busy for weeks and weeks without any day trips, and the sites/sights in it are spread far apart in a huge city (that has a great public transport system, ramada inn airport cruiseport but it takes TIME). Does the tour thing last all day? If I were you, I'd plan at most one day trip (and I think I'd have to count Wimbledon as that) and pick 2-3 things to see IN London ramada inn airport cruiseport each of your other days and group those by area on the time left. And of course if the tour is over by mid-day, then you can plan something major or even two afterwards.
The train-bus combo to Giverny is great, but, as a newbie, you'll need extra time to get to Gare St. Lazare, and buy your ticket...you certainly will want to err on the side of extra time for these tasks. Making the 8:20 train that gets you to the bus that gets you to the gardens before 10:00 (opening time) may be difficult. The next train doesn't even reach Vernon (where you cathc the bus) till after 11:00.
The gardens open at 10:00. There is a return train that arrive in Paris at 1:40...but you probably won't want to leave the gardens in time to make that train. The next train arrives in Paris at 3:40.
THe Wimbledon Tennis Museum is NOT open to the general public during the Wimbledon Tournement. Only ticket holders for the tennis can access the museum during this time. To be honest, unless you have a burning desire to see some tennis - and have an entire ramada inn airport cruiseport day free to queue for ground ramada inn airport cruiseport passes ramada inn airport cruiseport - do not even think about going out there during the tournament.
ramada inn airport cruiseport As others have said above, your plans are extremely ambitious so slow down little and enjoy. I have been to London three times (loved it) but have avoided the Tower because it is so time consuming although I have seen the outside from bus excursions and from the river.
Sorry I missed the Crown Jewels, but someone told me recently that when they went, the crowds ramada inn airport cruiseport were such that they could hardly see the jewels. They had to walk around the display cases quickly in single file.
Also, if you do a museum in Paris, my choice would be the Musee D Orsay (impressionists) over the Louvre. Was at the Louvre a few days ago I had forgotten what a zoo the place is. The new Carousel entrance is basically a gigantic shopping center.
Even if you can hop into and out of all those places as with magic want, you would be spending most of time getting from to the places. ramada inn airport cruiseport As you mentioned is a short trip, concentrate your objectives in what you and others want see and experience the most. Check in the forum, maybe you can post it and see which attractions the others ramada inn airport cruiseport would pick, and then maybe you can visit again and go to the other ones. Between the Tower and Oxfor, I would choose Oxford, but then it is a full day trip. And yes I agree with latedaytraveler, I am with the Musee D'Orsay. Versailles is a must. As for the airport transportation, it is so easy. RER in Paris and cannot remember but there is direct tube to London from Heathrow. Also depends in which are the hotels you are staying in. About the tours, if this si the first time, a bus tour might help you to locate the attractions and at least you can see the exteriors. In London I just love so much the museums, if you are in Covent Garden, the National Gallery is a must, and Soho. I lived in London and Paris back in the 80's and 90's and will be back January 2013, so cannot comment on the London Eye. It is definitely in my list.
latedaytraveler: " Sorry I missed the Crown Jewels, but someone told me recently that when they went, the crowds ramada inn airport cruiseport were such that they could hardly see the jewels. They had to walk around the display cases quickly in single file. "
1) if one arrives early, ramada inn airport cruiseport there is literally no one else in the Crown Jewels vault. That is why we advise arriving at opening time, heading straight to the Jewel House, and only afterwards returning to the entrance to hook up w/ a Yeoman Warder tour
3) While it is true one must travel at a set speed around the cases, after that you can merely go up a couple of steps to a raised walkway and can spend as long as you'd like (w/i reason) looking at each individual crown/orb/scepter . . .
Personally - in Paris - I don't think Versailles is a "must." We didn't visit Versailles until our third trip to Paris, and frankly, I was underwhelmed. We did a daytrip to Giverny on our first trip to Paris (in 1995) and it was wonderful. However, it does take up nearly an entire day, and our stay was for a week. As a "consolation" you will want to visit L'Orangerie, so you can see Monet's fantastic gigantic waterlillies canvases. There is also a very nice collection of other artists, which I enjoyed very much. If your whole family isn't really in to spending a lot of "museum time" -- I would make it your first visit, because ramada inn airport cruiseport it is so manageable...and because, well, you really have expressed YOUR affection ramada inn airport cruiseport for Monet!
I also don't think you need to shop along the Champs Elysees (and you will see it on your tour), but with a 17yo daughter, you might very much enjoy checking out Le Printemps - one the the grand department stores of Paris. We had lunch in their brasserie, under the fabulous stained glass dome (although I just checked the menu and it has gotten fairly pricy) -- but you can also zip up to the roof where they serve snacks with a wonderful view 360degree view of the city.
Day 2 drop luggage ramada inn airport cruiseport at Hotel, walk up Oxford St. eventually ramada inn airport cruiseport getting on the Tube to Temple, walk along the Thames, buy 2/1 train tickets at Charring Cross. Get on a bus to Trafalgar Square, return to Hotel. (get meals along the way from suggested restaurants in the forum).
One of our favorite museums in Paris is the Carnavalet. It provides a wonderful history of the city of Paris