Monique

Paris is the greatest city in the world IMO.

Got to be done!

maurice97C2S

Hope you've got tickets, Pin ..... its ticket only on all days now because of overcrowding!

Cheers, Maurice

nota_troll

Funny that. Only one UK resident responded.

Surj-993C2S

Hey AC,

Dont do the typical thing and attempt to 'do' europe ove the course of a few days!!

London is a very diverse place with many attractions and you could easily spend your 3 weekends here with lots of things to do. Around London, you could visit places such as Hampton Court, Windsor Castle or Leeds Castle - all have attractions ranging from historic interest to natural beauty and cultural diversity. Within London, you could try places such as Camden market at weekends, Portobello market or any number of museums dotted around the Capital (from Tate modern to the V&A).

You could take a drive (or train) outside of London to places such as The Cotswolds (as mentioned earlier), Bath or Brighton. Cambridge is pretty close too as is Oxford (nr the Cotswolds).

If you are intent on taking the opportunity to take in some of europe - you should probably choose destinations that wont take too long to get to. Via Eurotunnel, you could get to either Paris or Brussels fairly readily both with their respective attractions.

Any further afield and you'll probably spend too long travelling (or wasting time at the airport) to make it worthwhile - imho!!

hth

Surj

Tim Ashfield

The Cotswolds have to be on your list IMHO.

One thing not suggested so far is a couple of days in Scotland - easy to get to with the low cost airlines flying out of London ( in fact I am going up there myself in July for 2 nights with my family, four of us in total. Return flights for the four of us £103.) Very different and stunning scenery.

Paris is fantastic and so are some of the other European capitals which can all be reached very cheaply with the low cost airlines. Whatever you decide to do, have a fantastic visit.

james993

Ok, my second post to this topic.

While in London remember that things are often much closer together than they appear on the map. Its best to buy a tourist guide book (Fodor's, etc...). Once you decide what you want to see, plan the ones that are near each other for the same day. I know this sounds obvious, but lots of people end up riding the tube all day going from one place to another. You can save a lot of hassle with good planning. The bus tours can be a good way to go. However, if you just by day/weekly passes to the tube then this is the cheapest way.

Hope that helps a little more.

EDIT: By the way... first outside beer of the season today! The pubs are hopping, the sun is out, and the weather is starting to take a turn for the warmer!

Tito

Gosh,

There really is so much to do in and around London.

What you do depends on what your interests are and how much time you have to spend.

There are all the tourist things that you may be interested in such as Buckingham Palace, Madam Tussauds, Windsor Castle, The Tower of London, Leicester Square. The London Eye is worth a visit for the view.

If you are limited for time you might want to take a hop on/off bus tour of the major attractions, these start at Leicester (pronounced LESTER) Sq.

There are loads of west end shows/musicals/ plays if you are interested. As mentioned above there is a half price ticket booth at Leicester Sq but you will have to queue. Avoid the touts as you will be paying over the odds- however this may be your only way of getting tickets to some of the more popular shows - you might try your hotel concierge first.

If clubs/night life is what you are after there is plently of if in London. Get a copy of Time out.

If you want to shop - Harrods, Selfridges and Oxford Street are worth a visit. Bond steet has a collection of high end shops. Carnaby St had an eclectic collection of shops but is a long way from its heyday in the sixties. If you have a car and can drive on the left, Bluewater is an interesting Mall, but has shops that you could find in most malls around the world.

There are loads of museums and art galleries if thats your thing: The National Portrait Gallery, The Tate, The Tate Modern, The Victoria and Albert, The British Museum, The National History Museum, The Saatchi. To name a few.

For people watching etc Leister Sq, Kensigton and Cheslsea, the Kings Road.

Resturants take your pick high, medium, low end; and pretty much any type of food is available in London. If you are a foodee get a copy of the Time out resturant guide.

Outside London: Oxford and Cambridge are worth a visit - to soak in the culture and buy the Tee shirt. There is a motor museum in Beaulieu. I would second the vote for a trip to Scotland Loch Ness etc (not the Gorballs)- if the weather is nice the scenery is spectacular.

In Europe take your pick. I would go for Paris/ Venice/Geneva/Madrid. If I was limited Paris is the biggee and doable from London.


May be we could arrange a London meet up with some of us UK Rennlisters.

Best of luck and enjoy.

Tito

James Shunt

Pin/AC and any other visitors

I second most of the ideas, especially the suggestions not to try to cover 1000s of miles in a short time despite your lack of annual entitlement. Of the Americans I've known visiting, they've all loved a combination of the historic parts of London (Tower of London, B'ham Palace, Stonehenge etc) and the smaller, quaint places (countryside villages, eccentric musems) that don't impress us locals at all!

I've just got back from a holiday myself and I always follow these rules: spend a day ignoring the tourist sights and do what the locals do, eat the local food, drive the local cars and drink the local beer. It never fails for me!

Have a great time

James

993chaz

Take the train to Edinburgh Scotland..................you won't be dissappointed!!

AGC

All,

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will be in London for 4 weekends (including a long weekend on 05/01), however my wife and son will not join me till 05/07, therefore we will have only 3 weekends maybe 2. We plan on staying in London for the first weekend. As for the second weekend we would really like to get to Paris, as you all have stated we are trying not to do too much in the limited time we have, but really would like to get to Paris. My question is what is the best way to get there. I have a 10 month old baby and don't really want to take a plane, but if the cost or time is a big issue I will do it. I have heard train, ferry and plane, what is the lenght of time for each and approximate cost. Again thanks for all your input. We are hoping to al least see London and Paris on this trip

Dudley

The Eurostar/Chunnel is $340 Round Trip per person.
The Ferry from Dover is $30 R/T
Flights From London to Paris are $160 (I have seen them ads for $75)

You can check on-line for any of these.

Surj-993C2S

you should book your eurostar ticket from here when you get here - can be as cheap as 50GBP pp return if you book ahead. Trains run from Waterloo station and its probably the best course of least hassle (essential when travelling with a little 'un).

Feel free to ask more even after you get here

Surj

AGC

Dudley, $160 for a round trip or one way flight.

Dudley

AC,

Of course, I would defer to a native since I have only vacationed in London on six occasions and I have stayed in Paris just 3 times.

The flight was $160 Round/Trip.
Take a peek at http://www.travelocity.com
They have Round Trips from London to Paris. for as little as $55

50GBP is a very good price for the Chunnel if it is available. And remember, get to the station very early - the security lines can be an awful wait.
This is not a train you can hop on.
http://www.eurostar.com

When you realize that the English Channel is only 12 miles wide, the ferry may make the crossing before you clear security at either the airport or chunnel.

Dave

AGC

Surj,

Where can I get tickets from for 50GBP, also where can I find out more about the ferry