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Post by skornick on Mar 3, 2012 17:34:22 GMT -5
My husband and I are planning a trip first time trip to Europe for about 8-10 days - should we stay in and around London (day trips) for the whole time, or try to split time in Paris? We don't know anything about city so should we book with a tour such as Trafalgar/Globus?
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Post by madamtrashheap on Mar 3, 2012 19:58:24 GMT -5
skornick, welcome to GFE. It's difficult to suggest exactly what you should do without knowing the following:
1. What time of year are you travelling?
2. What are your interests? Museums, food, history, etc?
3. What budget do you have?
In lieu of that information, I'll give a few things to think about:
8-10 days is probably only enough for one or two major cities maximum, without day trips. If you did want to do two major cities, you could fly into London, spend 5 days there (maybe time for one day trip) then Eurostar to Paris for 4 days and fly out of Paris. If you did stay in London the whole time, then you certainly would have time for day trips, eg Stonehenge & Bath, Cambridge or Oxford, Windsor Castle, Leeds Castle (not in Leeds, but just outside London) as well as time to explore London - lots to see and do. You could also rent an apartment rather than a hotel/B&B which might work out cheaper.
If you book a tour, you'll have transport and accommodation taken care of, but your free time might be limited, depending on the tour schedule. If you're not at all confident with solo travel, then by all means look into a London & Paris tour - both of those companies offer good ones - but make sure you're seeing what you want to see.
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Post by skornick on Mar 3, 2012 21:54:45 GMT -5
thanks so much for the info...we will be traveling in the fall/sept/oct/nov? - hubby likes historical stuff, castles, wars - I love art, the museums, food and fitness (don't like to sit alot) - have somewhat limited budget to work with....don't want to overextend the trip and not be able to enjoy anyplace if we try to do too much... but want to see alot in case we don't get back...any thoughts?
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Post by madamtrashheap on Mar 4, 2012 21:24:54 GMT -5
Autumn/Fall is a lovely time to visit, can still be warm in the days (esp Sept and early Oct), but you'll need a light jacket in the evenings.
Considering your interests, you might consider 5 nights in London with a day trip to Stonehenge & Bath - see Evan Evans for day trips by coach - and then either take the train to York for the rest of the time, or take the train or fly to Edinburgh for that time.
To make it work, as I believe you'll likely fly in and out of London, you could arrive in London, spend the first 2 nights there to deal with tireness, then head up to either York or Edinburgh for 2-3 nights, then back to London for the remainder of your time, allowing for a day trip as mentioned above.
There are plenty of museums, art-related things and food opportunities in all three cities, plus the castles, historical info and other requirements would also be met.
Splitting your time might not work if you rent an apartment as they usually only rent for 7 day periods, not less, but there are a few which offer day by day rental. Otherwise a B&B would suit if you do split your time.
As for wanting to see a lot - don't we all?!! But don't be fooled into thinking Europe is a small place and underestimating how long it takes to get to places. You would be better off picking one region and exploring it well, rather than changing places every day or so and spending more time travelling than seeing.
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Post by Eagle on Mar 5, 2012 1:41:12 GMT -5
skornick,
As this is your first trip to Europe, I'd highly recommend reading Europe Through The Back Door before the trip. It provides a lot of good information on "how" to travel in Europe. Once you've decided where you'll be visiting, use country-specific Guidebooks for details on Hotels, Restaurants, transportation and sight seeing.
As always, MTH has provided excellent information. With only 10-days to work with, you'll need to be VERY selective and pick two or three places that are reasonably close geographically. Are there any cities that either of you is "leaning towards"? Using open-jaw flights would be a good idea, as that will save the time and cost of returning to your starting point.
In planning your time, be sure to account for the fact that you'll need two days for travel to and from Europe. You didn't indicate where you're flying from, but you'll generally arrive in Europe the day after you depart. The last day will be spent on the flight home.
Although September / October are the fall "shoulder season", it can still be busy in Europe so pre-booking accommodations would be a good idea.
Good luck with your planning!
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Post by mikisunds on May 12, 2012 5:42:39 GMT -5
Getting around London is the best choice for your first trip to Europe.
You should to visit Paris (2 days) and Munich (1-2 days).
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carox
Full Travel Member
Posts: 26
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Post by carox on May 22, 2012 3:05:56 GMT -5
Paris and Munich are really very good cities and popular among tourists. These are the best suite if you want enjoy your weekends. You can make your trip enjoyable, entertaining and risk free if you travel with annual travel insurance which is the coverage for frequent traveler. This covers you for all trip throughout the year. |
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Post by rayanlee on Dec 2, 2012 5:20:27 GMT -5
Paris is one of my favorite holiday destination and would love to spend my next holidays over there. Can you suggest me best places to enjoy my trip and best hotels to stay. Anything else you would like to share.
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