DH and I are heading to London and Paris over Thanksgiving. We've never been and are staying with friends in London. Aside from the major tourist attractions, has anyone been that can recommend other things to do, places to eat, etc.?
-
If you have the time in Paris, take a day trip up to Normandy and do a tour of the beaches and battlegrounds. It was my favorite day in France. Also, see if you can find the Rick Steves book "Mona Winks" and do his walking tour of Paris. From what I've heard, the walking tour in that book is different than the walking tours in his other books. It was a perfect tour of the city.
-
@littlebug: DH would LOVE the battlegrounds! Unfortunately we arrive in Paris on Thursday and leave Saturday so super short
We'll definitely be doing a France-only trip one day!!
-
In London, I highly recommend Spitalfields Market on a Sunday. Yummy food and shopping in a hip area in the East End. There are some wonderful Indian restaurants on Brick Lane, too. Some of the Christmas markets should be up by then depending on how long you will be in London. I liked the one in Southbank near the London Eye. You should do some touristy stuff such as Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, Tower of London etc., depending on what you are into. Walk down Oxford St or into Covent Garden for shopping and check out the Christmas lights (Harrods, too). ETA: Forgot that Somerset Square has an ice rink! Definitely do that if you can! Time Out London usually has the most up to date listings of city events so do check that out. And follow London on Instagram!
-
Food wise: It's been quite a while since I've been to either place, but in Paris, I pretty much never had bad food. In London, stick to fish n chips, or hit up dim sum places, Thai places, Indian food places, or let your friends recommend some places! Enjoy!!!
-
@LindsayInNY: I spent 4 days in France - 2 days in Paris, a day trip to Normandy, and a day trip to the Loire Valley. If you're willing to jam a lot of stuff into your time in Paris, it's totally do-able!
ETA: Woops, I read that backwards and though you were there Sat-Thurs, not Thurs-Sat. So yeah, you'll want to maximize your time in Paris.
-
So jealous of your trip!
In London, I agree Covent Garden is a great place to check out, its sort of similar to Quincy Market in Boston. I was surprised to love Tower of London as much as I did, it was really well done / interesting. The British Museum was great too.
If you have time a day trip to Windsor Castle and Wimbledon is really nice.
-
Def try to do a traditional afternoon tea in London! When I went I had it at the Orangey.
-
@MrsKoala: Awesome!! Thank you for all of that!! We're arriving Saturday and leaving for Paris Thursday morning.
@erinpye: I'm hoping our friends will have some good food suggestions but we'll be on our own during the day. I
fish and chips (and baby friendly too!)!!
-
@snowjewelz: Yes!! DH and I had tea at the Orangery and it was amazing.
My favorites in London were Westminster Abbey and Tower of London. Versailles in incredible but doesn't sound like you'll have time for that. I loved just walking around Paris and trying different cafes.
-
In Paris, have dinner at Gaspard de la Nuit (6 Rue des Tournelles in the 4th near the Bastille, should reserve). It's teeny tiny and delicious. I've been a few times and once had dinner just a table away from Jean-Paul Gaultier! Try Mariage Frères for tea (either to drink there or buy for yourself), La Grande Epicerie for gourmet groceries/snacks/food gifts. The modern art collection at the Pompidou Centre is one of the best in the world, and you can't beat the Musée d'Orsay for impressionism. Take a ride on the Ferris wheel if it is still set up in the Tuileries (it was in August). Stroll around Montmartre. Also, just take the time to walk around and look at everything. Paris is my favorite.
-
Following! We have been dying to plan a Europe trip and our stops would be London & Paris. I have friends in London and family in France. We might be able to do something next year. I have been to France but DH has not.
-
When we went to Paris for my 30th a good friend lived there and he took us to a few places we never would have found on our own. One that stands out is the gallery space at the top of the Louis Vuitton store on the Champs-Élysées. I don't know if it's always open, but if you can go there, do it!
-
@bluestriped bee: Friends of ours moved over there about 3 years ago. We planned to go last spring but had to get a new car after ours was Hurricane Sandy-ed. So we just bit the bullet for this year!
-
I haven't been to London in awhile, but I really want to check out Borough Market and the area around it. Also Brixton has a apparently changed a lot and has some funky shops and fun restaurants. Have fun! I'm jealous!
-
@LindsayInNY: totally touristy but I LOVED the Cathedral of Notre Dame!!!
-
Aside from the usual attractions in Paris I really loved just wandering around - finding little bars or cafes were awesome. We had dinners of just bread, cheese and wine. It was great.The mussee d'orsay and the Rodin museum can both be done in one day since they're within walking distance of each other. The Louvre and Napoleon's tomb was cool, too.
I also really liked the catacombs - I didn't think it would be that popular but we had to wait in line just like everything else.
Have a great trip!! I love Paris
I aim to visit London one of these days.
-
@MK0180: I'm a little bummed to be missing all the wine! I just hope the cheese is doable?
-
@LindsayInNY: I'm currently living in Madrid and have a German ob/gyn and she specifically told me to avoid all the "yummy French cheese." I don't know if that applies in France as well but it's a no go here. I'm sure if it's pasteurized you'll be fine though.
-
@LindsayInNY: Yeah I think you'll need to find out if the soft cheeses are pasteurized - but hard cheeses should be fine! And the crepes!!
-
@LindsayInNY: We are also going to London and Paris over Thanksgiving!
All of the museums in London are free which is nice.
I love the Christmas lights at Carnaby street. Leicester Square is great at night. They have a Tix for Tonight booth like they do in Vegas and Broadway if you want to check out some shows.
Make sure to get an Oyster card as soon as you get there.
Check out the food hall in the basement of Harrods. It's yummy! -
Paris is my favorite city ever!
Berthillon for ice cream (on Ile St. Louis, the little island near Notre Dame) I know it will be cold but it's delicious!
Hot chocolate and pastries at Angelina (near the Louvre)
Where are you staying in Paris? And what kinds of things would you like to do/see? I've been lots of times and would love to give suggestions (and live vicariously...now idea when I'll get back!) -
Unpasteurized cheese or raw milk cheese is "lait cru" so as long as it isn't that, it's pasteurized and you are fine!
-
@TravelBee: I have a feeling a lot of it won't be pasteurized
I just know to avoid soft cheeses? Worse case scenario, I'm eating a lot of bread and gelato!! 
-
@MK0180: OMG YES! I forgot about Crepes!! Honestly, I'm not a big soft cheese fan anyways so that'll help.
-
@jhd: We're staying at the Westin Opera (I think?) in Paris? That's about all that I know.
-
@LindsayInNY: oh gosh! Fish&Chips in England and I didn't have a bad meal in Paris!! You will have a great time!
-
@LindsayInNY: Do we have the same friend? Haha! I think our friend has been there for about 3 years now. He's doing very well for himself as a model. I don't know if he'll ever come back to the states now.
-
@bluestriped bee: Hahahahah okay I LOLed a ton!! Our friends are early/mid-40s, heavy set, he's an attorney and she's in finance. So picturing one of them as a model kinda cracked me up! Totally not their personality!!
-
@LindsayInNY: Haha. Oh, ok. Must have been a good time to move to London.
We'll definitely be doing a France-only trip one day!!
fish and chips (and baby friendly too!)!!
I aim to visit London one of these days.
Reply
Subscribe to our newsletter
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite1
29 comments