We are taking the kids to London & Paris for 10 days over Easter.
The girls have already decided on 2 MUST SEE things
Shai Abbey Road (she's a huge Beatles fan)
Maya some of the places where they filmed Harry Potter
what else????
What would YOU want to see in London & Paris?
-
Jenni Benni
- Posts: 2464
- Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2008 6:30 pm
Re: What would YOU want to see in London & Paris?
I am so jealous. I want to go with you. The Effiel Tower, Big Ben, I have heard that you can arrange and actual Tea Party, Buckingham palace, Notre Dame....the list is endless.
Jenni
Jenni
Jenni Benni
Mom to 3 sweet little boys.
Mom to 3 sweet little boys.
-
tichwoli
Re: What would YOU want to see in London & Paris?
British Museum in London and the Louvre in Paris amongst others. I am pea green!!!
-
rinda
Re: What would YOU want to see in London & Paris?
In Paris, we loved Notre Dame (make sure to climb to the top to see the gargoyles) and Montmarte. In London, we had a great outing to Greenwich - you can take a boat down the Seine to get there and take the train back for a very reasonable price. We also really enjoyed the changing of the guard at Buckinham Palace.
Rinda
Rinda
-
Dani Larcom
Re: What would YOU want to see in London & Paris?
Mont Martre at night when all the cafes are open and the artists are out. You have to go at night so you can see all the lights of the city. It's so beautiful! Shai would love it!
Musee O'Dorsay for Impressionist art.
The Lovre is where all the classical art is.
Musee O'Dorsay for Impressionist art.
The Lovre is where all the classical art is.
-
Debbie J
Re: What would YOU want to see in London & Paris?
Wow--Sounds like a fantastic vacay!! When we went to Italy and Greece last year we stayed the night in London--we had big plans, but they were all foiled--we arrived at our hotel at midnight and had to be up @ 4 am to catch the bus to the airport--didn't get to see a darn thing--so it's on my bucket list. They have a London by night tour that we planned to do, but didn't have time.
http://www.london-by-night.net/
Lucky you!!
http://www.london-by-night.net/
Lucky you!!
-
Ruth Ann Landry
Re: What would YOU want to see in London & Paris?
Paris:
Versailles Palace..just a few miles to southwest of Paris plan a whole day
Rodin Museum if your into his sculpture....the thinker....the kiss...rather anatomically explicit in some, but WOW
top of Eiffel tower, of course for view of all of paris
Notre Dame..i visited at least weekly
St Sulpice church right near notre dame...for it's floor to ceiling stained glass windows
a Seine river boat tour...preferably at night
i never did the sewer tour of the catacombs and lived there a year, but may be very interesting in a macabre way for them
you must walk Boulevard St mIchel on the left bank (collegy-student district) again night is preferable when the cafes are all lit up
Personally, I would skip Pompidou Center as I thinks it's an abomination of architecture for that city
Louvre and Musee d"Orsay (where i spend hours)
London:
Big Ben you can see from the street
Picadilly Circus...see from the street
London Tower.....fascinating if you're into English history...can see carvings in the prisons cells
Westminster Cathedral and burial crypts inside
Buckinghom...from the street, of course
Versailles Palace..just a few miles to southwest of Paris plan a whole day
Rodin Museum if your into his sculpture....the thinker....the kiss...rather anatomically explicit in some, but WOW
top of Eiffel tower, of course for view of all of paris
Notre Dame..i visited at least weekly
St Sulpice church right near notre dame...for it's floor to ceiling stained glass windows
a Seine river boat tour...preferably at night
i never did the sewer tour of the catacombs and lived there a year, but may be very interesting in a macabre way for them
you must walk Boulevard St mIchel on the left bank (collegy-student district) again night is preferable when the cafes are all lit up
Personally, I would skip Pompidou Center as I thinks it's an abomination of architecture for that city
Louvre and Musee d"Orsay (where i spend hours)
London:
Big Ben you can see from the street
Picadilly Circus...see from the street
London Tower.....fascinating if you're into English history...can see carvings in the prisons cells
Westminster Cathedral and burial crypts inside
Buckinghom...from the street, of course
-
Luanne
Re: What would YOU want to see in London & Paris?
I would insist on seeing a play in London!!! Fish & Chips in a pub, of course, preferably with live music.
Paris, i'd grab a bottle of wine, some raspberries, cheese and fresh bread, then sit on the sidewalk eat and watch the world go by. There was someone....man who was it???? who did hidden secrets of paris....it was awesome, with great tips, and very authentic, not typical tourist spots....damn who was that?
Paris, i'd grab a bottle of wine, some raspberries, cheese and fresh bread, then sit on the sidewalk eat and watch the world go by. There was someone....man who was it???? who did hidden secrets of paris....it was awesome, with great tips, and very authentic, not typical tourist spots....damn who was that?
-
gwenj
Re: What would YOU want to see in London & Paris?
The Tower of London is a must see! The Beefeaters do a great job of telling the stories of the people who have inhabited the Tower over the years, and the Crown Jewels are amazing.
Also, check out London Walks--it's a group that does walking tours of various parts of the city of London. They usually meet at a designated Tube station--pretty inexpensive and very well done. The tour guides are usually people with acting experience and tell great stories. They have a website, so you can see the variety of tours and schedules. No reservations are necessary.
The theater in London is also fantastic. I saw Mary Poppins there when I was with my son a year ago--a great show! There is a ticket booth in Liester Square where you can get 1/2 price tickets for shows the same day.
There are some great day trips from London as well--Canterbury, Warwick Castle, Windsor Castle, Stonehenge...
I've made four trips to London in the last few years... PM me if you'd like more info!
Also, check out London Walks--it's a group that does walking tours of various parts of the city of London. They usually meet at a designated Tube station--pretty inexpensive and very well done. The tour guides are usually people with acting experience and tell great stories. They have a website, so you can see the variety of tours and schedules. No reservations are necessary.
The theater in London is also fantastic. I saw Mary Poppins there when I was with my son a year ago--a great show! There is a ticket booth in Liester Square where you can get 1/2 price tickets for shows the same day.
There are some great day trips from London as well--Canterbury, Warwick Castle, Windsor Castle, Stonehenge...
I've made four trips to London in the last few years... PM me if you'd like more info!
-
LadyJaine
Re: What would YOU want to see in London & Paris?
The Victoria and Albert Museum has 'stuff' like the Smithsonian does. It's well worth the trip. You'll see what things really used to look like in England. Dresses, carpets, entire rooms with linenfold paneling, a staircase, metal work, iron fencing, teapots, shoes, musical instruments, the Bostoke sampler... There are kid activities that you can find out about if you check out their website. They are used to being used as a design source and it's OK to take photos!
I took the train from King's Cross out to Hampton Court, the home of Henry VIII. There's a great maze in the garden and the gardens are spectacular. There are "Ghosts of Hampton Court" books that will add to the interest. At the end of one staircase, there is a covered landing, that leads to the outdoors. There are carved stone bits in the ceiling, with Henry's initials and the initials of one of his wives. They had to change all the carvings in a hurry and they skipped at least one. Finding that skipped one can be difficult. Again, there are kid activities, costumed interpreters and stuff to do that doesn't make it feel quite so much like a field trip. I suggest checking the website for details.
Tower of London, take the guided tour. It's where Henry beheaded his wives. Well, two of them, anyway. They don't have the chopping block that was used for them, but they do have a chopping block. Kids care about such things. Henry's daughter, Elizabeth was a prisoner in the tower before she was Queen. And the Ravens are there. You can also see the Crown Jewels at the Tower. You get on a slidewalk to go past them. It goes slowly enough not to miss much. There is a CD for sale of one of the Beefeaters who is quite the showman, giving the tour. It's worth buying a copy, even if you get that Beefeater giving you the tour. There are possibly ghost books about the Tower, too.
British Museum isn't nearly as 'fun' as V&A. They have a lot of the things that were brought back to London and it's got a lot of stuff from Egypt. The British Museum also has the Elgin Marbles, a 'shocking' display unsuitable for proper gentlewomen to view. But I'll go back to the V&A, before I go back to the British Museum.
The ghost tours are a lot of fun, shopping at Harrod's is a lot of fun, hitting the bookstore, Hatchards is fun. The Portobello Street Market is a fun shopping experience. You can find junk, trash and treasure there.
Bangers and mash at a pub is practically a requirement. Tea is a requirement. High tea is right next to dinner, and if you do high tea, you'll have real food with your tea, not biscuits. Think of high tea, as 'It's high time we had some food with our tea.' High tea is NOT a fancy tea. Cream tea is tea served with scones and cream, or berries and cream. You don't want to put cream in tea, the cream will overpower the flavour of the tea.
I took the train from King's Cross out to Hampton Court, the home of Henry VIII. There's a great maze in the garden and the gardens are spectacular. There are "Ghosts of Hampton Court" books that will add to the interest. At the end of one staircase, there is a covered landing, that leads to the outdoors. There are carved stone bits in the ceiling, with Henry's initials and the initials of one of his wives. They had to change all the carvings in a hurry and they skipped at least one. Finding that skipped one can be difficult. Again, there are kid activities, costumed interpreters and stuff to do that doesn't make it feel quite so much like a field trip. I suggest checking the website for details.
Tower of London, take the guided tour. It's where Henry beheaded his wives. Well, two of them, anyway. They don't have the chopping block that was used for them, but they do have a chopping block. Kids care about such things. Henry's daughter, Elizabeth was a prisoner in the tower before she was Queen. And the Ravens are there. You can also see the Crown Jewels at the Tower. You get on a slidewalk to go past them. It goes slowly enough not to miss much. There is a CD for sale of one of the Beefeaters who is quite the showman, giving the tour. It's worth buying a copy, even if you get that Beefeater giving you the tour. There are possibly ghost books about the Tower, too.
British Museum isn't nearly as 'fun' as V&A. They have a lot of the things that were brought back to London and it's got a lot of stuff from Egypt. The British Museum also has the Elgin Marbles, a 'shocking' display unsuitable for proper gentlewomen to view. But I'll go back to the V&A, before I go back to the British Museum.
The ghost tours are a lot of fun, shopping at Harrod's is a lot of fun, hitting the bookstore, Hatchards is fun. The Portobello Street Market is a fun shopping experience. You can find junk, trash and treasure there.
Bangers and mash at a pub is practically a requirement. Tea is a requirement. High tea is right next to dinner, and if you do high tea, you'll have real food with your tea, not biscuits. Think of high tea, as 'It's high time we had some food with our tea.' High tea is NOT a fancy tea. Cream tea is tea served with scones and cream, or berries and cream. You don't want to put cream in tea, the cream will overpower the flavour of the tea.
Re: What would YOU want to see in London & Paris?
Oh Christy...I would love to go there. I too think I will have to put that on my Bucket list.
Laurie Bennett #118 on POA
North Carolina
North Carolina
Re: What would YOU want to see in London & Paris?
Someday...
One thing I would love to do in Paris is to visit the Laduree on Av des Champs-Elysees. I'm sure there are some better patisseries but this one just screams "Paris" when I look at the photos.
The other is to ride a boat on the Siene at night. Ahhh...
Check out the Lonely Planet's website for more ideas.
One thing I would love to do in Paris is to visit the Laduree on Av des Champs-Elysees. I'm sure there are some better patisseries but this one just screams "Paris" when I look at the photos.
The other is to ride a boat on the Siene at night. Ahhh...
Check out the Lonely Planet's website for more ideas.
Pam Cook #48
-
gwenj
Re: What would YOU want to see in London & Paris?
Oh yes, and when you're in Paris, go to Versailles--it's oppulent, and the gardens are huge.
Re: What would YOU want to see in London & Paris?
I can't argue with any of the advice you've received! I haven't seen everything listed - but quite a bit. We went to Paris for our honeymoon, and while there, took a "day trip" to London via the chunnel. I don't recall if anyone mentioned that - but it's a really cool ride. We didn't spend the night in London, but saw as much as we could until we had to get the last train back to Paris.
In Paris, I definitely concur with the Seine by night. And definitely take the time to go out to Versailles. Absolutely amazing. We also took a day to see some of the wine regions, but that may not be of much interest to kids. We went to Epernay and toured the Dom Perignon cellars.
The first time I went to England, I was there for much longer than a day. My two favorite days were not spent in London though. We spent a day in Stratford-upon-Avon, and visited all of the Shakespeare sites, and finished the evening at the Royal Shakespearean Theater seeing "The Merchant of Venice". That was my favorite day.
My next favorite day was the day we toured some smaller cathedrals (Salusbury and Winchester were the cities), and Stonehenge was on the way.
That trip was over 20 years ago, and I'm sure some things have changed, but those were some of my favorites.
In Paris, I definitely concur with the Seine by night. And definitely take the time to go out to Versailles. Absolutely amazing. We also took a day to see some of the wine regions, but that may not be of much interest to kids. We went to Epernay and toured the Dom Perignon cellars.
The first time I went to England, I was there for much longer than a day. My two favorite days were not spent in London though. We spent a day in Stratford-upon-Avon, and visited all of the Shakespeare sites, and finished the evening at the Royal Shakespearean Theater seeing "The Merchant of Venice". That was my favorite day.
My next favorite day was the day we toured some smaller cathedrals (Salusbury and Winchester were the cities), and Stonehenge was on the way.
That trip was over 20 years ago, and I'm sure some things have changed, but those were some of my favorites.
Julie Fugina
#26 in the order of the PAO
#26 in the order of the PAO
-
beargal
Re: What would YOU want to see in London & Paris?
What a great trip to take them on at their age! I fully agree with Tower of London and the Beefeaters!!! They are fasinating to kids of all ages. Of course the changing of the guard where kids try to make the soldiers smile is fun.
Hampton Court as mentioned also is wonderful for all ages as not only is there the maze for kids but they actually are cooking over the HUGE fireplaces so you get a real good idea of cooking in those days!
Kew Gardens can be an all day affair or just a short visit and they have children's programs as well.
The fun part about Hampton and Kew is the kids get to ride the tube and rail systems which if they haven't done before is fun.
A double decker tour bus with the kids getting to be out on top should be a fun time for them too.
There is at least one children's museum in London altho right now I don't remember where.
There are so many things to see and do in both cities that you will need a vacation from your vacation. Not sure what your real interests are, but the second trip we did to London we did not do any of the "normal" tourist stuff. We searched out to find what was going on just during the time we were there. See if there are special Easter activities that might be of interest. Also if you are there for more than a day or two checkout the London Pass to see if it is worth the price for you to buy. I remember we ordered it before we left as I don't think you can buy in once you are there. You get tickets and a booklet that tells you what and where it is good for a discount or free admission.
I can talk about London for hours but you have been getting lots of good advice from everyone. It is a wonderful city. They have wonderful Indian food too if you like that kind of food.
Have a great time planning the trip as that is at least half the fun!!!
Rebeccca
Hampton Court as mentioned also is wonderful for all ages as not only is there the maze for kids but they actually are cooking over the HUGE fireplaces so you get a real good idea of cooking in those days!
Kew Gardens can be an all day affair or just a short visit and they have children's programs as well.
The fun part about Hampton and Kew is the kids get to ride the tube and rail systems which if they haven't done before is fun.
A double decker tour bus with the kids getting to be out on top should be a fun time for them too.
There is at least one children's museum in London altho right now I don't remember where.
There are so many things to see and do in both cities that you will need a vacation from your vacation. Not sure what your real interests are, but the second trip we did to London we did not do any of the "normal" tourist stuff. We searched out to find what was going on just during the time we were there. See if there are special Easter activities that might be of interest. Also if you are there for more than a day or two checkout the London Pass to see if it is worth the price for you to buy. I remember we ordered it before we left as I don't think you can buy in once you are there. You get tickets and a booklet that tells you what and where it is good for a discount or free admission.
I can talk about London for hours but you have been getting lots of good advice from everyone. It is a wonderful city. They have wonderful Indian food too if you like that kind of food.
Have a great time planning the trip as that is at least half the fun!!!
Rebeccca