3 or 4 days in London

I don't think you can do all this--or if you try you will be really rushed.

Is this your first trip to Europe? Are you concerned that you will never get back and that's why you are going to Paris for the day? Unless you have an event that you must attend in Paris, you might want to plan another trip for Paris. One day is almost ludicrous for Paris. :)

Pam

Focus. That's my suggestion. One day in Paris isn't enough and in reality you'll have but a very few hours to see anything. Calculate being at St Pancras a minimum of an hour early for the Eurostar, 4 hours round trip. Are u going because u merely want to say I've been to Paris? I'd add the day to London. Save Paris for another trip.

Day 1 London
8-8:30am ride the Tube with commuters to Westminster Station. Exit Parliament Square ( Big Ben, parliament, Westminster Abbey), walk up Birdcage Walk thru St James Park to the Palace, pick your spot to stand for an hour or so to watch the 15-20 minute changing of the Guard Ceremony. Confirm 11AM starting time on palace website. After the pomp and circumstance walk thru Green Park to Piccadilly.
Stroll down Piccadilly to Leceister Square to the half price ticket booth and get tickets for that night. You can check online to see what will be on sale for that day. From there you could walk back to Trafalgar Square and then down Whitehall back to Westminster Abbey. Time for lunch. Depending on your stamina you could hop on the tube and visit Camden Lock Market for lunch, or see if the Two Chairman Pub is serving lunch . It's a few blocks from the Abbey. Theatre that night and dinner before or after.

Day 2 London
You've pre booked your Globe ticket for this night. Breakfast near your accommodation then off to the Natural History Museum. The nearby science museum is fabulous. Lunch at Bosphorous Kebabs, then a walk through Harrods (at least the food halls) . Soccer game is watching non pros. Soccer match means the pros and is referred to as football. If you are talking pros you'll need to do research about who might playing in September. My point as this endeavor would be best on day 3.

Day 3
Early morning at Borough Market then Tate Modern. Soccer match that afternoon or evening.

In all honesty go out and buy the RS guidebook. So practical for first time visitors and can help u decide what else might float your boat in London, how to use public transport, etc. GREAT city, don't short change it

I got tired just reading what you are planning, but I admire your ambition.

Agree Paris deserves its own time and a day isn't even close to enough, since you'll spend half of it travelling.

Unless you have a special attraction to Dinosaurs, etc. you might want to consider the British Museum or the V&A which have unique items. Excellent though the NHM is, those kind of exhibits are available around the world.

Borough Market is all about food, Camden Market is fashion and some food, might help you decide.

Good luck.

Goodness gracious me.

I guess the 3 countries in 10 days (your previous post) is still on, then?

You got really good advice before.

Is the first of these 3 days in London the day you arrive from an overseas flight? So that half of that day will be spend in getting to your hotel, settling in and dealing with jetlag? What time do you arrive, and how far will you have come?

Is the last of these three days also the same day you fly to Ireland? What time is that flight?

OR - do you actually have 3 days in addition to travel days?

You guys are awesome! Thanks for the info!

We really have no desire to visit Paris for an extended amount of time which is why we thought this day trip would be perfect. Just enough time to see the Eiffel Tower and a few other things before heading back. We would be catching the first rail in and the last one out so we would have a full day there.

As far as amount of time in London.... we get in at 7am on a Friday and as of now will be in London all day Friday, all day Saturday, plan on going to Paris on Sunday and then we fly out to Ireland first thing that Monday morning getting us into Dublin at 9:30am. The other option like I said is staying an extra day and then flying out first thing Tuesday morning.

I am going to pile on and tell you "Forget Paris." (movie reference!)

I've done that day trip (w/Evan Evans tours), just to say I've been to Paris. A long day, and in July was hot!

You don't say if you've been to London before, but either way stay there and do Paris another time.

And I'll nominate St. Pauls Cathedral & Tower of London as great tours (along w/Westminister Abbey). And if you like military history, the Churchill War Rooms and the (free!) Imperial War Museum are fabulous.

Enjoy!

Right, so if you are arriving at 7am on Friday you will have been flying overnight and very tired even if you are one of (OK 2 of) the very few who have no symptoms of jetlag. 3 hours after touchdown you will arrive at your hotel to drop your bags, assuming your room isn't ready at 10am and throw some water on your face. Another hour and you can start your first activity.

Looks like half of Friday and all of Saturday to try to get to terms - while jetlagged - with one of the most impressive cities on this earth.

Up first thing on Sunday and off to Paris for a flying visit, and back to London same day. Better be at the Eurostar check in at St Pancras International bright and early.

The first Eurostar on a weekday gets you to Paris reasonably early but not on a Sunday. The first train on a Sunday is not until the 08:19 (UK time), which doesn't get to Paris until 11:47 (Paris time), just in time to have lunch. The last one back is at 21:13 (Paris time) which gets back at 22:39 (UK time) which doesn't give a lot of sleep before your Monday flight.

Is there a reason you can't fly to Ireland from Paris? There should be plenty of budget airlines making the flight.... You'd get a lot more sleep.

Don't forget to be at the Eurostar check in plenty earlier than the 30 minute absolute cut off, in both directions. My current advice is at least an hour, more on peak summer travel days.

I hope that you choose your London hotel location carefully so that you can get to the station and the airport without too much trouble. You will see so little of both cities you have to plan so very carefully.

Yes, unfortunately even Claudia's suggestions would have to be modified because you couldn't start your day that early already being on the go, since you'll just be arriving into town from your overnight flight.

European shops tends to be shut on Sundays I find, not sure if this is true of Paris. London shops are 99% open on Sundays, but only for 6 hrs.

100th post... yay!

You're leaving no room for all the little delays and mistakes you make in London & Paris because your a foreigner and don't know exactly how things work. Even with good planning, things will not go exactly to schedule or plan. Drop Paris and enjoy London and Ireland. Changing of the Guard is not that impressive for the time it takes in the middle of the day. Use the Theatre Show to fill an evening when you're gonna be tired anyway.