fleshing out 25th anniversary trip September-ish 2027

Paris in a day boggles my mind. But I love to spend a week in a location and get a feel for it. For one week, do not attempt more than two cities please, not the four countries you offer. I hear you on the daytime flights to LHR. From there,you could fly to Paris or Brussels or Amsterdam.

Congratulations on your 25th anniversary. Here are some thoughts from me:

-Buckingham Palace tours this year only go through 27 September, so keep this in mind when you are booking.
-I would strongly disagree about seeing all of Paris in one day! But I suppose it depends on what you actually want to see. You would need a whole other day to visit Versailles and multiple more days to visit Normandy.
-With one week I think London and Paris is plenty, just split the time there- or just stay in one or the other and visit the surrounding area (e.g. Paris and Normandy).
-Is there a specific concern your wife has with the channel tunnel? Is it being in a tunnel? The tunnel part is very short, it's only about half an hour of the 2.5 hour journey if I remember correctly. You can also fly, but it takes so much time to get to and from the airport on either end you will waste a lot of time that way. There's also the ferry but you would need to research which routes take foot passengers, and then of course there is the time spent getting to and from the port at either end.

Good luck with your planning!

I really enjoyed my Rick Steves' tour of Paris in a week, but looking at your list, he doesn't have one tour that would accomplish all of your must sees. Maybe the South England one? I don't know.

Happy anniversary!

I really enjoyed Paris in 11 nights, then back again for 3 nights after finishing a Normandy trip last fall (both D Day and Medieval history) but to each his own. I'll be back for 4 nights soon (Paris, that is).

Happy anniversary!
About 5 or 6 years ago we flew to London, did ou sightseeing, and took the chunnel to Paris and spent about 5 days there, I don't recall exactly. I, too, disliked the idea of the being enclosed in a vehicle under the sea, but it was a breeze! It was easy and we were on the continent in no time. I recommend it, and as I said, I'm a bit claustrophobic.

We've been to Paris 4 times now, and I still have a list of things we missed. One day, is certainly not enough, and two would be better, but if you have the option, even more is better. FWIW, my first time in Paris, we had lunch at the Eiffel Tower, and I enjoyed it, but it was my first time there, and it was more than 20 years ago. Re the Louvre, we did a tour once, and it was very helpful, because the guide took us directly to the "most important" or most famous works, and it was a time saver. The Louvre is huge!
If you have specific works you want to see, you can pinpoint them using a link on the Louvre website, which also saves time.

Enjoy!

My brother has been and tells me that in his opinion, it can be seen in a day

Wow.

If Buckingham Palace is an absolute must for your wife, as is a daytime flight from the US to LHR, then I would suggest you tour the palace, and then head to Paris for the remainder of the trip. There are many options for direct flights from London to CDG. This link may help to explain your ferry options if she does not want to travel by Eurostar, and if you decide against a flight: https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/london-to-paris-by-ferry.htm Consider the fact, that you will lose a large chunk of one day by traveling from London to Paris. When planning a trip, think about it in "nights" not "days".

In my wildest dreams, I can not imagine seeing Paris in just one or two days. You mentioned Versailles, and that will take you a half-day at the very least. After spending a few days in Paris, you could travel by train from the Saint Lazare station to tour the beaches of Normandy. IMO there is far too much to see and do there for it to be a day trip. Would you be open to renting a car at a rental company located next to the train station in Caen? After spending time touring the beaches, you can take the train back to Paris for your flight home.

I love the Netherlands, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Bruges is small, so you would not need a lot of time there. Amsterdam can keep you busy for multiple days. I was not a huge fan of Brussels. With that said, I would recommend you limit this trip to London and France, since you do not have a lot of time.

Thank you all. This is stuff we could've PROBABLY sussed out eventually, but what a head start. As for the "Paris in a day" it sounds like that's off the table, haha! I can't remember the exact context of the conversation, so I probably should've left that out.

Ken,
I must admit I don't understand ANYONE thinking Paris is a one day venture. Please find some other source for advice on seeing Paris. Your whole week could be filled up just seeing a small part of what Paris has to offer. The suggestion to visit Buckingham palace and going straight to Paris via the Eurostar train (not usually called the Chunnel in England or France) is a good one. However, the time spent in moving from England to France will use up a good part of a day out of your holiday time. Would your wife be amenable to seeing Buckingham Palace on another trip and flying straight to France? If so, you will see an even more impressive palace at Versailles, a day trip from Paris. You wouldn't need to spend so much of your week moving from country to country.

Re the Normandy beaches.....Bayeux (a good spot to begin your tour of them) is 170 miles from Paris. The train to there, from Paris, takes over 2 hours one way, so with an early train out of Paris, and a late train back, it is doable in one day, but not the best option IMO. Half the day will be spent on the train. You could take a guided tour of the historical sites from one of several very good companies. They aren't cheap, IMO, but well reviewed by just about everyone who has taken them. They would pick you up and drop you off at the Bayeux train station.

Your 7-8 days....do they include your arrival and departure days or just the days on the ground sightseeing? Be sure to allow for those two days. If you actually have 7-8 full days there, then you might fit in 2-3 days in another city besides Paris. Just be sure to allow for time involved in changing locations.

If you count nights in a place you may have a better idea of your time. Two nights in a city=one full day. How does this sound to you:
Day 1, arrive London, get to hotel and check in. Tour Buckingham Palace if you arrive early enough in the day. If not, see it first thing on day 2. Sleep London.
Day 2, Buckingham Palace first thing, then Eurostar to Paris. Or Eurostar to Paris first thing. Sleep Paris after some sightseeing. Maybe dinner on the Eiffel Tower if you have reservations for that evening. Allow plenty of time to get there from London. Or do the Eiffel Tower the next day.
Days3-5 Paris. One of these days will be about 3/4 taken up with Versailles. Sleep Paris
Day 6 Train to Bruges or Amsterdam Sleep in whichever one of these you choose. (I suggest Bruges. Amsterdam needs more time than you have.) (fyi, Bruges is 184 miles from Paris)
Day 7 Bruges, then move to Brussels for overnight stay before flight home the next day from Brussels.
Day 8 Fly home.

Better option (IMO)...Fly to Paris. Stay every night in Paris. Day trips from there: 1. Versailles, 2. all day trip to Normandy beaches as explained above (possibly), 3. Reims for champagne tasting tour and visit to cathedral there. These require no moving to another hotel. You will find way more to do and see in Paris (and its outskirts) with the rest of the time there than you can fit in. Check any guidebook for a suggestion of things to see and do in Paris. It has an abundance of choices. And to me it is one of the most romantic cities in the world! Perfect for an anniversary!

Whatever you decide, I strongly suggest you don't try to go to so many cities within one week. Please don't underestimate the time and effort you will spend moving from city to city and country to country. With just one week, give yourself time to wander or to sit back with an aperitif at a cafe and watch Paris go by.
Enjoy!

IMO, traveling on the Eurostar between London and Paris is a nothingburger. The train is quiet and roomy. I believe you rode the tube on your London trip last year. If your wife could handle that, the Eurostar is a breeze.

But, keep in mind that in addition to the actual train travel time, you will need to arrive at the train station about 75-90 minutes prior to departure to complete check-in, security and UK/France immigration. And the waiting area at St. Pancras Station can be extremely crowded. I'm not trying to scare you off. I just want you to be aware.

Like others, I can't begin to wrap my head around seeing Paris in 1 day. Yikes!

I know you struggled on your London trip. Do you have any concerns about traveling to France or Belgium or the Netherlands on your own where English is not the first language?

With 7-8 days, my suggestion is either all UK OR all France (to include your desire to visit Normandy and Versailles) or 2 cities in continental Europe (Paris & Bruges or Amsterdam & Bruges) or a package tour/cruise that meets your needs.

Best of luck with your plans!

Happy 25th anniversary! It is our 25th too next year and my husband and I are planning a trip to the UK Sep 2027, but mostly in the Lake District.

A few years ago, I did a mother-son trip with our son to London and Paris for a week for his 18th birthday. He really, really wanted to see the "twinkling lights on the Eiffel Tower" so we did a day trip to Paris. We took the first Eurostar of the day to Paris and returned on the last one. The journey under the English Channel was a total non-event; I didn't even feel any ear pressure, and possibly knew we were under the ocean only because I was tracking our journey on my phone. From previous comments you already know the spoiler - we barely scratched the surface of seeing Paris. We got in one museum (Orsay), some thrift shopping for the teen, a nice lunch at the museum, an afternoon crepe & coffee, some walking along the Seine, and finally the Eiffel Tower lights. However, the birthday boy was very happy so it was "worth it" and it can definitely be done, but I definitely didn't feel like I had "done" Paris in a day. Even with a day tour, I really don't think it would have been enough.

What do you think of flying into London and out of Paris? And do day trips from both. I love the English countryside and I may be biased, but love your idea of the Cotswolds (although the lovely thing about the UK is that there are so many other wonderful possibilities!).

Having said all this, it is your trip, so do it the way you want. Enjoy the planning and the trip!

London to Paris without the Chunnel means flying or ferry. Both take longer door to door than the train. But if your wife won't handle it, don't push it.

And if seas in the channel are rough, your wife will be begging to get off the 2-hour boat and into that quick tunnel.

Ken, you spent 7 days in London already. What else would you see besides Buckingham Palace that you didn't already see?

Since it's your anniversary, Paris might be nice as it's very romantic.

I think you have to decide if you truly want to see Normandy Beach or not. This sounds like a deciding factor. If you do, then you really can't do Paris and Normandy in just a few days. You should fly to Paris, stay a few days, then go to Normandy which I would give 3 nights (2 days) then back to Paris for the last night or two. Normandy has van tours of the beaches. There are also several military museums which are wonderful.

Remember that 2 nights is only 1 full day.

I also recommend Amsterdam in the springtime when the flowering bulbs are wonderful to see. I flew to AMS and stayed a few days then took the Eurostar to Paris. That worked out well.

I was in Brussels one day but personally wasn't too impressed. It was a cold rainy day in February and I found it gloomy and dark.