Hi all,
First time poster here, but have great appreciation for the advice given here. My wife and I have a two week trip to Europe coming up for our 10 year anniversary. We felt like we had our itinerary set, but I realized today that the trains from London to Paris still have no schedule posted due to scheduled maintenance, so I think I need to rearrange the middle part of our trip, and need some input. Current itinerary:
May 1: Leave US after work
May 2-8: London (not booked yet: day trip to Bath)
May 9-11: originally planning two nights in Reims to drink champagne and be out of the hustle of London and Paris
May 11-16: Paris (day trip to Versailles)
We are early 30s, from the Midwest, and have some experience in Europe from previous trips. We are wanting to take our two city visits leisurely, taking time to enjoy pubs, food, and people watching in addition to the rush of museums and lots of walking tours. Now that we are likely flying somewhere instead of the quick train ride to Paris/Reims, where would you go for these two nights? I could see staying in Bath and instead doing day trip to Cambridge, flying to Porto, going to Amsterdam, a different wine region in France that is best flown into from London, or algarves/somewhere warmer for a little more fun in the sun.
I know that is a lot of options, and we are open to other suggestions. We are looking for affordability, ease of getting to the new locale from London and into Paris, and an overall relaxing break from these two world-class cities. Our hotels in London and Paris are set in stone and non-refundable, so no need to talk about changing those portions. Please tell me what you would do or what info I can provide to get some good advice from you.
Thank you!
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
I would stick to your original plan (train to Paris).
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15788 posts
I did a day trip to Bath. It's possible but Bath is worth an overnight. You will want a sunny day, if it's rainy it will be dreary. Look at London Walks, both for day drips and for walking tours in the city. They are excellent.
Plan for 1/2 day or more in Epernay from Reims. You may need to book tours of the champagne houses in advance, expect the town to be very popular on the weekend (that was my experience in mid-April about 4 years ago). There are several sights in Reims - cathedral, basilica, Museum of the Rendition (WWII).
I like your plan.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
I think the reason we haven’t booked bath is that I’m not 100% sold that it is our best bet. We are planning on spending 1/2 day getting a couples massage and hanging out in the thermal pools at the spa, then catching a few of the highlights (Roman baths, royal crescent, etc.) before heading back to London. Would a closer escape outside of London be a more enjoyable day trip considering half would be a spa visit?
Also, it was pointed out to me that Eurostar is the only train not running on our date. That website made it seem like my train option to Reims would now take 10.5 hours, which is what led to my post. However, I see if we take train to Brussels, then to Paris, then to Reims we can still get there at a reasonable time. Seems like a lot of transfers with luggage but we are likely sticking with the original plan now.