Critique my Itinerary for London and Paris

I think it's good that you have listed all the things you want to do each day, but I think you will be lucky to see one-half of what you plan--particularly in Paris. Museums and walking tours involve a lot of walking and standing, which are exhausting for anyone. I think your mother might be quite exhausted doing all of this, particularly if the weather is warm. I would be, and I don't have any health issues. You are right, I think Pere Lachaise would be quite exhausting -- it is quite hilly. And doing Versailles and 2 other museums in the same day seems impossible to me. I'm sure you will be able to see and do a lot of wonderful things. Good luck with whatever you do!

Here are the inexpert thoughts from a 65 yr old, but able to walk a lot:

Day 2: Even though people say not to take a nap you might need to in order to stay awake to see a play on your first night in town. If you hadn't bought the tickets I would suggest this for another night.

Day 4: This may be way too much. I don't think you are going to have the energy to do and enjoy either the National Gallery and/or V&A no matter how late they stay open.

Day 5: You could move the National Gallery to here since you want to do the walk starting in Trafalgar Sq. Perhaps do Cafe in the Crypt for Lunch. However, that would cut the British Museum.

Day 6: Is your Mom wanting to see all 3 of these? Or just one of the 3? I would do either a day trip to Bath via train or take the train to Windsor and do either of these yourselves. I love Stonehenge but I would skip it this trip. The trips visiting all three of these sights does not really give you much of a taste at any of them.

Day 7: Not sure you are going to get the British Library in today since it is your departure day and you have a big schedule for Paris. Do stop and get some picnic food for the train.

Day 8: I would skip Pere LeChaise since the Montmartre walk will likely be uphill and tiring.

Day 9: I would cut the Catacombs and the Pompidou Center. If you want to do a museum, perhaps the Carnavelet in the Marais would work since you will be doing your walk there. You may be museum'd out after the Louvre.

I know you and your Mom are going to have a wonderful time! I do think you have way too much if your Mom tires easily. Your schedule looks like too much for me and I usually walk 4 miles a day 3-4 days a week with a long walk of 10 miles once a week when I am prepping for a trip.

I would never be able to do this schedule and I schedule everything. I'm also mid 40s. We visited both London and Paris with my very active mother in law last summer. Here are a few thoughts:

Day 2: LONDON
- Check in at hotel, then make way to train station to buy TravelCard tix (2-for-1 deal) You may not be able to check in on arrival. It will depend on what time your flight arrives.

• 3 hour panoramic double decker bus tour of London (already booked) General advice on arrival day is to get fresh air to fight the jetlag. Its possible a 3hr bus ride will lull you both to sleep. If that doesn't, a dark theater at night will. This is a very late night if you didn't sleep on the plane the night before.

• Catch Wicked at theater (already booked)

Day 3: LONDON
- Thames River Cruise to Tower of London (45 min long)
- Tower of London (late morning / early afternoon) *We arrived at opening to avoid the lines at the royal jewels. If you arrive mid day your wait could be incredibly long at that location. *

• Old Spitalfields or Borough Market (late afternoon)
• Ceremony of the Keys at 9:30 pm (already booked) Another very late night.

Day 4: LONDON
- Wimbledon Museum and Tour (my mom loves tennis) We didn't visit but I believe Wimbledon is out of town. What time would you depart and what time do you expect to return?
- Westminster Abbey + RS's Westminster Walk audio tour (early afternoon) This is another, get there early or have a long wait location
- St. Martin-in-the-Fields and Cafe-in-the-Crypt (late afternoon)
- National Gallery (open late on Fridays) I would play this by ear to see how tired you may be
- Victoria and Albert Museum (also open late on Fridays - Incredibly ambitious to include) I cannot imagine getting to this

Day 5: LONDON
- British Museum
- RS's City Walk from Trafalgar Square to London Bridge If your mom has trouble walking, this may not be a good idea. its a relatively flat walk I think but its a lot longer than you may realize. Have a look at the distance on google maps

Day 6: LONDON
- Discover Bath, Stonehenge and Windsor full-day tour We visited Windsor on our own. We left at 9am and returned at 4pm. I've not heard a lot of good things about this trip. My understanding is that its a lot of time on a bus with little time at the stops themselves. You may want to have a look at reviews and consider visiting one on your own instead.

Day 7: LONDON
- British Library (very near hotel)
- Eurostar from London to Paris (late morning / early afternoon)
PARIS
- Purchase Paris Museum Pass at Gare du Nord
- Discover Walks Five o'Clock River Walk **Before you book this really have a look at what time you'll be arriving in Paris. You have to get to your hotel, check in, you also lose an hour between London and Paris. **

Day 8: PARIS
- Pere LaChaise Cemetery (I've been and loved it - too much walking for mom?)
- Discover Walks: Montmartre (1 hour, 40 min) *This is an incredibly hilly area. its possible that your mom may not be able to keep up with the group. We did this last summer but planned our route on our own, starting at the top and walking down. *

Day 9: PARIS
- Musee du Louvre (opening time - early afternoon)

• Discover Walks: Trendy Marais Tour (2:30 pm - 4:00 pm) Another walking tour. Five hours in the Louvre and then a 1.5hr walking tour may be tiring for your mom

• Catacombs We've yet to visit but from all I've read, you need to be here well before opening to avoid lines that run hours in length

Day 10: PARIS

• Musee d'Orsay (open late this night) you're planning a lot of late nights. What about a nice meal and then back to the hotel

Day 11: PARIS
- Versailles If you go, this is pretty much a full day alone

Thanks so much for the insightful replies! They are all very helpful. I should mention that the Discover Bath, Stonehenge and Windsor tour was booked due to 'free' tour credit (I booked the hotels, flights and transfers through Costco and this was one of the 'perks'). Mom and I are also doing the 72 hour Hop-on-Hop-Off bus (for Days 3, 4 and 5) and I plan to use this as much as possible as a means of getting around, even though I know it will take longer than using the Metro.

WOW! This is quite the itinerary. I think many of the days are possible, but you'd only get the briefest time at the site, and get tired out. Plus, there's no time for food built in ;) seriously, you could grab street food every meal, but sitting at a pub (London) or streetside cafe (paris) is part of the appeal of these places. As is wandering and enjoying being there.

Book your Eurostar as soon as it's available. A train at noon gets in at 3:22 (remember the time difference!). So you may be tight for a 5PM walk, but an earlier train makes your London part tough (British Museum opens at 10).

You really can't do day 11. If you want Versailles, that takes most of the day. There's not time for 2 museums after, especially if they have normal hours that day.

Finally, map this out. I haven't parsed it, but it seems like there is a lot of geographic hopping. Example: Pere Lachaise to Sacre Coeur to Pantheon? That's a haul and will take plenty of time however you do it. Pantheon could be done much easier on the day with Cluny, or maybe catacombs. Try to minimize travel time, and also allow yourself more time to rest.

*Edit - I just re-read your post and saw that your mom may have mobility issues or get tired easily. Given that, you REALLY need to cut. This is a highly active itinerary, with very little rest time, lots of later nights, and a general go-go-go style. Prioritize, your mom (and you!) will enjoy it more.

Lindsey, I think you have an overly optimistic schedule here for your mother. I am 60 but also a hiker who can do 10-15 miles a day, and I'd have trouble with some of your itinerary.

First off, you may be completely exhausted before you ever get to the theater. It's a very late night after a transatlantic flight, and not everyone can sleep on a plane (I can't). I would have booked that a different night but not an option at this point? The bus may be a good idea if it's not raining or cold, and the top is open so you can sit outside in the fresh air but I'll agree that it could put you to sleep otherwise.

Day 4: the V&A isn't possible

The Catacombs is a risk: very, very busy.

Versailles needs an entire day

I'd be concerned about your Mom being able to keep up on the walking tours too. I haven't done the ones you list but having done others, they can move along a pretty good clip, and would be a lot of time on her feet. Consider doing self-guided walks which allow her rest periods and a slower place instead?

You also have other attractions scheduled on walking-tour days which involve a lot of standing/walking: the British Museum, for example, is not small, and could wear her out before you even start your City Walk.

Day 8 in Paris will be too much for her; that part of town is hilly and has lots of uneven pavement. If you'd really like to do a cemetery, maybe give Montmartre a shot since it's close to the Sacre-Couer? That one is impressive and wouldn't take you out of your way. I would reconsider the guided walk.

I'll throw this out as an option? Quite a number of the museums offer wheelchairs for visitors with mobility challenges, and she may not tire as quickly if she doesn't have to stand/walk ALL day. Here are a few of those:

The Louvre; free to borrow:
http://www.louvre.fr/en/accessibility

Musee d'Orsay: free to borrow:
http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/visit/services/facilities.html

Versailles: free to borrow:
http://en.chateauversailles.fr/prepare-my-visit-/handicap/services

British Museum; free to borrow:
http://www.britishmuseum.org/visiting/access.aspx

National Galley, London:
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/visiting/access/mobility-access

I was about 15 years younger when I did this (and I managed to snag first class flight ) and both a friend and I took the HOHO bus the first day and fell asleep... then we got last minute tickets to Les Mis and I fell asleep about 20 minutes into it. I think the most important thing you can do to make it a memorable trip is to spend a lot of quality time with your mom. Obviously there are lots of wonderful things to see, but I would give a lot of time to nice long leisurely meals and enjoying the ambience. At the end of the day I think that is what will be the most meaningful to her... the time she gets to spend with you. If it were me I would cut about 3/4 of what you have listed and have a really bare bones list of what you need to see, then look at anything xtra as a bonus. Sitting in parks, impromptu picnics, spontaneous moments, sitting in cafes... I think those moments are as important as the checklist of sights.

As active and fit persons slightly older than your mom, I can tell you this itinerary for Paris makes my head spin! Our rule is one major site (Louvre, Versailles) each day, and a walking tour (we do a minimum of 10K a day) if the site itself does not take all day. At Versailles we devoted most of a day and walked ourselves to exhaustion so if you go there, use the little train to get around a bit. We always allow time for a rest of 2-4 hours before a late afternoon activity or dinner. Also remember you have to allow time for meals, laundry.

A good pace, IMO, would be for example:

9:00AM: Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle using Rick Steves' Historic Paris Walk

Lunch

Back to room or apt for rest

5:00PM: Aperitif followed by D'Orsay or Pompidou or ??? depending on what's open late. Museè D'Orsay is open until 9:45PM on Thursday, so if you can make this fit on a Thursday, it extends your day into night.

Dinner

FWIW we loved going to the Louvre on one of its late nights. We arrived about 4:00PM and took a private tour with ending about 7:00PM. Crowds were non-existent at least in March at this time.