London or Loire Valley?

Hard to advise, these 2 are different.
I've been on Loire Valley and loved it. If you like wine and castles LV is perfect for you. But London is something that you don't want to miss.

There is absolutely no way that the Loire Valley can trump London. You'll kick yourself in the tail forever if you make that swap.

Whatever you want to see in the Loire will be too far apart to connect with bikes; a short-term car rental bill will eat you alive.

Lots of people bike the Loire valley. There are many organized bicycling tours, and there are extensive trails. When we were there a few years ago, we saw LOTS of bikers.

Check out ths website: http://www.cycling-loire.com/

You have to decide what kind of trip you want. London and the Loire valley are two totally different types of vacation. Either would be lots of fun.

Whichever one you don't pick, just put it on your list for next time.

I would suggest going to London.....London shouldn't be missed. Greatest city in the world.

Both are wonderful for diff reasons. You really should not cycle in London but can in Loire. The pace of course is very diff. Museums are mostly free in London perhaps a plus to you. You would spend less travel time if you skipped London this time also. You may find the fares are xtra high this yr and fares from Brussels and Paris can be pricey. perhaps you should select your air first then decide. If you sre using miles for your air then all depends on your likes and dislikes. London hotels are one of the highest even more than Paris. Hope this helps alittle.

I like London, but the last time I was there, I found everything so expensive that it spoiled it for me. I've been to the Loire Valley twice and would go again. Personally, for a rather short trip like this one, I wouldn't want to try to do London with a Paris/France trip -- they are culturally different, and there's so much to see & do in Paris & France. Also,the time spent getting from London to Paris could be better spent in Paris or biking in the Loire. Another reason why I'd skip London is because I hope I never have to go through Heathrow again -- but that's another story.

Whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

Hi Carol,

I am assuming that this is your first trip to London, Paris, etc. Assuming this is the case, I would skip London. Now, don't get me wrong, I adore London and in fact will be there in the next couple of weeks but having done London, Paris and Loire Valley, I think that you are spreading yourself too thin for a two week trip if you are also including Bruges.
Paris alone needs 3 to 4 days minimum (we were in Paris for 7 and felt that we didn't see everything we wanted to see) and the trip to Normandy takes at least 2 days to really see it properly IMO.
Overall, I think you would be spending more time traveling between areas than actually seeing those areas so I would definitely "shrink" the area you wish to cover so that you can maximize the time you have really "seeing" the areas you plan to visit.

We spent 2 weeks in Germany & Austria on a cycling trip 11 years ago, but that is our only experience in Europe. Celebrating 30 years of marriage and our focus is Paris where we plan to spend at least 5+ days. Normandy is important to me because my dad was there on D-Day and Bruges just seems delightful for 2+ days. Had originally planned to fly into Heathrow and spend 3 days in London then onto to France. Finish in Bruges, but had to get to Brussels for 11 AM flight back to Chicago. Just wondering if that is the best way to go. Maybe London should be saved for another trip which would include Scotland, Ireland. Hopefully we won't have to wait another 11 years! Decisions, decisions...thank you all for your helpful advice.

Carol, if it was me... Assume you will go back and go to the British Isles another time. Do the Loire Valley. (I have not been to Paris or the Loire Valley but will be doing both along with Normandy in December. I have been to London/Scotland and the Alsace region of France in the past.) London is expensive, and while I didn't find bargain-basement cheap lodging in the Loire, I did find reasonable rates. It will be keeping with the theme of the rest of your trip, you can ride bikes, it will be a bit of a change of pace from the city, and you will have an excuse to go back to London for another visit.

If you never thought you would ever get back to Europe, ever-ever, I'd say go to London, but... for me, I would do the Loire this time.

With three days and potential jet lag, you will hardly scratch the surface of London, so I would spend those days in France. I would allow more than 2 days for Normandy, especially if your father was there -- 4 days at least. Even apart from the D-Day history, it's a lovely place. Consider staying in Bayeux and taking a Battlebus Tour. It's not cheap, but worth every penny. Make sure you have time to visit every place your father visited.

I haven't been to the Loire Valley, but it would fit in well with your trip.

It all really depends on what you think you will like the best. I loved the Loire valley and being away from the big city....but I love London also. I love Bruges. We spent 5 nights there and could have still stayed longer -- again loved being away from the big city. But we love Paris most of all, so I guess it's hard to explain that compared to being out away from the big city. You will need a car in the Loire valley.
If you plan to return to Europe, personally I'd skip London on this trip.

Hi Carol. You said that Bruges "seems delightful for 2+ days" - do you already know what you'd like to see there? I was there for 1 day and that was enough time to go on a canal boat tour; visit the Church of Our Lady with Michelangelo's "Madonna and Child" sculpture, and the Memling Museum; see the Markt; and go into some souvenir shops. I haven't been to London or the Loire Valley, but I would take the advice of the other posters and visit either one or the other. Bruges is kind of out of the way for each destination, except if you go from Paris, and you also have to factor in your travel time to and from Bruges. I would save it for another trip (Bruges-Brussels-other cities) and keep those 2 days for more sightseeing in London or the Loire Valley.