Hi,
We are going to Europe for the first time and taking our two tweens. The plan is to hit these three countries over 10 days and our flight is in/out of Heathrow. I was thinking London for five days then to Bruges for two days and finally Paris for two days before heading back to London and spending the night for a morning flight the next day. Does two days each seem like enough time in Paris and Bruges with tweens?
TIA!
Sorry, you need to save Bruges for another trip. Two days is nowhere near enough for Paris.
In answer to your question regarding Paris and Bruges the answer is no. Drop Bruges. Allot more time to Paris.
When is your trip? Because if it's in mit to late July or August, I'd avoid Paris altogether due to the Olympics. Split your time between London and Belgium. And if at all possible, fly on a multicity ticket into London and out of Brussels (or vice versa) to avoid the wasted time backtracking to the original city.
....over 10 days and our flight is in/out of Heathrow.
Just checking if this is 10 days on the ground or if it includes your arrival and departure days, which are usually shot by travel? Frankly, I would suggest you stay in England, especially as it's your first trip, LOTS to do in & around London!
If you're committed to Paris, and have already booked RT to LHR, but you lose 1/2 a day transiting, you could take the Eurostar from London to Paris & fly back the night before, just stay at or near the airport, as long as long as you're flying on the same alliance, so there's no threat of losing your return ticket. Book the Eurostar ticket ASAP, they go up in price closer to departure. Hope that's helpful....
I agree with all of the comments above. London (plus daytrips) could easily take all 10 days. So could Paris. Brugges is remote and deserves more time, maybe combined with a longer trip to see Brussels, Amsterdam or other parts of Belgium. Paris could also take up your entire 10 days, unless of course it is during the Olympics. Dropping Brugges and trying to fly back from Paris and/or take the Eurostar will help you get more out of your planned time there. Have fun!!
Next time you work on a plan like this, look at the "multiple cities" tab on your airline website. Often an open-jaw ticket (home-London and Paris-home) costs no more than a roundtrip to the same place.
I agree that an ideal first trip to Europe is a week in London and a week in Paris. However, Amsterdam can be substituted for London, because it has as much English as London. BTW, the French no longer are rude to people who don't speak a word of French. You will have a great time in Paris.
Your children will go to Europe more often than you will. They'll get another chance at Bruges.
Well, glad I asked! Thank you all for your comments. I’m going to see if I can change to multi city plane tickets and drop Bruges.
How exciting! When is your trip?
I see it differently. In such a short trip, and your first one across the water (YAY!) I'd skip Paris and see two very different cultures and size, having London / Bruges 60/40 or 70/30. You will get a great overview of both. Bruges is not so remote, either fly or Eurostar into Brussels (the train is faster and much less hassle than the plane) and a very easy connection on the train to Bruges. I don't think you have time to do justice to Paris so save it for the next trip. I think that one large city and one small would be better than two very large cities.
But it is all down to your preferences. What do you like to do, what do you want to see, what have you been imagining your self being and doing?
Welcome to the Travel Forums, Mary
We are going at the end of April-first week of May so crowds will hopefully be less making it a little easier to see the sites and travel between countries.
The 6th of May is the Early May Bank Holiday in the UK. Everything will be busy all weekend, 3rd through 6th, especially if the weather is decent.
We are going at the end of April-first week of May so crowds will hopefully be less making it a little easier to see the sites and travel between countries.
May 1st is a holiday in almost all of Europe, it's Labor Day. I don't know if the kids are out of school? But I've been to London over Easter break and it was very busy at museums & cathedrals so that might be something to consider.
Nigel's idea to go to Bruges and skip Paris was intriguing, it would be helpful to know more about your interests and what if anything the tweens really want to see.
Maybe show your teens the RS TV shows(on this website) of Bruges and Paris and see which appeals to them(if they each choose differently, then flip a coin).
From London you could do day trips to Oxford, or Shakespeare’s town or other places. Similarly from Paris, you could take the high-speed train directions. I stayed a couple days in Bruges years ago and I wasn’t really all that impressed with it.
