Side trip from London: Paris or Berlin?

Cross post from your other thread:

Paris.

I'd take the Eurostar train which goes from city center to city center. Buy the tickets as soon as they go on sale which is 6 months out for the cheapest prices. www.eurostar.com Very, very easy but it will still kill a half a day.

Of course it depends on what you all really want. What made you decide on Berlin?

Thanks Pam, Paris it is. We love London and have some family there so this will be a fun trip!

Easy call: Paris. Unless, either....

1. You've been to Paris so often you can't stand going any more, or...

2. You'e never been to Berlin and feel a strong pull

Stay in the UK and go up to Edinburgh, you will love it.
So easy on the train.

Hi,

You have three days for this side trip...great!

Given your circumstances, my choice is to fly from London to Berlin. Go to Berlin especially if you certain specific sites to see.

I'd stay in Britain. The Lakes district is great. Stonehenge and the Great Moor in the west is worth a visit. We visited Liverpool and Manchester in 2017 - very nice to go there. We visited the small preserved town of Chester. All of this could be done on a 3-day side trip.

My suggestion would be to probably stay in the UK and visit out of London.

But, have your daughter ask some of the people that have participated in her study abroad program. My own university’s London program has lots of travel opportunities and that’s not including any informal plans that she may make with fellow students.

Keep in mind travel will eat into your days. Paris will use up a half day there and a half day back, hotel to hotel. Flying to Berlin will eat up a lot of time also getting to and from airports. I would stick to UK for the entire time. Plenty to see outside of London.

Edinburgh is amazing. My first thought as I stood on the Royal Mile, taking it all in, was "Move over Paris, I have a new favorite city." Although that thought has faded a bit, we absolutely loved Edinburgh and would go again in a heartbeat.

Edinburgh is amazing. My first thought as I stood on the Royal Mile, taking it all in, was "Move over Paris, I have a new favorite city." Although that thought has faded a bit, we absolutely loved Edinburgh and would go again in a heartbeat.

Edinburgh was sometimes known as the " Paris of the North."
It's a wonderful place to see, and so different from London.

Oh I love this discussion! I am a Berliner clearly bias) have been to Paris at least 10times, London twice and Edinburgh for the first time last year. I right away fell in love with Edinburgh as well, but must say if you have never been to Paris I recommend Paris. Logistly it is the easiest, shortest travel from London as well and you can say you were under the ocean :) Money-wise Paris is more expensive than Edinburgh, but cheaper than London.
Hope this helps.

Three days means two nights. Half a day will be lost in transit moving locations in each direction, so you actually have 2 days. Paris and Berlin can both easily fill 5 days just to see a meagre few of the highlights and would be best visited when you can spend longer there. Of the two, Berlin is my recommendation, as it’s more compact for a shorter timescale and has a great vibe for younger people (and the not so young).

Edinburgh will take as long to get to by train from London as Paris. When I go to Edinburgh on business, I fly from Gatwick, as that’s my closest airport. Those in the Edinburgh office coming to London often use Stansted airport. We never take the train, as it’s slower, but we are up at about 5am, so the train is good for daytime travel, as there are more trains than planes.

I would suggest York, not Edinburgh, as it’s a much shorter train journey, so you spend less time in transit. Visit York Minster, walk the old city walls, visit the Rail Museum (not just for boys!), browse the shops around The Shambles in ye olde buildings and have tea at Betty’s, an institution. It would be where I would want my parents to have taken me when I was that age. Still is!

Money-wise Paris is more expensive than Edinburgh, but cheaper than London.

More expensive in what way? In London so many museums are free that you will wipe out any perceived savings in Paris if museum visiting is your thing. Cheap(ish) accommodation can be found in both cities alongside cheap food. Londoners comprise of the whole spectrum of earnings and disposable income and they're not all eating at Claridges. Anyone can visit London and do so on a budget quite easily.

As for Paris or Berlin I find Berlin much more interesting so that would be my choice but why only those two cities? They're quite different. Rome is my favourite city in the world so that would be my recommendation but if ancient history isn't your thing then it probably wouldn't inspire as much excitement.

I would recommend any of the Baltic capitals, Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Spain and so on, the choices are endless and if you're going to fly, most cities can be reached within 2.5 hours.

Paris. Much better connection by Eurostar.

Wow! You have all given me so many great ideas. Some cities you're suggesting in addition to Berlin and Paris we have been to and they are, indeed, wonderful. We've decided on Paris. One in our party has never been and another was only seven at the time, so it will be a new experience for all of us. Bon voyage and Merci!