Travel in May '10

From Paris the possibilities are endless when you consider budget airlines, night trains, and high-speed rail. Some obvious choices would be Amsterdam, Brussels, or Bruges. But, I would strongly recommend Switzerland; easily reached via the TGV high speed trains out of Paris. London and Paris are fantastic cities, but cities will wear you down..especially London and Paris. Heading to the Swiss Alps in a region like the Berner Oberland will give you a good contrast: Urban to rural and mix things up a bit. The fresh mountain air is sure to recharge you batteries.

Jenn,

Other cities that you might want to include, aside from Paris and London, are Strasbourg, Munich, Berlin--a real must-see, and Prague. If this is too much, then you can choose from two out of these four.

From Paris to Strasbourg by TGV takes a little over 2 hours; instead of a day trip to Strasbourg, I recommend at least one and a half days; from Strasbourg to either Munich or Berlin, you can take the night train---there is one that requires only one transfer of trains at Offenburg that is not at some unpleasant hour. The other trains at night will play havoc with your sleep.

But to and from Prague I would suggest taking a day train. How many days do you intend to spend in each of these cities? As for a day trip outside of Paris, try Fontainebleau for its famous chateau. You'll find it fascinating.

I was thinking about 3 full days for Paris and London. That would not include travel days. Should I include more? All the tips so far have been great! Can anyone recommend smaller places to stay in Paris and London. More of a B&B then a hostel.

Jenn---How many days do you plan to allocate to London and Paris? Assuming that you spend three days in each (counting the jet-lagged arrival day and the travel day from london to paris), you then have 8 days left. No matter which areas you hit, there will be many many great sights that you don't get to....so any recommendation has to be made with that in mind. With that disclaimer made, my suggested itinerary would be:
TGV from Paris to Nice. Fly via discount airline such as Air Berlin or Easyjet from Nice to Berlin. Fly discount airline to Amsterdam. Day 14 fly home from Amsterdam.
Frankly, a wonderful trip could be had by simply TGV-ing to Avignon, picking up a rental car and doing Provence...returning the car in Nice and flying home out of Nice. Arles has touches of Spanish influence, Nice is italian-flavored, and the entire area is saturated with Roman sites and ruins.

Since this is your husband's 1st visit to Europe and he wants to see London & Paris, I think I'd let him suggest what else he might be interested in, if anything. There is certainly plenty to see in London and Paris to occupy two weeks. You can always take day trips out each city -- Paris: Reims, Chartres, Giverney, Versailles, etc; London - Bath, Cotswolds, some of the castles, Wales, etc.

Jenn----One place I stayed at in London, which was quite satisfactory was The Alhambra Hotel, at 19 Argyle Street right across from the King's Cross train station. Very recommenable B&B and reasonable rates. Very convenient location too.

If you are arriving at Heathrow, there's a direct Tube line right to King's Cross, takes about one hour, and no need to transfer, and Argyle Street is just across the the street as you exit the station, about 2-3 mins.

For each of London and Paris, I would plan for at least 4 nights, especially if that includes travel time.

For another destination to include with those two, how about some time outside of big cities? The Loire Valley, which is south of Paris, is within a two-hour drive of Paris, but would provide a view of the French countryside, in addition to plenty of chateaux! We took our then-10 year old son on his first European trip several years ago, using this itinerary. We flew into London, spent 4 nights there, took the channel tunnel train to Paris, picked up a rental car and spent 3 nights in the Loire Valley, then returned to Paris for the last 4 nights of our trip.

Jenn,

Given the short duration of the trip and the fact that your Husband is really set on London and Paris, I'd suggest focusing on those two locations with added day trips.

There's so much to see and do in both cities, it wouldn't be hard to spend a week in each one. Using open jaw flights would be a really good idea for best efficiency.

While in London you might consider day trips to Bath, the Cotswolds (guided tour since transportation is a bit sparse in that area) or York. In the same circumstances I'd probably head for Bath first (great place to recover from jet lag and I believe you can get a Bus from Heathrow if that's where you'll be arriving!). From Bath, take a Mad Max Tour to Stonehenge and the Cotswolds. Then head for London, with a day trip to York if desired (although I'd probably spend the time in London on this trip). From there take the EuroStar to Paris (London St. Pancras to Gare du Nord).

There's also LOTS to do and see in Paris, but you might consider a day trip to Versailles, perhaps a short trip to the Loire Valley or other spots. Normandy could be done as a day trip, but it would be a LONG day and spending one or two nights in Bayeux would be preferable. If you're planning to see any of the Museums in Paris, a two-day Paris Museum Pass would be a good idea.

There are lots of ways you could structure the trip, depending on your interests and what you both want to see. I'd suggest picking up a copy of the England 2010 Guidebook (available Nov. 24) and the France 2010 Guidebook (available now) so that you can plan for time efficient sight seeing.

Happy travels!

Everyone is super helpful! All the suggestions are awesome. I would ultimately like 3 cities. Just being selfish but, I'd like to see something new! My husband said something about Dublin but, I don't think the geography works. I like the idea of being the Alps and slowing our pace down with a combo of day trip or two in London/Paris.

You all have been fabulous!- Jenn

Jenn,

As suggested earlier for day trips from Paris, in addition to Chartres and Reims, if these two places are booked (no train reservations available for the day you want to go), I would recommend also, if seeing the cathedral is the purpose of your day trip, a city just north of Paris on the Somme and which is NOT a TGV destination---AMIENS. The train for Amiens leaves from Gare du Nord, straight shot. The cathedral there is just awesome, but then so are the two in Reims and Chartres.

If you want to see some history too in Reims, go to the red brick school building where the Western Allies accepted the unconditional surrender, thus ending WW II in Europe. This historic place was turned into a museum of this event.

To go Reims you would most likely be taking the TGV from Gare de L'est, the regular train takes 2 hrs. compared with a 45 min ride on the TGV.

I want to suggest something totally different! I love the UK. Why not start in Paris (3 days would be MORE than enough for me), chunnel to London (3-5 days (do day trip(s) to Bath, Cardiff Wales, Stratfor-upon-Avon, Windsor, or others while there) then train to Scotland- choose either Edinburgh or Inverenssthen fly home from there.

if you miss Venice, then you miss a decadent, elegant city, full of life and of course, a lot of murano jewelry

Jenn : For most people, for their first trip to Europe, I recommend going to two countries in 14 days. If you decide to go to big cities only, you could go to 3 or 4 cities, if you will actually be at Europe 14 days.

Jenn,

On where to stay in Paris and especially since you are concentrating your trip between London and Paris, I recommend the area around Gare du Nord, assuming that you are going to and from Paris and London by the Euro-Star. Are you arriving in Paris or London? My earlier suggestion for London was to stay in the King's Cross area.

For Paris arriving at CDG, you can take the RER "B" right to Gare du Nord, direct, and once you exit this station, across the street are several 2 and 3 star hotels, depending on you budget, and also numerous restaurants. If you're going to London from Paris, you leave at Gare du Nord on the Euro-Star

I always stay in the Gare du Nord area, mainly because of its geographical convenience, and of not having to navigate the Metro sometimes during rush hour with your luggage upon arrival and departure.
Contrary to some negative impressions, it's a safe area, and I do have a feel for the place.

I would like to suggest Hotel Boissiere for a place to stay in Paris. It is a really good price, and it is nice and clean and in a convenient location. We had a good experience here without spending too much money. I would recommend the room for two people (not a family), as the room (in true Paris fashion) are quite small. Have a great trip!

Jenn,

Both London and Paris have many many things to see, depending upon your interests, but since you have been to both, I agree that you should add Venice so you will get to experience a new city. Venice is just magical! Taking the night train from Paris-Venice is a fun experience; you arrive early enough so that you have almost a whole day in Venice even after getting too your hotel (recommend Albergo Doni for its location and friendly owners).