Where to travel for 2 weeks in Europe.

This being a first trip, I'd fly to London and spend a week, with maybe a side trip or two maximum (Cambridge or Oxford and Bath come to mind or even York) and then take Eurostar to Paris, where you can plan another side trip or two. Versailles and Giverny would be good or even an overnight trip to Bruges in Belgium. This would give you maximum exposure to the best these very different countries have to offer. You have to figure in jet lag, travel days and times, so in the end two weeks aren't all that much. You didn't say which places you would really like to see. Perhaps you should look at a map of Europe and mark them and see if they are geographically near enough to visit during your time frame. Rick Steves has a guide book called "The Best of Europe", which is revised annually and is probably available in your library or second hand at a lower price from Amazon. That would be a good starting point. You can fly into one country and home from another country, the price is pretty much the same as for a round trip or not essentially higher. This way you would avoid any backtracking. Once you decide where to go, there is a wealth of information available from contributors to this board.

Resist the urge to try to see too much. I would pick either England or France but maybe not both. Paris and London are both worth 4-5 days each. Then venture out from there. We have done a good loop out of London to Bath, the Lakecountry through Yorkshire to York and back to London. We spend at least 2 days in each place. Out of Paris we have done a loop around the Loire Valley, Versailles and Chartres.

hi, just an For Your Information (fyi), you will loose 1 day traveling there. In My Opinion (imo) you should stick to London and Paris due to the limited time you have. But this will be based on: > what you all like to do and see in each city. If you dont know what you like to do in each city, then i would say to sit down, google, read and figure out what you want to do. That way you will minimize your "duh.... what do you want to do next" question. You dont have to get down to the minute, you can tho, but figure out what you want to see and do that way you will have a better idea on how much EXTRA time you may have. a note/commenet. Travel from London to Paris or visa versa is a piece of cake. The Train takes about 2h20m from City center to city center. Just site back and relax. If you like to drive you can do that to, but why? IMO, there is more than enough to do/see in each city for 5 or 6 days apeace. Also, if you want, you can do day trips outside of the city since Europe is soooo much ahead of the USA when it comes to trains. Of course, there maybe a time when you need a car, but until you KNOW where and what you want to do, worry about it then. Just another FYI, automatics are rare over there so beware! happy trails.

If you would love to see London and Paris, that is what you should do, no more than that. You can do both in 2 weeks. Of course you won't see everything, but you will see the highlights of each city and you will then be eager to come back and explore further. As was mentioned, get the Rick Steves books on Paris and London. Read them cover to cover. Decide the sights you want to see the most. If you think there is time for a day trip, read Rick's suggestions and pick one or two. Windsor Castle and/or Hampton Court are great day trips out of London. Taking the Eurostar to Paris is a fun experience. If you spend half your time in Paris you can go to Versailles for a day. There is so much to see in both these cities that I wouldn't venture out too far from either of them. Years ago we took the kids to London and spent a week and then the Eurostar to Paris and we only had 3 days/2 nights there. We didn't do Versailles, but we were able to show them the main sights of Paris and they were happy with that being their first time. My friend had the same time frame this past fall with her family and they were pleased with their experience. Since the cities are only 2 1/2 hours apart by Eurostar, I would not hesitate to do both. Have fun planning!

I agree with the other posters, divide your time between London and Paris, probably equally. Fly into one and home from the other to save backtracking. Use the Eurostar train to get between them. I'd suggest starting with London because you'll know the language as you're getting used to being in Europe, then you can tackle French more easily (though just a few phrases will be enough). Maybe a day trip or two from each city, depending on your interests. Renting apartments through services like homeaway.com or vrbo.com can make a family trip more enjoyable by giving you room to spread out, a kitchen, maybe a washer/dryer. The cost shouldn't be more than a moderate-price hotel, especially if you would need multiple rooms (don't know how many in your family or what ages). But there are lots of good hotels in all price ranges, try booking.com, and also bed-and-breakfasts. By all means look at Rick Steves' "Europe Through the Back Door" and his or other guidebooks for London and Paris. This board can be a valuable source of specific info or a sounding board for your ideas, but it's your trip in the end. Have fun planning!

I agree with most of the other posters. Base 1 week in London, and 1 week in Paris, and do a couple day trips outside each city if you want (both have so much to see and do that you could be perfectly entertained without ever leaving city limits as well). If you REALLY want to get out of the city you could travel somewhere reasonably close for 2-3 nights - probably a better idea in France than in England, because the TGV high speed train makes it possible to get to many great destinations from Paris within a couple hours virtually anywhere in the country - Brittany/Normandy, Alsace, or Provence are all options. If this sounds appealing I'd consider: 6 nights London (realizing you really lose that first day due to timing/jet lag/getting settled) 5 nights Paris 3 nights Somewhere else in France, taking the TGV there and then renting a car if appropriate (but honestly probably the best idea for most options), then fly from the largest international airport in that area back to the US

I agree with sticking to London and Paris. With that amount of time you have plenty of time for side trips. Another alternative is to do the two cities with a smaller, more relaxing place in between. That technique has worked well for my husband and me. I tend to exhaust myself in cities trying to see everything, so I need that time to decompress. Somewhere by the sea might be nice, but of course there are plenty of options accessible to both cities.

I will disagree then! Personally I would skip London and certainly i would never do a whole week there or in Paris. I love France and Germany. I would spend a 10 days traveling around Germany and into France (Colmar / Strausberg) and then go to Paris and fly out of there.

While you can certainly do a week in London and a week in Paris (which would make for a more relaxing trip, as you can settle in for a while), you definitely have time for a third city if there is one that calls to you. For example, you can do 4 nights in London, 4 nights in Paris, and 4 nights in Venice. When planning: The day of departure from the US and day of departure do not count as sightseeing days. The day of arrival is often a jet-lagged haze. Think nights, not days. Remember that 2 nights in the same place equals one full day; one night in a place is less than a full day.
Changing cities requires at least a half day; check out of hotel, get to train station, take train, get to new hotel, check in. If you need a longer train ride or a flight, figure most of the day will be used in transit. So, start looking at travel books and videos (Rick's videos are on Hulu and YouTube), and see how much time you would want in Paris and London. If you are close to 5 or 6 days for each, just see these (both have lots of day trip possibilities). If you want to see more places, you can do 3. But don't try to do too much (you already seem aware of this pitfall - good for you!).