First trip to Europe!

If you base yourself in London you can easily visit Bath (and from there Stonehenge), and Windsor as day trips by train. Depending on where in Wales you want to visit, you could do a day trip or stay a few days- possibly traveling at lease part of the way by train. You can get to Paris via the Eurostar- try to buy those tickets well in advance - as well as the ones for Bath. the discount tickets for Bath usually go on sale about 12 weeks prior to travel dates. You can esimate the cost by putting in a date about 12 weeks out on UK rail sites (this is one we have used http://www.rail.co.uk/ ) Windsor makes a good day or 1/2 day trip- no need to purchase the tickets in advance. We tended to wisit Windsor on days that we had theatre tickets for the evening. If you tell us your interests, we can make more suggesstions for you. With 2 weeks, you could spend 7-10 days in London and doing day trips and the trip to Wales and the rest of the time in Paris (or do Paris as a day or 2 day trip) just depends on your priorities.

If you do an open-jaw ticket, fly to London, fly home from Paris, it will give you an extra day to sightsee. I would try to do Paris with 3 nights, arriving early in the morning and flying home late the 4th day. The Eurostar, booked 90 days out is as cheap or cheaper than flying and takes 3 hours from St. Pancreas to Gare de Norde train station. You get off in the middle of Paris, not 20 miles out and then have to get into Paris, which costs more. There is a studio that we have rented the past 4 years that is a 20-35 min. walk from the train station. She might be willing to rent for 3 nights, if you go in a slow season. Never hurts to ask. Otherwise, there are a lot of hotels close to the train station and there are a lot of Bus routes that go by the station and there are several Metro stations close by. Nadine Giblin Studio 30 sqm Paris 9e near Montmartre E-mail : [email protected]
Website : http://locationparis9.canalblog.com

Be sure to get and read a copy of RS's "Europe thru the Back Door" - and excellent primer for first time visitors to Europe.
I would also recommend you get one of his guide books that covers England and that will give you specific information about where you want to travel. Happy travels.

I like Chani's route. That would be the order I would choose as well. With two nights in Bath, you could easily spend a full day checking the worthwhile sites there and a half day on the Mad Max tour of Stonehenge and Laycock.

I think what you have listed is easily doable in 2 weeks. I'd definately fly open jaw as suggested. For ease of booking you could use an American carrier with a code-sharing agreement (e.g. Delta with Air France) to book the air travel all at once. Here is one possible itinerary that would cover your top spots. You may have to modify it once you start looking into logistics (i.e if you use trains, a rental car, or short tours) and once you get a better idea of what you consider must-see. London - maybe three days including a day trip to Windsor Bath and Stonehenge - plan on a day and night at Bath and a half-day to visit Stonehenge Wales - depends on how much you want to see - maybe a day to see familiy sites and a day to visit a nearby castle and other tourist sites London - two more days Paris - four days That totals 13 days and gives you one slack day. Good luck.

Maybe go straight to Windsor from the airport (1 or 2 nights), then Bath for 2 nights, then Wales, then London and Paris. With 2 weeks, this certainly sounds do-able, provided you aren't planning on more than 2-3 days in Wales. I'm not sure how to fit Stonehenge in, I assume it would be an excursion from one of your 3 UK cities.

What's the name of the village in Wales? You might get great advice about nearby points of interest if you are willing to share that information....

Definitely fly into London and out of Paris. Skip Stonehenge and Bath. Windsor is fun. But if you have to pick between Windsor and Hampton Court, I would vote for Hampton Court. For our family, Hampton Court was the highlight of our trip to London. Also, check out the key ceremony at the Tower of London. It is the nightly ceremony that closes the Tower. You need to make reservations.
http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/WhatsOn/ceremonyofthekeys

Thank you all for your help! The town in wales is Trefeglwysand also nearby Carno.

Cherie, my grandmother also came from Wales and also from a village in Powys (Montgomery). I would definitely recommend staying on a farm if you go. You will probably need a car to see much of this part of Wales as public transportation is not as good as in England. However, you could take the train to Cardiff and rent a car there.

Congratulations! Enjoy the adventure. The trip you describe is very doable. The only wildcard is Wales. You have recieved lots of advice, some I agree with and some with which I do not, so I'll give you my opinion. Start with London. Use Rick's book and find a good place to stay. Finish in Paris. Open jaw tickets are easy. Bath can be done overnight or as a day trip. I would not tell you to skip it - it is a great place. However I have never bought tickets in advance and travelled there from London a dozen times. Same day tickets are easy. Stonehenge is a great surprise and interesting site but I would not recommend a special trip to see it. You could do a day trip to Salisbury and see the town and cathedral, and take a bus trip from the Salisbury train station round trip to Stonehenge. Again, can do it in a day. Hampton Court is great. So is Windsor. No need to choose with the time you have. Both are less than an hour from downtown London by train or tube. See them both. Hampton Court is older (Henry VIII and Elizabeth) and Windsor is, well, Windsor. See them both. They are both worth it. I agree with the other writer who suggested these trips on days when you have theatre tickets at night. Good advice and smart use of time. I also agree that you should take the Eurostar from London to Paris - the ONLY way in my opinion to go between the cities. It is more scenic and actually takes less time when you consider airport travel and security. With two full weeks you have plenty of time to see the best that each town has to offer. Enjoy.

Well I too vote with the open jaw ticket,, and going to Paris by Eurostar,, as noted, buy tickets well in advance for ES , and if you book on a tues wed or thurs rates are lowest. Actual travel time between cities is 2.5 hours, and thats city center to city center. I would base myself in London, do Hampton Court as a daytrip, and same with Bath ,, yes, you can tack Stonehenge onto a Bath daytrip if you take a bus tour, but frankly I thought Stonehenge was a bit of waste of my time.. I have done Bath twice, once on my own by train, and once on a bus tour, Stonehenge, Bath and Salisbury. I won't comment on Wales haven't been there. I would allow at least 5 days for London and four days for Paris,, five if you want to include a daytrip to Versailles..

Cherie, Lots of good suggestions so far! Is there any possibility you could get a few more days for your trip? I'd suggest trying to include Paris if at all possible. You've waited 20 years for this trip, and I feel that seeing two countries would make a much more interesting and rewarding first trip to Europe. However, visiting Trefeglwys could be problematic, as the transportation will be somewhat "limited". With a two week time frame, I'd consider something like this: > Day 1 - flight to England > Day 2 - Arrive LHR - take National Express Coach directly to Bath (it's a short trip) > Day 3 - Tour Bath, recover from jet lag > Day 4 - Bath and day trip to Stonehenge (you might consider Mad Max Tours) as their afternoon tour which includes Lacock would be a good option. > Day 5 - National Express to Newtown (Powys). Travel time 6H:50M. AFAIK this is the closest stop to Trefeglwys. > Day 6 - Visit home of your Great Grandfather (you'll have to ask the locals how to get there) > Day 7 - Bus from Newtown to London Victoria Coach station (travel time 5H:30M) > Day 8 - tour London > Day 9 - tour London - day trip to Windsor? > Day 10 - tour London > Day 11 - EuroStar to Paris (departs from London St. Pancras so be sure to allow time to get there - you'll arrive at Gare du Nord in Paris) > Day 12 - tour Paris > Day 13 - tour Paris > Day 14 - Flight home There are lots of ways this trip can be structured, and this is only one suggestion. The challenging part is the Wales portion of the trip. Good luck with your planning and happy travels!

Cherie, One other suggestion..... Although it may be a few hours, you might consider taking a drive to Edmonds on Nov. 12th, as a free class on Great Britain will be held there (10:00-11:30 at the Edmonds Theatre, which is just around the corner from ETBD). This would give you an opportunity to not only hear from the experts, as well as get some questions answered. You could also visit ETBD to use their free Guidebook Library. Just a thought.....

"Hampton Court is older (Henry VIII and Elizabeth) and Windsor is, well, Windsor. " Hampton Court has been around since Tudor times (16th Century), but Windsor is much older, being founded by William the Conqueror in the 11th Century, and added to ever since.