London/Dublin/Paris Itinerary-Tips & Advice

You're doing a lot of moving around (London to Paris, back to London, to Dublin, back to London). Have you already booked your flights? I'd look into flying into London and flying out of either Paris or Dublin. I wouldn't do both of those cities, if you only have a day for each. I'd spend 2 or 3 days in Paris. I've spent a week there before and still didn't feel like I had enough time.

Wow, Stacey, it sure looks like a punishing schedule. You're planning to spend 1 day in Paris, 1 day in Dublin, plus a long train journey to Durham, all within 9 days? If you haven't locked in your flights/rail tickets, I'd suggest saving either Dublin or Paris for another trip. Days 4, 5 and 7 in London look over-ambitious - don't underestimate the time it takes to travel between sights. Even on the Underground, there'll be quite a bit of walking & waiting for trains. Weather, train delays, overcrowding, long queues, can derail the best-laid plans. I don't think I could visit British Library, British Museum and Kensington Palace in the same afternoon, especially after a couple of drinks at the champagne bar - visual and sensory overload! Your itinerary also involves some backtracking: Shakespeare's Globe is round the corner from Vinopolis and the Tate Modern, all on the same side of the river as the London Eye. The walk from London Eye to the Globe makes up part of the Jubilee Walkway. Cruise boats stop at London Eye and the Tower of London, so you could combine the cruise with a visit to one of them. To get a good spot to see the Changing of the Guard, one should get there early, so you'll really have to rush through the Globe tour in your Day 7 itinerary to get to Buckingham Palace by 10, 10.30 am.

Thanks for the feedback-I am trying to adjust sched. as best possible to fit everything in...

As for Paris/Dublin,I realize one can make a trip out of each-I actually did spend a week in Paris last September.My friends havent been though and are figuring that they wont be able to make it back anytime soon,so they wanted to squeeze in what they can.Originally we planned on just going to Paris overnight,and booked the Eurostar tickets. We later came across a deal on Ryanair,and figuring we had plotted out our London stuff already,had an extra day,so we booked the tickets to Dublin overnight.Unfortunately,it would cost hundreds to change all of our return tickets to fly home from Dublin,otherwise we would do so.

Is there any other way to work this itinerary?? We really wanted to do LE and Vinopolis that first night,which is why we had the two separate trips to the south bank...

Stacey, You've got some really busy days planned. I often plan days like this and while they tire me out, I get a real thrill from seeing a lot of stuff. I can't do it for too many days in a row though. You may be able to. I would suggest you prioritize your sites each day so if you do get tired and need a break, you get to see the places that are most important to you. Good luck!

hi Stacey, I love London, happy to help you make the most of your trip to a wonderful city! The way I see it, there're a few issues: 1. Your friends only have one morning in London so you absolutely have to catch the Changing of the Guard that day, that'll take up the whole morning. 2. Shakespeare's Globe: the nearest Tube station is about a 15mins walk, and the nearest station at Buckingham Palace is about a 15mins walk too, it'll take time to trot between the two sites on Day 5. And note that if you visit the Globe in the afternoon during play season you might not get to see the actual theatre - check the website for more details. 3. Your friends' arrival at the hotel may be later than 1 pm, if there're flight delays, long queues at immigration etc. 4. The Cruise takes up time - couple of hours round-trip maybe? Cruise the Seine in Paris instead - much nicer! Here're my itinerary suggestions based on what you've listed, but of course, the decision is entirely up to you! Day 4: If your friends arrive on time, your first stop could be Kensington Palace/Orangery (if time permits). Don't linger. Then head to the Globe, say, by 4.30. Book your tickets for London Eye for a flight around 6.30 pm. Then backtrack a bit to Vinopolis, get there by 8.30pm (last admission) for dinner/ guided tour. Vinopolis opens Thur-Sun till 10 pm. Day 5: start at Trafalgar Sq for obligatory photos, the rest of the day is the same. Day 7: St Pancras bar, British Library & British Museum. For evenings, if you like music, you could check out a live music venue. Look in Time Out for listings.

Hi Stacey, first after your friends check into the hotel...hit the sidewalks and start sightseeing. Keep busy the whole day and let them go to bed around 9 or 10, letting them sleep is a bad idea. If you are going out to Windsor then watch the changing of the guards there, it's much more interesting then Buckingham Palace. I wouldn't try to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, but if you really want to you would need to be there by 9 or 9:30 to get up front at the fence, other wise you won't be able to see anything. With most of your evenings free I would go to the theater acouple of nights. You could have dinner at Covent Garden then onto the theater. Lion King is a really great show to see and it's only two blocks from Covent Garden.

Stacey, actually I agree with Robin about the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, it takes up an entire morning and I've never found it to be that exciting. I prefer to go over to the Horse Guards and take photos there. Personally, I'd also skip Vinopolis unless you're a real wine buff and want to learn as much as you can or taste as much as you can. It also occurred to me that London is a place which oozes history from its pores and one of the most rewarding visitor experiences is walking the streets or being in the same sites as historically significant people ... which means, try a guided London Walk! There's a thread about it somewhere here.

Stacey,

Just a word to the wise, cramming in so much in your schedule can make the whole trip seem overwhelmingly busy and wear you down quite quickly. I'd cut out either Dublin or Paris, just for a more enjoyable trip.

I went to France for 10 days last summer and spent half of that in Paris, and still felt like I never had time to rest. And it was a vacation! I think the desire to squeeze in so many sights often overshadows the fact that you don't allow yourself to enjoy them.

Either way, good luck to you!