London or Edinburgh???

You may be giving Normandy more time than it deserves unless the goal is truly to see a broad view of the invasion sites. Your interests in Great Britain would need at least 2 weeks to cover. Trying to combine the Highlands, Hadrians Wall and the Cotswolds would definitely take all that and more. IMHO there are a lot of higher priority sights for a first visit. With 4 or 5 days for Great Britain, I suggest you go to London. See the Tower etc. for 2 or 3 days. If you want to induge his military interests, don't miss the Churchill War Rooms and Imperial War Museum. There are other military museums but they would involve day trips. Other day trips are possible but you really don't have time committed to see much.

Hi Stacey, When is your trip? General weather could indicate where to go. I've enjoyed trips to Edinburgh that were the 3rd week April and June. Each of my April trips were wonderful in Edinburgh (qualifier - 40-50F for a New Englander is fine for late spring, others could be cold :-) A question .. what are your son's interests? If WW2, I think you'd be looking at London and around it. You could do a day trip to Duxford museum and the American cemetery in Cambridge. A highlight for my own WW2 buff son on his high school tour was the American cemetery in the Netherlands. I don't know why I'd be surprised that Normandy is Not the only cemetery, but it was good wake up moment, http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries.php Prices .. London may have the edge for a bit more? But not so much that I'd say go to Edinburgh for cost reasons. Also, how long is your trip? Why not fly into Edinburgh and take train to London and train to France? Just a thought. Cheers.

London is very pricey - certainly more expensive than Edinburgh, as I recall - but Edinburgh isn't "cheap" either. Seems that you might make a decision based on how long you have in the UK city you choose. Edinburgh is "do-able" in a much shorter time than London. London is vast and crammed with major sights. Also - how will you be getting to France? London is of course a lot closer, so if "losing" time to travel makes a difference, that is something to weigh. Frankly, I don't think you can go wrong in either city. They are both wonderful.

You can "see" the essential Edinburgh in one very busy day but two would cover most of the traditional sights. Spend four busy days in London and you've still left out many things worth seeing. A lot of what you will see will come down to your and his interests. It's about a 4 1/2 hour train ride from Edinburgh to London. You can buy advance tickets for about 25 GBP each. Edinburgh would be less expensive. You'd walk more between sights instead of taking buses and the tube several times every day. Your B&B would be less expensive for the same quality in Edinburgh. London is more intense and packed with sights that really can't be missed. If I had to pick one, I'd pick London.

Thanks! We have about 2 weeks, in early April. Last time I trekked through Europe they had a heat wave so I embrace the cool weather. Ideally I wanted 4, maybe 5 days in the UK, 2-3 days in Normandy and 4-5 days in Paris. My son is a WW2 buff and has wanted to go to France since he was 8 years old. I have always wanted to go to London along with the UK country side (Highlands, Cotswalds, Hadrian's Wall) but I know we are very limited on time. I also want to enjoy the culture of each country and not run around the entire time. Thanks,

Well, given the time you have and your wish list, I'd suggest the obvious - either make Edinburgh your home base, then explore the highlands - and either stop at Hadrian's Wall whilst traveling south, or just make it one of your day trips from Edinburgh (it isn't all that close). OR - make London your home base for seeing the Cotswolds. That way - much less "running around."

Another vote for London for a first-time visitor to the UK. It's more expensive than Edinburgh, but there is so much to see, you really can't go wrong. I like Edinburgh, too, but I wouldn't trade it for London.

Stacy, with the WWII interest, I'd pick London as a base for your first taste of the UK. There is ALOT of WWII stuff! Do Windsor and Dover as day trips (Dover has some good WWII stuff as well as the cliffs and the castle). I love Scotland, but recommend you save that for when you have more time to spend there. We did do a day trip (by train) to Edinburgh from London for our first taste, but it is a VERY long day and you don't get to see alot. With everything else you are wanting to see and do, just let Scotland wait.

As someone with a background in military history, while Edinburgh also has some lovely history, for WWII, spend the time in London. He'll love the Imperial War Museum, and likely the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill exhibit. I would also suggest taking one or two of London Walks' WWII walks... depending on the walk, they'll take you past places that were shelled, burnt down, how people fought to save them, etc. My favourite of those that I went on had Blitz in the title.

LONDON. Yes, agree with the other posters. As they said in this cute kids book I remember reading to my little bro: Londinium, Londinium,
That's where we're going in-ium!

Thank you, all the advice is very helpful. I think we will be going to London. It was my 1st choice and sounds like it will be the best fit for our trip. Thanks again for the advice. Happy Travels

I'd definitely go for London. If you're looking for things to do while in town, take a look at Time Out's guide to upcoming events - they seem like a pretty trustworthy source of information: http://www.timeout.com/london/feature/1248/london-events-calendar?DCMP=londonevents Don't get me wrong, Edinburgh is great, but London just has such a wide range of things to do that it's unlikely you'll ever get bored.

I've been to, and love, both cities. But given your interests and subsequent itinerary, I'd do London. Lots more bigger sights (especially the Cabinet War Rooms) and easier day trips to Dover, Windsor, Bath, Cotswolds, etc. My wife is not really into History tours, but she loved the Cabinet War Rooms and the Roman Baths tour in Bath. London also makes it more convenient to jump into France when you're done. Have fun!

We went to London and took the train to Edinburgh two years ago with our sons (10,12). I can't speak about France, but Edinburgh was a great city. We stayed at the Holiday Inn on Queensferry Road - very clean, good staff, shopping center and bus stop right across the street. There are also great views of the castle on one side of the hotel so ask for it! The bus was easy to get around town and takes you right the Royal Mile - very picturesque shopping and history. The castle was cool (hilly and interesting). Don't know if your son likes Harry Potter, but The Elephant House is a coffee house where Rowling first started writing the series. We had lunch there (a short walk from the castle). The train ride from London was about 4 hours and we were easily able to get a cab at the station to the hotel (about 10 minutes). I wish we had more time there -it's a great city. From there we rented a car and drove 45 minutes to Falkirk. My son is into engineering and the Falkirk wheel is very cool (only rotationg boat lift in the world - you can get on a boat and ride it). We headed back to London via car with a few other stops (Alnwick Castle is where they filmed the first Harry Potter movie and it also had gorgeous grounds!)...Hadrian's Wall is a 2,000 year old roman fort - Housestead has the best ruins -
All just depends what your son's interests are...

With you son's interest in WWII then London is where you want to go. There is so much to see in London connected to WWII. You will have a great time in London. Best city in the world.

I second the vote for London. At 21 and an airline brat with a pocketful of free passes I embarked on a world tour with my first stop in London. My tour stopped there and I stayed for 2 moths--still didn't see everything! Love Edinburgh though. It is pretty easy to do a London-York-Edinburgh trip via train if you have a little more than a week.

Hi Stacey, Just a thought on how you arrange your itinerary......It's ideal for trips, like books, movies, and plays, to build to a climax. For a first trip to Europe, especially for a teen-ager, London or Paris is probably the climax......I have no idea what your budget is, but you might consider flying to LHR, immediately train to York and Edinburgh, (one full day for each) fly to Paris, rental car for the Normandy beach sites (you actually have time for a 5-6 day loop to include Dinan, St. Malo, Bayeux, Honfleur, Rouen, Giverney if that interests you) , back to Paris, Eurostar to London for the grand finale. ( We have used this itinerary).......Years ago when we took our teen-aged son for his first trip to the UK, he loved Edinburgh, but was "blown away" by London.

Love both cities, but London if WW2 is the focus for your son. As mentioned Imperial War Museum etc. I would really try to find a day to take the train to Duxford/Cambridge. The WW2 aircraft museum there is one of the best exhibits I've seen anywhere.

Both Cities are great, but I'd favor London with your WWII focus. It's pricier, but nothing in the UK is really "cheap". Do NOT miss the Cabinet War Rooms! My wife is not all that interested in History (where I have a degree in it) and she thought that they were fascinating. A week in London isn't enough (but you'll be exahausted), so I'd do London, with a brief stop in the cotswolds or Bath. Every time that I visit the UK, I go to those areas (or Wells...). 2-3 days in Normandy is probably overkill. How about Verdun (not WWII, but WWI)? Between London and France, you'll not run out of WWII sites to visit.

For the WWII buff London is the place to start. As previously posted London has a lot of musts. But don't forget Dover and the caves in the cliffs. If you can, Bletchley Park is also worth a visit.

Make sure to visit the Museum of London. They have a great WWII section there, we really enjoyed it.

I'll pitch in my vote for London. Edinburgh is gorgeous, but as several others have pointed out, a first time visit to the UK really warrants a trip to London. You can spend weeks there and not see everything and you might find yourself surprised at what he finds interesting. My son didn't think he'd like the Tower of London or Greenwich, both of which were favorites. The Churchill stuff and British Museum were obvious hits, and he also liked walking across the bridges and riding the tube for the people watching. London is expensive, but you can make it work just fine with some planning. We generally get a rental when we're there and I find it doesn't matter much where we stay as long as its near a tube or DLR station. Last time we stayed at a condo near Custom House. It took just about the same time to get everywhere as when we stayed in Russell Square. I suppose much of that depends on where you're going, tube line maintenance, etc. but it was kind of a surprise that being far out didn't add much travel time. Plus, if you get a rental, you can cook in some times and that helps cut costs. Have a great time.

In Paris be sure to visit the Army Museum at Invalids,, I am not a military buff, but it was a very well put together museum and my 14 yr old son enjoyed it very much.

Agree with London although we loved Edinburgh but for the WWII buff, London first. Go to St. Paul's Cathedral and he will enjoy going to the top of the dome. I think it is called the whispering gallery but not sure. In the back of the Cathedral be sure to see the American Memorial Chapel with beautiful stained glass windows with each 48 states represented and the book of rememberance dedicated to all US servicemen who were stationed in England who died for us in WWII. If you do the Tower, which I think is a must, I would skip out at the end of the Beefeaters tour where they take you into the chapel for what my son thought was the most boring lecture thing he had ever heard, and I agreed. Also go to the top of Tower Bridge. Also, they used to have a 2 for one deal which years ago was good for St. Paul's but not sure if it still does, we got tickets at the train station. Enjoy. Oh, if you can get it or rent it, PBS had a great mini-series on life in London during the War called "1940's House", well worth it to see what the people dealt with.

Again, London because of WW2. Don't forget HMS Belfast which is a WW2 destroyer moored in the Thames. If you visit the Tower, don't forget to point out that although it's mostly earlier history, people were executed as spies there in WW2.

Stacy, I'm not a war buff at all but went to the Imperial War Museum with my 20 year old son (he is a history student) . We spent an entire day there because it was such a good museum. They looked at war from so many personal views that it was inspirational for all. It ended up being one of my top places to visit in Eng
land.