My family and I are planning a trip to London (3days) and Paris (4 days)over Thanksgiving. My wife and I were in London for 6 days a few summers ago. How different will our stay be during our time in November. A few I've already considered are: shorter hours at attractions, early sunsets and cold/rainy weather.
Anybody have any additional tips/thoughts for this time of year?
I lived in London for a year. Really nothing drastically different about traveling in fall rather than summer except it is cooler and gets dark earlier. Rain is a bit more likely and it is often overcast but rarely really cold. I recommend a raincoat with a hood and zipout lining if you have one. There is still tons of stuff to do and London is a busy place all year round.
August is one of the wettest months in London.
Coming in November shouldn't make any real difference apart from tempeartures and it getting dark very late afternoon.
Hotel prices will probably be slightly more in November than July/August as London is primarily a business city and November is one of the busiest times with tourists as well as conferences/business nd such like.
Only difference you should see is on opening times to places that are outdoors like Windsor Csatle that will shut an hour earlier or so before it gets dark.
On the plus side the HOHO buses often make their tickets valid for 2 days instead of 1 as it gets darker quicker.
For more than 20 years we went to London for the week after Thanksgiving. It is a lovely time of year to be there. Do take a water-resistant coat with a hood (much easier than an umbrella- though I usually took that also). Just plan on taking any pictures mid-morning to mid-afternoon. It gets light later (nine or ten before full "daylight" and dark earlier (dusky by three or four- dark by six). I loved shopping at the Christmas/Advent markets.
My wife and i did exactly that this past thanksgiving, leaving IAD on the Friday morning before Thanksgiving week and returning to the US on the day after Thanksgiving.
The weather was windbreaker chilly, grey and overcast with brief intervals of sun. Usually the rain was drizzle, but there were a few hours of downpours. However, London was no problem at all. (We were outside more in bath and Liverpool, so the weather was more of a factor). Any long trip was done by Underground, and brief walks down city streets were actually a relief....the English tended to overheat their interior spaces, so we would have to strip down to shirt sleeves immediately after entering a building.
There are so many museums to see that you could use up the entire time you have doing museums and never do anything else. We even did a nighttime Jack the Ripper walking tour and loved it. So no, don't worry about the weather. Bring layers of clothes and a long waterproof poncho with hood and perhaps a spare pair of shoes (or waterproof ones)...you'll be great.
