My husband and I are off on our great adventure at the beginning of September. We were lucky enough to go to Italy four years ago, so we have a general idea of what we like to see (not too many museums) and the pace we like to go (we don't idle well). Having said that, here's our plan, somewhat organized around the London Pass: Day 1: land 1:10pm. Get to hotel, go for a bus ride around town, eat dinner, crash. Day 2: British Museum (3.5 hrs), train to Harry Potter Studios (3 hrs) Day 3: Bike Tour to Windsor Castle (9:30 - 5:00) (only day they do the tour), Globe Theatre performance at 7:30 (only nighttime performance we can go to) Day 4: (London Pass day) Tower of London, St. Paul's, Churchill War Rooms after lunch Day 5: (London Pass day) British Library in the morning, Hampton Court and river cruise back to London Day 6: Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palce, Mews, Banqueting House. Maybe nighttime ride of Thames. Day 7: Day trip to Salisbury to see Stonehenge and the Cathedral, etc. Take overnight ferry to Caen Day 8: Tour of Normandy Beaches. Train to Paris.
Day 9: Fly home from Paris (which incidentally is cheaper than round-trip from London) Looking forward to hearing everyone's two cents! Thanks
Posted by
Beaverton, Oregon, United States
40 posts
Very jealous, not overly ambitious. Your previous travel experience has come in handy for sure. From what I've heard from friends, the Harry Potter experience was an all day affair with the queues and travel time. You could easily get side-tracked at the British museum. I wouldn't pay separately for the Mews. Unless you're horse people. It just wasn't worth it to me. Have an awesome time, look right and mind the gap!
Posted by
Costa Mesa, CA, USA
503 posts
Hello Merritt! Days 1 & 2 look fine. Day 3 - are you back in London by 5:00 or are you still in Windsor? If in London it should work but if you are still in Windsor that's cutting it very, very close. Day 4 - works fine. Day 5 - works fine. Day 6 - works fine. Day 7 - this I am afraid will not work. It's 1 1/2 hours to Salisbury - then bus from there to Stonehenge. London to Portsmouth (where the Caen ferry leaves) is another hour and 40 minutes. You simply don't have enough time to do all this.
Day 8 - is your plan to see the beaches and then take the train to Paris? If so, I'd skip it - you are trying to do too much with too little time - the Normandy area is larger than you think - to see it you either need to rent a car or take a tour (which is typically a full day). I would suggest that you skip Salisbury and Stonehenge and save those for another trip if you are set on going into Paris. Instead, either head to Paris on Day 7 (via the Eurostar) OR skip Paris and spend your time in London - with a day trip to Salisbury and Stonehenge perhaps!
Posted by
Gig Harbor, Washington, USA
1819 posts
Unless you are a big fan of Rubens, replace the Banqueting House with something else. (We went there on our last trip to London - I was interested because of Charles I but mostly what one does there is study all the huge paintings on the ceiling.) You might consider substituting a walk along the South Bank past the London Eye and the Globe Theatre or you might enjoy the Victoria and Albert Museum near Hyde Park.
Posted by
OP
Tucson
137 posts
Thank you for your replies! These are the details for Day 7 & 8. I'm so bummed if you think they don't work :( Day 7: 9:00-10:42 Covent Garden to Salisbury 11:00 Stonehenge Shuttle, which provides transportation to see Stonehenge, Old Sarum, Cathedral, etc., returning us to train station 6:35-7:54 Salisbury to Portsmouth Harbour Rail Station 10:45 pm ferry from Portsmouth leaves for Caen Day 8: 6:45am ferry arrives in Caen 8:15-8:54 train to Carentan 9:30 picked up in Carentan by Normandy tour company Normandy beach tours 6:05 - 8:45 Train from Carentan to Paris St. Lazare brief Rick Steve's taxi tour around Paris
Train to our hotel by the airport. Doable or crazy?? :) Thanks!
Posted by
New York, NY, 10025
392 posts
Harry Potter is definitely more of a six hour thing than a three hour thing. It takes a while to get there, for one thing. And then a while to get through, and you'll likely want to eat there if it's lunch time.... The time adds up. Is fabulous, though.
Posted by
washington
837 posts
I understand the questions about days 7 and 8. However, you seem to have solved them with fixed tours which have an established schedule and firm information on train and ferry schedules. I am with you on museums. Most of the postings on this board will be heavily laden with them. I have not been to the Harry Potter studios. To be honest, the only things I remember from the British Museum are the Rosetta Stone and the building itself. I don't know what day of the week Day 2 is. I believe that the British Museum is open at least one evening. I believe that I would go to the Studio first and the Museum afterward, probably trying to juggle the schedule for that day to fall on a day on which it is open in the evening. Just checked, it is open late on Fridays.
Posted by
Washington, DC, USA
571 posts
I'm confused about the details on day 7. Your train arrives at Salisbury station at 10:42 and you're not returning to London. Will you have luggage in tow? And if so, does the Stonehenge shuttle tour (which sounds like a hop on/hop off, based on the website) allow you to store luggage? If not, will you be carrying bags with out or looking for storage. The same questions might apply to your Day 8 Normandy tour but I don't know anything about that portion of your trip. Well, perhaps you're traveling only with day bags. Your itinerary (at least the England parts that I know) sounds ambitious but do-able, but the previous commentors have raised some good questions about the small details.