Trip planning assistance - London/Paris

Hello fellow Charlottean! What about a few days in Wales? You could take the train from London and do 2 or 3 nights in Cardiff. Or consider staying in London for 5 or 6 nights and doing several long day trips by train. You might find this article interesting- I wrote it for the AAA Carolinas' "Go!" magazine a few years ago. It is about basing in London and doing day trips by train. http://www.aaacarolinas.com/Magazine/2008/Jan-Feb/britain.htm?zip=28105&stateprov=nc&city=matthews
Another alternative would be to visit Edinburgh for 3 nights (fly up or use the train or overnight sleeper train). You could get a good taste of Scotland in that time- even do a day trip through the Highlands. You could also split the time and do the same thing in Paris (but others will have to make suggesstions for that city).

How about some where completely different and just as
exhilarating as Paris and London? Istanbul. 3.5 hour flight from Paris. Took an RS tour this May and was blown away by Istanbul. Would return to it in a heart beat and I'm your Mom's age.

I love Toni's idea of Edinburgh. It's my favorite city in the world -- absolutely beautiful, and it's smaller than Paris and London. Another idea is to head to a small town. Bath is wonderful and close enough for day trips to Stonehenge, Avebury, Wells, Glastonbury and the Cotswolds. Or you could go to any number of places in France. Normandy would be my first choice.

Jen, We're taking our first London/Paris trip this fall and though not set in stone quite yet our itinerary after researching is as follows; fly into London, stay 6 nights,(to allow for city adventures and day trips), then chunnel to Paris, stay 4 nights then train to Nice / Monaco for 3 nights. Train back to Paris, the return to London via chunnel is scheduled to allow a last few days to be wide open for unplanned adventure. I recently had a long conversation with an overseas flight attendant who raved about Edinburgh and the Flying Scottsman train journey out of London, still thinking about adding that or saving for next time.
Wendy

If you are only there for 11 dyas- i would be inclined to add the extra three days to London and paris, and possibly use them for day trips to the surrounding countryside(s). Or if you want another city- Amsterdam is convenient to both Paris and London- or even end up in Munich and fly home from there

I agree with Brian. You will find yourself less rushed if you split your time between London and Paris. There is plenty to do in both cities, and plenty of day trips available.

Jen, I'll admit I'm a little bias, but Edinburgh is one of my favorite cities! Since you're thinking of doing open-jaw, how about flying into Paris for 4 nights, chunnel to London for 4 nights, then take the train up to Edinburgh for 3 nights and fly back to the US from there. Edinburgh is so different from London, and the Highlands are beautiful. Anyway, just my 2 pence worth.

If you are interested in the south of France (Nice) I would suggest instead that you take the fast train to Avignon and rent a car and explore Provence. If you do London, Paris and Nice you have three cities, and no small villages or countryside to balance out the trip. Other suggestion would be to get a car at Heathrow and head out to the Cotswolds and you can add a beach town in Wales. Have a wonderful time!

I'm with Brian - I would just add day/overnighter trips to your London-Paris itinerary, because there is so much more to France and England! For London, I might do Bath/Glastonbury/Wells, and for France I might add Giverny or Normandy/Mont Sainte Michele. So many possibilities!

I vote for Scotland! Another option would be the train to Brugge. I went with a friend several years ago - Flew into LHR, bus to Oxford to see her son (1night), trains to Brugge (2 nights), train to Paris (2 nights), train to London (2 nights).

We just returned from London, Scotland and Paris a few weeks ago. One thing I would suggest is picking somewhere in the country. London and Paris are big cities. It would be a really nice change of scenery for this trip to spend a couple of days in the countryside. That being said we thoroughly enjoyed Scotland. We drove to Inverness. Just a gorgeous drive. There's also Ireland.

When my mother and I did the London/Paris trip years ago, I got all het up about things to do and places to race to, and neglected to check with my mother, who basically just wanted to move her sleeping bag into the British Museum for a week, and then move it over to the Tate Gallery for another week.... she's an artist, and the top of her head basically BLEW OFF when she saw the treasures on display. We ended up splitting up - I went over to France with a pal, and Mama stayed in the museum and soaked in the art. (She also got into some weird trouble with a grabby-hands hostel keeper, but that is another creepy story.) All of which is a looooong way of asking - what does your mother think? Have you asked her for her preferences? Are you poring over guidebooks together? She may have some preferences that will make a big difference in how you plan. Have you guys travelled together before? That said, I adore Wales. Maybe my favorite country in the world. SOOO beautiful! So I am giving Wales as shout-out, and also one to Edinburgh. Which is smashing. Glorious! Another thought - Scandinavia! Copenhagen's just a seriously terrific city, and would make a nice third leg to your stool. Excellent food, wonderful shopping, beautiful sights, and Tivoli! And beer!

Thanks so much for the advice everyone! I'm going to grab some guidebooks fro the library this week to start my official research.

You could take the train to Reims and celebrate your birthday with a champagne tour. Reims is very pretty little town with much history and more champagne than you'll ever drink! You could rent a car there and drive out to some of the outlying champagne houses. How about some Dom Perignon for your birthday?
Cheers!