Paris, London & everywhere in between

It makes a difference whether you're there for 2 versus 3 weeks...... Also, as it's your 1st trip, I understand that you want to see and do as much as you possibly can, but as Rick says, assume you will return.... My advice (for what little it's worth B/C it's your trip and not mine) would be to visit fewer places and stay longer in each place. Any time some one asks me for advice, I just say "slow down".... Heck, I could spend 2-3 weeks in Paris alone fairly easily..... Also, instead of flying in and out of one city, consider flying "open jaws" so you don't have to backtrack to someplace you've already been to catch your return flight.

Watch out! I do believe the Olympics are in London starting the end of July. It might not be the time to be a tourist looking for a room in London.

Stephanie, not sure how close you are to border, but it might be worth it to fly into London and out of Paris on AirTransat from Vancouver British Columbia,, they offer good deals on open jaw flights. Secondly, my opinion and tastes are that for 2 weeks only two or three countries.. remember, there are tons of day trips and small overnighters you can do from a base of London( Bath Brighton,Windsor, Warwick, Stonehenge, etc) and Paris ( Versailles, Chantilly, Riems , Loire Valley Chateaus, D Day Beaches, Chartes, Giverny Monets Gardens, etc etc),, and each city itself deserves at least 5 days,, so really,, doesn't seem you need to squish in too many other countries.. you could also train up to Scotland.

Jeff & Robert- Both good tips, thanks so much. The Olympics are in London until August 12th (I believe) then the Paraolympic Games start on August 29th. We are planning arrival either Aug 2nd or 9th and leaving Aug 22nd, starting in France to avoid the craziness. Our initial thinking was that we could fly into Paris & drive either north to Normandy or for a longer trip into the Loir then up into Normandy. Potentially, going across the English Channel from Caen. Then to Stonehenge, Bath, Windsor & London. Finally returning to Paris via the EuroStar and finish our trip there. Of course, three weeks would be best but is that extra week worth the cost? My husband is a history teacher & wants to see the castles in the Loir but is there a better region to spend our time?

I think once you are there the extra week is definitely worth the cost... try to see if you can stay someplace economical or maybe an apartment and dosome cooking yourself if the budget will be tight. I would manage to eat and travel really cheap to have an extra week.
Lots of car picnics and forget the fancy dinners.

Stephanie, open jaw flights will save you time and money this trip - less spent getting back and forth, more spent sightseeing. So do not fly in and out of Paris, is my guess. Another time saver, if it fits with your itinerary, is the Eurostar train that goes from London to Paris (and vice versa) in 3 hours. If you do follow a French itinerary that ends in Normandy then a ferry ride might be a reasonable substitute, as you suggest. But fly home from London and save a travel day, which you can spend in Paris or as you like. If you and yours are nimble, I would suggest two additional regions plus Paris and London, no more. I mean, you could squeeze in more, I just think you would not have as good a trip. (And you could make the case for fewer.) The Loire and Normandy are two separate regions. Bath is not so far from Salisbury so I think you can combine these if you like. But that is three; choose any two is my advice. What region or regions in France is really a matter of your own tastes; if your husband's profession is relevant he ought to have an opinion about that. If you are truly undecided you might throw Burgundy into the mix. Have a great trip!

This is so helpful. Thanks everyone. Seems as if everyone is suggesting not flying in and out of the same city. This makes perfect sense to me but in a lot of Ricks books he suggests not starting in the big cities (ie: Paris or London) due to jet leg I assume. So we were planning on driving to a smaller more relaxed location and finishing with London and Paris. Has anyone started (or not) in the big cities and did you find it to be an issue. Also, while we could potentially spend more, we are wondering if we can do the trip for $5000... does that seem unreasonable for two thirtysomethings?

With the $5000 are you including airfare? If so, I think it would be impossible. For a budget, if you are there for 21 nights and can find lodging for $100 a night, that is already $2100, close to half the budget. Most sites you want to see (Tower of London, Windsor, Eiffel Tower) are not cheap. Did you get the Europe thru back door book for some guidance. That can only help you with your trip. You also asked if you should stay for the third week. Considering the cost of getting to Europe, if at all possible would stay the third week. As far as staying in the big city on arrival or small town instead, we have done both numerous times and did not find much of a difference. You do not need a car in London or Paris at all. You might look into cost of car rental for a week at a time, say a week in UK, then several nights in London then car rental in France for a week and then several nights in Paris, it might be cheaper to rent car for a week at a time instead of several days. Good luck.

Gail-
That was without airfare but it has to include all other transportation, lodging & food. I was also only factoring for 2 weeks ($175 per day per person). Ideally we would like the trip, including airfare, to be $7500.00. I am worried that is unrealistic for a 3 week time frame.

Stephanie, The best thing is to start looking for hotels in London and Paris. Do this BEFORE you book your flights. It will give you a much better idea of how much the trip will cost, since lodging will be your biggest expense. Also look at the cost of renting a car (be sure to include insurance). And it is best to get your basic itinerary locked down before you commit to flights.

We usually fly to London, spend 3-5 nights there depending on theater performances, then Eurostar to Paris. If we visit Normandy/Brittany we take the train to Caen from Paris, pick up our reserved rental car across the street from the RR station and drive to Bayeux. We have stayed in B&B's near Bayeux and done day trips from there. We return to Paris for a night or two and then Eurostar back to London. We have done the ferry from Portsmouth to Caen (Ouistreham actually) and toured by car first, thence to Paris. It's all do-able and easy. We've done the high speed train from Paris to Monte Carlo for a long weekend but Paris, London, and maybe Normandy with a car is plenty for a first trip. Assume you will return. Do your homework before you decide.

Chani, thats a great idea, thanks so much. I have heard from a few friends not to book hotels for every night to allow yourself some flexibility. As a first timer is this something you all would recommend (we are going in August) and if so how many days?

Stephanie, our first trip to Europe was for three weeks, with the same two principle destinations you are contemplating. We flew into Paris and spent about 6 days including day trips to Chartres and Reims/Leon and TGV to Avignon for two nights in Provence. We then took Eurostar to London and spent about 6 days. Rented a car and drove to the Cotswolds and York prior to departure. After 7 trips to Europe, I still think that the first worked well. You might make other choices for side trips, but I would recommend just under a week each for London and Paris and pick one, or at most two, other places to visit. I would definitely recommend open jaw with Eurostar between.

August is holiday month in France.. there will likely always be a room somewhere, but you may pay more then you want, or you may have to stay on outskirts of places,, better to try the not booking a hotel if you are driving,, by train it would suck to have to haul luggage around,, often wasting several hours on finding a place and getting to it to drop bags before sightseeing. August in Paris is actually ok for hotels though,, since business travel is down( as 'I said its the month most french take off) their is decent vacancy rates , but if outside Paris at places other French are holidaying, watch out.

For London and Paris you should book hotels. If you are traveling by car to other places, you may be able to be flexible - if you don't find suitable accommodations in one place, you can drive on to the next. If you are using trains and buses, you will use up a lot of time and energy carting your bags around and looking for a place to stay instead of enjoying the sights. August is vacation time not just for the French. You may find that in the countryside, you are competing with Belgians, Germans and other Europeans as well.