REPORT: FRANCE, UK, BELGIUM - APRIL and MAY 2024- updated w/more details

As someone who consistently writes a Trip Report the length of a short novel I wouldn't have minded if you expanded on some of your highlights. I love reading opinions about places I've already been to get that other point of view. Now, please tell me about the story behind your ghost tour comment and how you got tickets to the Arsenal game.

Yes, same questions as Alan. I also like a more detailed report.

What a great first post! Nice to see the travel bug has well and truly infected you. Netherland in the fall will be lovely.

Any accommodation recommendations?

Yes...give us the long version!

I suppose I must give the people what they want :D -- I will add the details to some comments below.

RE: the Globe performance. I am not a theatre-goer or a Shakespeare scholar by any stretch of the imagination, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. I thought the set and costumes were beautiful, gorgeous colors. The performances could skew a little one note, but the performers seemed to be having just as much fun as the audience. For 5 pounds I would definitely go again. I wouldn't rearrange my itinerary to include it, but if I had the evening free and a groundling spot was available, I'd do it.

RE: accommodation recommendations. I would recommend almost every place we stayed. They are included in the detailed comments I will post. My favorite hotel was Hotel La Muette in Arles (the breakfast! I'm still thinking about it!) and my least favorite hotel was probably Hotel de la Tour Eiffel. There weren't any major issues and if that were the only place in Paris to stay, I'd stay again in a heartbeat. It's just that we learned we don't really want to stay in Rue Cler and the room itself wasn't as comfortable (bedding, temp) as others.

APRIL 17: Arrive Paris CDG. SIGHTSEEING: RS self-guided tour of Historic Paris. As expected, Notre Dame covered in construction, difficult to appreciate any details of the facade but still lovely to behold. Much colder than we anticipated, with a chilly rain! 5:30 entrance booked to Sainte-Chappelle. We joined the queue for our time slot a little after 5, waited for 45-50 minutes to be let in. Worth it. Crowded, but not suffocating. HOTEL: RS-rec Hotel de Neuve in the Marias. We stayed one night here, and I chose the Marais to be closer to Gare du Lyon, as we were catching our train to Avignon the next day. If/when we return to Paris, we’d love to stay here again! Warm reception, pleasant room, good breakfast. Checked us in early, which was a treat after flying.

APRIL 18: Train to Avignon, pick up rental car. SIGHTSEEING: Drove from Avignon to Pont du Gard. Easy to get in, popular but not crowded. The museum could be skippable if you were tight on $$, but it helped us appreciate the construction and significance of the aqueduct. From Pont du Gard to Arles, our homebase. Parked at the main garage in Arles (near the TI). Easy and secure. Less than 10-minutes walk to main square.
HOTEL: RS-rec Hotel la Muette in Arles. This is probably my favorite hotel of our stay. Small, family-run but professional. The staff was so friendly and helpful. The breakfast had a wide selection and was plentiful, the butter literally made me tear up. I get homesick thinking about Hotel la Muette right now…

APRIL 19: Long (but special!) day in the car. SIGHTSEEING: Left Arles around 9am to arrive at Les Baux. Parked on the road all the way below and hoofed it up to the Chateau. GREAT site, we spent much more time here than anticipated. Lunch from a sandwich window in town. Popped into a few other sites. In the car around 1pm to St. Paul Monastery. I enjoyed it more as a lovely place to be rather than learning about Van Gogh and the history of the hospital (information was densely presented and hard-to-read). We enjoyed just sipping coffee from the vending machine in the driveway. Peeked at the main arch of Glanum, then in the car for about an hour to the Camargue. Few flamingos present, which was disappointing but still a nice drive.

APRIL 20: Market day in Arles. SIGHTSEEING: Visited the Market! It took us about an hour to walk all the way through. The top 2/3 was artisan crafts on one side of the street, produce and foods on the other side of the street. The bottom ⅓ was more flea market-esque--plastic housewares, bags of bargain underwear, etc. We shopped for our picnic lunch (and then some!). We were like children, giggling and clapping our hands with each new purchase. Then, RS self-guided Arles walk, with picnic breaks whenever we felt like it. The Arena stands out as the most remarkable part of the tour. Since it was Saturday, we also got to see 2 wedding parties celebrating in the central square, outside city hall.

APRIL 21: Return to Paris. SIGHTSEEING: Before departing Arles, I visited the Arlaaten Folk Museum for about an hour. SO WORTH IT. Such a well-designed museum, showcasing not only folk life but also examining how we think about and present cultural information and stories. If you’re interested, you could easily spend half a day here. I went as soon as it opened on a Sunday morning, and I was often the only person in the gallery.....

........ After return to Paris via Avignon, 8pm booking for Eiffel Tower. My husband’s first time in Paris, so this was important to him. I booked these the minute they opened on the website, 2 months prior. No queue to get in, and barely a queue to catch the elevator all the way to the top. We watched the sunset from level 2, and were grateful to climb down out of the cold. HOTEL: RS-rec Hotel de la Tour Eiffel in Rue Cler. This was probably my least favorite hotel we stayed at. No major issues, but the room wasn’t as comfortable as others (no individual control over temperature) and the staff wasn’t particularly friendly. Mostly, we would not stay in the Rue Cler area again. As fun as it was to walk Rue Cler (and eat our patisserie breakfast there every morning!) the surrounding area felt too touristy and sterile for our tastes. Much prefer our location in the Marais from the first night. Lesson learned :)

APRIL 22: Paris. SIGHTSEEING: 10am entrances booked to the Orangerie. Minor queue to get in, a second minor queue to pick up audio guides. Definitely crowded, in both upper and lower galleries, but that’s what we get for a mid-morning entrance. (Cue grumbling about visitors who only seem to be there to take pictures of art they could easily Google a photo of…). Glad to have seen the water lilies, and look forward to returning one day at an off-hour (if there ever is one).

APRIL 23: Versailles/Paris bike tour. SIGHTSEEING: Up and at ‘em early to ride RER out to Versailles. 9am entrances booked. We joined the queue probably around 8:30 and were glad we did. The 9am queue seemed to stretch all the way across the entrance gates. Once inside the Chateau, very much enjoyed using the Versailles app and their audio information. Chateau not too crowded to enjoy. We spent too much time in the Chateau, as I also wanted to appreciate the gardens, the Trianon, and Marie Antionette’s hamlet. Ended up hoofing it to see these. Glad I saw them but wish I had given myself more time. If we return, we agreed to rent the available golf carts! Return to Paris around 4pm, and napped to prepare for our Night Bike Tour of Paris. This tour was without a doubt one of the BEST parts of the whole trip! Our guide was fantastic, and biking through Paris at night was even more beautiful than I thought it would be.

APRIL 24: to Bath. SIGHTSEEING: I visited the Orsay in the morning. Arrived around 10:10 for my 10:30 entrance. Close to 11 before we were actually let in. Very crowded in the impressionist galleries, busy elsewhere. Loved using the RS-audio guide. Later in the day, Eurostar to London, then train to Bath. HOTEL: RS-rec YMCA Bath. Our en suite double was spacious if sparse. No breakfast but great value for price of room. On site laundry was only £5, which seemed like a steal compared to other laundromats on our trip.

APRIL 25: Bath. SIGHTSEEING: Booked Roman Baths entrances for opening slot (9:00 I believe). Wow! This was the best-presented museum/site we saw on our whole trip. I wouldn’t describe myself as someone who is particularly “into” Roman history, so I was a little skeptical when I saw the price of admission--is this worth it for us? The answer is YES. The site and the museum are fascinating and accessible. We caught the free Bath walking tour, and after lunch I visited No. 1 Royal Crescent. On this rainy day, I was the only one in each room as I worked my way through the visit. We also saw the Bath Abbey, which now has a required paid admission.

APRIL 26: to York. SIGHTSEEING: Arrived in time to attend Evensong service at the Minster. Line up around 5:10, and got a seat right in the front row of the choir. A very special experience. HOTEL: RS-rec No. 21 York, a classic B&B. Fabulous hospitality, and if possible even better breakfast. Quiet location in a very festive town, but still central enough to be handy (and very handy to train station).

APRIL 27: York. SIGHTSEEING: Booked a tour with York Walking Tours (Alfred). When I mentioned I had booked a paid tour (versus taking advantage of free), someone seemed to think I was a little naive, perhaps being taken advantage of. But I would happily pay to tour with Alfred again! Small group, deep well of knowledge, and my favorite thing in a tour guide: wove everything we saw into a cohesive narrative. He connected each site we stopped at as part of the story of York, and at the end of our tour brought everything back together. To me, this is so much more enriching than getting a detailed list of facts and figures. Also toured the York Minster with their knowledgeable volunteer and did a ghost tour (not recommended, group way too large).

APRIL 28: to Edinburgh. Coming out of Waverly Station and looking behind you, at the Royal Mile rising up? Wow, you really feel like you’re in a different world! SIGHTSEEING: York Castle Museum. Entertaining. The prison portion, where you enter parts of the building that actually used to be a prison circa 18th-century was enlightening, but also very dark. HOTEL: Motel One Princes in Edinburgh. Large room, GREAT view, looking towards historic Balmoral Hotel, Waverly, and up to the Royal Mile. Only opted for 1 breakfast there--very overpriced for what you get.

APRIL 29: Edinburgh. SIGHTSEEING: RS self-guided Royal Mile walking tour. Royal Yacht Britannia (very easy to get to from downton, not crowded at all in the afternoon). RS self-guided New Town tour.

APRIL 30: Highlands bus tour. SIGHTSEEING: Did a small-group bus tour with Rabbie’s of the highlands (Dunkeld, Queen’s View, Pitlochry, Aberfeldy). The tour guide was pleasant and competent, but didn’t do much more than offer light commentary and drive the bus. I’m not sure about the value for the price, although it was by far the easiest way for us to get a taste of the Highlands without a car and with limited time.

MAY 1: Edinburgh. SIGHTSEEING: National Gallery, Gladstone’s Land, and Edinburgh Castle. Although this sounds like a busy day, all 3 are so close together, it really was quite manageable. I could’ve spent a lot more time in the National Gallery. Something I’d like to do for the next trip is see if I can order each museum’s companion books before the trip. Then I can study what is in the collection ahead of time. The volunteers make Gladstone’s Land what it is. For me, Edinburgh Castle probably falls in the bucket of “Glad I’ve seen it, probably won’t go back.” St. Margaret’s Chapel was my favorite part. HOTEL: Caledonian Sleeper train from Waverly to London Euston. We were in a “classic” room aka 2nd class tickets. I was really looking forward to this as a unique, old-timey experience, and I learned that traveling by sleeper train is simply sleeping… on a train LOLOL. Tight quarters, lots of movement and noise through the night. Not great for a good night’s sleep, especially when you’re fighting a cold! But a very great way to doze off in Edinburgh and wake up in London.

MAY 2: London. SIGHTSEEING: British Museum. We lined up around 9:20am, and it wasn’t until we were in the queue that I realized people had already booked their free entrance time slot, while we had not. Cue panic/worry that we would be denied entry. But we were able to queue at the Montague Place entrance. Those with booked entries and without were all placed in one security line, which moved quickly, and we were in by 10:10. The RS audio tour for this museum is particularly enjoyable (and easy to navigate) and made it very manageable to understand the significance of the collection. British Library. Secrets of Westminster Walking Tour with London Walks. Great, knowledgeable guide, who also sent lots of information by email both before and after the walk. I would definitely do as many walks with London Walks as my itinerary allowed next time I was in London....

...... Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare’s Globe. I had booked groundling tickets several weeks before, and we were so beat we almost didn’t go. I am so, so glad we did. The production was quality, the costumes were divine, and the experience was electric. The audience was so happy to be there. Yes, it was likely mostly tourists, but looking around at the crowd--every face was beaming. There was an energy in the room that was very special. HOTEL: hub by Premier Inn in SoHo. Comfortable bed, uncomfortable room temp (no way to open window, mini-split did not seem responsive to controls). Breakfast great value for the price. Really great location--right around the corner from SoHo happenings but hotel was as quiet as could be.

MAY 3: London. SIGHTSEEING: Churchill War Rooms. We were about 10 minutes late for our 9:30 entrance but it didn’t seem to matter. It took us longer than we thought to get where we needed to be in London. By the last day, we were getting the hang of it. Key is to use CityMapper app rather than TFLGo (we were accustomed to the quality of BonjourRATP, which is why we used the proprietary app in London for the first couple of days). Very crowded. I could spend a lot longer in the museum on a different trip. Westminster RS-self guided walk. Tower of London, 3:00 entrance. This is the point in the trip where we reached, in my husband’s words, “old sh** saturation.” The Norman chapel was very moving. Other than that, we were like “oh Henry VIII’s armour… neat….” On the way back, I went to the National Gallery. Arrived around 6pm and there was a bit of a queue but was in within 10 minutes.

MAY 4: Arsenal Match. This day was devoted to the match. We left SoHo around 9am. My husband did all the planning for this one :) out to eat with friends from the states and their local friend for dinner. Ended up going out in SoHo, which had a very distinct energy.

MAY 5: to Bruges. SIGHTSEEING: On arrival in Bruges, ate supper at Cafe Vlissinghe. Spaghetti and beer was so satisfying after so much takeaway. Then, RS-self guided Bruges Walk. Perfect to do this in the evening, when streets were much quieter than during the day. HOTEL: Hotel Patritius. We’d love to stay here again. Superior double was very spacious, breakfast was excellent, and location really couldn’t have been better. Staff was very helpful.

MAY 6: Bruges. SIGHTSEEING: Many of Bruges major sites are closed Mondays, which gave us a perfect excuse to not look at any of them lol. We did a canal tour, bought some chocolate, went to Church of Our Lady to see Michaelangelo’s Madonna and Child, and rented bikes. Rode to Damme, had lunch on the main square there. Road back, got soaked, took a nap. Fries, beers, waffles, gelato, and enjoying the lovely weather and people watching.

MAY 7: back to Paris to catch flight home. SIGHTSEEING: Museum Sint-Janshospitaal. I enjoyed learning about Memler and seeing some beautiful works up close. I also enjoyed the displays about what the hospital was like for patients and staff when operational. Arrived Gare du Nord. Luggage storage CLOSED (assume they are renovating before Olympics). Stored our bags at nearby St. Christopher’s Inn. Then down to Ile de la Cite for one last Parisian evening. HOTEL: Holiday Inn Express CDG. By far the grungiest hotel we stayed in. Did the trick though, easy shuttle to the airport in the morning.... Arrived CDG 3.5 hours early, which was plenty of time (I had seen recommendations of 3 hours and 4 hours). Re-entering security in PHL was the worst part of the trip lolol. Huge line, only 3 agents working, no signage. Welcome back to the States!

RE: Ghost Tour... WAY too crowded! One guide for about 40 people? Not spooky at all. I think he should have cut it off or brought another guide along with him. (We paid 10 pounds each, so not a "free but tip" tour). I also felt like the stories were just... dark? Other tours I've gone on have had a balance of star-crossed lovers, lost merchants, untimely sickness, and your outright murder. This tour was just about really dark, criminal behavior. I know that's some people's jam, but not for me.

RE: Arsenal Tickets. This was my husband's project, so here is his outline:

1. He went through official outlets, because supporters of the club frown upon the uptick in the third-party ticket-resale market (makes it less accessible). So he wanted to get the tickets in a way that respected the local fan base.
2. Become a "Red Member" on the Arsenal website. (35 pound fee per season, but you also get 10% discount at the Arsenal shop and online, so basically my husband is coming out ahead on this deal lolol). He signed us each up to be members.
3. Add your membership number to the ballot system for the game you want to go to. He read that it is easier to get tickets if you have two members who are going together (you enter both numbers). This is because it's easier for the system to allocate doubles rather than singles, triples, or higher.
4. Hope and pray!!! There is a subreddit called r/GunnersatGames that he says has great information.

Susie, thanks for your trip report! It was very nice and very comprehensive.

And a special thanks for the subreddit and ticket info. I'm heading back to London next year with my 14 year old grandson and 10 year old granddaughter, both of whom are soccer fiends. So I'm hoping to get tickets to a Premier league game near London, and your info is very helpful. My grandson wants us to take a trip to Manchester to see a Man United game, but I told him that was pretty much out of the question, lol!

Quick question: When did he buy the tickets? I hadn't planning on buying our flight tickets till September, but I think a lot of the London team games open up in early June. So I'm assuming I might have to buy something as soon as they open.

Thanks for sharing your full report. Wow, you did a lot! I agree about Motel One Princes - the view was amazing. Glad I didn't bother with breakfast there after your experience.

Thank you Susie for indulging our requests for more detail, I enjoyed reading your trip report.

Quick question: When did he buy the tickets? I hadn't planning on buying our flight tickets till September, but I think a lot of the London team games open up in early June. So I'm assuming I might have to buy something as soon as they open.

@Mardee -- lololol Man United and Man City, both out of the question! For what it's worth, the experience at the Emirates stadium was very fun and very family-friendly--we were seated near several young ones (ages 8-17 or so) and all the adults kept their language/behavior clean.

For Arsenal, the ballot for each game opens up a few weeks (maybe 3-4?) before the game. (As a member, he was getting email updates on when to anticipate the ballot opening up). He put in our member numbers and our credit card number. Then, we had to wait to see if our numbers were drawn. When a charge comes through on the credit card, you know you've gotten the tickets! We actually didn't find out until about 2 hours after we landed in Paris. We were checking into our first hotel when the notification came through on my watch (a really good omen to start the trip!).

We had 2 backup plans, if we weren't selected in the ballot draw.

1) There is an internal resale site for Arsenal members that is game-specific. You have to have entered the ballot for a specific game and have been denied in order to be eligible to purchase on that site. The tickets go quick, so it's laborious to catch them--you have to constantly refresh.

2) Spring for a stadium tour/all-inclusive sort of ticket. (I'm not sure what the exact terminology is or exactly why it's different from the regular ballot system). Basically, you can pay beaucoup bucks (in excess of 500 GBP) to have a tour, sit in a box, fancy foods, etc. If we had to go this route, my husband was going to go solo. (This price is excessive, but it was a bucket list, fulfill a lifelong dream sort of thing for him).

Thanks again, Susie! Great report!

We may wind up going with tickets to West Ham, as his soccer club here in the states has a relationship with them. In fact he just finished a soccer camp taught by West Ham players. And they gave my son-in-law some tips about buying tickets for one of their games.

Of course, I haven't even bought the plane tickets yet, and i know ticket sales will be opening soon, so now I'm just hoping everything works out. :-)

What a great trip! Thanks for sharing-especially adding further detail!

Love the details, thank you.
We’ve been talking about a more in depth trip around France so I am going to bookmark this report for future reference.
And, our next trip to Paris I am going to look into your bike tour. Can you tell us who you used?
Finally, we’ve been in a few cities and come across weddings, isn’t it fun to watch. In Split, outside the church, the people were dancing and singing, blocking traffic. not one horn honked, they just went a different way. We hung around and watched.
We’ve also seen wedding parties in Dubrovnik, Krakow, and Seville.

@Mardee - West Ham would be very special, then! I'm sure it will all work out :) :)

@Barbara

And, our next trip to Paris I am going to look into your bike tour. Can you tell us who you used?

It was labeled as the Paris' Best Kept Secrets Night Tour on Airbnb (https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/1190029) but I think they go by "Paris Charms and Secrets" on other platforms. Daniel was our tour guide, and we thought he was stellar. If you do go, please report back so I can live vicariously through you and go again!