Travel Question- London and Paris

I can't speak for London but I can Paris.

We stayed on the Left Bank in the St Germain Des Pres area last time. Very chic and centrally located, and easy to get anywhere. We loved our hotel, it was more boutique. Hotel Madison. There are nicer places but we were very happy with it.

Get familiar with the neighborhoods (arrondisements) of Paris and where you want to stay. They have distinct personalities. They are easy to google and find out about. The lower the numbered district, the closer it is to the center of town, which is where you probably want to be.

Most people speak English. In fact virtually everyone. Don't believe the BS that they are rude. They do not smile, that's just how they are. Attempt to speak some French to them first, even if its to ask if they speak English. They will love you for it. ALWAYS say Bonjour when walking into a shop/restaurant/bar/cafe. They expect it and consider it rude if you don't.

ParisByMouth.com is a GREAT resource for food/drinks. They have lists for many different types of places and are usually really on top of the trends and latest places. Paris has some of the best restaurants you can possibly imagine.

I recommend L'ami Jean, Septime, Spring.

Take the Metro (subway) everywhere. You can take cabs and Uber if you want but the Metro is VERY easy, especially with Google Maps, cheap as hell, and there is literally a stop on every other corner. It is amazing.

I rented a Travel Wifi Hotspot last time I was there and it helped me a great deal. Could use Google Maps, Translate, etc with ease and get around.

One thing about Paris though: Try not to stick to a rigid schedule. Its a place you REALLY need to just stroll and enjoy.

For our first Europe trip, I found it beneficial to meet with a travel agent. Now, I'm not a travel-agent-frequenting kind of person because I enjoy planning everything and being in control of it all. But, like you, I found planning a bit overwhelming at first and meeting with her helped me narrow down what I really wanted to do/see. In the end, I still planned it myself and didn't go thru the agent (which maybe is a bad thing to do but her estimate was 24K and we did it ourselves for 14. She put us on all kinds of group and private tours even though I told her that wasn't our preference), but the experience was valuable to me. We did two weeks, family of five.

I'm sure you are checking tripadvisor and the like?
Another thing I like to do is check out any hotels I am considering on google street view to get an idea of what kind of neighborhood it is in before I book.

Good luck!

how long in Paris?

I like Lonely Planet books personally, I'd pick up 3-4 (Paris, London, England, France) and glance through them for ideas.

I recommend summer because the days are long (even longer than here considering their latitude) so you'll be able to enjoy more. Other than that, spring would be good because the countrysides are at their prettiest (blooms, etc).

Within several hours of Paris you have Champagne, Burgundy, Normandy.

When you're in London definitely check out Oxford and the Seven Sisters to the south.

ETA: Definitely check out Versailles

7/8 days would be too short for both cities/areas if you ask me. If limited to 7-8 days I'd do Paris. I'd suggest doing 10 days, 4-5 in each with a travel day.

3-4 days in Paris is very short, so you should definitely try to make the most of your time there.

Paris is divided into 20 neighborhoods, or "arrondissements" in French. They spiral outwards like a snail's shell (see below)

The biggest tourist attractions are in the center of the city, around the two islands. I'd recommend staying around here, so you can walk to the Louvre (1st arr), d'Orsay (7th), and Notre Dame (4th). That's an entire day of activity without having to use the metro. If you stay along the river you'll also be very close to the RER C (commuter train line), which is the cheapest way to get to Versailles.

The best time of year to visit Paris is spring. Consequently, it's jam packed (more so than usual) during this time.

If you're looking for tips on what to do, some of my "can't miss" places are:
-d'Orsay
-Picasso Museum
-Catacombs
-l'Orangerie
-Notre Dame
-Eiffel Tower

I don't actually recommend going up the Eiffel Tower. It takes up too much of your day, and you miss the iconic monument for the Paris skyline, because you're on it. Scare Coeur/Montmartre has a great view of the Eiffel Tower, as well as the Trocadero metro stop.





My favorite day trips from Paris are:
-Versailles (gardens > inside)
-Giverny (Monet's garden)
-Auvers sur Oise (Van Gogh's tomb/church/wheat fields)
-Normandy (beaches and cemetery)

If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask. I enjoy talking about Paris.

Edit: forgot to add, the best thing about spending time in Paris is making it your own in your own unique way. You should spend time exploring. Paris is a city that was made to be walked, I can't recommend enough spending some time getting lost in the city.

I'm going to be in London next weekend. Any advice on places to eat?

It'll all be Sharia by 2017. Bone up on your Koran.

Lots of Paris info posted already so I'll give you some tips on London.

- Late June and early July are great times. There's Wimbledon going on, not too cold or too hot.

- West End (Theater district) is my favorite place to stay. In the middle of the action with some great pubs and people watching. Walking distance British Museum, National Gallery. Plenty of tube stations in the area.

- Use AirBNB!!! Found a great London flat for 7 nights last October that was 2 blocks from a major tube station, in a prime area, well furnished with a full kitchen. Much better value than the hotel options, especially if it's more than 2 people in your group.

- I just read about LaCompagnie flights. It business-class only flights from NY to both London and Paris and only about $1600 round trip. Will have to fly different airline to connect to NY, but no biggie.

- If considering day trip to surrounding area (Bath, Dover cliffs, Canterbury) then I would steer clear of the big bus tour packages. Not fun to be packed in a bus with 40 other tourists, most of which are loud and obnoxious from Ohio or Minnesota. If you don't notice any annoying tourists, then it's YOU! I would take a train to Bath and would take a small group tour (by van) to other sites. Wouldn't bother with Stonehenge - you can't walk up and touch them anymore and it's a long ride.

- London is about taking in history, architecture, people watching and stopping for beer several times in between. The open-top bus tours are overwhelming - you quickly lose your sense of direction and fly by sights without the opportunity to pause and take pics. Instead I would do historical walking tours focusing on one or two districts per day. There are smartphone apps that will guide you around an area and once triggered by gps will tell you what you are looking at. Very cool!