My husband and I are visitng London, Normandy, and Paris in July for the first time. Below is my first attempt at an itinerary. Any thoughts or recommendations on this first attempt at drafting an itinerary? I%26#39;ve tried to group things together geographically. Is this schedule too ambitious? Many thanks for any comments.
LONDON
July 19 (flight arrives at 10:30 a.m.)
-(hopefully) check-in at hotel (Royal Horseguards) and shower
-Lunch
-National Gallery (we have only a few selected paintings that we wish to see)
-British Museum
-Buckingham Palace
-Dinner cruise on Thames (can anyone recommend one?)
-London Eye
July 20
-Cabinet War Rooms
-Westminster Abbey
-Houses of Parliament
-Big Ben
July 21
-Tower of London
-St. Paul%26#39;s Cathedral
-1-2 other things that we discovered to see
July 21 evening: overnight ferry from Portsmouth to Calais (renting car; arrive by 7 a.m.)
July 22
-Mont St. Michel (arrive early)
-Caen Peace Museum
-Bayeux Tapestry (if time)
July 23
-All day D-Day Tour (8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.)
-Evening relax and explore Normandy area by car
July 24
-Morning train from Caen to Paris (9 a.m. arrival)
-Drop off luggage at hotel or check-in if available(Hotel Duquesne Eiffel)
-Tour Eiffel (if there is time)
-Fat Tire Bike Tour (meet at South leg of Eiffel Tower at 11 a.m.; tour lasts 4 hours)
-Check-in at hotel if not already checked in
-Explore nearby Rue Cler
-Cook%26#39;n with Class evening class (starts at 6 p.m.)
July 25
-Versailles (Fat Tire Bike Tour; 8 hours)
-Tour Eiffel (if unable to see on July 24)
-Seine river dinner cruise (any recommendations?)
July 26
-Louvre (viewing selected items only)
-Musee D%26#39;Orsay
-Musee Rodin (gardens only; gardens open until 6:45 p.m.)
July 27
-Arc de Triomphe (open at 10 a.m.)
-Musee Nissim de Camondo
-Notre Dame
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Hi --
The Royal Horseguards is a terrific choice - comfortable and the immediate neighbourhood is very quiet at night. You%26#39;ll enjoy staying there.
A person could spend a great deal of time at the British Museum. Are you planning a tour of Buckingham Palace or just to wander on by? If wandering is your intention, you%26#39;ll probably be able to manage day one, if the jet lag doesn%26#39;t do you in. There is a 5 hour time difference after that long flight, so it%26#39;s really difficult to adjust.
The Cabinet War Rooms are very interesting, but don%26#39;t take as much time as the British Museum, so that day looks manageable. In fact, your itinerary looks very good, although there is little time to just %26quot;be%26quot; in either country, but, if you don%26#39;t change them, July 26 and 27 may leave you with a little time for people watching from a cafe - one of the best activities on offer in Paris.
I usually use Les Bateux Mouches for Seine cruises, but I don%26#39;t do the dinner cruises. There are too many places to eat in Paris where the food will be good and interesting. The dinner cruise food seems a little dull to me. The same goes for the cruise dinners in London.
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I don%26#39;t think there is a ferry from Portsmouth to Calais.
Did you mean Caen, Le Havre or Cherbourg?
Although this isn%26#39;t the London forum I%26#39;ll give you my thoughts on your first day.
Arriving at any London airport it will take at least, on a good day, an hour to clear customs.
Depending on your choice of transport it may take up to an hour to reach your hotel
Check in and shower another 30 - 45 mins and then find somewhere for lunch and eat it - minimum 1 hour.
This takes you up to mid afternoon.
Travelling to National Gallery, finding the painting you wish to view, on to the British Museum and then visiting Buck House in the space of a few hours is a big ask.
And don%26#39;t forget the jetlag.
I wish you luck - but you may have to trim your itinerary.
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Your 4 days in Paris seem fine.
You can see the Eiffel Tower on the 25th and go up on the 26th (if you are planning to go up).
There are a few companies that do the dinner cruise, I%26#39;ll mention three; les Bateaux Parisiens (bateauxparisiens.com/EN/boats-cruises-paris-…) that some really like and others find overpriced and too touristy, Capitaine Fracasse (http://www.diner-boat-paris.com/) with lower prices (from 50 E) that has been recommended to me by a few people, Le Calife (http://www.calife.com/) lovely boat and prices start at 49 E.
When you visit Notre-Dame you might want to see the lovely Ste-Chapelle that%26#39;s also on the Ile de la Cité and take a walk on the charming Ile St-Louis beside it.
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I second the idea that you may want/need to slow down a bit and not rush from site to site. You%26#39;ll know when you get there what is right for you.
I also second that you don%26#39;t need the dinner tour, just the boat ride. I%26#39;ve not done the Thames, but I have done the Seine. Do the latest after-dark cruise available--all the monuments are lit up and (although touristy and crowded) it is beautiful. Either Paris Seine tour company is fine--one departs from near the Eiffel tower, and one from the right bank.
In London, make sure you use guides for Westminster Abbey and Tower of London. You need reservations for the Abbey--see their website--but you can join a %26quot;verger%26quot; tour at the tower. You don%26#39;t need a tour of the whole Tower bridge--just the tower itself.
One fun evening thing I did in London was to take the Jack the Ripper walking tour. It ends up on Brick Lane, center of the Indian population. Had a late dinner there in one of the delicious restaurants.
In Paris during summer, you%26#39;ll see that some of the museums have evening hours, which may help you fit some of your destinations into your busy itinerary. Check that out and plan accordingly. Otherwise, if you want to see just %26quot;selected items%26quot; in the Louvre, etc., you need to get there ahead of the crowd in the morning when they open. You can enter from the Pyramid Mall and avoid some of the lines--this works to some extent.
Have fun!!!
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I will only comment on the Paris portion of your trip,, have been only twice to London.
I think your plan is not too bad. I suggest you go online and check out the map/location of %26quot;selected items%26quot; at the museums you named, will save you alot of time if you already have a vague idea of where in Musuems items are located,, at Louvre there are seperate entrances for different wings,, so it really will save time knowing which wing the item you want to see is in.
You will enjoy the FT tours,, but after Versailles day,, you may not want to rush off to a prebooked dinner cruise.... I would also second others suggestion of eating dinner somewhere on land, and just wandering over for an evening cruise.
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I just have one comment. I think it is a mistake to try to see the Louvre and the Musee D%26#39;Orsay in the same day--even if you are not trying to see the entirety of either or both museums. They are just huge and very tiring. They are both so wonderful that you need to be fresh when you see each and whichever one you see second will be short-changed.
I suggest seeing Notre Dame on the 26th when you go to the Louvre as they are fairly close to each other. Then see the d%26#39;Orsay on the 27th.
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%26quot;July 21 evening: overnight ferry from Portsmouth to Calais (renting car; arrive by 7 a.m.)%26quot;
I%26#39;m assuming Portsmouth -%26gt; Caen. Just to check, though--you%26#39;re not planning to rent a car in England and take it to France, are you? That would cost an alarming amount of money, because you%26#39;d have to pay for the car to be returned to England.
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Whew! I%26#39;m glad that my Paris itinerary doesn%26#39;t seem to be too bad. The London forum says that my London itinerary is way over-scheduled, so I%26#39;m really going to have to modify that portion of the trip.
I%26#39;ll nix the dinner cruise and re-think visiting the Louvre and Musee D%26#39;Orsay on the same day. I thought it might be good to lump those together on a Sunday when the museums are free.
Also, sorry, I meant that we are taking the Portsmouth - Caen ferry. We will rent a car in Caen, return it in Caen, and then take a train to Paris.
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If I%26#39;m remembering correctly--and I%26#39;m sure someone will be along who knows for sure--the museums are free only the first Sunday of the month, so you won%26#39;t be paying any more to do them separately.
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The river cruises in both cities are a great idea, BUT skip the meals. You will find far better meals, for what the cruise operators charge, on dry land.
Also eating while trying to see the sights and listen to the commentary, is just overloading your senses.
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