(Topic ID: 214515)

Need tips what to see London, Paris, Berlin etc.

By rai

5 years ago


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  • 23 posts
  • 11 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 5 years ago by mcluvin
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#2 5 years ago

If you are a Harry Potter fan, you'll love the tour. If not, you'll think it is a total rip. It will be crowded as Hell. Bring snacks unless you enjoy paying top dollar for food. Book early and if you get a late tour, show up a couple hours early, they will probably let you in any way.

I didn't do the Eye or go on the Eiffel Tower. The lines are nuts and a poor use of time. Climb to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral (check out the ancient graffiti along the way) for a great view of London. If you bring some nice clothes (dress code), London Sky Garden is free before 10 and that is an even better view, plus they have elevators. Notre-Dame and Arc de Triomphe provide great views of Paris.

London - Do a bus tour early to get a feel for where everything is. I really enjoyed the museums and cathedrals. Churchhill's War Rooms was a bust for us. Shakespeare's Globe Theatre tour was very cool, but mostly because of the Cockney tour guide. The parks are amazing. We really liked Kew Gardens. Eat a hearty English breakfast at a local place for ~5 pounds. You are going to do a lot of walking. Wear good shoes and fresh socks.

Paris - If you are taking the Eurostar from London, be prepared, the area around Gare du Norde is sketchy AF. We survived though. If you don't speak French, try to learn the polite words. Most of them speak English and if you just try, they will help you out. Amazing museums. Check out the Catacombs (early in the day) for something different. The French are not big on breakfast, so we'd grab some bread the day prior. Fancy bread is dirt cheap there. Beer is cheaper than Coke. Again, lot's of walking.

We did a week in both London and Paris last year. London rents are expensive. Paris is actually somewhat cheap. Get copies of Rick Steves' guides to both cities. They really come in handy. We used Airbnb.

Who's your cell provider? If T-Mobile, your gonna love it. Just confirm before you leave, international service isn't blocked on any of your lines. I had one line that was blocked for some reason and it was a pain in the ass.

Have fun!

#3 5 years ago

Also, I've known a couple people who have done Disney Paris and would not recommend it. An amusement park is an amusement park and we have so many in the states. Take advantage of the time to do the stuff you can't do in the states.

#6 5 years ago
Quoted from rai:

I hear Disney Paris is not great but our kids love Disney been hundreds of times in FL and California so just wanted to see this one as well.

There's so much awesome stuff to do. Why waste time on a theme park which we in the good old US of A do better than anyone? If it means a lot to you, certainly do it, but when I break down my cost per day for that trip, Disney is the last thing I want to do.

#11 5 years ago
Quoted from TheLaw:

London Eye is a must and quick/easy

In the summer? I went in early June, supposedly before the busy season, and it was still nuts. Plus if I can get 90% of the experience for free vs. ~$130, I'm going with free.

#13 5 years ago
Quoted from TheLaw:

I think it was in May...wasn;t much of a wait.
Ahhhhh right, didn't have kids then forgot to add that price in

He will have plenty of opportunities to spend money. Any break you can get, take it.

#16 5 years ago

We like to get souvenir t-shirts when we visit places. Sizing in the UK is generally pretty comparable to the US. France? Forget it. I upsized and it was still too small. If you do the Globe, they have a great selection of t-shirts which were apparently designed in France.

#21 5 years ago
Quoted from rai:

Maybe not hundreds but more than 100 (should have said).
We bought a second house within 35 minutes of WDW. We get annual pass so we can just pop in for a few hours. Also I'm including 2 parks in California and 4 parks in Florida sometimes they will do 2 different parks in one day, once they did all four parks in one day. So I am counting each as one park entrance.
That's 6 parks and we've been going for 18-19 years and the last few years we have a second house there so it's not much to go to the parks 15-20 times a year.

No need to justify it. If you enjoy it, do it. I'm an hour away from WDW and Universal. Disney has gotten too damn expensive for me, but we've been doing Universal annual passes for years. I yearn for the good old days of "buy a year, get a year free", and they nearly lost me this year, but I really like the new water park and they are offering 15 months for the price of 12. If we go to at least a couple of the "free" concerts, it's hard not to justify it.

Kew Gardens feels like you are walking around in an early Disney movie. Also, check out CityPASS. We did it for London, but not Paris. Some cities it's a better deal than others. London Tube, get a card. Paris Metro, it's cheaper to just buy a book of tickets (don't wrinkle them).

https://www.citypass.com/

3 weeks later
#23 5 years ago

The Latin Quarter (Paris) was good for reasonably priced food and shopping.

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