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30+ Years ago, I did both spending about 3 days in each. BUT when we traveled from London to Paris, we did it On the Hovercraft. The Hovercraft and related train trips remain one of my very favorite travel experiences - and I'm lucky to have done A LOT of traveling. It was unique, to say the least.
My opinion is do both cities. As you age and/or start carting children on vacations, it gets more complicated and difficult. I would fly into one city and depart from the other. There is no good reason to waste previous time doing the transfer TWICE.
Pick your hotel locations carefully.
Listen to this wise man.. (I think he's a guy, but whatever).
Many years ago I went to London, Paris, and Amsterdam for but 9 days.
Distances are NOT like in the US and travelling between countries is interesting in itself.. and certainly no big deal now.
Taste each country and savor it, for you WILL return.
Easy call, spend the time in London. The French are not fans of Americans, they will take your money but will know you are American whether you speak French or not. London is a great city do it in depth rather than spread yourself and burning a day traveling.
Super nonsense.
Knowing a bit of French will go a long way, but they won't be able to tell if yr a Canadian if u don't tell them.
i have never had a problem in France.. but then again I speak crappy-french.
I have been to both cities many times and love them both. You can get a taste of each city in the 7 days so no reason not to do both. I don't speak much French and have never had a bad experience with Parisians.
I love both cities, for different reasons. Been back to both repeatedly since.
For a first trip, I would choose one city for the whole 7 days. Do one or two day trip from each of the city.
My first London trip, I went for a full week. Did Oxford and Bath as easy day trip from London. I was quite an anglophile and english lit fan when I was younger, so a full week was perfect.
First time in Paris, I think I did Rouen and Chartres as day trip.
Having said that, if you decide to do both.. fly open jaw (fly in to one city, and out the other), take Eurostar in between (I have literally fallen asleep right after getting on the train, and woke up in the other city).
As for the riots, I have been in riots (youth protest, election, world cup) in Paris before, no big deal. If you see clouds of gas (tear gas) go other direction. I had friends who was there during the protests in December, the only impact they really had was some blockades on roads when they had to drive back to Paris. They were able to avoid by leaving for Paris a few hours earlier then they intended.
I have never encountered with "rude" French in the last 19 years (since I started visiting Paris almost annually).
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jkgourmet
30+ Years ago, I did both spending about 3 days in each. BUT when we traveled from London to Paris, we did it On the Hovercraft. The Hovercraft and related train trips remain one of my very favorite travel experiences - and I'm lucky to have done A LOT of traveling. It was unique, to say the least.
My opinion is do both cities. As you age and/or start carting children on vacations, it gets more complicated and difficult. I would fly into one city and depart from the other. There is no good reason to waste previous time doing the transfer TWICE.
Pick your hotel locations carefully.
The giant Cross Channel Hovercraft was fairly iconic at one time, however it sadly stopped in 2000, due to rising cometition from the Channel Tunnel rail service and due to more modern ferries.
One of the problems with the Hovercraft was that it didn't make as much from Duty Free Sales as the Ferries and wasn't as convienent as the Eurostar trains.
The giant Cross Channel Hovercraft was fairly iconic at one time, however it sadly stopped in 2000, due to rising cometition from the Channel Tunnel rail service and due to more modern ferries.
One of the problems with the Hovercraft was that it didn't make as much from Duty Free Sales as the Ferries and wasn't as convienent as the Eurostar trains.
I don't know, but I'm guessing there is a LON-PAR high speed train through the chunnel & it may get around any airport wait times, use it to sleep on for a late trip. Man, I remember a Channel crossing on the ferry 30 years ago during a storm & my gf at that time defined the term "sick as a dog" during the seemingly endless churning waves.
After what she did ultimately to me, it is my favorite memory of her.
I don't know, but I'm guessing there is a LON-PAR high speed train through the chunnel & it may get around any airport wait times, use it to sleep on for a late trip.
Yes. The Eurostar. The train basically takes you from central London(St. Pancras) to Paris(Gare du Nord). There is Passport control and security, but it's really quick compare to airports.
With advance purchase, off peak hours tickets are as cheap as flying on the budget airlines. And no need to spend more money and time trek to/from the airports.
We were on the fence for so long that the free-market made our decision for us. Ticket prices changed for our dates and made it more expensive to do both, so we decided to stay in London for the whole week. Paris will have to be another trip.
Thanks to all. I hope this thread helps others too.
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