London vs Paris

[wolfie11969]

If you have been can you give me your educated stories of either going to London or going to Paris.

Had a chat with hubby on Saturday night and for my 50th next year we were going to go to London for a couple of days for the Natural History Museum and the Tower of London.

However, hubby knows I've always wanted to go to Paris and so he has suggested we put the trip off for 6 months and save and celebrate my 50th late, and his 50th early by going to Paris.

My daughter and son in law have been to Paris and reckon it would be better for us to do that as the costings would be about the same.

What are your thoughts?

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Been to both cities repeatedly, and it's really a question of, what do you love? Paris is special if you get a nice hotel. There's loads of dives there you really don't want to stay in, but when it's good, it's GREAT. Food is usually excellent, (toilets not so much...) tourist locations aplenty... Personally I love the Mont Martre area and the stunning statue of the Archangel Michael in the Sacre Coeur, the giant flea/antiques-market, and if you have a chance to hop over to Versailles I'll be super-jealous because I never managed to go... I went down into the bone-filled catacombs, saw Napoleon's tomb and visited Jim Morrison at Pere Lachaise. (I'm a bit morbid, granted. ). The Champs d'Elysee isn't want it used to be, but there are so many nice places... The Messy Nessy Chic people have a lovely online guide to Paris' top hidden-yet-lovely spots, that might be worth a google or add on facebook. Did you know the Louvre still has the living quarters intact of one of their kings? (Napoleon the 3rd, off the top of my head) I can't believe I missed that, but it seems like most people don't know its even there. Never went up the Eiffel Tower, (Hights and queue's... Nah!) but I can recommend taking a dinnercruise on the Seine. Last time I was there was because Stephen King was having a talk at the Grand Rex, and we had a tiny little appartment across the street from a chocolate shop.... It was a slice of heaven, and since I've turned our own place upside-down to resemble it more. (Still nowhere close, I'm too messy. But I did steal the colour scheme and got a Nespresso like the one they had. One weekend, and I was hooked on Volluto. ).

London however... I can stay in Paris for a week and not be bored a moment. Plenty of museums and the like to keep me occupied, and just walking the streets, there's enough to fill the senses. London's more my cup of tea though, as a kid I wanted to go live there some day... For one thing I speak the language, so that makes me more comfortable. French is still just waving arms and legs around and hoping they understand me; if you speak french, that might not be an issue. I'm a royalist, love victoriana, english gothic novels, the classics, and ghoststories. (Is Foley's still a thing?). The tower, Buckingham Palace, the closeness of Windsor, all the tourist-traps I love so well... Still want to visit Highgate someday (yeah, noticing a theme I guess, but I'm an amateur photographer and I'd go NUTS there), oh, Forbidden Planet, Selfridges all that lovely shopping... My husband's company treated its employees and their spouses to a weekend, had a dinnercruise on the Thames, went to We Will Rock You... No idea how to arrange that as they did it, but it was lovely going out to the theatre there. Had a breathtaking time in Windsor at the castle, having tea in the library over at Oakley Court (Where loads of Hammer horror was filmed, as well as the Rockey Horror Picture Show)... When I visited Buckingham Palace and went in through the ambassador's entrance, i quietly wept, haha. Husband had to drag me out of the throne room. Enough to see and do, in either place, really... St. Paul's, Tower Bridge, the museums, the Eye, the lovely parks... And the massive amounts of shopping that need to be done.

Honestly? I think you'll have a wonderful time in either city. So do tackle them both.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

If you have been can you give me your educated stories of either going to London or going to Paris.

Had a chat with hubby on Saturday night and for my 50th next year we were going to go to London for a couple of days for the Natural History Museum and the Tower of London.

However, hubby knows I've always wanted to go to Paris and so he has suggested we put the trip off for 6 months and save and celebrate my 50th late, and his 50th early by going to Paris.

My daughter and son in law have been to Paris and reckon it would be better for us to do that as the costings would be about the same.

What are your thoughts?

Do Paris. If you've always wanted to go there; do that.

 

[BillB]

There's not really much to add to JoKalsbeek's post - she was pretty comprehensive. Totally agree with her on Paris, especially Montmartre where we went one day and had as great a time as we have ever had in Paris. Our taxi driver who took us from our hotel to the Sacre Coeur told us to go behind the church when we finished our visit and discover the market, the restaurants, the cafés, the shops. We did so and watched artists either painting or sketching tourists. The cafés had their pavement tables set up and were catering to the tourists after they had their portraits sketched. The shops were selling all kinds of stuff that seems irresistible to British tourists. The restaurants were offering an enormous variety of national cuisines, especially French cuisine, and in one little cul-de-sac there was a man playing the accordion. Jackie and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. It was too much of a cliché, but it certainly helped set the scene. We had lunch at an outdoor restaurant which had part of the square covered over and found ourselves sitting next to a large Egyptian family with whom we struck up a conversation and made instant friends with as we told them how much we had loved Egypt on a recent Nile cruise.
When we got back to our hotel we found that our friends Claire and Terry, who had booked tickets for an art exhibit online had spent the day trying to find out where they could pick up the tickets. They never found out and never visited the exhibition, so they were not best pleased when we described to them what a great time we'd had.
So what would I recommend? The Champs Elysées, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Montmartre, take a cruise on the Seine, visit some of the museums, try a really famous restaurant. Go wherever your fancy takes you. We have never visited Versailles, either, but if you have the time and the transport, then go for it.
As a born and bred Londoner, although now Jackie and I have Luxembourg citizenship, I used to love London and had a great time on every visit, especially when our kids were young. So what can I say? There are so many possibilities - if modern history piques your interest then give the Imperial War Museum a visit. Lots of great exhibits about the WW1 and WW2, or you can try the Science Museum in Kensington. Oxford Street for shopping is always rewarding, or you can go and see the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.
Whatever your tastes, look up the possibilities on the internet. You're sure to find something to grab you every day, whether it's in Paris or London.
So whichever you choose you'll have a great time and you'll celebrate your birthdays in a style you'll never forget. Best wishes to for the time of your lives.

 

[Alexandra100]

What are your thoughts?

Small practical notes: both cities are overrun with tourists. If you know what museums/galleries/ sights you want to visit, so much better and usually cheaper to book in advance online. Otherwise you could spend most of your visit queuing. In Paris, most museums and galleries are free on Sundays but closed on Mondays. Paying to go in comes as a shock after the free museums in London.

 

[Listlad]

Paris v London. I enjoy them both. I think I have decided I prefer Paris. It has more to offer plus Disneyland too.

My favourite place in Paris has been the L’Orangerie that houses the absolutely colossal Monets and the Musee D’Orsay, opposite side of the river to the Louvre, where a heap of Impressionist paintings are held.

I have lost count the number of times I have been to Paris. I was born and raised in London and used to work there.

Last week we were in the Natural History Museum. A fantastic place. It was very busy but it was half term.

If you do visit London, try the recently built Sky Gardens, an alternative to the London Eye for a great view of London from above.

 

[wolfie11969]

I think due to the current state of our medications we have decided to stay in the UK as didnt fancy getting stopped by officials with the drugs we would be carrying. We both take a UK controlled drug so would need letters from our GP to carry them abroad.

Also not much liking the Brexit mess up that is going on.