<p>Some fun things to do in Paris – Check out [Self</a> guided Paris walks and personal itineraries](<a href=“http://www.pariswalks.com%5DSelf”>http://www.pariswalks.com) for their daily walking tours. Their tour of the Paris Sewers was interesting. The Marais is a great neighborhood to explore; try to eat at L’As du Felafel – there is seating in the back. Musee d’Orsay is great – Rodin Museum too. There’s a fairly new Holocaust Museum in the Marais neighborhood --educational but – sadly – fairly empty of visitors. Try ice cream from Berthillon, macarons at Laduree, dessert crepes at a creperie – and be sure to check out the Market place at Au Bon Marche. There are trains to Versailles and Giverny – so you could get there without a car. Have a great time!!</p>
<p>In Paris, don’t miss the Arc de Triomphe at dusk. It is beautiful to watch the lights come on all over the city. It’s cheap and WAY less crowded than the Tour Eiffel. Ascent by stairs or elevator. Someone else mentioned Versailles on Sunday. Yes, it is very crowded, but it is the only day the fountains are on! Agree with the L’Orangerie- don’t miss. The famous and beautiful cathedral at Chartres is another day trip, a bit further than Versailles. Incredible stained glass and make sure you walk the labyrinth (path to god).There is a wonderful pedestrian only shopping/ restaurant area and pretty walks by the river. Back to Paris, Ste. Chappelle is also beautiful for its architecture and stained glass. Just bring your most comfy shoes and get out and walk, walk, walk!</p>
<p>I might suggest that on one of your first days in London, do the London Eye. Yes, it’s touristy, but it gave me a sense of geography… what was where, and how far things were from each other. It helped me get my bearings so much better than anything else I might have done.</p>
<p>Also, since you’re mentioned seeing Wicked!, if you are so inclined and wish to see another show while there, Mary Poppins blew me away (no pun intended). It was worth every penny we spent on it. It’s just one of those shows that seems appropriate to see in London.</p>
<p>I chaperoned a h. school trip last year that my D went on- think i’ll go get out my pictures! Thanks for making me think about it!</p>
<p>As is “the Mousetrap”, the Agatha Christie classic. It’s been there forever, I assume it still is.</p>
<p>I see you already got all the good Museum advice. Nobody mentioned Les Invalides (Napoleon’s grave site and the Military Museum) and Cemetiere Pere Lachaise (where Balzac, Chopin, Delacroix, Fourier, Montand, Morrison, Proust, Rossini, St. Exupery and Wilde, to name a few, are burried). Of course, Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur are also notable spots. </p>
<p>For shopping, check out Galeries Lafayette and Printemps. Both are right next to each other and to L’Opera, so you can check our the grandest Opera House on Earth too. Plus of course, if you don’t mind spending big bucks, walk along rue du Faubourg St Honore. </p>
<p>If you don’t mind blowing $1,000 on a dinner, check out L’Ambroisie or Le Meurice. I guarantee the best meal you have ever had. But you must make a reservations right now. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.dininginfrance.com/l’ambroisie.htm">http://www.dininginfrance.com/l’ambroisie.htm</a></p>
<p>[Paris</a> Five Star Restaurant: Restaurant at Le Meurice Hotel](<a href=“http://www.lemeurice.com/restaurants_bars/rb_2.html]Paris”>http://www.lemeurice.com/restaurants_bars/rb_2.html)</p>
<p>I think the Mousetrap closed a while back. Billy Elliot is wonderful.</p>
<p>Okay…foodie here with London tips. Skip lunch one day and get a giant ice cream sundae at Harrods, take the tube out to Hampstead and go to the Hampstead Creperie which is actually just a little stall on the sidewalk but has the most amazing crepes (lots of veggie options or just skip all that and get the chocolate one!) Here’s an online review of it:
Some people will moan about the wait…but that’s just part of it’s charm! Renowned London over, this humble little crepe stall in the middle of gorgeous Hampstead is responsible for some of the most delicious crepes this side of The Seine. A perfect date destination, half the fun is snuggling up to your loved one or chatting with friends in the queue (sometimes quick, sometimes long)…before you indulge in sweet or savoury yumminess…whether it be pre-movie or after dinner…
One of my fave places in London…it is worth the trek North for all you South Londoners!</p>
<p>When we got off the tube we couldn’t find it and a bobbie told us, “just round the corner and look for the queue”. </p>
<p>While you are there take a stroll at Hampstead on the heath. Beautiful little park and there are lots of shops in the neighborhood. </p>
<p>Take the big red bus one day and hop on/hop off. The Peter Pan statue at Kensington Park is fun to see and you can hop off at Harrods (of course). </p>
<p>The British Museum is worth half a day too. I went with DD after junior high…did a lot of research through Trip Advisor. </p>
<p>Oh…and we did one of the London Walking Tours of Westminster Abbey. Fantastic tour, fairly cheap…get to the meeting point early and be a bit agressive because they sell out. If you pick the right tour time you can stay for evensong. An unbelieveable experience…they seat you right with the choir.</p>
<p>
It’s funny because in the movies where they show platform 9 and 10 is actually where platforms about 4-5 are located. Platforms 9 and 10 are actually in a side annex, but when you see the main platform hall and then the annex it’s obvious why they decided to fudge it. You should easily come across the Harry Potter moment mentioned above, but if not just ask someone at the station where platform 9 and 3/4 is.</p>
<p>
It depends. At the moment Cambridge is in the exam period and most of the university is closed to the public to allow the students some quite and privacy whilst studying… However the Eater Term (the third of the three main academic terms each year) ends on the 13th of June so if you visit after then you should be OK and be able to visit a lot more. The river is always open and a punt trip is certainly the best way to see the colleges. The other must see is the Kings College Chapel… Google it and you’ll see why. There is a tourist office just off the market square in the center of town where they offer both guided tours or can point out the top places to visit. </p>
<p>The week after the 13th is called “May Week” (yes it’s in June… that’s just the way it is 
) and is essentially a week long evening balls and daytime garden parties across the whole university. Although when I say party it’s not the beer keg animal house style stuff you’d think of with a “college party” but the Cambridge version of that (called the May Balls) so you’ll see all the students running around in black/white tie, lots and lots of champaign and fireworks displays just about every night of the week sometimes these balls even have crazy stuff like hot air balloon rides. It’s still a good time to visit though and the balls rotate between the colleges as the week progresses so one might be closed on a certain day (as crews set things up) but the others will still be open. </p>
<p>So if you visit anytime after the 13th you should be fine. </p>
<p>Also yeah you’re much better going up on the train and not a car. Remember gas there is about $10 a gallon and parking in most cities is almost never free (at peak times it could easily cost you $30 just to park in a Cambridge parking garage for a few hours) and most of the center of the city is closed to all traffic except registered taxis and emergency vehicles. In London, with the congestion charge it costs $16 per day just for the privilege of driving your car anywhere in central London (there are automated cameras that read the license plates of the cars as they drive around to make sure people pay for each day they drive). A car can be nice for exploring the countryside, but if you’re just traveling to places along train routes then the train is certainly the best option.</p>
<p>I suspect the London walks thing mentioned above by ebeeeee is
[London</a> Walks - “London?s best guided walks” Time Out](<a href=“http://www.londonwalks.com%5DLondon”>http://www.londonwalks.com)</p>
<p>They only cost about £5 and are well worth it. Really interesting and something for everyone. I believe they also do a day trip to Cambridge.</p>
<p>Note there isn’t a central Cambridge campus as such. The university is a collection of colleges scattered at random throughout the town (though the main old group are in a row along the river. They have beautiful gardens leading down to the river, which are called “The Backs”. Best view is from a boat). They’re from all different eras (800-30 years old) and in many different architectual styles. The dominant central feature is Kings College chapel, which you can’t miss.</p>
<p>picture
<a href=“http://www.ukstudentlife.com/Travel/Tours/England/Cambridge/KingsCollegeChapel3.jpg[/url]”>http://www.ukstudentlife.com/Travel/Tours/England/Cambridge/KingsCollegeChapel3.jpg</a></p>
![http://www.ukstudentlife.com/Travel/Tours/England/Cambridge/KingsCollegeChapel3.jpg[/url]](http://www.ukstudentlife.com/Travel/Tours/England/Cambridge/KingsCollegeChapel3.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
<p>opening times
[King’s</a> College Chapel](<a href=“http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/chapel/]King’s”>King's College Chapel | King's College Cambridge)</p>
<p>Each college is somewhat independent of the others and so they are not all open at the same time. Actually if you have a college age child and you tell the porters (the doormen in their bowler hats) they are a potential applicant there is a good chance they’ll let you in for free (note the hyper-security. Most colleges are guarded by an old man in a bowler hat, armed with an umbrella…). Otherwise you have to pay £2-3 for each college I think.</p>
<p>I don’t have a car and have lived happily in England without one for 7 years. Unless you want to explore the wilds of the countryside you really don’t need one ever. You can’t park in the centre of Cambridge anyway. It’s more hassle than it’s worth.</p>
<p>cupcake…yup that’s the one. Very inexpensive and I was very impressed with the quality. But like I said, in the summer they are very busy. Be at the meeting place at least half an hour early and wait around…</p>
<p>Something I’ve enjoyed with my daughter is going to artists’ and writers’ houses. Emile Zola’s house in Medan is easily accessible by train in the summer (we went in December and ended up walking several miles as the stop near the house was not served in the winter, but it was still worth it) and that would be a pleasant half day outside the city. Monet’s house at Giverny is also nice to visit - the garden is beautiful in the early summer. It’s a bit further out of the city, probably 45 miles or so, but here’s some info: [Paris</a> Giverny How to go to giverny from paris](<a href=“http://giverny.org/transpor/]Paris”>Paris Giverny How to get to giverny from paris)
Right in the city, we loved the Jewish Museum of Art and History in the Marais district.</p>
<p>We did a london walks walk. It was very good. They also have a similar one in Paris. We did one to Monmartre and the Sacr</p>
<p>go to [Welcome</a> to Flickr - Photo Sharing](<a href=“http://www.■■■■■■■■■■%5DWelcome”>http://www.■■■■■■■■■■)
search Gaynes
go to the set named 2006 Gaynes Paris 7th arrondisement
that’s where Rue Cler market is and the eiffel tower, etc.
we stayed there with our daughter and her friend.
there are also our pix of Paris and Spain with college kids on flickr–not just the 7th arrondisement.
have a great time like we did.</p>
<p>thanks for the pictures. I am ready! Does anyone know if I need to book the eurostar(paris to london) ahead of time?</p>
<p>Just stumbled across this thread - and we are planning the same basic trip. For my daughter’s 16th birthday we will be taking a trip - just my wife, D and I, - to London and Paris. Thanks to all for the tips above - and keep them coming!!!</p>
<p>In planning our trip, we have found the top 10 guides along with the Zagat restaurant guides extremely helpful. Also, if you search for three perfect days, the United Airlines magazine has done several features on both cities with lots of good ideas.</p>
<p>A few things we are doing that I don’t see mentioned above:</p>
<p>London: British Library, St. Pauls, Natural History Museum, V+A Gallery</p>
<p>Paris: Berthillion Ice cream, Giverny, Boat trip on Seine</p>
<p>I’ll send you a PM as well</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You don’t need to, in that if you just turn up probably there will be tickets available sometime that day. But train tickets are commonly cheaper in advance, and this would allow you to choose your train time. In peak season you might have to wait a while to get a seat, and it will probably be more expensive. I personally would advise booking. I’ve been on Eurostar lots of times (my sister lives in France) and I have always booked at least a week in advance.</p>
<p>Is there time to get tickets in the mail? We leave in less than 2 weeks? The website says they don’t have e tickets.</p>
<p>I bought Eurostar tickets online via their website - you simply pick them up before the journey at the station (e.g. just before you get on the train). Think of it as a “will call”</p>
<p>okay thanks</p>