I had looked at both hotels and flats, and I was considering whether a flat was the way to go. Sounds like that’s an overwhelming yes! London seems to be the winner. We probably will choose a second location. My husband doesn’t want to go to France but he may be outvoted. Otherwise, we’ll consider Belgium. He’d love Ireland, but I’m not doing that trip in January!
Thanks for all of the suggestions. Keep 'em coming! And yeah, we’ll probably wait until another time for Hamilton, since it’s in Chicago as well. sigh
We were in Paris on New Year (2000) and we had a hard time finding a place to eat. We went to a Chinese restaurant and it was really good.
If you have never been to Paris, I would go. It is beautiful, especially at night.
The weather in Ireland isn’t that bad during the winter. Likely to be warmer than London. Because of its placement in the Atlantic with the gulf stream and the North Atlantic Drift, the weather in lreland is more temperate than one would think, avoiding highs and lows. You’ll even see a few palm trees in the southwestern portion!
If you are not going to do private tour, I would do an on/off tour bus tour the first day. You could get a good sense of a city and figure out where you want to go back to.
I kinda think 14 days is long for a first trip. At some point, you may be driving (the daily things) from a “have to” POV. Know how a lot of us say not to do to many schools on a college road trip? Different experiences can turn to mush in our memories. So consider the best trip length for you family. And not assuming this is the only trip ever.
Doschicos, hmm, will look closer at the ticket thing.
I think one benefit to renting an apartment is the feeling of setting up “home” on a trip. It helps get the “slow travel” vibe going - easier to kick back and relax, settle in vs a hotel stay. I like longer vacations personally - less pressure to squeeze too much into one day, more relaxation, feeling like you get to know the neighborhood a little beyond the tourist sites and activities. To me, one week is not much time to relax when you factor in the long travel times on each side of the trip. I think 10-14 days is the sweet spot where it is truly a break from work stress and an escape from the every day routine.
I spent a Christmas holiday in London and the Cotswolds and things were closed for several days-so do check that before you go. It was basically Bank Holiday, Xmas Eve, Xmas Day, Boxing Day, Bank Holiday…I would make sure that anything you want to do/see will be open while you are there. Other than things being closed, it was lovely-not too cold, we walked a ton, and we stayed in a beautiful hotel and ate our way through the city.
Oh, it is so nice to have your own kitchen. We bring a pound or two of Peet’s Italian Roast and a couple of mini drip cones [forgot the filters one year = dumb!]. and there’s always been a bakery nearby. Sometimes you can be so tired at the end of a long day that you just want to grab something at the Waitrose or Sainsbury’s deli section rather than heading out to dinner. We’ve done this four or five times in London over the years, and even more up in the Lake District, but you said you weren’t hikers and even I probably wouldn’t plan a December trip there [anyone else remember “Withnail and I”?], although … I’ll have to think about that.
Do a week in Europe then a week in Iceland. It is really in expensive to fly to or from Iceland when visiting Europe. It We are planning to go this May and rented a great AIRBNB right centrally located with luxurious accommodations. There is more natural beauty then the million tourist sites in Europe and it might be relaxing to end your vacation with that.
The British Museum is closed on 12/24-26 and 1/1 this year, as an example. I would imagine that is true for most museums. However, there are special things to do and see during that time of year - the markets, special Christmas shows and pantomimes, light displays, etc.
I suggest London and Paris. Train from one to the other is super easy. Either fly into/out of different cities, or take the train back and fly out of the same city.
My other suggestion would be something like 4 days Rome, 2 days day trips from Rome, and 4 days in Venice or Florence.
So, I guess my suggestions line up with oldfort’s ideas… lol
If anybody is considering Rome, we are still raving about our 2015 rental at Plaza Navona - terrific location ($150 euro/night, room for up to 5 people). PM me if you want a link.
There were a number of sites outside of London that we really enjoyed: Stonehenge, Avebury (another Neolothic stone circle), Salisbury Cathedral (tours that go to the tower–also,you can see a one of four surviving copies of the Magna Carta), Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare’s birthplace). We also did a went to the Cotswolds. In London, we went to The River Cafe, a great Italian restaurant that earned a Michelin star–not sure that it still has the Michelin star.
We did three days in London, four outside of London, and then took a flight to Paris where we stayed for four days. We didnt get to see any theater in London–I would definitely try and see a show while you are there.
London is wonderful–see some plays! I’m sure you can find something other than Hamilton that is easier to get tickets to. It’s just fun to see a show there-- much less of a fuss than Broadway and really fun. London has so much history, some of which seems really nerdy in a good way! I am sure you can find enough to do each day but definitely plan ahead because of the holiday closures. Some things will be closed but there will be other things that are special for Christmas. An easy two week trip would be London and Paris. It is really fun to take the train there – or do London and Dublin. Ireland is really not horribly cold in the winter compared to New England, for example, and you’re not hiking or anything outdoorsy anyhow. Theater in Dublin is also very good. Maybe even a few day trips from each. How about Oxford or Bath or Stonehenge? Scotland is also pretty cool–lots of castles.
I’m waiting to board a plane out of Germany where we enjoyed a wonderful Christmas time vacation.
We visited Berlin & Munich. Berlin stood out as an exceptional value: loads & loads of interesting cultural, political, culinary & shopping things to do in a highly compact footprint, plus hotels cost half of what Munich hotels cost. And Berlin wasn’t nearly as cold as Munich. The Christmas Market at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial is open till New Years, and there’s the added plus of giving terrorists “the finger”. The after-Christmas clearance sale at KaDeWe, itself, is worth the trip.
We’re going to make Berlin a regular Chrismas time vacation tradition.
If you’re skiers, consider a ski trip in Europe. It’s much cheaper than skiing in the States-- especially Austria. The lift tickets cost half what American ski resorts charge, and you can rent an apartment for as little 100 EUR/night (you rent it for a week: Saturday to Saturday). We used to ski in the Tirol region every Christmas time. For Tirol skiing, fly in/out Munich.
