Things to see in Paris and London
- Thread starter Chamale
- Start date
For London:
Natural History Museum + Science Museum combo is a must. Madame Tussauds + Planetarium as well. London Dungeon is great if you like that kind of stuff. Go to the Camden Town flea market to find the biggest selection of crazy t-shirts ever. The British Museum is great if you're interested in archaeology. The London Eye is a great ride. Also, depending if you have an IMAX cinema near your place or not, catching an IMAX movie in the Waterloo screen is a great experience. Also, you should hit Covent Garden for a coffee/beer then take a walk ---> Trafalgar Square ----> Leicester Square ----> Picadilly Circus ----> Regent Str. ---> Oxford Str, if you're interested in some shopping.
There's more, I'll edit as it comes to me.
Natural History Museum + Science Museum combo is a must. Madame Tussauds + Planetarium as well. London Dungeon is great if you like that kind of stuff. Go to the Camden Town flea market to find the biggest selection of crazy t-shirts ever. The British Museum is great if you're interested in archaeology. The London Eye is a great ride. Also, depending if you have an IMAX cinema near your place or not, catching an IMAX movie in the Waterloo screen is a great experience. Also, you should hit Covent Garden for a coffee/beer then take a walk ---> Trafalgar Square ----> Leicester Square ----> Picadilly Circus ----> Regent Str. ---> Oxford Str, if you're interested in some shopping.
There's more, I'll edit as it comes to me.
London has some awesome museums, most of which are all free. I highly recommend the British Museum and the Science Museum, and the Museum of Natural History is also definitely worth a visit.
Being geeky, you'll probably enjoy a visit to the Trocadero centre.
If you have money, the London Eye and a cruise along the Thames are really lovely and give you some wonderful views of the city.
Then of course there's all the famous locations which are all free to just go look at, it's not that hard to get to most of them.
If you have lots and lots of money, you should go see a show in the West End.
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For Paris, I imagine you know what most tourist things are there (Eiffel Tower, the Louvre etc) so instead I'll just give you hints for visiting
If you want to avoid the queues at the Eiffel tower, try and go pretty late at night. They'll still be long, but much better than they are during the day and the view at night is fantastic.
There's more than one entrance to the Louvre, instead of waiting at the Pyramid like everybody does, you can enter through a shopping centre to the west, afraid I can't really remember exact directions but I don't remember it being particularly difficult to find. Also if you're under 26 and from Europe, you get free entry - there's a special queue and you just need to show your passport.
If you want to try snails, there's a really good little cafe just opposite the Moulin Rouge and it's relatively cheap, then from there if you follow signs you can walk up to Montmartre and the Sacre-Cour which gives you amazing views of the city and the Montmartre area is really, really pretty (there's also an amazing ice-cream shop there - full of choice)
The Champs-Elysees is lovely and if you start at the Arc de Triomphe you can walk all the way down the Place de la Concorde.
Also you're in luck to be visiting while the Paris Plage is on, there's usually a bunch of activities for that so I recommend googling it and see what interests you.
If you have time, then a day-trip to Parc Asterix is definitely worthwhile, it has some amazing rides and is pretty good value.
Being geeky, you'll probably enjoy a visit to the Trocadero centre.
If you have money, the London Eye and a cruise along the Thames are really lovely and give you some wonderful views of the city.
Then of course there's all the famous locations which are all free to just go look at, it's not that hard to get to most of them.
If you have lots and lots of money, you should go see a show in the West End.
---
For Paris, I imagine you know what most tourist things are there (Eiffel Tower, the Louvre etc) so instead I'll just give you hints for visiting
If you want to avoid the queues at the Eiffel tower, try and go pretty late at night. They'll still be long, but much better than they are during the day and the view at night is fantastic.
There's more than one entrance to the Louvre, instead of waiting at the Pyramid like everybody does, you can enter through a shopping centre to the west, afraid I can't really remember exact directions but I don't remember it being particularly difficult to find. Also if you're under 26 and from Europe, you get free entry - there's a special queue and you just need to show your passport.
If you want to try snails, there's a really good little cafe just opposite the Moulin Rouge and it's relatively cheap, then from there if you follow signs you can walk up to Montmartre and the Sacre-Cour which gives you amazing views of the city and the Montmartre area is really, really pretty (there's also an amazing ice-cream shop there - full of choice)
The Champs-Elysees is lovely and if you start at the Arc de Triomphe you can walk all the way down the Place de la Concorde.
Also you're in luck to be visiting while the Paris Plage is on, there's usually a bunch of activities for that so I recommend googling it and see what interests you.
If you have time, then a day-trip to Parc Asterix is definitely worthwhile, it has some amazing rides and is pretty good value.
For London, try the British Museum, Natural History Museum, and Science Museum. The Imperial War Museum is also quite good. If you're feeling adventurous, take the rail to Portsmouth and visit the Naval Museum and Submarine Museum.
For Paris, go to the Louvre, the Catacombs, and Les Invalides. Give some serious thought to Notre Dame, and if you're feeling adventurous the Musée de l'Air et l'Espace in Le Bourget.
For Paris, go to the Louvre, the Catacombs, and Les Invalides. Give some serious thought to Notre Dame, and if you're feeling adventurous the Musée de l'Air et l'Espace in Le Bourget.
I second these, I absolutely love the museums in London. Also, the British museum is full of stuff we've nicked from other countries, so that's a win right there.SpiralDots said:
If you're into art at all, the Tate and the Tate modern (in London) are pretty good. I'm not a huge art fan myself, but they're probably worth a look if you like that sort of thing.
Just got back from a month in London and Paris, actually! (not my first time in either place)
London:
-Sometimes it's nice to just go have a look around a museum when you're in a bustling city. Most of the large museums in London are free, which is great. Museum of Science is pretty cool and I also recommend the national gallery (in Trafalgar square near the houses of Parliament which i'm assuming you'll be seeing too. that whole area is pretty cool to just walk around)
-If you're a Harry Potter geek and you have some extra time, may as well stop off at King's Cross and get a pic taken by the disappearing trolley. It's a pretty central station too so chances are you'll be passing through it.
-Camden town is always fun to just explore, so much random crap there.
-Personally, don't recommend Madam Tussaurds. we had to wait for hours to get in and it wasn't exactly mind-blowing.
-If you're visiting Buckingham palace and it's a nice day, DEFINITELY walk through the surrounding parks to get there. For an inner-city park, they are really quite beautiful.
-The tower of london is entertaining if you get a good tour guide. They usually highlight all the gruesome ways people have died in each room which is pretty hilarious.
-If you're looking for some place to not do anything in particular, Covent gardens is fun. There are loads of good street performers with a highlight show inside, and shopping stalls.
Paris: (excuse the spelling!)
-Definitely go to the top of the eiffel tower. it's well worth the wait in my opinion. If you can, see it at night. It's covered in flashbulbs and every hour they light up and it shimmers.
-Walking from l'arc d'triomphe, down the champs Elysées, to the Place de concorde is one of my favorite things to do in Paris.
-Visit the Cathedral of Notre Dame
-Eat in the Latin Quarter (don't be lured in by the first restaurant check out all of the menus first) Then, walk around the city in the area surrounding the latin quarter after your evening meal. It's really cool at night.
-Louvre is really cool but expensive, Musee d'orsay is pretty cool, and the George Pompadou (?) center is cool too. It really depends on if you're into art. I would choose the Louvre though if I had to.
-Sacre Coeur is pretty cool, not as far away as they make it to be if you take the metro. Lots of artists around it willing to do portraits and making cool art. Once again, depends on if you're into that sort of thing.
-a river boat journey on the Seine is pretty fun, plus if you're going to be there all week you can get a multi-day pass for the Batobus. It does stops all down the seine and you can hop on and off as you please
These are just based on my experiences, obviously, but I hope they helped anyway. Have fun!
London:
-Sometimes it's nice to just go have a look around a museum when you're in a bustling city. Most of the large museums in London are free, which is great. Museum of Science is pretty cool and I also recommend the national gallery (in Trafalgar square near the houses of Parliament which i'm assuming you'll be seeing too. that whole area is pretty cool to just walk around)
-If you're a Harry Potter geek and you have some extra time, may as well stop off at King's Cross and get a pic taken by the disappearing trolley. It's a pretty central station too so chances are you'll be passing through it.
-Camden town is always fun to just explore, so much random crap there.
-Personally, don't recommend Madam Tussaurds. we had to wait for hours to get in and it wasn't exactly mind-blowing.
-If you're visiting Buckingham palace and it's a nice day, DEFINITELY walk through the surrounding parks to get there. For an inner-city park, they are really quite beautiful.
-The tower of london is entertaining if you get a good tour guide. They usually highlight all the gruesome ways people have died in each room which is pretty hilarious.
-If you're looking for some place to not do anything in particular, Covent gardens is fun. There are loads of good street performers with a highlight show inside, and shopping stalls.
Paris: (excuse the spelling!)
-Definitely go to the top of the eiffel tower. it's well worth the wait in my opinion. If you can, see it at night. It's covered in flashbulbs and every hour they light up and it shimmers.
-Walking from l'arc d'triomphe, down the champs Elysées, to the Place de concorde is one of my favorite things to do in Paris.
-Visit the Cathedral of Notre Dame
-Eat in the Latin Quarter (don't be lured in by the first restaurant check out all of the menus first) Then, walk around the city in the area surrounding the latin quarter after your evening meal. It's really cool at night.
-Louvre is really cool but expensive, Musee d'orsay is pretty cool, and the George Pompadou (?) center is cool too. It really depends on if you're into art. I would choose the Louvre though if I had to.
-Sacre Coeur is pretty cool, not as far away as they make it to be if you take the metro. Lots of artists around it willing to do portraits and making cool art. Once again, depends on if you're into that sort of thing.
-a river boat journey on the Seine is pretty fun, plus if you're going to be there all week you can get a multi-day pass for the Batobus. It does stops all down the seine and you can hop on and off as you please
These are just based on my experiences, obviously, but I hope they helped anyway. Have fun!
When you're in Paris though, and especially at Montmartre and Sacre-Coeur or the Eiffel Tower, watch out for pick pockets, and don't talk to the dudes who randomly come up to you. Not a really good idea haha.
The London Eye and possibly taking a boat on the Thames, The London Dungeons, Camden Town, The galleries (Some of which you can get into for free), The many different museums, Hamleys Toy Shop (Just an interesting and fun place to visit), The Palace, Covent Gardens always has something going on and Thorpe Park (The best amusement park I've been to) is located near London too.