Visiting Paris, London & Amsterdam Advise Needed

[Misplaced]

We are planning a 10-14 days adventure to Paris, London & Amsterdam in May so need advise from some of you travel experts and expatriats who lived in those places.

I'm hoping for some ideas of where to stay (hotels), things to do that shouldn't be missed and things to avoid (scam)...etc.. For sure, we want to avoid the bar scene. We would rather see picturest type places and enjoy eating local foods. LOVE STREET FOOD!

Our hotel budget is around $200.00 or less per night. If we can get hotels near central location of all tourist attractions would even be better. We just do not enjoy using the taxi service, but rather utilize the mass transit systems to get us to all attractions.

If these questions are vague it's because I'm not sure what to ask. Wife and I are not seasoned traveler, but we are slowly becoming more and more ready to see different places around the world. These 3 places is where we want to start our yearly world tour.

Any usable advise given is much appreciated. BTW, "yes" I'm also using sites like Tripadvisor to help me. I was hoping for insider information? :-)

[WilliaminBKK]

Take a look coach tours, it may be of interest - they are not that expensive, makes it super easy to see lots in a short period. You can book your Bangkok to London and in this case the tour starts and ends in London.

In terms of hotels in London & Paris I usually stay at the Citadines in both city's, close to your budget and self catering.

In terms of your airfare there is a pinned thread above to find decent deals, if you decide to fly into London and out of Paris choose multi city on most search engines.

Sights and things to do, Lonely Planet offers some really sound advice.

http://www.cosmostoursandcruises.co.uk/holiday/a-taste-of-europe

http://www.leger.co.uk/Destinations/France/Tours

[yermanee]

Good advice from William.

I only would like to add that 2 weeks is a bit short for visiting 3 famous cities in one go.

So my advice would be to limit yourselves to the focal points of each city and choose wisely according to your own preference.

Amsterdam is a bit smaller than Paris and London and you can get a fairly good idea of what the town has to offer in a couple of days.

For hotels stick to one of the hotel chains, that way you'll get a relatively common standard of rooms and comfort. (Mercure - Ibis and others)

Also to consider using is rail transport since there are good connections from each of the countries you're visiting including high speed trains. For example Paris (gare du Nord) to Amsterdam central station (abt 500 Km) with Thalys in 3 and a half hours for 49 Euros.

Good Luck

Yermanee

Edited December 18, 2012 by yermanee

[FritsSikkink]

Here some info on Amsterdam

http://www.iamsterdam.com/

[pluto_manibo]

Doubletree in Amsterdam by the Central Station...and Hotel Mercure in Paris next to La sorbonne....both great locations, ok prices and good rooms. You might want to take the Thalys speed train from Amsterdam to Paris...vip service has wifi/drinks and food.

[I Like Thai]

When going to Amsterdam. don't get a Taxi. There is a train service under the airport that will take you to Amsterdam Central for less than 10 Euro return. I was there 2 weeks ago and stayed at the IBIS next to the train station. Very centrally located with lots of trams etc and within walking distance of most attractions.

[RabC]

In the UK I can recommend Premier Inns as a good mod priced hotel, they are nothing special but clean and normally well situated. If you book early enough there are good bargains to be found and most will have a pub that serves food attached.

www.premierinn.com

Hope this may help, have a good trip

[PattayaPhom]

Dont forget UK requires Visa, France and Holland Schengen Visa.....not sure what nationalities you are

[tw25rw]

There are decent hotels in all the places that are well within budget. I wouldn't dream of paying $200USD a night, even in London.

[Misplaced]

There are decent hotels in all the places that are well within budget. I wouldn't dream of paying $200USD a night, even in London.

I'm assuming you mean $200.00 is over budget? Any reccomendation in particular that you feel it's clean and in safe neighborhood?

To everyone - Thank you very much for all your advice. It has been very helpful.

[SimonD]

West and SW London is a tourist paradise. Hammersmith, Chiswick, Wimbledon, Putney, Kingston and Richmond are all safe(ish) places to stay and have good public transport links to central London, as well as great pubs and restaurants. Get yourself an Oystercard, pre-load it with money and use the buses, trains and tube to get around. Travelodge have hotels all over and their rooms start at about £21 (US$30).

You will be hard-pressed to see much in the few days you have allowed for each city. You could spend the whole two weeks in just one of them and barely scratch the surface. What are your interests in sightseeing? A 24 hour ticket for one of the London open top bus tours will set you back about £25 per person and the attractions along the way can be quite expensive (Tower of London, London Eye etc). There are some world class museums (Natural History, Science museum, Imperial war museum etc) and a remarkable collection of living fossils (House of Lords).

Not quite sure what you mean by 'avoid the bar scene' - London ain't Bangkok. The only 'street food' you will find will be overpriced and greasy hotdogs and burgers sold from vans or trailers and best avoided . For 'local food', try chicken tikka massala. It's as 'British' as fish and chips.As for scams, just be wary if someone tries to sell you Westminster Bridge. It was sold again last week to an American...

Edited December 18, 2012 by SimonD

[theoldgit]

We are planning a similar trip next year, but are going for a month.

The UK has a pretty high APD, Airport Passenger Duty, so instead of flying into London and doing a side trip to Paris/Amersterdam, we will be flying in and out of Paris or Amsterdam and doing a side trip to London, it will save enough to pay for a hotel for a couple of nights.

I agree with the others that Accor and other chains offer some good deals as do Holiday Inn, I'm already on the look out for some of the early booking offers. There is also Travelodge and Premier, basic hotels but give a clean room for the night, I paid 450 Baht a night for Travelodge last year on the outskirts of London, it was only 25 mins by train into the centre of London.

[RabC]

West and SW London is a tourist paradise. Hammersmith, Chiswick, Wimbledon, Putney, Kingston and Richmond are all safe(ish) places to stay and have good public transport links to central London, as well as great pubs and restaurants. Get yourself an Oystercard, pre-load it with money and use the buses, trains and tube to get around. Travelodge have hotels all over and their rooms start at about £21 (US$30).

You will be hard-pressed to see much in the few days you have allowed for each city. You could spend the whole two weeks in just one of them and barely scratch the surface. What are your interests in sightseeing? A 24 hour ticket for one of the London open top bus tours will set you back about £25 per person and the attractions along the way can be quite expensive (Tower of London, London Eye etc). There are some world class museums (Natural History, Science museum, Imperial war museum etc) and a remarkable collection of living fossils (House of Lords).

Not quite sure what you mean by 'avoid the bar scene' - London ain't Bangkok. The only 'street food' you will find will be overpriced and greasy hotdogs and burgers sold from vans or trailers and best avoided . For 'local food', try chicken tikka massala. It's as 'British' as fish and chips.As for scams, just be wary if someone tries to sell you Westminster Bridge. It was sold again last week to an American...

Simon

I take your issue about street food in London, if they get to places like Brick Lane, Borough Market, Soho and many other West London street markets they can get excellent food.

[RabC]

We are planning a similar trip next year, but are going for a month.

The UK has a pretty high APD, Airport Passenger Duty, so instead of flying into London and doing a side trip to Paris/Amersterdam, we will be flying in and out of Paris or Amsterdam and doing a side trip to London, it will save enough to pay for a hotel for a couple of nights.

I agree with the others that Accor and other chains offer some good deals as do Holiday Inn, I'm already on the look out for some of the early booking offers. There is also Travelodge and Premier, basic hotels but give a clean room for the night, I paid 450 Baht a night for Travelodge last year on the outskirts of London, it was only 25 mins by train into the centre of London.

The Old County Hall right on the Thames by The London Eye is actually a Premier Inn but I think you have to get in very early with bookings. Superb location.

[petertucker48]

This may be useful:

http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/europe/

Have a good time.

[craigt3365]

Good advice from William.

I only would like to add that 2 weeks is a bit short for visiting 3 famous cities in one go.

So my advice would be to limit yourselves to the focal points of each city and choose wisely according to your own preference.

Amsterdam is a bit smaller than Paris and London and you can get a fairly good idea of what the town has to offer in a couple of days.

For hotels stick to one of the hotel chains, that way you'll get a relatively common standard of rooms and comfort. (Mercure - Ibis and others)

Also to consider using is rail transport since there are good connections from each of the countries you're visiting including high speed trains. For example Paris (gare du Nord) to Amsterdam central station (abt 500 Km) with Thalys in 3 and a half hours for 49 Euros.

Good Luck

Yermanee

Agreed regarding the length of your trip. You're trying to accomplish a lot, in a very short amount of time. We spent 10 days in Paris and still missed several key attractions and day trips around the city. We were busy every day...and beat.

You're going to lose a day traveling between each of these cities. IMHO, pick 2 of them and spend some time enjoying them. A new trend is catching on called slow travel. You can always go back and visit the city you missed on your next trip. But I find I hate to go back and repeat somewhere I've already visited when there are so many great places to visit.

Again, just my humble opinion.

[pattayadingo]

Scheepvaart museum Amsterdam. A maritime museum. It is absoulutely brilliant. The size of some of the models of those old ships is amazing. Some are several metres in length. You can go right down into the bowels of one ship. There is a show too. A must see.

Artis Royal Zoo in Amsterdam is also good.

Not forgetting a candelit dinner on one of the many canal boats of an evening.

The bulb fields ( maybe requires a coach trip ) are a fantastic sight if you go at the right time of the year.

Central staion and the thousands of bicycles parked there is a sight in itself.

The red light district - if you are into that sort of thing - is also a popular attraction of an evening.

Yes, I like Holland

edit typo.

Edited December 19, 2012 by pattayadingo

[smokie36]

I like Apex hotels...they have one in London.

Borough Market is great Thursday through Saturday....don't miss the Monmouth coffee shop just opposite the Market Trader pub.

[Misplaced]

Thank you all. After reading all your terrific advice I will discussed with my wife to see what she thinks about visiting 2 places and move slower to enjoy all the sites. This is going to be our first time in Europe so not sure what to expect, but feel very fortunate that we will be able to enjoy this oppotunity. Again, Thank you for all your advice. I'm actually going to print this and read it over again during this long holiday week :-)

Craigt3365 - We have thought about flying into Paris and take the Euro-rail into London & Amsterdam as side trip. I will probably end up doing just that. Terrific timing! Any more advice please keep it coming.

[RabC]

If you are cutting it to two locations then if visas are required maybe Paris and Amsterdam together as only the 1 schengen visa would be required. For flights I would say London or Amsterdam probably have more direct links than Paris but am willing to be corrected.

Main thing is have a great time and don't raise your hopes about the weather

[craigt3365]

I'm no expert with regards to European travel. Have been several times, but never lived there. In my experiences, the low cost airlines are a pain in the A**. Fees for everything. And as you know, long waits, delays, security, etc. So, I like your idea of train travel. It's a great experience in Europe.

As for scams, there are a few I saw firsthand in Paris. The biggie is pickpockets. We saw that a few times, had it tried on me twice and my wife had her purse stolen in Portugal. Here's a good article describing them. Most are just petty problems. Insurance covered wifey's purse, and I ALWAYS use a money belt. The gold ring scam was tried on us in Paris. Since I knew about it, we just played along with her until she gave up.

http://www.ricksteve...graffiti11.html

Don't forget to go to the link at the top section. It lists many also.

edit: here's another article, and a pretty good website:

http://www.eurocheapo.com/blog/paris-smart-tourists-know-these-3-scams.html

[phuketrichard]

May is a good choice as its pre summer an not cold

Pairs;

best of luck at under $200; My daughter and i went thru there in 2008 and we were lucky to find a room for about $175/night. Great location thou and walking distance to everywhere. When we put the suitcases on the floor we had to walk on the beds to get around the room :-)

I hadn't been to paris in over 15 years and i and my daughter ( she was 14) loved it for 5 days, could easily have spent another 2-3

Sundays are market days when the streets are turned into fresh markets,

Went to the louvre and museums and of course the Eiffel tower and did a cruise down the Sienne. We got in many for free cause a few days a month they are free and we were lucky. The food was very costly and a simple lunch would set me back $40-50

all in all it cost me about $300/day!!!

I also would cut it to two countries/cities, Amsterdam is a short train ride from Paris and worth a visit ( i lived in Amsterdam back in the 90's for a summer)

Plenty to see an do in Amsterdam and its a great walking city.

Edited December 22, 2012 by phuketrichard

[yoshiwara]

London hotel: try IBIS London City Hotel: http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-5011-ibis-london-city/index.shtml

or if you can stretch the budget, Zetters http://www.thezetter.com/

Another option is airbnb.com

Outside of term time try LSE accommodation for budget costs: http://www.lsevacations.co.uk/

Street Food: 2 must-dos are Borough Market http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/ (Thurs/Fri/Sat) and Brick Lane which has an excellent selection of foods on Saturday and Sunday including the Boiler House Food Hall http://www.boilerhouse-foodhall.co.uk/

Not so far away is Spitalfields Market with a selection of open air food http://www.spitalfields.co.uk/?utm_source=vs&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=vs

If you are staying at Zetters there are food stalls in nearby Leather Lane Monday to Friday lunchtimes.

Right next to Tower Bridge on the south side is Shad Thames (converted warehouses) with some nice cafes/restaurants facing the Thames.

Cheapest restaurants are in Chinatown.