Assistance with trip to Europe

[Peter Pan Fan]

Let me start by apologizing if this is an improper post for this particular board

We are planning on traveling to Europe next September/October for our 5th wedding anniversary. Neither myself nor my husband has ever been and I am a bit nervous! I have some general questions and thought who better to ask than the UK DISers.

We would like to visit England, France, Switzerland and Germany and will be traveling for a total of 3 weeks. In England, we will fly into London and I would like to see all the "touristy" things such as the Tower of London, the Palace, etc. Would 4 or 5 nights be enough time to see most of the popular places in London? Any recommendations for hotels, restaurants. We would like to spend around $100-$125 American dollars per night - is this too little for a decent place (clean, comfortable room)?

Is the best idea to travel from London to Paris via the train beneath the English Channel?

In France we want to see Paris, but my husband is very interested in WWII and so we would like to go to Normandy for a few days as well. Of course we just HAVE to see Disneyland Paris. Is one day sufficient or should we plan 2? I think I would be most interested in Disneyland Park rather than the new studios, so we would spend 1 or 2 days at Disneyland. We would want to stay in Paris while touring the city, but would it be smarter to move to a hotel closer to Disneyland Paris while we are visiting there? Or should we just take the train to and from Disneyland back to our Paris Hotel?

Sorry for all of the questions, but we truly have NO idea how to plan this! We have invested in some guide books, but it's always nice to get more opinions.

Any suggestions at all on our trip, places to stay, Germany or Switzerland (we haven't thought much about those countries yet) are greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,
Susan

 

[Sian]

Wow! You should have a brilliant time.
I would think in a 3 week trip 4-5 days in London would be plenty. It would be a shame not to see some other parts of England while you were here. HOtels in London are expensive, I should look out for one of the chains like Holiday Inn, Travelodge etc to keep costs down.
One day should be enough for Disneyland Paris if you are not keen to visit the Studios as well. Paris hotels are not too badly priced and if you pick one near the RER line to Disneyland you wouldn't need to move although you will be fighting rush hour commuters if you want to get to the park for opening.
Normandy is very nice, especially along the coast. Mont St Michel is worth a visit as is the Bayeux Tapestry. The WW2 cemetaries are very moving. Harfleur is a nice town.
Switzerland is absolutely beautiful and very expensive. It is all lovely from the lakes to the mountains. Make sure to buy the rail passes that are only available to foreign tourists as the trains are great and the passes include several of the cable cars. My favourite part of Germany is the south, Bavaria. Try to see Neuschwanstein Castle for a real Cinderella castle.
I hope you enjoy your planning. Autumn (fall) is a very nice time to be in Europe - places are beautiful and quiet but it can be cold. I have camped in Austria in September and it was several degrees below freezing!

I'm sure others will be along with their advice soon.

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

The Travel Inn budget hotel chain has a nice hotel called the London County Hall Travel Inn. Approximate price is £75 per night (for the room, not per person). It's in a great location, very near The Houses of Parliament, the West End, the London Eye, the South Bank, etc. It is within a few minutes walk of Waterloo train station (for Eurostar trains to Paris, including direct service to Disneyland Paris) and underground stations at Westminster and Waterloo. More Travel Inn details at www.travelinn.co.uk

You could probably see all the main attractions at the Disneyland in a day, although two days would give you the opportunity to savour all the wonderful atmosphere and detail in this park. I'm sure that as a Californian you'll enjoy the comparision with the original Disneyland. A good unofficial guide to DLP is at www.dlp-guidebook.de/index_e.htm

Regards

Rob

 

[Dave Cousins]

Susan,

If you are visiting Switzerland I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend visiting the Bernese Oberland region. It is absolutly spectacular. My family have been fortunate to visit this area about 12 times, both in the summer and winter. We will be going again for 2 and half weeks on the 18 December. We stay in Interlaken, which is a lovely town situated inbetween two lakes. From there you can take the train to either Wengen, Murren, Grindelwald. You can also visit the Jungfrau and the Schilthorn (which you may recognise from the James Bond film "On her majesty's secret service). The Jungfrau has the highest railway in Europe, which reaches a height of 11,333ft.

I can't praise this area enough and I would recommend it to anyone.

Click Here to go to the Interlaken Tourism website. Once the page loads click on the summer link on the left hand side to get a list of activities. From there you can then go to attraction specific websites, for example the Jungfrau. Most of the websites will have an english language option.

Of course this is just my opinion - others may have a different view. Let us know what you decide for your final itinary.

Dave

 

[Peter Pan Fan]

Thanks so much for the responses thus far! I love the many ideas from you all. It is making me quite excited for our trip. Please keep the responses coming....thanks again.

Susan

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

Another vote for Interlaken. Wonderful part of the world, with enough 'lakes and mountains' views to last a lifetime.

Regards

Rob