Help from my UK friends

[herodrx1]

My family and I are in the begining stages of planning a trip to England. I think London for the most part. I was doing some internet searches and was getting overwhelmed.
I thought I would go to the "source" that I have. I know that I've always enjoyed the DISboard friendships I have on here. Plus I know you guys are true travelers and are of a like mind to mine.
Does anyone have any advice or suggestions on a UK trip?? Anything would be helpful. Such as, where to stay, great places to eat, must do's, must NOT do's, etc....
I said London earlier but would love to consider other destinations.
Our group is only me, DH, DS (13), & DD (10)

Thanks in advance for everything!!

 

[SammieG]

Hi Welcome to the Uk boards

Well i think it depends what else you want to do...?

Would you like to take a road trip? or would you like to use London as your base and travel out from there?

What kind of budget do you have?

There are some amazing restaurants in london -but they are usually expensive!

If you wanted to travel a bit then Salisbury, Stonehenge, Bath area would all be good to see... and possible to do that from London. Of course Windsor is a beautiful must see place with Windsor Castle dominating the city... and only 20 mins from London.

Travelling further north, Startford upon Avon (Shakespeares birth place) is beautiful as is the viking town of York and durham if you wanted to go further still! If you go to Durham youre not that far from Scotland so you might want to travel to Edinburgh which is spectacular.

There are so many beautiful places in the UK - its difficult to say where you should go!

Whilst in London you could of course (seeing as youre disney nuts) take the Eurostar straight to Disneyland paris and spend a night there....

Tell us the kind of trip youre looking for.... coastal, historic, cultural and I am sure we can help further

 

[herodrx1]

Yep, that's why I'm overwhelmed! I'd say my budget is "budget". I can afford to do most anything but it would kill my hubbie to spend big bucks on anything. What can I say....he is a tightwad.
As for what kind of trip, since I have kids I think historical would be best. That way I keep their interest up.
I like the idea of going to Disney. That actually hadn't crossed my mind. DUH!
Maybe I'll stay in London 3-4 days then move over to Paris for 3-4 days. Does that do justice to each of the cities?

I would love for someone to give me a "real" London restaurant. Not a tourist trap. I like for my kids to get off the beaten path and see what a typical person does. It doesn't have to be fancy. A Mom&Pop joint would be great.

 

[Dimplenose]

I don't think you could do everything in either city in 3-4 days but you could see a lot and it's always nice to have something left for another trip.

One restaurant that I like in London is Porters in Covent Garden, it probably is a bit touristy but traditional at the same time.
http://www.porters.uk.com/

One I liked in Paris is Chartier
http://www.restaurant-chartier.com/www/visit/filsdesans.php

 

[Danauk]

If you are in London and want something Educational and Historical for your kids to look at all the London museums are free to get in. Within the past 6 months I have taken classes of children to the Science museum, Natural History museum and the British museum. Also if you would like to see London sights a trip on the London Eye would be nice, we have done this several times. http://www.londoneye.com/
Also don't forget to see Buckingham Palace and some of the cathedrals.

For Disneyland Paris you can catch the Eurostar from St Pancras International station and there is a daily service direct to DLRP (the train station is inbetween the parks and the Disney village.) All the onsite hotels are in walking distance of the parks, and like at WDW there are values, moderates and deluxes. As the station is by the park entrance you can also use it to catch the metro into the centre of Paris which takes about 35 minutes.

 

[wicket2005]

Definitely do the London Eye but chose the slightly more expense one with a guide because they will point out sights of interest and tell you interesting facts about it. You can buy a little guide leaflet before you go on which the kids will like to keep as a souvenir, it is in picture form showing the views north, south, east and west with attractions labelled.

There is absolutely stacks to do in London. We went down there the other year and took my sons who hadn't been before. The first thing we did was take them on a walking tour of all the famous sights, big circular walk starting at Trafalgar Square and finishing at St Pauls. We took them on a walk across Tower Bridge which was fun, across the very top not the bridge bit.

 

[herodrx1]

I knew you guys would be loads of help! Thank you so much for your help. It is really helping me to narrow my searches down.

Disfriends are the best!!

 

[Goodlife]

I knew you guys would be loads of help! Thank you so much for your help. It is really helping me to narrow my searches down.

Disfriends are the best!!

I love London - what a great place to holiday! I too, suggest Porters in Covent Garden. We went for tea and scones, then went back a few days later for dinner. Covent Garden is a great place. We loved the street entertainers.

We stayed in a small hotel overlooking the British Museum. I'd go to Tripadvisor.com and search for small hotels, close to a subway stop. There can be long walks to the tube, which can be hard on kids.

Top choices for London: British Museum (fabulous - top museum in World), Tower of London (crown jewels, Beefeaters' talks thru out are great!), WWII museum, Children's Museum, Changing of guard at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abby, St.Paul's (2 of the world's greatest buildings) outside of London - Greenwich by way of boat on the river Thames and Portsmouth to see the HMS Victory, what an amazing experience! Greenwich and Portsmouth are great little towns, with some great things for children to see and learn about.

I think you'd be very happy hanging around London for the entire time. Paris is best saved for its own trip I think. London is so rich in history and sights to see.

Absolutely do not miss taking a "Londonwalks" tour. These guides are locals, often scholars, or actors, and you get so much info from them. The walks are not hard, afordable and for us was a highlight of our trip. They have brochures in most hotel lobbies and a website.

Happy planning and enjoy an awesome trip!

 

[herodrx1]

The Londonwalks tip is great! I had heard about it on some other sites and wondered if they were woth it. I will put that on the list.

I found that they are having Peter Pan the play done at Kensington Gardens. That sounds so cool to me!

Thank you again for the help. You guys are helping me get really into the planning. I knew you would understand since we all obsess over our Disney trips!