A Plea For My Passporter Friends in Europe and England About This Page:

[Teresa]

You'll notice that my countdown says I am going to Europe in May. (YEah!!!!)
I KNOW I will be in London, Paris, and Belgium.
I just found out that I will have 1 or 2 "free" days in London and Paris, the rest of the time will be spent in class study and touring as a group.

I am looking for ideas for day trips. Since this is a history trip, I can assume that we will visit the majority of "historical" sites such as The Tower of London and Versailles.
Any suggestions will be welcome. I am not adverse to taking the train, and am fairly good at reading schedules and getting where I need to be.

[chezp]

Is there any way to find out where your group is going? That would help, as I've got a feeling I might suggest things they're already going to cover.

In London, as you said, you've got the Tower of London, but Hampton Court Palace is also worth a visit and of course there's Windsor Castle with Eton nearby - easily accessible by train. Other things I love doing in London are a trip on the London Eye and a cruise down the Thames.

Other options include Oxford and Cambridge, both cities packed with history and then there's Bath, which will take you back to Roman days. There are a lot of tour companies that do all day excursions taking in Bath and Stonehenge - and of course, there's a lot of history there. There's also Stratford-upon-Avon, which is Shakespeare's home turf, so there are lots of options.

As for Paris, I have so many favourite sights, but again it depends what you see there. Favourites include the Eiffel Tower (obviously!), cruise down the River Seine (see a theme here? ), the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs de Elysees (don't miss the Grand Palais - that's an amazing building), Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle (actually there are lots of beautiful buildings on Ide de la Cite) and the Palais de Chaillot. Of course there's also the Louvre and the beautiful Tuileries gardens. For more modern architecture, don't miss the Pompidou Centre and La Defense and its Grande Arche.

In Brussels, must sees for us include the Grand Place and the Hotel de Ville, the Place Royale, Cathedral and the Atomium. Be sure to get some chocolate and try the national dish of mussels with fries and mayonnaise - beautiful.

Hope that helps. What dates are you over here? Maybe if one of your free days falls on a weekend when you're in London, we can meet up?

[Teresa]

Cheryl - I know nothing about what exactly we'll be doing, or when we might be there, exactly. I know we arrive in Paris on May 13 and leave Heathrow on May 27 or 28. I REALLY hope it's the 27th, since Kathryn's b-day is the 28th!!

I'd love to meet up with you if we can get it organized.

Your ideas sound wonderful! I've been to both London and Paris already, and seen some of what you listed - but, can you really see all of those beautiful buildings too many tims??
I'm thinking of taking the train to Bayeaux one day - but not sure if it'll work.
If you think of anything else, please let me know.

Thank you very much.

[Disneybine]

Your trip sounds wonderful, Teresa! Not sure if that'd interest you but there is a Disneyland Resort right by Paris... Other than that, I'd recommend taking some time "off" sightseeing and just relaxing by the river (where you'll find lots of college students). A few hours will give you somewhat of an impression of what life in Paris is like, IMO.

[Teresa]

Sabine - thanks. Not sure if I can bring myself to go to DLP w/o the kids!! We went a few years ago and loved it, so I may change my mind.
I will try relaxing by the river - it looks so neat to do -I Love people watching!! It's one of my favorite things to do while we're at WDW.