Hi all. I have never been to London, and haven't been to Paris for a long long time, so I'm looking for recommendations: restaurants, things to see, etc. Obviously, we'll (my wife and I) be doing a lot of the typical tourist things, but if you've got something I really shouldn't miss I'd love to hear about it. We'll be in and out of both cities, as we're going to London, then up to the British GP, then to Paris for several days, and back to the south of England for the Goodwood Festival of Speed (sense a theme here? . So needless to say, I need some "nice" things to do that'll keep my wife happy after all the racing events. TIA for any help, and if anyone wants to meet up, that would be great too!

 

go see london, go see france, don't show off your underpants. my uncle got conned into doing that in italy by a juggler.

 

Hmmm, it's been a while since I was in London, maybe a few of the locals could help.

I recall on Sunday afternoons there was a thing called "church" or "the church" where you'd walk around and see the sights while carrying you six pack. Talk about culture! wow!

Is that "show" still going on?

 

The is a pub called "The Church" in west London (Shepherd's Bush way) which on a Sunday if full of Aussies, Kiwis and South Africans......

The Tate Modern is worth a visit if you like that sort of thing. I have heard that the London Eye (big wheel opposite the Houses of Parliament) is worth a trip if you can get a booking (you might be able to sort that out over the interent ... try a search). There are too many museums in London to mention, but most of them are amazing and well worth a visit.

Don't know how much travelling you want to do, but Salisbury, is worth a visit, as is Bath (both quite a distance from London but easily driveable in a day if you have a car).

I am afraid that I haven't been there much recently, so restaurants are not my hot subject at the moment.....

 

I'd recommend Bath - named after ancient Roman baths once there that you can tour the ruins - and Windsor. Both can be reached via a relatively short train ride from London. British Museum is great. Take your wife to Harrod's - she'll love it - it's an amazing store. Too many pubs to mention, but you have to go off the beaten path to find the good ones. Otherwise they tend to be a little mass-market. The Tower of London tour was pretty neat too. Gotta love the tourguides.

 

I think the London Eye is a great idea and the tickets are around

 

While in Paris, try your best to take a day trip to Versailles! "The Palace of Versailles with its parks and gardens is among the most beautiful, famous and historic sights in Europe" according to Baedeker's Paris. There's also the Isle de la Cite', the geographic heart of the city, Its cathedral's stained glass is absolutely stunning!

Nearby is the Notre Dame Cathedral. You can go on the roof of the bell tower and, if your timing is right, hear the peal of the bell go out over all of Paris.

Next to Notre Dame is the Left Bank of the Seine. The heart of the art community, you can find unbelievable original art at unbelievably low prices.

For HOT night life, go to Montmartre. It offers "everything that commercialized sex can offer." Just don't come home with anything you didn't leave with!

Of course you HAVE to go to the Eifel Tower and Arc de Triumph. and while at the Arc, take a few hours to sit in an outdoor cafe on the Champs-Elyse'es. A bottle of wine, chocolate croisant, and the most georgeous women in the world parading by your table!

Good luck! Wish I could go with you.

 

Fluxen,
you should take the Mrs. on a train to Cambridge. I got back last year from studying there and had a great time. It's about a 1.5 hour train ride from London (Kings Crossing station??). Anyway it's got cobblestone streets with lots of "cultural" crap to do. The females absolutely fall in love with this place. Unfortunately, the only photos that I have are me partying down with the Japanese students (they know how to tear $%!T up - good times)!!
There's plenty of beer and the Eagle Cafe is a famous haunt of the WWII flyboys who burned messages on the ceiling during the war. In fact, it's also a hang out for Bill Gates and Stephen Hawking.

Goodluck and have a great time - you can thank me when your wife falls in love with that place and actually suggests you guys fly straight to Japan to the Motegi Raceway.

Also, I live in Tustin which is pretty close to where you're at, so if you want to get together, I might have some maps with me.

Have a jolly good time!

 

Wow, this is great stuff, guys...keep it coming!

Josh; noted. I'll avoid the Italian jugglers...

The Tate Modern is a museum of modern art, I'm assuming? We'll probably make that a stop.

I will see what I can do about Bath, as it seems a popular recommendation.

British Museum of course; can't miss that!

Harrod's: believe me, I'm not going to have to take her there, I'm going to have to *plead* to get her out of there She's been talking about it for months.

Tower of London: going to make that one for sure...

London Eye: Never would have considered it, but you've convinced me; we'll check it out

We may make Versailles, but I'm not certain. I've been there before, but a long, long time ago.

Notre Dame of course, as well as the Left Bank, Eiffle Tower, and Arc D'Triumph, etc. I've heard the Left Bank isn't what it once was...I can also promise we'll spend plenty of time at the cafes along the Champs-Elysee's...

On Cambridge, I'm 90% certain we're going there, as I think Cambridge is where the Silverstone is. My wife actually attended a summer session there, so she's eagerly looking forward to getting back. It's must be as you say, because she's very excited to go back

As to transportation, we'll have a car only for the drive to Silverstone and to Goodwood, so for the most part we're going to have to rely on our feet / the train / metro, etc. We will be taking the Chunnel back and forth a couple of times also.

Foodwise - well, in Paris we'd love to find out about a great French restaurant where we could A) Get in and B) not be shot for speaking English Any suggestions would be most welcome. In England, I hadn't even considered the Indian idea, but of course it makes great sense. Any recommendations? We'll be staying at the Pelham hotel, which I think is right beside the British Museum, if that helps any...

Also, I'm very excited to say I'll be meeting a group of S2kiers at the Goodwood Festival, so I'm really looking forward to that.

Any other suggestions would be great; keep them coming!

 

Sorry, I missed the part about you taking your wife. The "church" was (is) a warehouse sized sex show.

All of the other suggestion may be more appropriate.