Two Week Family Trip to London and Paris

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maryliento

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Two Week Family Trip to London and Paris

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Our family of four had an amazing trip to Paris for three days and London for eleven days from May 7 – 21, 2025. The weather was ideal during this time, between the 40’s-80’s, and we didn’t encounter rain until the final day of our trip. Compared to busy seasons, the crowds were far less crowded as well. I highly recommend visiting during this off season.

This is a glimpse of our travel along with tips for lodging, attractions, and dining.

General Tips

Transportation Tips

  • UK ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) – Required to travel the UK. Allows for multiple entries and lasts for two years or until passport expires. Cost is approx. $20.
  • Ride Share – Both London and Paris use Uber and Bolt
  • Google Maps – Great for navigating public transportation and walking in both Paris and London
  • Eurostar – travels back and forth from London/Paris in just over 2 hours. Plan to arrive 1.5hrs before departure time.

Apps to Download

Money Saving Tips

  • Charles Schwab has a debit card that does not charge foreign transaction fees. There is no fee to convert US dollars to local currency when making purchases or withdrawing cash abroad. We used this card strictly at ATMS and it worked great. The ATM fees are charged and they get refunded back to your account. You can earn up to $1,000 when you use my referral link.
  • Rakuten offers cash back on a ton of sites, including many travel sites. I have earned quite a bit of cash back since I’ve been using it the last few years.
  • We used Chase travel points for booking some of our lodging and airfare. The Chase Sapphire credit card has great bonuses. We were able to maximize travel points using the Chase booking portal, which had a 25% bonus special offer for Virgin Atlantic. 
  • Trusted House Sitters – If you need a house-sitter while you are away to watch your pets and home. We have used them several times for up to 2 months at a time and had great experiences. The annual membership fee is less than $300, which is amazing compared to the cost of pet sitting. Highly recommended. Get 25% off with my referral link.

Recommended Travel Items

Paris

We spent two weeks total in Europe. It was a whirlwind first three days in Paris, France! I wish we would have stayed longer.

Accommodations:

  • We stayed at this VRBO in the St. Germain de Pres district. We felt it was a central location to get to the major sites with close access to public transportation and walking distance to lots of dining. Luckily, we only traveled with backpacks, otherwise the six flights of stairs to the apartment would have been a challenge with luggage.

Tips:

  • Paris – Public transportation – Under 4 are free, Under 10 are 50% off. Check RATP site for current rates.
  • Under 18 are free at most museums.

Our adventures included:

  • The Centre Pompidou – housing both the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Famous for it’s unique, inside-out architecture. We came to admire the fun architecture and didn’t make it inside. 
  • Next to the Centre Pompidou is the Stravinsky Fountain – whimsical moving sculptures that spray water. Sometimes you’ll catch street performers here like we did.
  • Eiffel Tower – book as early as possible. The elevator tickets were sold out for us but we managed to get tickets to walk the stairs to the second level, which still had stunning views. Kids under 4 are free, kids 4-11 are minimal and students 12-24 are 50% off. 
  • Champ de Mars – Large green space in front of Eiffel Tower. We were here during sunset and it was magical, especially with a musician playing the saxophone and a wedding proposal nearby.
  • Notre-Dame Cathedral – Medieval Catholic Cathedral. We did not go inside, but you can book a free reservation here. 
  • Louvre Museum – National art museum and home of the Mona Lisa. Carousel du Louvre is an underground shopping mall connected to the Louvre museum. Free under 18.
  • Jardin des Tuileries – Beautiful public garden between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde. It has art and sculptures on display.
  • Arc de Triomphe – We did not go inside, but you can book your tickets here. Free under 18. 
  • Jardin du Luxembourg – Beautiful green space with statues, gardens, fountain and model sail boats for kids to play. 
  • Musee d’Orsay – Former railway station that is now an art museum. Free under 18.

Food we enjoyed:

  • Crepe stands are all over the city.
  • Bread Festival – We were there from May 8-11 and the bread festival was happening in front of the Notre Dame
  • Macarons – Laduree is a chain that is scattered throughout Paris. We tried some from Maison Georges Larnicol. 
  • Angelina’s Hot Chocolate – very rich and decadent
  • Escargot – you can find these at many local restaurants

London

Our remaining time in Europe was spent in London, eleven days total.

Accommodations:

  • We stayed at this VRBO in Camden Town. It was right next to the canal lined with fun graffiti, which was a short walk to Camden Market. We felt it was a central location to get to the major sites with close access to public transportation and walking distance to lots of dining and grocery.

Tips:

  • UK ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) – Required to travel the UK. Allows for multiple entries and lasts for two years or until passport expires. Cost is approx. $20.
  • London – Public transportation – Under 11 are free, 11-15 are free on buses and trams & child rate on Tube. Check TFL site for current rates. We used contactless payment through Apple pay on the Tubes and Buses, which worked very easily. Must tap in and tap out using the same card you paid with.
  • TfL Go – London – Good for navigating public transportation
  • Many museums are free of charge
  • The city bus is an iconic red double decker bus, which is a great way to get around and see the city.

Our adventures included:

      • Sightseeing
        • London Essentials Walking Tour – Free 2hr walking tour booked on Guruwalk.com. We saw all the main historical sites (The Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament), Big Ben, Westminster Abby,  and learned a lot from this tour. 
        • Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace – we arrived at 9am for a front row spot in front of Buckingham Palace. The ceremony begins between 10:30-11am. I watched this video for tips on the best places to watch.
        • Sky Garden – London’s highest public garden with incredible views of the city. Tickets are free – reserve early.
    • Markets
        • Camden Market – A fun and unique melting pot of thousands of  shops and food vendors. The shopping arcade of independent vendors is massive and fun to explore. Babylon Park is an indoor amusement park for kids – complete with an indoor roller coaster. Lane7 is an indoor gaming facility for adults with bowling, darts, pool, etc. These are across from each other and located within Camden Market.
    • Museums
    • Parks/Playgrounds/Art
        • Hyde Park – Serpentine Lake and The Diana Memorial Fountain are attractions within Hyde park. Princess Diana Memorial Playground is in Kensington Gardens, which is adjacent to Hyde Park.
        • The Graffiti Tunnel at Leake Street Arches – Legal graffiti walls open to the public. It’s a celebration of urban art. There are dining and entertainment options within the tunnel as well, including Draughts, a fun place to play board games. 
        • Children’s Play Area at Jubilee Garden – Fun playground with epic view of London Eye. Great place to watch buskers perform. We walked here from the Graffiti tunnel.
        • Highland Park Adventure Playground – Fun playground with six-person rope swing and zip line. We walked from the Design Museum. 
    • Squares/Shopping
        • Leicester Square – Grand theaters and music venues. There was a movie premiere for Mission Impossible when we went. The LEGO store and M&M store are fun to visit.
        • Chinatown – Authentic east and southeast asian restaurants, shops, bars and cafes.
        • Covent Garden – A car-free piazza with restaurants, stores and craft stalls, known for street performing buskers.
        • Notting Hill – Has colorful row homes and the bustling Portobello Road Market on Saturdays full of fashion and food stalls.
        • Piccadilly Circus – Entertainment hub close to Leicester Square, Soho and Trafalgar Square. 
        • Hamley’s Toy Store on Regents St – multi-storey toy store of demonstrations and elaborate displays. 
        • Trafalgar Square – Public square with galleries, history buildings, statues and monuments.
        • Harrods – Uber lux, designer fashion and accessories.
    • Harry Potter Attractions
        • Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play at Palace/London Theater. This is a two part play. Each is 2.5 hrs with a break between – enough time to grab dinner nearby and get back for the second half. We had dinner at Curry House CoCo Ichibanya. We did both parts in one night with our two kids. It was very entertaining.
        • Warner Brothers Harry Potter Tour – Behind the scenes of the making of Harry Potter movies. It can take between 1-2hrs from London so give yourself extra time for transportation. The Watford Junction station offers a free Harry Potter shuttle bus ride to the studio.  We planned for about three hours and spent six hours here! Book an early time to enter if you want to take your time and enjoy the entire place – it’s quite expansive. Pick up a free activity passport to collect stamps along the way.
        • Leadenhall Market – filming location for the films
    • Dining
      • Market Halls Victoria – Bustling food court with rooftop terrace. 
      • Hoops and Grapes – Pub that escaped the Great Fire of 1666. We enjoyed traditional meat pies and mash.
      • Harrods Food Halls – Elaborate food hall with affordable options, but keep in mind there is no place to sit and dine. We took our food to-go and walked to Hyde Park, about 10 mins away. We got a traditional scotch egg to warm up at the apartment and it was fantastic. 
      • Brick Lane – Known for its array of curry houses. Shoreditch is an artsy area  full of beautiful street art right next to Brick lane. On Sundays, Brick Lane turns into an open air market.
      • Borough Market – Extensive, diverse food hall. We got sandwiches from The Black Pig and doughnuts from Bread Ahead.
      • Dishoom – Well known Indian restaurant chain found throughout London. Be sure to get the chef’s special, it’s sure to be amazing. 
      • Chinatown – Lined with restaurants that serve various Chinese cuisines, including dim-sum.

Other Attractions that were on our list, but we didn’t have time or budget for:

That completes our whirlwind two weeks of travel in London and Paris! ????

I am so grateful we had this opportunity to explore and create lasting memories with my family. What an unforgettable trip of a lifetime. ????

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I’m Mary

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