London and Paris for 3 weeks - Comments? - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

THE SCUD · 09-08-2011, 02:12 PM

Dearest CP brain trust,

We leave tomorrow for Paris and then London for just shy of 3 weeks, and my wife has most of the trip planned out, but we do have a few 'open' days.

What are some of CP's favourite things to see and do in and around these two wonderful cities? (Other than H&B)

CaptainCrunch · 09-08-2011, 02:14 PM

Accept France's surrender and then force them to attend a one man victory parade through Paris.

Go to England and tell everyone that you heard France telling Russia that Britains are total pu$$ies who don't know the first thing about soccer

THE SCUD · 09-08-2011, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Accept France's surrender and then force them to attend a one man victory parade through Paris.

Go to England and tell everyone that you heard France telling Russia that Britains are total pu$$ies who don't know the first thing about soccer

Sounds like I'm in for 48 hours of European adventures before I'm returned to canada in a full body cast

Sliver · 09-08-2011, 02:21 PM

Here's hoping!

chemgear · 09-08-2011, 02:24 PM

I'm not religious but evensong at Westminster Abbey was pretty darn memorable for me regardless of denomination. You can get details when you visit there during the day, I think they open up for it around 5ish and only take a few dozen people.

If you're a real Canadian

, you'll also want to go visit the Vimy Memorial. Information and how to get there is here:

http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/sub.cf...ls/ww1mem/vimy

VladtheImpaler · 09-08-2011, 02:24 PM

Along the lines of what CC said, if you want to get the French to jump and provide decent service, I would dress like this in Paris:

THE SCUD · 09-08-2011, 02:26 PM

Was hoping to do a day tour of Normandy / d-day - appreciate the suggestion / reminder.

sa226 · 09-08-2011, 02:33 PM

^^^^^^

Yep 2hr train ride to Caen, transfer then 25min train ride to Bayeux. Do at least one D-Day tour, you won't regret it. If you do regret it, you are dead inside. My favorites were: Canadian highlights tour and Band of Brothers highlights tour.

You will probably need to stay in Bayeux, these tours are all day.

If you are just brainstorming...go for it. If you are absolutely going to do it, let me know and I will suggest the best tours and accomadations (there are some crappy ones) and train connections etc... Gotta find all that stuff first though....

mac_82 · 09-08-2011, 02:35 PM

That's a whole lot of time to be spending in 2 cities. But I just traveld through there, and here is what I did.

London
-Chelsea & Fulham games, Chelsea stadium tour
-Churchill War Rooms
-Double Decker Bus Tour
-Jack the Ripper walking tour
-Tower of London
-British Museum
-Temple Church
-Tate Modern
-day trip to Stonehenge, Glastbury Abbey/Tor, Silsbury Hill, Avesbury Henge

Paris
-The Catacombs
-Eiffel Tower
-Louvre
-Arc de Tromphe
-Les Invalides (war museum and Napoleons tomb)
-Saint Chappelle and Notre Dame

Travis Munroe · 09-08-2011, 02:42 PM

Never been to Europe but I would want to check out the Wimbledon Courts if I was going to London.

chemgear · 09-08-2011, 02:43 PM

Normandy is great. Canadian (and American) flags everywhere. People love you if they know you are Canadian.

If you like that sort of thing (the rest of this assumes you are) you should also hit up Juno beach. That being said, the stuff/museums at Omaha and Utah are much bigger neat to see. Caen and Pegasus beach are sorta nearby as well, worth a quick look up on the internet to see if you'd want to go. Actually, if you want to check highlights of historical war stuff nearby, go here:

http://matterhorntravel.com/wwII-normandyweekend.html

I can't begin to describe how awesome their tours are but you can at least see the places they stop at. I highly recommend a look. Feel free to PM if you have any questions about that.

Enjoy the trip!

And for the love of . . . you might not want to visit the Douaumont Ossuary. It's historically significant/of interest but staggeringly sobering if not depressing.

Mtt48 · 09-08-2011, 02:45 PM

The Imperial War Museum in London is great. It's right near a tube station. If you like military history it is absolutely fantastic.

Kybosh · 09-08-2011, 02:48 PM

You can't really go wrong in either city. I'm a huge museum and art gallery guy so those two cities are pretty amazing IMO (ie. Tate modern art, British National museum, British museum of natural history, Musee d'Orsay, Louvre, Pompidou centre etc.).

Don't go to Versailles though. Versailles = VerSuck. I'm 100% serious as well.

Bill Bumface · 09-08-2011, 02:50 PM

I second the catacombs in Paris. Underground tunnels made out of people's bones. You can't beat that. Look for the pile of skulls at the exit, that is what the security guard has confiscated from goth kids who were going for bong supplies that day.

Bill Bumface · 09-08-2011, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kybosh

Don't go to Versailles though. Versailles = VerSuck. I'm 100% serious as well.

My visit agrees with your sentiment, but they've been throwing piles of money at it in a restoration effort, so that might have changed.

Kybosh · 09-08-2011, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

My visit agrees with your sentiment, but they've been throwing piles of money at it in a restoration effort, so that might have changed.

I'm not sure that restorations would help out much. It is one of those places that is insanely busy and, in my opinion, not worth the effort. In typical French "eff you tourist" mentality they have two separate lines. One to buy a ticket and another to get in. Each line took us about 2 hours to get through (in April) and then once you got inside you couldn't even move because of the sea of stinking people. I had more fun on the RER ride there and back.

If I were to do it again, I would go to Fontaine Bleu for a day trip and bring my bouldering gear.

YYC in LAX · 09-08-2011, 02:59 PM

I've heard there are some nude beaches in the area but I would need pics for proof.

mykalberta · 09-08-2011, 03:08 PM

I havent been there in a while but the few things that stick in my mind about France

1 - Vimy War Memorial
2 - Arc de Triumph (spelling)
3 - Louvre (spelling)
4 - Palace at Versaille
5 - Jim Morrison tomb (I cant stand the Doors, but the number of porn mags around really left an impression when I was 14 years old

)

THE SCUD · 09-08-2011, 03:18 PM

Is a trip to Normandy / Juno / other D-day / war relates sights a day-trip from Paris? I ask because we've already bought and paid for (rather expensive...) accommodations in Paris-proper, so it would need to be either

A) straight balling and worth paying for two hotels
B) A doable day trip.

Thanks CP!

Bill Bumface · 09-08-2011, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kybosh

I'm not sure that restorations would help out much. It is one of those places that is insanely busy and, in my opinion, not worth the effort. In typical French "eff you tourist" mentality they have two separate lines. One to buy a ticket and another to get in. Each line took us about 2 hours to get through (in April) and then once you got inside you couldn't even move because of the sea of stinking people. I had more fun on the RER ride there and back.

If I were to do it again, I would go to Fontaine Bleu for a day trip and bring my bouldering gear.

We just wandered the grounds/gardens because they line was ######ed and the thing was half under construction. It was more of a train riding day than anything for us too.