things I've ever seen. It's that place and the Grand Canyon that literally stopped me in my tracks. I consider it the most awesome thing someone can see in Paris. It's not big. And it doesn't take a long time. But holy cow.

General:
Tube/busses in London are super easy now that you can just use your regular chip-enabled credit card to tap and hop on (Just don't forget to tap out of the tube). Don't be afraid to use the busses.

Make sure to get whatever tickets you can ahead of time online. Some places had huge lines of people wasting time buying their tickets.

Here's the itinerary my wife and I did last spring, we stayed in Holburn, just south of the British Museum. Great area! British Museum, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, and the Tates are the highlights, imo. And it's uber touristy, but seeing The Mousetrap in the West End was a blast. For eats, can't recommend Dishoom enough.

Day 1
Pint at the Queen's Larder
Visit the British Library.
Take the Victoria Line from King’s Cross/St. Pancras to the Highbury & Islington stop.
Walk to dinner at the Draper’s Arms (we picked this totally out of the way place bc of its meat pie reputation).
Afters at the Old Queen’s Head for the pub quiz

Day 2
Early morning tube ride to take a picture at the Abbey Road Crossing (I did it alone, wife not interested).
Tour the Tate Britain
Tour Westminster Abbey
High tea at Fortnum & Mason’s
Walk through Piccadilly Circus to Savile Row and Heddon Street (Bowie plaque and phonebooth from Ziggy Stardust)
Pint at The Old Coffee House
Tour the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square
Pint at the Lamb & Flag
The Mousetrap, St. Martin’s Theater
Dinner at Dishoom
Afters at The Ship Tavern.

Day 3
We did a day trip to Canterbury. I loved it, but ymmv. I'd do the British Museum here (we'd each done it multiple times before).
Dinner back in Dishoom (yes, we at here twice) at north of King’s Cross Station in Granary Square.
Afters at The Booking Office 1869

Day 4
Morning tour of the Tower of London
Cross the river, then take the Queens Walk along the south bank to The George Inn for a pint.
Lunch at Borough Market.
Quick stop in to Southwark Cathedral
Highlights stroll through the Tate Modern.
Walk to St. Paul’s Cathedral and climb its dome. Optional Evensong begins at 5PM.
Dinner at Andrew Edmunds (highly recommend this little gem).
For afters, a Ye Olde Pube Crawle! of the oldest pubs in London (The Ship and Shovel → The Harp → Seven Star Pub → The Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese → The Ye Olde Mitre Pub → Citte of York)

Day 5, Saturday, April 15
Tour of Kensington Palace
(The we went to a Tottenham match)

Tags:
travel

what about a relaxed evening in the park that looks at the Tower? You get it light up at night, you'll probably be tired after a long day of wandering, and you can bring some wine and cheese+baguettes or whatever.

Also the Musee d'Orsay over the Louvre.

to get a basic list of top sights, and then figure out what's going to be most important for your travel group.

Here's Paris:
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france/paris

London:
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/england/london

I can help with Paris plan. A lot of others here can chime in on London.

Are you museum people? If not, spending half a day at the Louvre if you've only got two days total in Paris probably wouldn't be a good use of time. If you are foodies you will want to figure out some restaurants to hit, and maybe even a wine tasting or food tour. Etc.

Some basic question:
* how many people are going
* ages
* any mobility concerns?
* main areas of interest (art & what kind, other museums, history, churches, military history, music, theatre, food modern & traditional, etc)
* any must-sees on the list?

Finally there is a lot of great info under the travel tag here at TPG:

https://bluegraysky.com/forum/index.php?mode=search&search=travel&method=tags

They may be crowded but that’s bc they’re great. You can take pics of the Eiffel Tower from anywhere in Paris (almost) but also get a ticket to go up in it. Go to the louvre - walk between the 2 and you’ll see so much.

In London - yes, parliament and all the stuff around embankment.

Generally, walking between the major famous things in European cities is great. No matter what city, there’s a river in the middle. Walk it! Look at the lovable old bridge! Look at the hateable new bridge!

I guess what I’m trying to say is, people always say to get off the beaten path and see how people really live in a city, but there’s a lot to say for the beaten path the first time you go somewhere, and even once you’re familiar with a place.

In Paris, definitely get a boat tour.