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European vacation questions

Brolan

Brolan

Commodore
Commodore
Some of you know I lived in Germany in the '70s when my father was stationed there in the US Air Force. It's past time to come back and I'm looking for people with current knowledge to help me plan a vacation.

Current plans are to rent a home near Paris in July and use that as a base to strike out to my old haunts in Western Germany, the Benelux countries, and France. Then move on to the UK and rent a home there in the English countryside, but close enough to make trips to London.

So, looking for good locations to rent in France and the UK. looking for the country places near cute little towns you can walk or bike to.

I also would like to hear about "must sees" in the area described above.
 
I find European Vacation to be pretty underrated when it comes to the Vacation movies. I really enjoyed it.
 
Brolan said:
So, looking for good locations to rent in France and the UK. looking for the country places near cute little towns you can walk or bike to.
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Cotswolds would meet your requirements. Nice countryside, small picturesque towns. Oxford is nearby too. Can be expensive around there, tho, so you'll have to see if renting a place falls within your budget.
 
London is tedious.

You'd be better off up north. Between the Peak District and the Lake District. Within an hour of Manchester (a better city). Plus easier access to Wales, Scotland and Ireland if you're interested.
 
Yeah there's lots of great countryside up North. Several national parks.

Bear in mind, by American standards stuff is all fairly close together anyway. A train from say York to central London takes a couple of hours.
 
We would be doing more of the historical stuff than national parks. What would drive time be between the Cotswolds and London?
 
Couple of hours I guess. Hour and a half to reach the M25 which circles the city. You probably don't want to be driving in central london.

For historical towns you have Bath and Warwick not a huge distance away. Also Stratford Upon Avon (shakespeare).
 
That's about what I'd be thinking.

Don't take offence at this, but yes, if you want to see England as most Americans imagine it, the Cotswolds, couple of days for a tour of London, Liz's house, etc, then for a big arse castle, and a bit more history, Warwick (the second W is silent) and Stratford.

But, that will be quite an expensive way of doing it.

If it were me, I'd stop somewhere around Nottingham. Day trip on the train to London (doesn't take long if you get the right train) one day and get on one of the bus tours . Lincoln castle and Cathedral, Chatsworth House, Peak district, village pubs. Hire a car for the Midlands stuff, but don't bother trying to drive in London.

Bear in mind, we love to talk about the weather, but the forecast is basically:

Overcast, with rain, and quite cold, until April or May sometime.
 
Expensive yes, but this is a dream trip for my wife, who aside from brief forays into Canada, has never been outside the US. I'm willing to pay for it.
 
The Tube is probably the easiest in my experience, but it's been a long time since I've visited London.

If you do drive though, there's the congestion charge to be aware of.
 
In most big cities like this, it is MUCH easier to use public transport. The traffic headaches would be off the scale if you tried to drive.
 
Brolan said:
How do you normally navigate London? Take the train?
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Depends a bit. If you're wanting to see a bit of everything, get the train in to somewhere central and get one of the sightseeing bus tours. You buy a ticket for the day and you can get on and off as you want to.

If you have somewhere in mind, the underground (subway) is the best way to get around.
 
I love the London tube! Once you got the hang of it, it's very easy to navigate (there is a map with all the lines and stations in different colors and then you just need to know whether you want to go East- or Westbound, or North- or Southbound to catch the right one). Trains come every few minutes, so you never have to wait for long. They can be quite full at the rush hour though, so you should be able to tolerate crowds of people.

And not every station has escalators. Some have elevators instead, but with others you need to walk stairs.

Also at my first trip (and I thought I live in a big city, but 530.000 citizens is nothing compared to the millions in London) I found the noise overwhelming. Announcements over speakers all the time (next station, mind the gap, closed stations for reconstruction etc.) and also in the tunnels people who make loud music at certain designated places.
 
Brolan said:
Current plans are to rent a home near Paris in July and use that as a base to strike out to my old haunts in Western Germany, the Benelux countries, and France. Then move on to the UK and rent a home there in the English countryside, but close enough to make trips to London.
Click to expand...

How long are you planning to stay? It sounds like you intend to stay in the UK for a while. Just be aware, the UK is very strict with visas now.
 
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