There is so much to do and see in London and Paris that it can be tough to narrow it down when you only have ten days.  Below is the itinerary I created as a first-time traveler to London and Paris. We saw a lot and made the most of our time, but I already can’t wait to start planning a return trip to see even more!

Day One—Arrive in London

We arrived at Gatwick Airport around 10:30 am and took the Gatwick Express into Victoria Station. From there we grabbed a black taxi to take to our hotel. Surprisingly, we were able to check in as soon as we arrived.  We stayed at The Z Hotel Covent Garden. The rooms are very “cozy” with only enough room for a bed and small bathroom. But the location was excellent and the complimentary wine and cheese bar in the evenings was a plus.

With so much we wanted to do, we forewent a nap and started exploring right away. We made the short walk to St. Martin in the Field where we ate at Café in the Crypt before heading upstairs to admire the church.

From there we decided to try and get a sense of the city with a hop on hop off bus tour.  Our ticket also included a one-way river cruise.  The weather was absolutely perfect for a cruise on the Thames and we enjoyed the narration that went along with it as well as the amazing views.  

After disembarking, since it was such a beautiful day, we headed to St. Dunstan in the East, a former church that was damaged in the Blitz in WWII and never rebuilt.  Today it is a beautiful city garden. (This side trip could also be included in my Day Ten Itinerary.) 

From there we rejoined the bus tour. One important note about the bus tour is that they don’t continue that late into the evening, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get back to your original destination especially if you plan on hopping off to do some exploring.

Then it was an early dinner and off to bed.

Day Two—Classic London (Westminster)

We started our first full day in London off with the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.  Definitely a must see for first-time visitors.  The ceremony occurs most days at 10:45 (check calendar prior) and lasts approximately 45 minutes.  It is recommended that you get there an hour early as it is very popular and gets very crowded.

As this is a busy day, I suggest making a reservation somewhere for lunch.  We ate fish and chips at The Red Lion.

After lunch we headed to Westminster Abbey.  It is recommended that you book your tickets in advance; however, on the day we went, online tickets were unavailable.  Luckily the line wasn’t too long to get in and we spent that time admiring the outside of the church. When you enter, you are handed a headset which gives you a narrated tour.  I had no idea how many famous people had been buried in Westminster!  If we had been able to purchase online tickets and save the time waiting in line, I would have loved to take the 90-minute verger tour to learn even more. As it was, we had a 3:00 timed entry to the Churchill War Rooms so off we went….

Booking your ticket online will give you a timed entry to The Churchill War Rooms saving you the time of waiting in a long line.  When you enter, they also provide a headset with a narrated tour.  It was very interesting to learn about the life of Winston Churchill and think about all of the important decisions that were made in those underground rooms.

Tea Time!  After leaving the Churchill War Rooms, we walked back to Covent Garden for afternoon tea at Brigit’s Bakery. This was something I was definitely looking forward to doing in London and it did not disappoint. They offer a great selection of tea, and also had vegetarian sandwich options which I appreciated.  The pastries were delicious too.  In fact, I tried to save some for later but in the end the temptation was just too great. 

From there it was another early bed time before taking off to Paris the next morning.

Day Three—Travel to Paris

Paris is only a short 2 hour and 15-minute trip from London on the Eurostar.  Upon arriving in Paris, we stood in line outside Gare du Nord to grab a taxi to our hotel in the first arrondissement. (Note: the taxi did not take credit cards so make sure you have euros in advance.) This was the perfect arrondissement to be for the first-time visitor as it was within walking distance to so many sites.  After checking in, we started walking towards Champs-Elysees passing through Jardin des Tuileries and Place de la Concorde catching our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower.

On Champs-Elysees we stopped to grab a bite to eat at Pierre Herme and although it was a bit pricey, I thought it was very good. We ordered an omelet which was big enough to share and came with a side salad, a hot chocolate for me and a cappuccino for my husband, and of course some of their famous macaroons. Yum!

Then we continued on to the Arc de Triomphe to catch the sunset and Eiffel Tower all lit up at night. To get to the top there are 284 stairs, but it is well worth it for the amazing view.  We had a beautiful sunset and seeing the Eiffel Tower all lit up on our first night in Paris was spectacular.  Every evening, on the hour the Eiffel Tower also “sparkles” for five minutes.  It is incredibly magical to see in person and pictures just don’t do it justice!  

Day Four—Along the Seine

Since we ended the previous evening with the Eiffel Tower, it only made sense to begin the following morning at the Eiffel Tower.  By purchasing tickets in advance, we were able to select a time and avoid the lines. I recommend purchasing as far in advance as possible. The earliest I was able to book for our chosen day was 11 am and I booked that two months in advance! You have two choices when visiting the Eiffel Tower: you can go to the second floor or you can go all the way to the summit.  To get to the summit, you will get off the first elevator and wait in line for a second elevator that will take you all the way to the top.  Again, spectacular views but the one thing missing …the Eiffel Tower in the background!

From there we walked along the River Seine, stopping to admire Pont Alexandre before grabbing lunch at Les Deux Magots in the St. Germain neighborhood. I really liked this area and would have enjoyed spending more time exploring.  Depending on how early you are able to visit the Eiffel Tower, you might have some time to do some shopping in the St. Germain neighborhood after lunch.

After lunch we continued walking to Shakespeare and Company, an English-language bookstore, which turned out to be the perfect time because it started raining while we were in there.  We found a bench seat next to a window overlooking Notre Dame Cathedral and enjoyed the view while we waited for the rain to stop.  Then to my delight as the sky cleared and we left the bookstore a beautiful rainbow appeared over Notre Dame. So awesome! (We weren’t able to tour Notre Dame because of the April 2019 fire damage.)

A short walk from Notre Dame is Saint Chapelle, a Gothic style chapel with beautiful stained-glass windows.  Again, buying tickets in advance prevented us from having to wait in line and we were able to walk right in.  Before visiting I wasn’t aware that Saint Chapelle had two levels, the lower chapel and the upper chapel.  The upper chapel is where you will find all the stained-glass windows and the entrance is up a rounded staircase through an unmarked door off to the side of where you enter. Again, I think this is a place where photos just don’t do it justice.

Then it was time for dessert at Berthillon Glacier, a popular ice cream shop.  Even though it wasn’t a particularly warm day; in my opinion, no day is too cold for ice cream.  Plus, it meant no lines!

For dinner that night we ate at L’Alsacien.  We didn’t have reservations, but they were able to fit us in.  The staff was super friendly… and spoke English.  They serve flammekueche which is similar to a thin pizza.  You could tell that fresh ingredients were a top priority, and everything was delicious.

As we headed back to our hotel for the evening, we made one more stop to see the Louvre at night all lit up.

 Day Five—From the Louvre to Sacre-Coeur

The next morning, we headed to the Louvre but not before picking up a pain au chocolat from a nearby boulangerie. Yum! I wouldn’t mind starting every morning that way! The Louvre now requires that you choose a timed entry when you purchase a ticket online.  I had heard so much about how overcrowded the museum was becoming that I decided to choose 9:00—right when they opened.  That worked out great and I would highly recommend doing the same.  We got in right away and headed straight to the Mona Lisa.  Again, hardly any line. My favorite part of the Louvre was actually the building itself.  Before it became a famous art museum it was actually a royal palace, and the architecture and art on the ceilings is just beautiful.

We stayed until noon and then headed to a cafe for lunch. After lunch we started walking to Sacre-Coeur. It is about a 45 minute walk from the Louvre.  Halfway there we stopped at Popelini, a pastry shop. They specialize in cream puffs with flavored custard filling.  Put this on your list for sure.  They were delicious!!

Then we continued up the hill to Sacre-Coeur.  Sacre-Coeur is located on the top of Montmatre Hill and is the highest point of the city offering fantastic views.  There is no entrance fee to get into Sacre-Coeur, but there is a charge to go to the top of the dome. We opted to skip that—too many stairs! 

From there we explored the Montmatre neighborhood.  We saw the ivy on the wall on Rue St.-Vincent, La Maison Rose, stopped in for a drink at Le Consulat, and admired the art of local artists in Place du Tertre.  We also saw Le Mur des Je T’aime, or the Wall of Love, which has the words ‘I love you’ written in 250 different languages.

After dinner we took an uber to Montparnasse Tower to take in the view of the city and Eiffel Tower all lit up again.  However, I really didn’t feel like it lived up to all of the hype.  Personally, I enjoyed the view from the Arc de Triomphe better and wouldn’t bother with Montparnasse. 

Day Six—A Day Fit for a King

We took the RER train to Versaille (thank you to the kind Frenchman who helped us figure out what train to get on) and made it to the Palace de Versaille around 10:30. It was CROWDED. I thought by booking tickets online we would be able to skip the line, but that turned out to not be the case.  Once we did get in, we were handed a headset and along with everyone else squeezed through the rooms.  I was really looking forward to this experience and learning more about the palace and history of the king and queen, but honestly it was just so crowded all I wanted to do was leave.  Part of me wonders if we had gotten there right when they opened or waited later in the day if it would have been less crowded.  I don’t know. After that you can explore the gardens which was a nice respite after the crowded palace.  Then we ate lunch at a sit-down restaurant, Le Petite Venise, an on property Italian Restaurant that was delicious.  I would highly recommend eating there.  From there we wandered over to the Queen’s Hamlet which is so quaint and so different from the Palace.  We gave ourselves about 5 hours to explore the Palace of Versailles and the Gardens, but I didn’t feel as though that was enough time, especially on such a beautiful fall day.  I think we could have easily spent another hour exploring the grounds before heading back to Paris.

But we had a champagne cruise to catch!  The cruise disembarked from near the Eiffel Tower.  For the champagne cruise you are given the front part of the boat and there is an indoor sheltered area as well as outside area depending on the weather.  We had an absolutely beautiful evening, so most people were outdoors.  During the champagne cruise they give you three different types of champagne to try.  The sommelier also narrates the tour and provides interesting information about the city of Paris and the sites along the way.  We really enjoyed this experience.

After the cruise my original plan was to eat at Les Ombres which supposedly has spectacular views of the Eiffel Tower.  Unfortunately, I tried making a reservation a month in advance and they were already booked.   My second choice was to eat at La Fontaine de Mars which did not have a view of the Eiffel Tower, but our meals were delicious.

After dinner we walked back to the Eiffel Tower for one last view of the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night. The next day it was back to London.

Day Seven—Back to London

We savored another pain au chocolat for breakfast before packing our bags and heading to Gare du Nord to catch the Eurostar. On the way to Paris, I noticed the Eurostar sold Oyster Cards (London public transit cards) and thought I would save some time and purchase them there.  Not the best choice. For some reason you do not get your 5 pound deposit back if you buy your Oyster Card on the Eurostar.  You are better off waiting and buying it at one of the underground stations back in London.

 Back in London, our hotel was in the same neighborhood, Covent Gardens, but this time we stayed at the Nadler Hotel. (Update: It is now called The Resident Covent Garden.) We loved the Nadler.  It was our favorite place to stay the whole trip.  It was a nice sized room, with a mini kitchen area including plates and silverware, and it even had a bathtub! The bed was so comfortable too.  Highly recommend.  After checking in, we headed to the underground tube station to the O2 arena.  The O2 arena is definitely worth checking out.  It is a concert venue surrounded by a mall and restaurants.  There is definitely a lot going on there.  Our purpose in going to the O2 was the Up at the O2 experience, where you can climb up and over the O2 arena.  We chose to do the sunset climb, but it is London so there was no sunset, only rain.  It was still a pretty cool experience—definitely something unique and the views from the top are pretty great.

From there we walked over and caught an Emirates Airline cable car and took that across the river.  Again it was kind of rainy so we didn’t have the best view, but it was still a pretty cool experience. Just a minute walk from the cable car is a restaurant called Heroica Lounge that is in an old double decker.  Cool atmosphere and I got the feeling that it was not a place that got a lot of tourists.  They serve salad and pizzas there and it was all very good.

Day Eight—Football

And I actually don’t mean soccer.  Part of our trip was centered around watching an NFL game at Tottenham Stadium in London. Now obviously this won’t fit on most people’s itinerary but going to a sporting event in another country can be a lot of fun and is worth checking out as you plan your trip.

Day Nine – Theatre Time

This day was all about exploring different neighborhoods in London including the theatre district. We started in Covent Gardens and then took the tube to Kensington to look at London’s mews.  Mews were originally intended for stable horses back in the 18^th and 19^th centuries but are now some of London’s most unique and expensive houses.  Definitely worth a walk through these beautiful neighborhoods.  From there we took the tube to Soho and saw Picadilly Circus and Chinatown.  We ate a waffle cone at Bubblewrap Waffle in Chinatown and it was so good. My only regret is that we shared!

That evening we went to the theatre.  If you are in London, you have to go see a show.  I think there were at least four shows that I wanted to see while we were there.  We saw Les Mis at the Gielgud Theatre and it was amazing.

Day Ten—Along the Thames

Our last day in London.  We started this day with the Tower of London.  You can buy tickets online prior to save money, but they do not allow you to skip the line.  When you get there, the first thing to do is to head towards the back and see the Crown Jewels.  This exhibit gets very busy later in the day.  There was no line when we went first thing, but several hours later there was a long line.  The other thing you have to do is the Yeoman Tour.  They meet at the entrance and are approximately 90 minutes in length.  They give lots of information about the Tower and are also very entertaining. 

Next, we headed to Tower Bridge.  Again, you can purchase tickets in advance but it does not allow you to skip the line.  The day we went there was no line so we were able to take the elevator up to the high-level walkways immediately. Your ticket will also get you access to the engine room as well.

From there we headed to lunch at Burough Market.  I had been really wanting to try go to Padella for pasta but it was booked.  You either need to get there really early or join the virtual queue at designated times. Nevertheless, there were tons of other food options to explore here and we did not leave hungry!

Then it was off to Shakespeare’s Globe.  Someday I would love to see a performance there, but there was nothing showing when we were visiting.  From there you can walk along Millenium Bridge to get to St. Paul’s Cathedral.  As it was already pretty late in the afternoon, we didn’t feel we had enough time to tour the church.  We will have to do that on a return trip.  Then it was off to see the Monument of the Great Fire.  For a fee, you can climb the 311 steps to the top.

We then went to Sky Garden for a view of the city at sunset.  Unlike our sunset climb at the O2, we actually did see the sun set.  Sky Garden is free, but you do have to book 2 weeks in advance.  We enjoyed a drink as we watched the sun go down and the city light up. 

One other thing I was really hoping to do was go to Coppa Club and have dinner in an “igloo” overlooking Tower Bridge.  Unfortunately, they were redecorating them for the new season and we were unable to do this.  Next time.

And after ten days our London/Paris journey was over.  But with so much more to explore, I know we will be back!