PARIS / LONDON SPRING 2023 - QUICK TIPS / CHEATSHEET

So for the kids' spring break this year, we were able to FINALLY follow through on our much belated, long awaited European vacation to Paris and London.  This trip has honestly been in the making for literally YEARS and because of COVID and the subsequent after effects (outbreaks, cancelled flights, border closings, etc.).  But now in 2023, we felt that the world had gotten to a point of (somewhat) stability and decided to finally follow through and make this trip happen.  YOLO right?

In any case, this was a MAJOR trip for us and with that being said, it cannot be encompassed in ONE blog post.  But I do want to start off this SERIES of Paris/London blog posts by posting a "Quick Tips" on prepping for a trip like this and also what to bear in mind once you arrive on site.

So without further ado, here are some my recommendations, off the cuff, for traveling (with kids) to Paris and London.

1.  Pack appropriate chargers.  Paris has its own type of power outlets in the walls and London has its own unique type of power outlets in the walls (they are not one in the same).  That said, I would recommend a universal international convertor that can be modified to work with countries in the European Union (EU) or the United Kingdom (UK), etc.  I purchased (2) of these from Amazon and it worked wonders for us, especially since it had multiple USB outlets on each.

2.  Be observant of the weather & lifestyle.  We knew we were traveling to Europe in March which is TECHNICALLY Spring but Spring in Europe is very different from, let's say, Florida (where we currently live).  Remember, parts of Europe (especially London) are more aligned with the coordinates of Canada meaning that springtime is still quite brisk.  Based on all this, we opted to pack light puffer coats and layer, layer, layer.  We made sure to pack plenty of t-shirts as our base layer and then a fleece/hoodie secondary layer and then finally the puffer coat as the final layer.  This gave us a lot of options and during the course of the day, if it happened to warm up, we simply stripped off a layer and kept moving.  Considering the average temperature during our vacation ranged from 55 to 60 degrees, I think we definitely made the right decision.

3.  Your shoes should be made for walking.  It's been said many a time but I will repeat it once again: When in Europe, you will be doing a LOT of walking.  Again, you will be doing a LOT of walking.  Therefore ladies, please for the love of God, leave your heels at home because you will not be getting any use out of them and you will also look ridiculous teetering on skinny heels while navigating centuries old cobblestone streets.  It's simply a recipe for disaster.  Your best bet is probably (3) pairs of shoes MAX which would encompass the following: (1) pair of fashionable but comfortable sneakers (1) pair of comfortable boots and (1) pair of comfortable dress shoes (I brought a pair of patent leather loafers that I love).  With this selection, you will definitely be covered for anything that should com
e up.

4.  Ziploc bag your toiletries and stick to it.  European airports can be incredibly stringent on any liquids and toiletries, especially if you are traveling with carry on's only.  That said, the rule to stick by is keep all your toiletries (make up included ladies) to your (1) allocated ziploc bag.  This will avoid any delays and/or pushback with security at the airport.  Bear in mind that all liquids (including perfumes, foundations, concealers, mascaras) need to fit in that ziploc bag along with any other bathroom elements (contact lens solution, toothpaste, etc.).  QUICK TIP: Replace your body wash with a bar of soap, since you can pack the bar of soap in your carry on and isn't mandated to be included in the ziploc bag.

5.  Bring a re-useable tote bag (or two).  Many countries in Europe are moving further and further away from plastic bags therefore you'll find that if you go to any of the markets in Europe, you will be expected to either provide your own bag OR pay for bags at the store.  Since I already had tote bags at home, I made sure to bring a couple with me and I honestly carried them EVERYWHERE we went.  If we happened to stop by a shop and purchased anything, I had my tote bag ready and with me so there was never a need to purchase a bag there.  Definitely a money saver.

6.  If you can stay at an Air B&B rather than a hotel, do it.  We stayed at a lovely Air B&B in the Latin Quarter that would've been my dream apartment, if I had been a single Parisian female.  The beauty of staying in an Air B&B is having a KITCHEN which is a HUGE money saver, especially in Paris where going out to eat can get very expensive.  Besides that, Paris has so many little bakeries, markets and larger supermarkets that you don’t necessarily NEED to eat at sit down restaurants.  You can simply go to a local supermarket and purchase milk, eggs, fresh bread, cheese, Nutella, wine (I bought a bottle of wine for 2 euros!), etc. and that way you have food to snack on AND it helps in the mornings before you leave the house to start your day.  FYI: I'll have a separate posting on just my experience and advise on food alone in Paris.

7.  Take public transit!  A lot of people become fearful of taking public transportation in foreign countries but honestly, for our little brood, it was a perfectly easy, efficient and inexpensive way to get all around Paris and London (and frankly if you’ve ever been able to navigate the NYC subway system this is honestly a breeze).  The easiest way to navigate the Parisian subway system specifically is through the “METRO PARIS” app that you can download for free onto your smartphone.  What you can always do is look at your google map to see what the closest stop is to where you currently are and what the closest stop is to where you want to go.  Once you know that, you can go into the app and put in your subway stop START/ORIGIN location and then you put in your subway stop DESTINATION.  The app will then show you what line you should take, in what direction, any transfers necessary and how many stops you will need to pass before you get to your destination.  It was AMAZING and we used it EVERY day.  In London we did the same thing with the Tube/Underground subway system except that the app was called “CITYMAPPER”, but it was the same concept.

8.  Purchase tickets ahead of time.  If you can, pick out what locations you already KNOW that you intend on visiting and choose time slots for the morning, before crowds develop.  For example, we purchased tickets to the Louvre museum with a 10am time slot (or shortly after opening) so we were essentially at the door when they opened.  As a result, we got to see the Mona Lisa up close and personal (or as close as you’re allowed to) with MINIMAL crowds but that’s only because we were the first round of people in.  Later on as the day progresses, crowds develop (especially in the summer months, I’m sure) and the high profile sites likely get overwhelming with the amount of people all there trying to see the exact same thing.  So if you can, purchase tickets in advance and get there early to knock it off your list (FYI, in Paris, children are generally free and in London all museums are free to all.  What a concept!)

9.  Learn some basic French.  Download the Duolingo app (free version) and use it to practice a little conversational French every day.  It DOES help.  I personally feel that we had a very good experience in Paris because we didn’t go into Parisian establishments expecting them to cater to us (in other words, we tried to avoid the label of the "obnoxious Americans").  We would always enter a place by saying “Bonjour” and then I had picked up enough simple French to be able to communicate basic terms such as how are you, please, thank you, etc.  Basics!  Nothing crazy.  Most of the time people realize that you’re not French but they appreciate the effort and often time meet you halfway.  In addition, the “Google Translate” app is also incredibly helpful as a quick guide to translate anything you might see and also to figure the right words to use when you’re at a loss of how to say something in French.  Therefore definitely add that app to your arsenal of travel apps.

10.  Be careful and vigilant.  A lot of this goes without saying but it does need to be said.  Violent crime is not as prevalent of an issue overseas in Parisa and London BUT scam artists and pick pockets are.  We never signed any “survey/poll” that someone tried to present to us and we never kept anything in our pockets/bookbag BUT we each had a crossbody bag that lays across your chest where we kept our phone, wallet, etc.  This particular one from Anthropologie was stylish, durable and kept my belongings incredibly safe during our entire travels through Europe.

11.  (Most) credit is accepted (almost) everywhere.  In Paris and London, they take Apple pay, Visa and Mastercard everywhere (American Express most places) so as long as you have one of those you’re fine.  But, if you’re at an open air market, then you would likely need to pay in cash (euros in Paris; pounds in London obviously).

12.  Tax Savings on Shopping!  Many people (women such as myself) love to go shopping in Paris because if you spend over $200 euros (I believe) you can claim it and get taxes/duties back as long as you declare it before leaving the European Union.  For example, I purchased a handbag at the PrimTemps department store in Paris.  When I purchased the handbag, I asked the salesgirl about the paperwork to get the tax refund on my purchase.  She directed to me to the area in the department store and very quickly after making my purchase I went to a kiosk in the department store where I inputted the required information and all the appropriate paperwork was generated and printed for my use.  When we left Paris to go to London for a few days, I needed to declare my handbag purchase at the Eurostar station before leaving Paris because once I entered London, I would have exited the European Union (don't forget about Brexit!).  Fortunately, the Eurostar station makes it very easy to do this with the appropriate kiosks in place where you scan the barcode from the paperwork at the department store and in less than 5 minutes, your purchase has been declared and processing begins on your refund immediately.  Very straightforward, very easy.

13.  Finally, GET TRAVELER’S INSURANCE!  If you can, and you’re traveling abroad, traveler’s insurance is a HUGE help in case unforeseen circumstances arise (COVID outbreak, political unrest, etc).  We personally opted for C&F Travel Insured International and it really helped us out when our Eurostar rail tickets were cancelled from London back into Paris because of the riots/protests in Paris.  We ended up having to book some last minute British Airways flights back into Paris but we called up the insurance company to open a claim and we were completely refunded the costs of all the air fares (for a family of 4) and all respective Uber costs to and from the airports.  So sometimes having travel insurance really DOES come in handy and it definitely did for us on this trip.

So in a nutshell, those are my basic essential tips for traveling abroad, especially in relation to London and Paris.  As you can see, many of these tips can be applicable to numerous countries (especially in Western Europe as a whole) so hopefully they help provide some guidance on how to prep before a major trip (and a European vacation is a MAJOR trip).  

I'll also be sharing in future posts detailed information on developing an itinerary as well as local food recommendations therefore stay tuned for more!

XoXo

Carol