Tips for Traveling to Paris and London for First-Time Visitors

I’m by no means an expert at traveling the world, but throughout our 10-day trip to Paris and London, I picked up a few tips that I thought I’d share!

Paris:

- Buy a book of Metro tickets instead of just one at a time… it’ll save you a ton of time in the future!
- Do a bike tour on the first day to get the lay of the land! We are so glad we went with Fat Tire Tours.

Learn how to properly order coffee.
Stop by a street market and grab some fresh fruit! And bring it to the Eiffel Tower or a park and eat picnic style!
Try to learn at least a little French. Many people there speak English, but they truly appreciate the effort. I used Duolingo to prepare for the trip!

Get a cell phone while you’re there. We used Insidr and loved it; we picked up our phone at the airport in Paris, and returned it by parcel from London. It had texting, calling, data, a mobile hotspot, walking maps, insider tips, and, probably most importantly, access to the invaluable Insidr team! They texted us every morning telling us what was going on in Paris that day and they were available at all hours to help with literally anything. We were SO glad to have our Insidr phone with us throughout our trip, and I highly recommend the service!
Check opening hours of everything before you go–a lot of places are closed on Sundays or Mondays, and it’s good to know in advance.
Most museums are open late a few times a week. It’s great to plan around this!
Read my full Paris recap here!

London:

When using the Tube and bus: you can’t pay for 2 people using the same Oyster card, so buy one Oyster card per person. You can get the £5 deposit back AND any money leftover on it at the end of your trip.
Budget extra for food–it’s extremely expensive. And don’t expect the food to be amazing.
Buy tickets to the Churchill War Rooms in advance; the line fills up before it even opens! Same goes for the London Eye.
Book all your dinner reservations in advance, but know that most restaurants there require a credit card to book a reservation, and many have strict cancellation policies (aka will charge you £30 if you no show).
Museums in London are free! But you are encouraged to leave a few pounds as a donation.
Read my full London recap here!

Both Cities:

Get a suitcase with a removable battery pack! We used our battery packs a ton during our trip. We both have Away suitcases and love them.
If traveling by Eurostar, arrive at the station at least an hour early since you have to go through passport control. We didn’t know we’d need to do this and were glad we got to the station early accidentally.
Pack an umbrella. Trust me.

Any questions? Comment below!