This past summer, I travelled to London and Paris for the first time, satisfying a desire I’d harbored for about a decade. I had desperately wanted to return to Europe ever since I stayed in Italy for three weeks with my family when I was just ten years old. That trip inspired within me a strong desire to see more; I was filled with a longing to view entirely different landscapes, stare in awe at architectural wonders, wonder at the masterpieces housed in vast museums, and experience different cultures and languages. And suffice it to say, I was beyond excited to finally get the opportunity to visit the history-packed cities of London and Paris. From the moment the plans were finalized, I fervently began to work on creating a list of everything I wanted to see, developing an itinerary, researching modes of transportation, purchasing tickets, and making reservations at restaurants. However, despite the extensive research I conducted, the great number of friends and family who had told me about their experiences in the cities, and the numerous photos of the two cities I had gazed upon, the famous locations managed to surprise me in many ways. So, in the name of helping anyone travelling to these capitals better prepare, I’ve decided to share everything that astonished me during my stays in London and Paris, along with a list of recommendations.
London
Surprises
London or NYC?
I knew that London was on the more “modern” side when it came to old European cities, but I was shocked at just how modern it was. The congested parts of the city truly look like the uber-commercial New York City, rather than patches of a city that has existed for millennia. Walking down the convenience-store lined streets, you forget the city’s history, until you walk right up to the formidable Houses of Parliament and Tower of London, which forcefully confront you with London’s past… well, that is until the double decker Peppa the Pig double-decker birthday party bus pulls up right in front of you, obstructing the monument entirely from your view.
On a similar theme, I was surprised at how grimy the touristy areas of London were. Again, in many ways, it felt like the subway-grate-lined streets of NYC, and although I knew that London was, of course, a big city, I for some reason was convinced that it wouldn’t be quite as… dirty. Even parts of London that you think will be nicer, like Mayfair, just aren’t. London is also absolutely teeming with construction. Everywhere you turn, there is scaffolding. But, of course, that’s part of going to a city full of old buildings.
However, there certainly are some prettier, cleaner, quieter, and quainter areas of the city, including Bloomsbury, the northern portion of Covent Garden (not the really busy half that hosts Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery), Notting Hill, and Kensington (which I didn’t see, but my friend assures me it is quite nice). Additionally, the architecture, hints of greenery throughout the city, and beautiful gardens did differentiate it from the cold, gray, imposing capital of New York. And, as a tourist, I was probably mainly exposing myself to more crowded areas, which are bound to become more soiled.
London has a big advantage over NYC in regard to underground transportation. The former’s transportation was infinitely better than the latter’s. Seriously, London’s tube system is (on the whole, anyway) so much nicer, cleaner, and safer. The Elizabeth Line, in particular, is like a mini-Eurostar.
And, just to be clear, I loved London, I am just not used to the big city environment, and if I get the chance to return, I would love to explore the less-crowded parts of the city.
Football and a tipple
On another note, I was quite surprised at the rowdiness of football culture. Of course, I knew that the English loved the sport, but I was surprised at how pervasive the excitement was and how, well… drunken. One evening, as my parents and I were in the tube station on our way to Covent Garden, we heard a loud, uproarious noise, and I was positively frightened. What could this shouting be about? Where was it coming from? Who was it coming from? I thought the worst, but it turned out that this blaring cacophony originated from a group of excited football fans who were (guess what) also on their way to Covent Garden, with whom we ended up on the same tube (and believe me, their raucous chants and jostling continued on the tube). And then, what happened when we arrived at our destination? We were greeted by even more boisterous football fans, who crowded the pubs and lined the streets with trash. And this was all for a small team trying to earn its way back into the Premier League.
Bakery heaven
London’s food scene was INCREDIBLE. I knew the city had amazing bakeries and cuisine from around the world, but it truly surpassed my expectations. Bakeries, cafes, and cute restaurants abounded, and the fruits inside were truly some of the best items I had ever sampled. Notting Hill, in particular, had some really amazing bakeries that I would 100% recommend.
B&N has nothing on English bookstores
And, to wrap the surprises up on another good note, London’s bookstores were ginormous, and they had incredible classic literature spreads (I’m so used to the sparse collection at my local Barnes and Noble). Many of the Waterstones storefronts, for example, were multiple stories tall with cafes built into them. Suffice it to say, I brought some amazing finds back from several English bookstores.
Recommendations
City of arts
I will always recommend seeing a performance at the Royal Ballet and Opera! I saw their production of Romeo and Juliet, and it was, undoubtedly, the best ballet I had ever seen. It was absolutely gorgeous; the sets, the costumes, the orchestra, and the dancers’ performances were flawless. It truly was moving art. I had never seen anything like it before.
London not only has incredible ballet and opera, but it also has an amazing theatre scene (the city of Shakespeare thrives!). Theatres abound, and there is a wide variety of productions available at all times, from performances of Shakespeare’s plays at the Globe to the musical version of The Devil Wears Prada.
To move away from the performance arts, London has incredible museums. The National Gallery might be my favorite place in the world now. The architecture of the building is incredible, and its collection is mind-blowing. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to visit any of London’s other amazing art museums (I didn’t even get to see everything in the National Gallery!), but the city is full of them. Some of the most illustrious include the National Portrait Gallery, the Tate Modern, and the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum.
Explore another city
If you have the time, take a day trip. As I’ve mentioned, London definitely feels like a big city in every way, and it can grow a bit wearisome to be in such a congested city environment for an extended period (I felt like I truly understood Wordsworth’s “But oft, in lonely rooms, and ‘mid the din / Of towns and cities, I have owed to them (memories of nature), / In hours of weariness, sensations sweet, / Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart” from his “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey”), so taking a day trip to another English city is an action I’d recommend. Additionally, there are so many great places in England to see that are just a (relatively) short train ride away. My family and I went to Cambridge, and it was so beautiful. The buildings, fields, and canal made me feel like I had stepped into another time period. Everything was so idyllic and, honestly, unreal. It’s one of those places where you can just feel the history, and everything seems to pause. I would suggest anyone traveling to Cambridge purchase tickets to King’s College Chapel and make a reservation to go punting on the canal, which affords you an incredible view of the colleges’ backsides.
The early bird gets the best goods at Portobello
If you are going to visit the famous Portobello Market, I would go early, especially if you’re planning to go on Saturday (which is when the market is in full swing). The market becomes really crowded as the day waxes, and it quickly becomes difficult to move around and see all of the fun goods for sale. However, if you go early (I recommend getting to Notting Hill sometime in between 8:00 and 8:30 for the Saturday market, which officially starts at 9:00), you can spend some time walking around the area (which is quite cute) before exploring the many storefronts and street vendors lined up along the seemingly unending market stretch, enjoying some time before the crowds descend.
Bakery crawl
As I’ve mentioned, London has incredible bakeries. Some you have to visit are…
- Layla Bakery (Notting Hill)
- Chestnut Bakery (Covent Garden)
- EL&N (Covent Garden)
- Fortitude (Bloomsbury)
Final Thoughts
Although there were some perhaps not-so-happy surprises in London, I did love my experience. The art, architecture, theatre, dance, and food were all amazing, and I would return in a heartbeat. In the future, I would love to see more of England; in particular, I would like to visit the idyllic English countryside, as the natural beauty of Cambridge was one of my favorite sights of the trip.
Paris
Surprises
Où sont les boulangeries?
It was way more difficult to find boulangeries in Paris than I thought it was going to be. I had a vision of idyllic bakeries lining the beautiful Parisian streets, but my visions were nothing but that — mirages produced by a mind driven to find incredible pastry. Were my expectations unrealistic? Perhaps, but after experiencing bakery heaven in London, I was confident that Paris, the capital of the country known for its buttery, flaky pastry, would be chock-full of these establishments. However, I wasn’t in Paris for very long, and, consequently, I didn’t see vast swaths of the city; perhaps the areas I left undiscovered are bursting with wonderful boulangeries — who knows?
Not all those who wander are lost
You can walk aimlessly around Paris (which is what I’d recommend every visitor to Paris do) and stumble upon the most exquisite cathedrals and vibrant nooks. Seriously, quite literally every turn I took led me to a new, awe-inspiring church.
City of pickpockets?
One of the pieces of advice you hear on repeat when you tell people you’re travelling to Paris is to watch out for pickpockets, but interestingly, I didn’t see (nor have many of my other friends who have visited the city) any shady activity above ground or in the metro stations. I will say, I did watch a video that enumerated the more unsafe metro stations, so maybe that video really did a great job at shielding me from all thieves, but everyone seemed rather cavalier about how they handled their possessions on the metro. While I was clutching onto my bag (which was, of course, always awkwardly in front of my person so as it would fall in my line of sight at all times) like it was the very object upon which my life depended, locals were carrying bags on their back in crowded metro cars (gasp!); they were even accidently bumping into people behind them as the metro jostled us all about. Clearly, they didn’t seem too worried about anyone stealing their stuff, so I can’t help but wonder if pickpocketing in Paris is a trumped-up issue, limited to very specific areas (although you’d think touristy areas would be pickpocket hotbeds), or simply comparably less of a problem than it used to be.
Don’t Eurostart me
Okay, this isn’t something that surprised me about the city of Paris itself, but the Eurostar travel time and the time difference between London and Paris dramatically impacted my experience in Paris. My family and I flew into London, spent five days there, and then hopped on the earliest Eurostar to Paris. I had planned an entire day in Paris for the Sunday of our arrival, accounting for, of course, some lost time, but not enough lost time. I was truly clueless about what time we would arrive in Paris, and I blindly, excitedly counted on having the better half of a day to explore the city; I did not think about how long the Eurostar process would be, how dramatic the one hour jump forward would feel, and the amount of time it would take to get to our hotel and wait until we could store our luggage. When we finally were able to step out into the “City of Light,” it was already late afternoon, and we had to basically scratch our plans for that day. All of that to say, if you are planning a trip similar in structure to ours with a similarly tight timeline, make sure that you consider all of the elements of composing the travel time and all of their consequences.
Recommendations
Cathedral hopping
As I mentioned, by happy accident, I found many stunning cathedrals, all of which I would recommend visiting. They include:
- Église Saint-Séverin
- Église Saint-Eustache
- Église Saint-Étienne-du-Mont (my personal favorite)
- l’Église de la Madeleine
- Église Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Take the road less traveled
Skip the really touristy locations. Okay, I know the entire city is a really touristy location, but I’m talking about the attractions everyone traveling to Paris is looking to see (i.e., Notre-Dame de Paris, Sainte-Chapelle, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, etc.). While all of the listed locations are beautiful, I wouldn’t recommend going inside any of them; instead, I suggest admiring their amazing exteriors (and gazing in awe at the multitudes attempting to gain entry), as it is simply not worth it, at least in my opinion, to wait endlessly to gain access only to be pushed up against the walls by crowds. However, if your heart is set on seeing these places, I suggest researching private tour offerings, as they can potentially earn you special privileges and even private viewings, if you’re really lucky.
If you aren’t interested in looking for creative, more expensive ways to see the extremely crowded monuments but still want to admire gorgeous architecture and explore incredible museums, I recommend simply substituting the packed locations for equally amazing, less-frequently-visited ones (again, “less-frequently-attended” is relative).
For example, if you’re interested in Notre-Dame de Paris, I’d suggest visiting the Parisian churches I listed above, which are exceedingly beautiful and will undoubtedly satisfy your need for Gothic architecture. If you want to see the Louvre, I’d recommend considering some of Paris’ other incredible museums, such as the d’Orsay, l’Orangerie, Rodin, Monet Marmaton, Petit Palais, Musee Picasso, which, although still quite crowded, are incomparably less stuffed than the Louvre. Lastly, while not in the city, I would advise against traveling to Versailles. A family member of mine travelled to the famous palace, and he related that the crowds immensely detracted from the experience. Instead, I propose visiting the equally opulent Palais Royal, which, although still very busy, isn’t nearly as crowded as Versailles.
Final Thoughts
I loved Paris. There truly is something so magical and romantic about the city. The incredible architecture, art, culture, and cathedrals are all just unreal, and it was unbelievably amazing to actually see and experience the city, which I had longed to see for so long.
Recommendations for London and Paris
Keep calm
No matter your location, give yourself grace. When travelling, anything can go wrong, and most likely, something will go wrong, so don’t let setbacks upset you; acclimating to a totally different city is bewildering, and it will take some time to overcome the learning curve. I recommend always building in time for something to go wrong when planning your departure times so you can arrive at your destination on time and reduce stress in the case of a mishap.
Plan, plan, plan
Do yourself a favor, and conduct thorough research and create a plan (even a loose one!) before your trip. You don’t want to leave everything up to chance and have no clue about what you’re doing! You want to make sure that you make the most out of your trip. So, decide what you most want to do and see, get tickets, and make reservations in advance! You can still preserve an element of spontaneity by setting aside time each day to simply wander, but you shouldn’t just go without having a clue, because then you can easily miss out on incredible opportunities that you could’ve taken advantage of had you utilized the vast swaths of information at your fingertips!
Happy Travels
I hope that this guide has equipped all future travelers to London and Paris with a better sense of what these cities are like and that the recommendations serve all readers well. No matter how you decide to plan your trip, I am sure that you will have an incredible time in London and/or Paris! I wish all visitors a splendid adventure!