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[wanna_writemore]

I'm planning a trip for my husband and I to either London or Paris (or, if we find a good deal, both) for a week in early June.  Are we better off to book air and hotel separately or together?  We want to stay in an area where we can walk around and get to restaurants, etc., and also to public transport to get elsewhere.  We don't plan to rent a car. 

Suggestions for how to book and get a good deal? Or for areas of either city that would be good but still affordable?

Packages for air/hotel only seem to run about $1500 each right now.  We can afford that, although anything we save can go towards yummy food and other types of fun, of course.

[chaosbydesign]

I think it depends on where the hotel that comes in the package is. If you're in London and in a hotel near the airport(s), you won't be anywhere near the city centre.

[wanna_writemore]

The online travel sites that I've seen have packages that allow for a number of hotel options - the airport hotels are by far cheaper than city center ones, but I'm discarding them right away for the obvious reasons.

So far, I've looked at AAA, American Express Travel, Europeandestinations.com, and IcelandAir packages (because stopping in Iceland for a couple of days seems cool! - if it's affordable).

[carebearstare]

It really depends on what kind of neighborhood you want. Are you two more interesting in staying in something hip, historic, tony, touristy...? This will make a lot of difference in terms of how you define "accessibility" and what kind of things you want to be able to walk around and see.

My husband and I did that very trip two summers ago. In London, we stayed at a lovely hotel in South Kensington. It was a nice, affordable in a beautiful neighborhood, but I would have preferred to have stayed someplace a little grungier had I been closer to places where I wanted to hang out.

In Paris, our hotel was just that and it was great. We were near the Republique stop (can't remember the neighborhood right now) and it wasn't absolutely central, but it was close enough to everything. We walked a ton.

PM if you want more info.

[ideagirl]

The online travel sites that I've seen have packages that allow for a number of hotel options - the airport hotels are by far cheaper than city center ones, but I'm discarding them right away for the obvious reasons.

So far, I've looked at AAA, American Express Travel, Europeandestinations.com, and IcelandAir packages (because stopping in Iceland for a couple of days seems cool! - if it's affordable).

Iceland is awesome. We love the Hotel Borg; it's expensive but sometimes there are deals. As with Paris and London, make sure your hotel is actually in the city center.

[daniel_von_flanagan]

Lately in London I've stayed in Earl's Court; it has the advantage of being in both Zone 1 and Zone 2 for Underground purposes (=cheap fares to both the city centre and to Heathrow), and is on some convenient train lines.  Note that South Kensington and Earl's Court both have many hotels that look OK from the outside but are disgusting fleabags inside, so use online vetting sites (like tripadvisor) wisely.  - DvF

[wanna_writemore]

Thanks for the replies so far...keep 'em coming, please :) 

Ideally, we'd like to stay in an area with cafes and restaurants within a couple of miles of major tourist attractions and near public transport.  We'd be likely, for example, to spend a day like this: light breakfast at a cafe, take the subway to a tourist area, go to a museum, have lunch, walk around a bit, see something interesting, stop for coffee, wander through shops, dinner, subway or walk back to hotel, find a place near hotel for a drink, go to bed.

Some days, we might want to go back to our hotel for an hour between afternoon wanderings and dinner, so it would be nice to feel like it was possible (i.e., 20 minute walk or subway, not a 40-minute subway ride from the city centre to the hotel).

Thanks, dvf, for mentioning the zones for the Underground-the subway system I'm most familiar with is a flat-rate system, so I had forgotten to keep that in mind.

[dolljepopp]

In London we almost always stay near King's Cross/St Pancras -- mostly because we usually travel by Eurostar and, if travelling north to see my in-laws, usually depart from King's Cross or Euston (about a five-minute walk). A lot of the hotels in the neighbourhood are not so great, but there is a Premier Inn and a Novotel as well as the Megaro (which we love), just across from the station.

The neighbourhood is not posh, but there are lots of restaurants, etc around Euston Station, the British Library is right there, the Tube connections are good, and the West End is walkable.

[daniel_von_flanagan]

In London we almost always stay near King's Cross/St Pancras --

Ew.  Even when I lived in a part of England where the train to London landed at King's Cross, I didn't stay there.   (There are plenty of decent hotels near Regent's Park for easy access to that part of town, and the neighborhood is far better, as are the restaurants.)

The major museums are in South Kensington, so either S. Kens or Earl's Court are very convenient for those, and both areas have some decent restaurants. - DvF

[carebearstare]

Thanks for the replies so far...keep 'em coming, please :)  

Ideally, we'd like to stay in an area with cafes and restaurants within a couple of miles of major tourist attractions and near public transport.  We'd be likely, for example, to spend a day like this: light breakfast at a cafe, take the subway to a tourist area, go to a museum, have lunch, walk around a bit, see something interesting, stop for coffee, wander through shops, dinner, subway or walk back to hotel, find a place near hotel for a drink, go to bed.

Some days, we might want to go back to our hotel for an hour between afternoon wanderings and dinner, so it would be nice to feel like it was possible (i.e., 20 minute walk or subway, not a 40-minute subway ride from the city centre to the hotel).

Thanks, dvf, for mentioning the zones for the Underground-the subway system I'm most familiar with is a flat-rate system, so I had forgotten to keep that in mind.

Chime on South Kensington and Earl's Court being good for this. The drawback I had with those areas is that there's not much nightlife (at least not that I found/wanted to do). I visited some friends in London who live in the hip neighborhoods in the northeastern section, and when I went out with them one night I ended up having to take a VERY expensive cab back to my hotel. But if you're not into that, or plan on heading back before the Tube closes (remember, this isn't NYC we're talking about), then you'll be fine.

I walked to both the Victoria and Albert and the Natural History museum from my hotel, and I could also walk to Hyde Park. 

The hotel was also near two grocery stores, which was great for grabbing a quick lunch or snacks for the room.

[avidreader]

If staying for a week, a cheaper option--for London at least (I've not been to Paris)--might be a holiday rental such as those on http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/ or http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/ . . . There are lots of similar sites, but I've used the latter in London with great success.

AR.

[daniel_von_flanagan]

What neighborhoods in the NE are considered hip these days? - DvF

[carebearstare]

What neighborhoods in the NE are considered hip these days? - DvF

I was hanging out in Islington and Shoreditch. But that was about two years ago--things could have moved on by now, I suppose.

[daniel_von_flanagan]

I was hanging out in Islington and Shoreditch. But that was about two years ago--things could have moved on by now, I suppose.

I'd heard that Hackney's gone all Brooklyn because of Damien Hirst, but I have trouble seeing Islington as a swinging place.  (I have a cousin living there.) - DvF

[sassafrass]

Hi OP:

I just popped by to give you some ideas. Generally speaking, it's usually cheaper to book hotel and flights separately, especially in Europe because the best independent hotels don't need to cut deals with the airlines.

For London: it's difficult: you'll need to choose between proximity to sights and a jumping area. If you want the sights, try sleepy Bloomsbury: some good hotels in this area, minutes from the British Library and the British Museum and it's in Zone 1 (for a cheaper travel card: by the way, get an Oyster card, it's cheaper and you can use it again if you ever come back to the Big Smoke). For the hipster area, try Hoxton. (I know, I know.) The only reason I stay there is because the Hoxton Hotel is good value, clean and has a great hotel bar/restaurant. This what I need when I'm in London for work. It's walking distance to good bars/cafes but if Hoxton/Shoreditch is too cool for school for you then you can take the tube or bus to Islington (Angel tube stop) which is very nice.

For Paris: try Le Marais which is very expensive (but deals can be found here), lovely and central. I prefer the Bastille area that carebearstare recommends: the neighbourhood around La Republique metro in the 11th. Rue Oberkampf used to be ground zero for hipsters. However, it's been gentrified so it's a bit more tame (but still very nice). You get the best of both worlds here: you're in a neighbourhood (with all the nightlife you could want) and a you're a few metro stops from the sights.

@DVF: the area around King's Cross has much improved. It's slowly being regenerated. The new St. Pancras  Station (the eurostar hub) was central to the area's redevelopment. It's a bit rough but not as bad as it used to be.