We love introducing our granddaughters to the world's wonderful cities and rich cultures. This year, our family adventure took us to London, Paris, and the picturesque villages of Germany's Middle Rhine region. While the girls and Elena chose London and Paris, MC suggested including the charming Rhine villages for a perfect blend of experiences. Our trip spanned from 6/25 to 7/10, totaling 15 days.

Our itinerary began with 5 nights in London, followed by 5 nights in Paris, and then 4 nights in Germany. We traveled between these bases by train. We purchased our Channel Eurostar train tickets from London to Paris in January and also purchased our Eurostar train tickets from Paris to Cologne back in January. These train fares are like airfare; the earlier you can commit, the lower the fares are. Tickets are non-refundable (except for the 1st class business fares), but you can change the date and train and pay for the price difference. See the TRAIN section below for more details.

Many tourist attractions in London and Paris now require pre-booking and online payment for timed admission tickets, so we took care of those in advance. For some sites, we had to act quickly when tickets were released for our dates, as they often sold out fast. We'll share more details about this in the "Itinerary & Highlights" section.

We also went ahead and pre-booked a few restaurants for dates when we knew we could commit. While we don't want to be tied down too much to specific meal times and locations, we also know from past experiences that without a reservation, we'd face a long wait at the door.

Due to a schedule conflict, Philip and Ayumi were unable to leave home until early July. They joined the Boston team in Cologne and spent four days in Germany together. After their time in Germany, they traveled to the Champagne region of France, then visited Paris before continuing on to Nice, where they eventually flew home from Paris.

For some time, VT had been torn about joining the family trip. Despite his excitement, he was concerned about impeding the youngsters' pace. A few weeks before our departure, he decided not to take part in the trip. To keep him connected to our journey, we posted our daily adventures on a dedicated WhatsApp group chat to share with him.

Weather-wise, London was moderate during our visit. However, we encountered a heatwave in Paris so severe that the Eiffel Tower canceled all ascents to the top level. By the time we reached the Middle Rhine in Germany, the weather was a complete contrast; it was cold and had occasional heavy downpours, with daily temperatures in the low 60s°F.

Below is our customized Google My Maps showing our traveling routes as well as the details of our German segment. You may click on the "View Larger Map" symbol ( ) in the upper right corner of the map frame to view the map in a larger window.

And below are our customized Google My Maps for London and Paris. Click on the "View Larger Map" symbol ( ) in the upper right corner of each map frame to view the map in a larger window.

Transportation

AIR: We purchased our air tickets in mid-January on Delta.com. Afterward, we continued to receive Google Flight alerts showing airfare fluctuations, with prices going up and down in a cyclical fashion. I suspect airlines employ this strategy to entice potential customers, prompting them to purchase when they see a seemingly good fare.

Outbound: BOS - LHR (London Heathrow)
Inbound: FRA (Frankfurt) - AMS (Amsterdam) - BOS

We opted for the Main Cabin category, which allowed us to choose seats right away and have one checked bag, as well as to cancel and receive eCredit.

TRAIN: The best train help website is Mark Smith's "The Man in Seat 61", www.seat61.com. Mark, a former employee of a British rail company, began answering train-related questions on discussion boards in the early days of the internet. He eventually left his job to create and maintain this incredibly comprehensive website for train travel. He has been very successful ever since.

To find help for the Eurostar Channel train from London to Paris on the seat61 site, one may google "London to Paris train, seat61" then one of the result pages is https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/london-to-paris-by-eurostar.htm where he provided very detailed info.

Similarly, to look for trains from Paris to Cologne, I went to the Seat61 site to see what he recommends. I searched for "Paris to Cologne by train seat61" and found this page on Seat61: https://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Paris.htm, which provides information about all trains from Paris.

From the dropdown list, I selected "Cologne" as my destination and got: https://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Paris.htm#Paris-Cologne. He recommends taking the high-speed Eurostar (formerly Thalys) from Paris (Gare du Nord) to Cologne Hbf. Thalys is a network of trains linking Paris to Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne etc.; it is a consortium of the French, Belgian, and Dutch railways. Thalys merged with the Channel Eurostar in 2022, and thereafter Thalys trains were rebranded "Eurostar" starting in 2023.

For train travel within Germany, I consulted the German national railway company, Deutsche Bahn, for timetables and fares. There are multiple URLs that direct to the same website; one of the URL to access its train tickets and timetable page in English is https://int.bahn.de/en.

For long-distance high-speed trains, you’ll want the IC (InterCity), EC (EuroCity), or ICE (InterCity Express) trains. These tickets are train-specific.

Deutsche Bahn provides various regional train passes. These passes are valid for regional trains identified by the letters R, RE, RB, IRE, or S-Bahn in the timetable. They are not valid for IC, EC, or ICE high-speed trains. Regional trains are open seating; therefore, no seat reservation is needed. Here is my compiled German-Trains.pdf, which I prepared specifically for this trip so that I don't have to figure things out while on the road.

Online Resources:

Lodging

We booked all our hotels in January, opting for flexible rates that allowed free cancellation until the day of or day before arrival. Most of the hotels offered up to 20% discounts for non-refundable bookings.

Given our 5-night stays in both London and Paris, we sought apartment-style hotels equipped with a kitchenette and on-site laundry facilities.

• LONDON: Premier Inn County Hall - The hotel's location is truly wonderful, just across Westminster Bridge from Big Ben and next to the London Eye Ferris wheel. The other hotel we were considering was the Residence Inn by Marriott near Earl's Court tube station. Ultimately, the views of Big Ben and Parliament from just outside the hotel were the deciding factor, despite it not being an apartment-style hotel or as well-appointed as the Residence Inn. We booked 3 x twin rooms and chose the Flex rate option, which allowed us free cancellation by 1 pm on the check-in day.
  - This hotel occupies part of the east side of the County Hall, the building that used to be the headquarters of the London County Council.
  - Premier Inn is the UK's biggest hotel brand. The company owns and operates over 800 hotels worldwide. It has more than 60 hotels in London alone.
   
• PARIS: Citadines Apart’hotel Saint-Germain-des-Prés Paris - The location is excellent, situated on the south bank of the River Seine in the 6th arrondissement. It's a short walk to many iconic sites like Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre Museum, the Musée d'Orsay, and the vibrant restaurant scene around Boulevard Saint Germain.
  - Citadines is an apartment-hotel chain worldwide. It has several locations in Paris, but reviews are very location-specific. We booked a 1-bedroom at 452 sq ft for Austin's family and a studio at 248 sq ft for MC. Each room comes with a kitchenette.
  - In hindsight, 452 sq ft is not a large room for a family of 4. I went to the front desk to request a change to two studios for Austin's family and pay the price difference, but was told the hotel was fully booked for the next five nights.
  - A self-service laundry facility is on the premises.
  - The hotel lobby features two hot beverage machines, offering individually brewed drinks at the touch of a button.
   
• COLOGNE: Cologne Marriott - It is located about a 5-minute walk northeast of the Köln Hbf. We booked 4 x king-bed deluxe rooms.
  - VT and MC stayed at this Marriott in 2017 during their "Middle Rhine + North Cape Cruise" trip. We really enjoyed this hotel; it was a calm, peaceful retreat after a day of sightseeing. That was why we decided to bring the family back here for a stop.
   
• KOBLENZ: Hotel Brenner - We spent 2 nights in Koblenz as a base for visiting the Rhine Gorge as well as the Mosel River. Many hotels in the small villages along the Rhine Gorge lack air-conditioning, making our options limited when we sought hotel rooms with this amenity. Hotel Brenner is about a 6-minute walk from Koblenz Hbf, and its website indicated that the hotel rooms have air conditioning. We booked 4 x standard twin rooms (at 237 sq ft each) on Booking.com.
  - The weather was cool and rainy, so we did not have an opportunity to run its air conditioning. However, the twin rooms were charming, and the hotel's breakfast room was lovely. We all liked this hotel.
   
• FRANKFURT: Marriott Frankfurt Airport: To ensure a stress-free morning before our 11:45 AM departure flight, we chose to spend our final night at a luxurious airport hotel. We booked a 506 sq ft family room for Austin's family and a 312 sq ft Twin room for MC. The spacious rooms provided a welcome sense of relaxation for everyone, serving as a perfect end to our sightseeing adventures before heading home.

There are several ways to stay connected while traveling abroad. The touring members all had WhatsApp installed, so we used its phone and text features to communicate with each other as long as WIFI was available.

• eSIM: If your mobile phone is unlocked and of an eSIM-compatible model, then you may install an eSIM.
  If you received your iPhone via your home carrier's plan, it is likely your phone is locked to only work with your home carrier's cell frequency. To see if your iPhone is locked, do Settings -> General -> About, and scroll down to see the "Carrier Lock" field. If it is unlocked, it should say "No SIM restrictions." Otherwise, you may call your carrier to ask them to unlock your phone. They might deny your request because you need to have owned the phone for at least six months. Alternatively, they could unlock it remotely, or they might require you to pay off your phone's remaining balance first.

  Many eSIM vendors, such as Airalo, Saily, Nomad, and Orange, promote their products through YouTube influencers. Thanks to the numerous video tutorials available (like this helpful YouTube tutorial), MC was able to easily purchase and install an Airalo eSIM online before leaving home. eSIM prices vary based on coverage, data size, and validity period. One can choose an eSIM for a specific country, a region (such as Asia or Europe, which includes multiple countries), or globally (covering several regions). MC chose a Europe regional eSIM with 10 GB of data for 30 days at $31. The full price was $37, but several YouTubers offered a 10% to 15% discount code. At the end of my 15-day trip, I only used about 3 GB of data; therefore, a 5 GB plan would suffice.

  The validity period of an Airalo eSIM only begins when you arrive at your destination and connect to a cell signal. Given that some users have reported difficulties activating Airalo eSIMs upon arrival, MC's backup plan was to visit a Vodafone mobile store in London to purchase and install a Vodafone eSIM if needed. Luckily, the Airalo eSIM worked a few minutes after we arrived in London.

  - PRO: Having Wi-Fi access to Google Maps throughout the day while sightseeing is incredibly convenient. The main consideration is managing your phone's battery life to ensure it lasts until the end of the day.
  
  - CON: A drawback with the Airalo eSIM is its lack of iMessage support (I could not send or receive any Apple iMessage sent to my US phone number), this seems to be a known issue. While in Europe, my iMessage was logged off when the Airalo eSIM was active. After the trip, and after I switched back to using my primary eSIM from xFinity, I had to navigate to Settings > Apps > Messages, then toggle the switch next to "iMessage" to turn it on, as it didn't turn back on automatically. For my next trip, I plan to experiment with a different eSIM brand to see if it offers better iMessage support.
   
• SIM Card: If your unlocked mobile phone doesn't support eSIMs but accepts a physical SIM card, consider installing one compatible with your destination. Alternatively, if you have a pocket WiFi device, you can install a SIM card and use it as a personal hotspot.
   
• International Day Pass from your home carrier: Philip and Ayumi opted for AT&T's International Day Pass, finding it the simplest way to stay connected with business associates. The rate was $10 per 24 hours, and charges only applied on days the pass was used. Some carriers cap monthly charges at $100; check with your home provider for specific details.
   
• Pocket WIFI: If your mobile phone is locked and you choose not to use your carrier's $10/day international day-pass plan, or if your phone is unlocked but you do not want to go with any of the options above, then purchasing or renting a pocket WIFI is a viable alternative. Elena rented 2 pocket WIFI  from HIPPOCKETWIFI to be shared with her family of four. Each pocket WIFI can connect up to 10 devices. This company is headquartered in Lyon, France, but it operates a warehouse in the United States. As a result, your rental units are shipped from within the United States, and you also return them to a U.S. address.

We know we could pay for almost everything with a credit card in London. But we still bought a few hundred British pounds sterling (£, GBP) from AAA to take along with us, just in case we needed cash to pay for tipping, toilets, or taxi fares before we had a chance to hit an ATM.

We used the leftover euros (€) from our previous trip for expenses in France and Germany, and simply withdrew more from ATMs as needed. For ATM cash withdrawal, Bank of America's partner bank in the UK is Barclays. In France is BNP Paribas, and in Germany is Deutsche Bank.

The Citadines Apart'hotel Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris offers a convenient self-service laundry facility. To operate and pay for the machines, you'll need to install a mobile app and enter your credit card information – quite high-tech! If your hotel doesn't have laundry facility, simply Google "laverie" to locate a laundromat nearby.

Food:

Our team unanimously agreed that Paris offers the best food, and we enjoyed several excellent meals at Parisian restaurants.

In London, beyond the classic fish and chips, we twice opted for Italian cuisine. MC's seafood pasta at both establishments were excellent. Austin's family highly praised their lunch at London's Punjab Restaurant (80 Neal St), an Indian eatery. While they were there, MC went to Chinatown's Little Four Seasons (on Gerrard St) for a very good BBQ pork and soy-sauce chicken with rice.

In Germany, with Philip and Ayumi joining the family, Philip took charge of selecting restaurants. We enjoyed traditional German meals at beer houses a few times.

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Itinerary and highlights:

Day 1 - Arrival in London (6/26/2025, Thursday): Link to our photo

We left Boston on a 7 PM Delta flight yesterday, and arrived in London Heathrow at 5:45 AM, almost an hour ahead of schedule.

With five of us (originally six) and our luggage, we booked a van transfer through JustAirports.com from the airport to our hotel in the South Bank. They offer sedans and vans for groups of different sizes. We opted for an MPV7 van, suitable for seven passengers, five check-in bags, and five hand luggage pieces.

The cost varied based on the first three letters of our destination's postal code and the time of day. We paid £89 for the van service plus £18 for its airport parking, totaling £107. Our driver, holding a small cardboard sign with my name, was waiting just beyond the arrival barrier in Terminal 3. The drive to our hotel at London County Hall took 90 minutes through mild morning traffic. Overall, a van service like this is an excellent value for groups of three or more traveling with luggage.

We were too early to check in at the hotel, so we left our luggage at the Premier Inn and went to Gail’s Bakery around the corner for breakfast. Then we took the Tube to Trafalgar Square, walked to Leicester Square and Soho, and also checked out a Chinese restaurant and an Indian restaurant we had in mind for later in the week.

We continued walking to the British Museum. Even though our booked entrance was at 2 PM, the gatekeepers did not give us a hard time when we tried to enter at 11 AM, because we were tired and wanted to go back to the hotel to rest as soon as possible.

The British Museum was very crowded. We did a quick look and departed. Even though the museum is free, everyone needs to book a timed ticket online on its official website: http://www.britishmuseum.org.

The London Tube accepts contactless credit cards for payment, so each of us used a contactless credit card to pay for rides. Here is a map of the London Tube: London_Tube_map.webp. Take a screenshot of it on your iPhone to save as a photo, so you may look it up anytime without WIFI.

In the late afternoon, we took a stroll along the boardwalk around the London Eye, which is just behind our hotel. Many shops, restaurants and entertainment venues lined the vibrant riverbank. We chose an Italian restaurant named Strada for dinner. It was a very pleasant experience, and the food was delicious.

Premier Inn County Hall is at a very good location. But the hotel is understaffed. There was always a wait to check in or to ask a question.

Day 2 to 5 - London  (6/27 ~ 7/1/2025, Friday ~ Monday): Link to London photo

London offers a wealth of activities and sights to explore. Below, we outline how we prioritized our visits and organized them over the days we had. We didn’t always experience everything together as a group of five; on some days, we split up based on varying interests or energy levels.

6/27/2025 (Friday):

• Tower of London/Crown Jewel: [Tube station: Tower Hill, on the District and Circle lines]. This is London's #1 sight for a first-timer. Book entrance tickets online a day or two ahead to avoid lining up on site. It's best to go when it just opens and head for the Crown Jewel first while the line is not long.
   
• Northeastern University London Campus: [Tube station: Tower Hill]. The campus is located near St. Katharine Docks. Since it is not far from the Tower of London, we decided to make a stop there. The campus itself consists of two buildings that are beautifully situated by a marina, creating a picturesque setting. Angelina thought it would be cool to spend two months living in London as a college student.
   
• Fish & chips lunch at the Tower Hotel's terrace restaurant: We walked past a beautiful terrace restaurant called Vicinity on our way to the Northeastern London campus, so we decided to return on our way back to try Britain's #1 staple dish here.
   
• Sky Garden: [Tube: Monument station on the District or Circle lines]. Free entry, but you need to book timed tickets. Located on floors 35, 36, and 37 of the 20 Fenchurch Street building, also known as the Walkie Talkie building. Tickets are released on Monday morning at 10 AM (London time) for 3 weeks out. (For example, on Monday, 6/2/2025, they release the 7 days’ tickets from Monday, 6/23, to Sunday, 6/29.) Each day, the entrance time slots are 15 minutes apart from 10:00 to 16:45. Each time slot has about 200 tickets available. Booking: https://skygarden.london/booking/. It offers a 360-degree view of the city's iconic skyline free of charge. Other popular spots for high-floor views, like the London Eye, reach a height of 135 m (443 ft) with standard tickets at £29 per person and Fast Track at £44. The Shard, currently the tallest building in the UK, also provides 360-degree city views from floors 68, 69, and 72, with general admission costing £38 per person.
   
• Leadenhall Market: [Tube: Monument on the District or Circle lines]. The market is only a 3-minute walk from the Sky Garden, so it is logical to visit them together. This was a historical meat, poultry, and game market that is now home to boutique retailers, restaurants, cafes, and wine bars. This market is a high priority on Angelina's list.

6/28/2025 (Saturday):

• Palace of Westminster (The Parliament, Visiting and Tours Info): Originally built in the eleventh century as a royal palace, this building served as the primary residence for England's kings until 1512. Eventually, the monarch granted the parliament permission to use its halls for meetings and deliberations (the Latin word "parla," means "talk, speak").
  The 90-minute guided tour, which includes the House of Commons, House of Lords, and Westminster Hall, is available only on Saturdays. Alternatively, you can book a self-guided audio tour, which generally has more availability. We secured our 9:45 AM guided tour three months in advance, and our guide was excellent.
   
• Big Ben (the Great Clock of Westminster): We looked at Big Ben from outside but did not plan to tour inside. (Link to tour info).
   
• Westminster Abbey (Visiting Info): Tickets for Westminster Abbey are easy to book; we pre-booked ours just a few days in advance. This historic site serves as Great Britain's Royal Family's chapel, where all coronations take place.
  Tickets: adults £30; seniors, £27; children (6-17), £13. But Families (1 adult and 1 child) is also £30. This family pricing effectively meant Angelina and Gabby could visit for free with Austin and Elena.
  MC was surprised that such a high entrance fee is charged for visiting a church. At an average of £30 per adult, the abbey earned a very good income annually to pay for its maintenance.
   
• Punjab Restaurant (Indian food): Located at 80 Neal Street, just north of the Covent Garden tube station. This restaurant serves traditional Punjabi specialties. Legend has it The Beatles once dined here! Elena had this restaurant selected long before our trip, and Angelina even rated this lunch as one of her best meals in London.
   
• Frameless Immersive Art Experience: [Tube: Marble Arch]. This experience utilizes 360° visuals, dynamic soundscapes, and motion-tracking technology to transform famous paintings into interactive environments, blurring the line between observer and participant. However, MC opted out of this experience, concerned it might cause dizziness. Consequently, we agreed to split up at noon after visiting Westminster Abbey.
   
• Attend an evening show at the West End: Elena and the kids were very resourceful; they purchased last-minute theater tickets online and attended a murder mystery show at St. Martin’s Theater and loved it. They had fun. After the show, they walked all the way back to the hotel and marveled at how pretty the night lights were.
   
• MC headed to Chinatown for a grilled BBQ lunch, then walked to Covent Garden to photograph the old market and the Royal Opera House. Being a sunny Saturday, the streets were bustling with people.

6/29/2025 (Sunday):

• Buckingham Palace/Changing of the guard: [Tube: St. James's Park, Victoria and Hyde Park Corner, all approximately 10 minutes walk.]  Changing of the Guard takes place at Buckingham Palace Forecourt every Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun. Time: 11:00 AM. It was a lot of time spent waiting and only a few minutes of actual viewing.
   
• Borough Market: [Tube: London Bridge station on the Jubilee or Northern line]. Both the kids loved the sights, sounds, and smells of this market. Since there was nowhere to sit and eat, we reserved a lunch spot at a Spanish tapas restaurant on Dirty Lane, a tiny street just west of the market. (There were three popular restaurants on this small lane.) Gabby was so impressed with the market; she said if she were a millionaire, she would buy it and move it to Boston.
   
• St. Paul’s Cathedral: [Tube: St. Paul's station on the Central (red) line.] This was the church where Princess Diana married Prince Charles in 1981, so how could we pass up an opportunity to see the interior? But we could not fit it in our schedule on Friday or Saturday or the following Monday, so we opted to see it on Sunday. Although we couldn't get close to the altar because of the Sunday church services, the upside was that we got to see the interior for free, saving the £26 per adult ticket price.
   
• Daunt book store: Gabby loves visiting physical bookstores to buy books. Since a branch of Daunt bookstore is located near St. Paul's Cathedral, we stopped by after our cathedral visit.
   
• Harrods Department Store: [Tube: Knightsbridge on the blue Piccadilly line.] It was open Mon-Sat 10am-9pm and Sundays 11:30am-6pm. Elena bought some chocolate from Venchi's at the food hall.
   
• To Chinatown for dinner and tasted the Filipino ice cream at a shop called Mamasons Dirty Ice Cream. MC and the kids took the Tube back to the hotel afterward. A/E chose to walk from Chinatown and arrived at the hotel just a few minutes after us, proving the distance wasn't too far to travel on foot.

6/30/2025 (Monday):

• Warner Brothers Studio’s Harry Potter tour: Located about 20 miles northwest of London, this tour is a full-day event. See options on how to get there. While it's possible to book tickets and arrange your own transportation, we found that by March, the only available tickets for our June date were for 3:00 PM or later, which wasn't ideal.
  As a solution, we booked the "tickets + r/t transportation" package with Golden Tours. Although this came at a premium, Golden Tours had tickets available throughout the day.
  - Elena booked four packages on the 10:15 AM bus, and the one-way drive took about 80 minutes with traffic.
  - The Golden Tours bus departs from "Stop 1, Bulleid Way, London SW1W 9SH," which is just south of Victoria Station. (See Golden Tours' Bus Info for more details).
  - You will be informed of the return bus time upon your arrival at the Studio.
  - They had a great time seeing the movie sets and countless props. Elena felt the tour was well worth the time and effort.
   
• MC opted out of the Harry Potter tour to spend the day at the National Gallery, where she enjoyed a collection of world-class paintings. The museum is free, but visitors still need to book a timed ticket online.

Day 6 - Eurostar train to Paris (7/1/2025, Tuesday) Link to our photo

We purchased our Channel Eurostar train tickets from London (St. Pancras train station) to Paris (Gare du Nord station) back in January, choosing a noon departure for USD $84 per ticket. Seats are assigned but can be changed.

MC created an account on Eurostar.com for the purchase. The advantage is that if the emailed tickets were misplaced, she can easily log into her account and reprint them.

Our train was 12:31 -> 16:00 for an approximately 2h30m ride. (Paris is in a time zone 1-hour ahead of London.) Passengers were advised to arrive 90 minutes before departure for passport control and luggage screening. With trains leaving every 30 minutes during peak hours—each train being 16 or 18 cars long and carrying up to 900 passengers total—the waiting hall was filled with passengers from around the world and luggage of various shapes and sizes. The atmosphere was somewhat chaotic, lacking the romantic vision of a graceful train journey from London to Paris.

Upon arriving at Paris' Gare du Nord station, we followed the taxi signs to find two queues: one for sedan taxis for smaller groups and another for van taxis for larger groups. We got into a roomy van, the same size as the one that picked us up from London Heathrow Airport five days earlier.

We loved our Paris hotel, the Citadines Saint-Germain-des-Prés. It had a calm, upmarket elegance, and its location was excellent. We were within walking distance of many major sights.

One of the first things we did was to learn how to use the hotel's self-service laundry machines. Guests need to install a specific WeWash app, create an account with their credit card information, and then reserve and pay for the washing and drying directly through the app. It's quite modern, but what if one forgets one's Apple ID password and can't install a new app? Austin googled "Laundromat" and found two self-service Laundromats not far from our hotel.

Day 7 to 10 - Paris (7/2 ~ 7/5/2025, Wed ~ Sat): Link to our photo

The Paris Metro ticket system changed on January 1, 2025, and no longer uses paper tickets. We chose to purchase a Navigo Easy Card for €2 each and load six metro rides onto each card. In the end, most of us needed seven metro rides. These cards are good for ten years. For more details on the new system, see the official RATP website or this helpful YouTube video from Paris Top Tips.

To pass through the metro gates in Paris, we found that we had to place the whole Navigo card on the electronic reader, a different experience from the London Tube, where we only needed to ensure the chip in our credit card was read by the machine.

It’s a good idea to install the Bonjour RATP app on your mobile phone to help navigate getting from point A to point B by metro.

7/2/2025 (Wednesday):

• We booked a 2.5-hour, English-speaking SANDEMANs "Free Tour of Paris" starting at 10 AM. This walking tour started at Place Saint-Michel and ended in the Tuileries Garden. The tour is free; you pay the guide by tipping him at the end.
   
• After the tour, we walked from Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. The walk is about 30 minutes straight, but we stopped to browse shops and have lunch. Angelina bought a pair of red Adidas sneakers, a style/color that was out of stock at the Adidas shop near her home.
  - Due to several road construction sites and barricades, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées did not look as pretty as we had expected.
   
• Ascend the Eiffel Tower (Our 5:30 PM Ascent): To go up to the top level of the Eiffel Tower, it is better to pre-book timed tickets online up to 60 days in advance on the official website: https://www.toureiffel.paris/en.
  Important Notes on Tickets:
  • Skip-the-line: A timed ticket allows you to skip the on-site ticket purchasing line, but not the security check. Everyone must line up for security screening, regardless of their ticket type. The official website makes it clear they do not wish to create a secondary market for third-party tour companies that advertise "skip-the-line" tickets at a premium.
  • Booking Tip: Tickets for the top level often sell out within a day during the summer. They become available at midnight (00:01) Paris time, 60 days ahead. If you're in a time zone behind Paris (like the US East Coast), you will need to temporarily change your computer's time zone settings to match that of Paris in order to see the tickets available at Paris' 00:01 hour 60 days ahead.
  Our Experience: A Heatwave Cancellation
  Unfortunately, two days before our scheduled ascent, we received an email from the Eiffel Tower organization. Due to a consecutive heat wave, they had to cancel all ascends to the top level. Our tickets were still valid for ascending to the second level, and we were refunded the price difference to our original credit card.

7/3/2025 (Thursday):

• While the Palace of Versailles can be visited independently by booking a timed ticket on its official website, we chose a guided tour. Given the historical significance of the "Sun King," Louis XIV, MC felt a tour would help Angelina and Gabby absorb more French history.
  
  We booked a 90-minute guided tour with GetYourGuide at 10:40 AM, a company recommended by our 2024 OAT "French Impression" tour leader, John Scarratt.
  • The meeting point is the GetYourGuide office at 10 Av. du Général de Gaulle, 78000 Versailles, located across from the RER-C Versailles Château-Rive Gauche station.
  • The RER-C train ride from central Paris takes about 40 minutes. Be sure to check the departure screen for a train with "Versailles Château Rive Gauche" as its final destination, as not all RER-C trains go there.
  • One may also opt to pay more to meet a staff from GetYourGuide in a specific Paris hotel lobby and be escorted to the Versailles meeting point.
  Overall, this tour is beneficial for the younger generation, particularly for those who haven't had the opportunity to read in advance before their visit.
   
• The Musée d'Orsay is open late on Thursdays until 9:45 PM. We purchased tickets from its official website for a 5:00 PM entry, which gave us enough time for a look at its great collection of impressionist art.

7/4/2025 (Friday):

• We had free time until 11 AM. MC used it to visit the Notre-Dame Cathedral and walked to Paul's Bakery on Rue de Seine for a croissant, for old times' sake. Austin also managed to see the inside of Notre-Dame during his morning jog. Our tour guide from SANDEMANs Walking Tour was right; early in the morning it was easy to get in. Elena and Gabby enjoyed breakfast at a local cafe.
   
• 12 noon lunch at the highly rated La Forge restaurant (14 Rue Pascal, 75005 Paris) in the Latin Quarter, just south of the Mouffetard Market. We made our reservation on the restaurant's website a few weeks before leaving home. Nice restaurant and good food.
   
• We purchased 3:00 PM timed tickets for the Louvre Museum, the world's largest museum by exhibition space. The museum is open late on Fridays until 9:00 PM, and although we hoped the crowd would have thinned out by 3:00 PM, it was still very crowded. (Book your timed tickets on its official website.)
   
• Sparkling light of the Eiffel Tower: We walked to the bridge just past the Musée d'Orsay to watch the sparkling lights on the Eiffel Tower. The Tower is illuminated after dark and then sparkles for five minutes at the top of each hour. We waited and watched the dazzling display from 11:00 PM to 11:05 PM.

7/5/2025 (Saturday):

Today was primarily a shopping day. Everyone enjoyed a free morning to explore on their own until 11 AM, after which we all headed to Montmartre together. Our only commitment for the day was a 7 PM dinner reservation.

• Montmartre: (literally "hill of martyrs") is a large hill in northern Paris famous for its artistic history, the Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur, and its vibrant nightclub scene. Its popularity with tourists also makes it an excellent stop for souvenir shopping, as there are many shops dedicated to it.
   
• Galeries Lafayette Haussmann: Galeries Lafayette is an upmarket French department store chain and is the biggest in Europe. We visited its flagship store at 40 Bd Haussmann, near the Garnier Opera House, to admire its beautiful dome and purchased "Angelina" brand chocolates, as well as other souvenirs from the 6th floor.
   
• Dinner at Brasserie des Prés: (ADDR:6 Cr du Commerce Saint-André, 75006 Paris). Brand new location of the restaurant at this spot. They excel at doing simple things right, a quality recommended by several YouTubers. We were lucky to secure a 7 PM Saturday evening reservation on their website several weeks in advance. It was a nice setting, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the excellent meal.

Day 11 - Eurostar train to Cologne, Germany (7/6/2025, Sunday): Link to our photo

We left Paris in the pouring rain. The temperature was considerably cooler, a welcome relief from the recent heatwave. We took a van/taxi to Gare du Nord for our 11:55 AM Eurostar train to Cologne Hbf, scheduled to arrive at 15:15, making it a 3h20m journey.

We purchased these train tickets online at www.eurostar.com back in January, paying USD $63 per ticket. Our 11:55 AM train was non-stop, though some trains do include stops at Brussels-Midi or Aachen. Unlike the Eurostar from London to Paris, this particular train was not crowded at all.

As mentioned earlier in the "TRAIN" section, the Eurostar trains we rode today were originally Thalys trains. Following Thalys' merger with the Channel Eurostar in 2022, these services were rebranded "Eurostar" starting in 2023. Since these trains are red both externally and internally, some people refer to them as the "red Eurostar."

Philip and Ayumi had flown to Frankfurt the day before and were already settled at the Cologne Marriott, a day ahead of the Boston team. They were waiting for us at the Cologne station, and everyone was excited to see them. After a brief walk in the rain to see the Cologne Cathedral and a bit of downtown, we headed to a German beer house for dinner. Philip had already pre-selected all our dinner restaurants for the next few days.

We also decided against stopping in Bonn tomorrow during our transfer to Koblenz. MC had originally planned to visit Beethoven's birth house and museum in Bonn, but the logistics of either stowing luggage in the Bonn train station lockers or taking it via two or three taxis to the museum seemed unappealing. Consequently, we opt to skip the Bonn stop entirely.

Day 12 to 14 - Middle Rhine Germany (7/7/ ~ 7/9/2025, Mon ~ Wed): Link to our photo

The Middle Rhine, or the Rhine Gorge, is the best of the Rhine, according to Rick Steves. This is a section of the Rhine River between Bonn in the north and Bingen in the south. The river is narrow in this section and dotted with castles and vineyards. The Middle Rhine region is a UNESCO World Heritage site

The Mosel River is a peaceful little river that merges into the Rhine in Koblenz. Cochem is a quaint little town on the Mosel River that we visited. (The river's name is spelled as Mosel [MOH-zehl] in German and Moselle [moh-ZEHL] in French.)

Our purpose for visiting this part of Germany is to explore several towns along the Rhine Gorge, as well as the town of Cochem situated along the Mosel River.

7/7 (Monday):

For today's train journey from Cologne to Koblenz, MC purchased two "across the country, nationwide" German regional train rail passes. We needed "nationwide" passes because our route crossed German state borders. Since one pass can be shared by up to five people, two passes worked for our group of seven. MC bought these passes online from the Deutsche Bahn website earlier that morning and received the tickets with QR code via email. (See our prepared German-Trains.pdf for more details.)

Philip had mapped out the 6-minute walking route from Koblenz Hbf to our hotel on his iPhone, so we decided to walk. However, about 2 minutes into our stroll, the sky opened up and it began to rain heavily. Although everyone opened their umbrellas for shelter, we still ended up quite wet by the time we reached the hotel.

• Hotel Brenner, Koblenz: This family-run hotel was booked primarily for its advertised air-conditioned guest rooms and its convenient 6-minute walk from the train station. Upon checking in, we were delighted to find the guest rooms charming and the breakfast room lovely. It truly exceeded our expectations. It might be beneficial for the hotel to consider updating its website photos, as they don't fully capture its appeal.
   
• Deutsches Eck (German Corner) & cable car ride to the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress: Deutsches Eck is a park at the tip of the triangular headland where the Mosel River joins the Rhine River, which then flows north toward Amsterdam. There is a cable car to go up to the fortress on the eastern side of the Rhine River.
  - We experienced another heavy downpour for those who were up in the fortress as well as those who stayed in the Deutsches Eck park. To say it was a soggy day would be an understatement.
   
• Old Town, Koblenz: The old town is a 10-15 minute walk north of our hotel. All our chosen dinner restaurants were located there, so we walked to the old town frequently, passing a large, modern shopping mall along the way. By the end of our second day, we knew our way around the area very well.

7/8 (Tuesday):

Our plan for the day included a K-D Rhine River cruise (K-D stands for Köln-Düsseldorfer, a river cruise operator based in Cologne, Germany) from Bacharach to St. Goar, a visit to the charming Rhine village of Boppard, and then a return to Koblenz by rail. For today's train travel, MC purchased two Rheinland-Pfalz regional passes online this morning. These single-state "Länder tickets" rail passes were perfect as all our journeys remained within the Rhineland-Palatinate state.
(Tip on Purchasing: While these passes can be bought ahead of time, we prefer purchasing them on the morning of travel. They are non-refundable, so buying on the day ensures flexibility if plans change.)

• Bacharach: A picturesque town located on the left bank of the Rhine that Rick Steves often touted. Population: 1845.
   
• Sankt Goar: Sankt Goar is located just north of the famous Lorelei Rock; therefore it is a popular cruise ship stop for passengers to embark or disembark and have lunch. Consequently, the town is often bustling with tourists, but it was notably quiet this time on the Tuesday afternoon we visited. Population: 2913. (Could it be that many shops were open on Saturdays and Sundays and then closed on Mondays and Tuesdays?)
   
• Boppard: With a population of 15,593, Boppard is a much bigger town than either Bacharach or Sankt Goar. MC and VT had previously stayed there for four nights in 2017, so MC suggested heading there for lunch, as we hadn't found any appealing open options in Sankt Goar.

7/9 (Wednesday):

All good times must come to an end. Today marked the Boston team's final day of sightseeing on the trip, while Philip and Ayumi departed for Reims in France's Champagne region to continue their adventure.

For today's travel, MC purchased one "across the country, nationwide" German rail pass on regional trains for the five members of the Boston team. This was necessary because when we travel to Frankfurt Airport later in the afternoon our journey would involve crossing state borders, making a single-state rail pass unsuitable. The Boston team checked out of the Koblenz hotel in the morning but left their luggage there, went sightseeing, and then returned in the afternoon to retrieve their bags before heading to Frankfurt Airport. It helped that our hotel is only a 6-minute walk from Koblenz train station.

• Cochem (Mosel): Cochem is a charming town located in the Mosel River Valley, known for its picturesque scenery. It has benefited from being part of the "German Wine Route" that runs through the valley. The colorful riverfront buildings set against a medieval castle perched high above the town make for a picture-perfect setting. It's not surprising that we observed a shore excursion guide from Viking River Cruises leading her group through this charming town.
   
• Frankfurt Airport Marriott Hotel: The German word for airport is Flughafen, and we know the Marriott is located just above the regional train station at the airport's Terminal 1, so on our DB app we searched for trains heading to "Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Regionalbf." After exiting the train, we found signs to the hotel were lacking. We soon realized that we needed to take elevators three floors up to reach the pedestrian sky bridge connecting to the hotel.
  - Next to the Marriott is a Sheraton, both owned by Marriott, featuring a spacious dining area along with connecting bars and restaurants. We truly appreciated the hotel's luxurious and relaxing atmosphere and enjoyed our dinner at the restaurant.
  - After dinner, MC and Austin took the S-Bahn to "Hauptwache" in downtown Frankfurt for a look-see. Having dinner at the Airport Marriott was a wise choice, as we would have been unsure of which restaurant to select in the vast and unfamiliar downtown Frankfurt.

Day 15 - Frankfurt Airport to Boston (7/10/2025, Thursday):

Our flight home was with KLM from Frankfurt to Amsterdam, connecting to a Delta flight from Amsterdam to Boston. KLM departed from FRA Terminal 2. A Marriott staff member told us to go down the escalators for the airport shuttle buses, which run between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 frequently.

We arrived at the KLM counter around 8:45 AM for our 11:45 AM departure. Check-in and security were remarkably speedy, leaving us ample time to purchase more souvenirs at the duty-free shop.

The Delta flight from Amsterdam to Boston was full. We arrived in Boston around 4:30 PM, concluding an incredible trip.

Epilogue

The girls thoroughly enjoyed all three parts of the trip. London offered a wealth of activities and sights, Paris boasted the best food, and the Middle Rhine provided a calm and serene contrast to the two bustling cities.

They particularly appreciated the convenient locations of the London and Paris hotels, being within easy walking distance of many attractions.

Angelina especially liked her pretty room at Hotel Brenner in Koblenz, and the spacious accommodations at the Marriott Frankfurt Airport.

Gabby loved having two free mornings (until 11:00 AM) in Paris for independent exploration. She remarked that she wouldn't have such an opportunity on a guided tour.