London, England & Paris, France with Kids: Our 12-Day Family Itinerary

The Eiffel Tower twinkles only at certain times of night, make sure you look up when before you go!

The Gist: 

• Trip Length: 12 Days

  Destinations:
  • London (3 nights)
  • Somerset/Taunton countryside (4 nights)
  • Paris (4 nights)

  Flights:
  • Greensboro → Atlanta → London Heathrow
  • Paris Charles de Gaulle → Atlanta → Greensboro

  Where We Stayed:
  • Hyatt Place London City East
  • The Shed (Somerset countryside rental)
  • Hotel L'Echiquier Opéra Paris

  Highlights:
  • Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
  • Seeing Six in the West End
  • Traditional English tea
  • Time with family in Somerset
  • Eurostar from London to Paris
  • Sainte-Chapelle
  • Disneyland Paris
  • Eiffel Tower

  Getting Around:
  • London Underground
  • Trains
  • Eurostar
  • Uber in Paris

  Would We Do It Again?
  Absolutely. The pace felt nearly perfect for our family.

Why We Chose London & Paris

This wasn't our first trip to England with the kids, but it was filled with firsts.

It was:
• The girls' first time in Paris
• Their first visit to a country where they didn't speak the language
• Our first multi-city European trip together as a family

Since Jeff's family lives in England, our trip centered around visiting relatives in Somerset. Once we knew we'd be crossing the Atlantic, adding London and Paris felt like an easy decision as we would fly into London and Paris is so easy to get to via the Eurostar.

Our London and Paris Itinerary at a Glance

Day 1: Arrive in London

Day 2: Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Fish & Chips, Six

Day 3: Warner Bros. Studio Tour

Days 4–7: Somerset Countryside

Day 8: Eurostar to Paris

Day 9: Louvre, Sainte-Chapelle & Notre Dame

Day 10: Disneyland Paris

Day 11: Eiffel Tower

Day 12: Fly Home

Where We Stayed

Hyatt Place London City East

We used Hyatt points transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards and booked two adjoining king rooms.

Why We Loved It

• Easy Underground access
• Spacious by London standards
• Two bathrooms for a family of four
• Early check-in accommodated
• Great value on points

It was also super quiet, we could not hear any street noise.

Would stay again? Yes.

Day 1: Arrival & Double Decker Bus Tour

Why We Chose a Bus Tour on Arrival Day

One of our favorite strategies for fighting jet lag and making sure we sleep through the night when we fly east is:

• Stay awake all day (until 10:30 pm at least!)
• Spend time outside
• Keep physical activity manageable

A hop-on-hop-off bus tour was perfect…in theory. We could see a lot, get the lay of the land. Get off the bus when we wanted to, and use it as transportation.

What we found was…the bus was very crowded and warm. I was ok with this, but the kids didn’t love it. There is a lobbying system to get to the upper deck and when we did, that felt much more enjoyable….until the bus just stopped at 5:00. This part I don’t think is common but something weird with that driver. We would still recommend this as an option, but other tours outside may also be a great option.

We saw:
• Tower of London
• Big Ben
• Parliament
• London Eye
• Westminster Abbey
• Buckingham Palace

Family Tip

If you climb Buckingham Palace's fence, the guard will absolutely yell at you.

Ask us how we know.

That evening we enjoyed dinner on Brick Lane at The Standard and managed to keep everyone awake until 11:00 p.m., which helped tremendously with jet lag.

Buckingham Palace

If you climb on the fence of Buckingham Palace the guard will yell at you…ask how we know…

Day 2: Fish & Chips, West End & Six

Best Fish & Chips of the Trip

The Coach House

Hands down the best fish and chips we've ever had in England of all our trips. And we were shocked because it was a super touristy area, but it was really good and so was the beer and we loved the atmosphere. Traditional pub feel, we would go back again in a heartbeat.

Seeing Six in London

This was one of our favorite experiences of the entire trip.

At the beautiful Vaudeville Theatre, we enjoyed outstanding seats in the Stalls section, we felt like we were immersed in the concert experience.

Seat Tip for Tall Travelers

Reserve seats in the Stalls if possible. Jeff is 6'3" and found these seats very comfortable. Our understanding is that other seat can be a tight fit.

After the show we explored Harrods, wandered through Knightsbridge and enjoyed a fantastic Lebanese dinner before heading back to the hotel.

Vaudeville Theater London

Six was outstanding, reserve seats in the “stalls” for more roomy seating to accommodate larger and taller bodies.

Day 3: Warner Bros. Studio Tour

Is the Harry Potter Studio Tour Worth It?

Yes.

Even if you're not a huge Harry Potter fan. I am the not fan, and I still loved it!

We spent nearly four hours exploring:
• Original sets - incredible to be immersed.
• Props
• Costumes
• Special effects

Our Biggest Tip

Take a direct train from Euston Station to Watford Junction (about 45 minutes - choose the direct train, we did not!) and build in time for lunch before your tour.

This was one of our favorite experiences of the trip and deserves a dedicated post all its own.

After a day at WB Studios Tour we were tired and got take out from The Standard and ate in the room with a bottle of wine from the hotel bar!

WB Studios Tour London

I’m not even a Harry Potter fan and I found this experience to be incredible. Leave at least 3 hours for walking through alone.

Somerset Countryside: 4 Nights

After three busy days in London, this was exactly what our family needed.

How We Got There:

8 person van from UK Airport Taxi - not as cost effective as the train but Jeff’s mom joined us for this leg of the trip and so the car service just made sense as our group expanded.

Where We Stayed:

We stayed at this house rental which accommodated most of our family, two of us stayed at the smaller home that is just a short walk from where the rest of us stayed.

Why We Loved This Portion of the Trip

• Family time
• Heated indoor pool - such a find in England!
• Countryside walks
• Traditional afternoon tea in Taunton
• Local cider - Sheppy’s Cidery is a great visit for adults to little kids, try the raspberry cider - so good!
• Relaxed pace

Favorite Memory

Hiring a private caterer for our final family dinner with wine that a sommelier in Taunton helped us pick out after tea the day before.

The kids made pizzas while the adults enjoyed a beautiful three-course meal. It ended up costing about what a nice restaurant meal would have cost and gave us much more time together, and we didn’t have to cleen up!

Tea in England

If you've never had a proper English tea, do it.

Finger sandwiches, pastries, scones, clotted cream, jam, and tea.

My favorite? The scones with clotted cream and jam. Every single time.

Taunton, England

Proper tea incudes finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, beautiful pastries…and of course, tea. My favorite? The scones with clotted cream and jam all. day. long.

Sommerset→London→Paris

We took a train from Taunton to Paddington Station in London. Our family has told us that the trains are notoriously unreliable at times and while our train got us where we needed to go, it wasn’t without delay. We would do it again but we would have allowed for even more time and taken an earlier train.

You can buy tickets for the train using Trainline - and Trainline will also keep you apprised of delays…

Taking the Eurostar from London to Paris

We traveled:

Taunton → Paddington → St. Pancras → Paris

Eurostar Tips

Buy tickets in advance, like months in advance, of your trip for lower

• Arrive at least 75 minutes early
• Expect airport-style security
• Bring snacks and after security you can buy beer etc to take on the train and they will even give you a cup!
• St. Pancras has better food options before security…and word on the street…the worlds longest champagne bar. We did not get to experience it because of our train delay.

Once aboard, the journey to Paris was easy and relaxing, about 2 hours.

Paris: 4 Nights

Where We Stayed

Hotel L'Echiquier Opéra Paris, which is an All Accor property. All Accor is a transfer partner with some travel cards so it is possible to book here using points.

We booked a King Deluxe Suite.

Why We Loved It

• Family-friendly layout
• Two bathrooms
• Walkable to the Louvre (about 24 minutes)
• Less touristy neighborhood and very quiet
• Easy Uber access

Would stay again? Absolutely.

After we checked into our hotel we got some recommendations for dinner and decided to eat at Brasserie Rosie Lou and snagged a last minute 8:00-ish reservation. It had a very cute atmosphere and service was good although it felt a little rushed. Our meal experience here was fine, we would not go back, and we are beginning to wonder if we just make bad restaurant choices or if it is us and that we just don’t love french cuisine. 

Day 9: Louvre, Sainte-Chapelle & Notre Dame

Was a Private Louvre Tour Worth It?

For our family, absolutely.

We booked a private family-friendly tour through Muse Clues.

Why We Loved It

• Skip-the-line entry - lines can be upwards of an hour to get into the Louvre
• Kid-focused approach
• Manageable two-hour visit
• Help navigating the museum

The Louvre can be overwhelming. This made it enjoyable.

Louvre in Paris, France

We did a private tour that catered to kids with Muse Clues. It cost a lot of money but was well worth it in our opinion for a first time Louvre visit.

Sainte-Chapelle

If you only visit one church in Paris, this might be our recommendation.

The stained glass is breathtaking.

Tips

• Buy tickets ahead of time
• Expect a short wait
• Pair it with a visit to Notre Dame

This was one of the most beautiful places we visited in Paris.

A note on Notre Dame. You can a reservation to go inside Notre Dame, the website explains when they release them. We did attempt to get tickets, it was remarkable how we could not get them as there are 10,000-15,000 slots released daily. Reservations are released a few hours before entry. Perhaps a less busy time of year would mean you can snag a reservation. Another note - hang onto your stuff here even if you are only viewing from the outside, it is a very crowded and common pick pocket area. 

Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, France

The stained glass was breathtaking. This is a quick visit, buy tickets ahead of time for a beautiful and less crowded visit to a chapel.

After resting in the hotel room for a bit, we walked to dinner and ate at Zazza just a couple blocks from where we were staying. This is Italian food and it was fantastic! All of us loved our meal and we wanted to go back again but they were closed our last night. We particularly loved their focaccia starter and the Zazza spritz! The kids tried Organia here for the first time and loved the drink and the cute glass bottles they came in. 

Day 10: Disneyland Paris

Did Disneyland Paris Live Up to the Hype?

It exceeded it.

In fact, it may have ruined Magic Kingdom for us.

What We Loved

• Beautiful castle
• Shorter waits
• Easy navigation
• Great rides - edgier versions of the Magic Kingdom rides
• Better quick-service food
• A dragon underneath the castle

And yes, there is a champagne cart.

We would absolutely return.

You can read all about our Disneyland Paris trip with our one day itinerary and how we got there here.

On this night we did take out in our rooms. It was Sunday and we actually hoped to go to Zazza again but they were closed (even though Google maps said they were open) so we (and by we I mean Jeff) ended up picking up food from a Turkish spot near Porte Saint-Martin called L’Amour de Kebab. The food here was amazing. The chicken, rice, bread, salad, chips, all of it, SO GOOD!

Disneyland Paris

It might be my favorite castle for it’s asthetic, the Minecraft trees, and most of all, the dragon underneath.

Day 11: Eiffel Tower

This was one of our favorite days in Paris.

Our Best Eiffel Tower Tip

Slow down.

Most visitors rush to the top.

We spent time enjoying the first floor with coffee, lemonade, gelato, champagne, and incredible views.

Honestly, that may have been our favorite part.

Ticket Tip

We bought stair tickets and all of us did just fine walking up and down, no grievances were aired by our children. We took the stairs back down. Just to give you an idea on timing, it took us under 15 minutes total to go up to the second floor and about 20 min to come down. Overall we spent from 11:00-1:00ish at the Eiffel tower with a lot of luxuriating.

Buy tickets as soon as possible when they go on sale 60 days in advance. There are also another batch released 7 days in advance.

Popular dates sell out quickly.

Afterward we enjoyed a picnic in the Champ de Mars with sandwiches, fruit, and wine while taking in the view of the tower.

From here we walked over to Rue Cler neighborhood to find sandwiches and wine and fruit for a picnic. We keep a travel folding blanket on us for just such an occasion. We have learned that on Mondays many shops and restaurants close in Paris and this was what we ran into looking for lunch. If you have the flexibility, I would not plan to be in a Paris on a Monday if you are going for less than a week. 

We took our sandwiches to the Champs de Mars, which is the park below the Eiffel Tower, and had a wonderful picnic and people and dog watched. You can drink alcohol anywhere in Paris, there was even someone walking around selling bottles of wine in the park. So if you like wine and champagne, bring a bottle…or two…and keep some plastic cups in your bag alone with that picnic blanket.

There are public bathrooms at the Champs de Mars, you may wait a while for them. 

After we stopped at the the Pharmacie. Pharmacie’s in Paris are a skin care lovers Meca. You can find incredible products at inexpensive prices. And then we Ubered home, rested, and packed to leave the next day. 

That night we ate at Francette but we first had our Uber drop us off at Jardins du Trocadero to take some pictures. It’s just a great view of the Eiffel Tower…and everyone knows it. There are also a lot of people here, hang onto your stuff! Francette is a restaurant on a barge out in front of the Eiffel Tower. They have two seatings, in the summer you want the later seating if you want to see the Eiffel Tower twinkle. The view was lovely and the food was ok. Going back again I would look into other Eiffel tower view options for restaurants if that was important to me. 

Eiffel Tower Paris, France

Best thing we did to make the Eiffel Tower a great experience for the kids (and us!) was to slow it down, and stop at the first level for a treat on the way up and on the way down.

Day Twelve: Paris to ATL to GSO 

We flew Air France out of Charles du Galle. We ubered to the airport early morning and left plenty of time, and thank goodness because this airport was challenging to say the least. There was a weight limit for our carry ons that we were not told about until we were in line for security so we then had to go back to ticketing to check our carry ons (it is determined by some group math based on length and height and weight of our bags collectively  and we were told that we could keep three bags but had to check one) then back in line again. In security we were told we had to put our toiletries in THEIR plastic bag but we did not know this until we were putting our things on the conveyer belt, so that was a thing. Not all of our toiletries fit in their plastic bag so we had to pass from one to another. If I had to do it again I might consider just checking everything on the way home to not deal with all of this. At least certainly make sure to check anything remotely heavy (like toiletries) to cut down on weight and not deal with the particulars. 

We got to the airport about 3 hours early and I’m glad we did, CDG is a cluster, there is no nice way to say it. 

Once you are through security there are not a lot of eating options at the terminal we were in and I understand this to be the case for the airport as a whole. We were able to get coffees and breakfast, but not a lot of choices. This surprised me honestly for a country that seemingly makes the most mundane enjoyable. We had plane delays and they had to bus us to our planes and it is just a lot. Gerd your loins for this travel back! We paid $50 a seat to upgrade to Air Frances economy seating with more leg room, which is a must for Jeff, but that was where the comfort ended. I thought the seats were hard and mine did not recline at all (but the rest of my families did). Jeffs in flight entertainment screen did not work, we were a little underwhelmed with our first Air France experience but we will still likely fly again and hope for a better experience. The food was good and that was nice.  

Things We Would Do Differently

London

• Potentially stay slightly closer to central attractions

Paris

• Check more luggage for the flight home
• Research CDG airport rules more carefully
• Avoid planning major dining and shopping on a Monday

Travel Tips for Visiting London and Paris with Kids

London

✓ Use tap-to-pay for the Underground

✓ Stay awake the first day to combat jet lag

✓ Reserve West End shows ahead of time

✓ Book Warner Bros. Studio tickets as soon as dates are available

Paris

✓ Buy Eiffel Tower tickets early

✓ Buy Sainte-Chapelle tickets ahead of time

✓ Watch for pickpockets around Notre Dame and major attractions

✓ Don't rely completely on Google restaurant hours

✓ Consider Uber for convenience if traveling with kids

Final Thoughts

We loved this trip.

The combination of London, the English countryside, and Paris created a wonderful balance between sightseeing, family time, and relaxation.

Could you do London and Paris in a week? Absolutely.

Would we choose this slower pace again? Also absolutely.

One of our favorite things about travel is discovering what works best for your family. For us, this itinerary felt just right.