Hi everyone! Last year I posted my travel guide for How to Honeymoon in Greece and it’s been a great asset that I’ve share with my engaged friends, so I wanted to share my latest adventure: How to spend 10 days in Europe: Dublin, Paris and London.
I took a girls’ trip with my two college roommates and we decided to go to Europe (of course) and we certainly had to work around our PTO at work. So here’s how we broke it down: two and a half days in Dublin, 3 and a half days in Paris, 3 and a half days in London, and some extra time to travel there and home.
In this itinerary, I’m breaking down:
- What to see
- Where to eat
- What to do
What to know before you spend 10 days in Europe
- Each city is different in size – Dublin is a much smaller city compared to Paris and London! If you want to spend longer in Ireland, I recommend going to Galway or taking a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher. Or you could spend a longer time in Paris or London – there’s so many options!
- Bring the right cash with you – Both Ireland and France accept the euro, while the UK’s national currency is the pound. We were able to use our credit cards for basically everything, but the cash is good for tipping and emergencies. Most banks will let you order foreign currency at your associated branch – but it will take a few business days to process. Plan ahead!
- The weather is consistent – Luckily, the weather in one country was similar to the others. We went in mid May and it was low 60’s with a bit of rain. I packed sweaters, long sleeves and a couple dresses with some light coats.
- Bring the right adaptors – Heads up that France, Ireland and the UK all have different outlets….ANNOYING. Amazon has plenty of universal adaptors that will cover your bases, because you MUST get one – or else you will be in a bind.
- Bring comfy shoes – don’t be silly now. I wore my Rothy’s lace up sneakers almost the whole trip. We averaged 20,000 steps a day.
Dublin, Ireland
Dublin is the capital and largest city in Ireland. It’s known for its boisterous nightlife, Irish music, and of course, good beer. It’s a great place to reconnect with friends.
Where to stay
Dublin is a very walkable city, which is great. But if you want to stay near the action, look for places near Temple Bar, Grafton Street or Trinity College. We stayed at the Trinity City Hotel Dublin and got a three person room. It had great amenities, a restaurant for breakfast and a bar.
How to get around
Dublin is so walkable, so if you are able, break out your best sneakers. We never even took public transit – you’ll notice the city is smaller than Paris and London (by a lot!) and you can pack most of the experience on foot.
What to do in Dublin
Trinity College Tour
It might sound weird to tour a college, but Trinity is Ireland’s oldest university (1500’s old!). It’s gorgeous and is packed with Irish history. The university has a fascinating power switch between Catholics and Protestants throughout the centuries and the architecture is beautiful.
Most importantly though (in my opinion), is the old library – which is part of the tour. It’s undoubtedly been on your Pinterest board before and has interesting relics from famous writers, like Shakespeare. There is also an opportunity to see the Book of Kells, an ornate New Testament made by Scottish and Irish monks around the year 800 – like how OLD is that? Sign up is here.
Bar hop at Temple Bar
Temple Bar is a physical bar, but the spot is so popular that the whole area is referred to as “Temple Bar.” Actual Temple Bar is a busy and exciting spot to catch Irish music and a few pints, but you can also hop around to several bars in the area with other vibes and drinks. It’s also a good photo opportunity.
Shop on Grafton Street
Grafton Street is well known for live entertainers on the street, but it’s a fun place to walk as well. We popped into shops, bought chocolates, and danced to some music. My friend thrifted a really nice leather jacket that she wore the rest of the the trip. We also walked through St. Stephen’s Green Park which was beautiful and serene.
Visit the Guinness Storehouse
It would be sad if you didn’t have a Guinness during your time there! We noticed that the beer tasted exceptionally better in Ireland than in the States. So even if you don’t like dark beer, it’s worth giving it a try.
The entire tour shows your how the beer is made, from the ingredients to the chemical process of the brewing. There’s even a whole level that shows the decades of marketing and advertising for the brand, which I found interesting (as a marketing major myself). Your ticket comes with a free pint at the end at the Gravity Bar, which has a 360 degree view of the city. Schedule a trip here.
Where to drink and eat
A couple of places we enjoyed:
- The Boxty House – try some Irish potato pancakes in this popular place near Temple Bar.
- Elephant & Castle – great place to grab breakfast before sightseeing! They have regular breakfast items as well as a full Irish breakfast – with pudding, beans and eggs. Pretty good!
- Palace Bar – This was a fun spot where we enjoyed a few different Irish whiskey flights. The bartender explained them all to us (we didn’t understand what single barrel whiskey was, for example). The bar had several floors with live music.
- The Grayson – a delicious dinner spot near St. Stephen’s Green where we split wine, burrata and pastas.
- Bread 41 – a lovely bakery to get fresh croissants, pain au chocolat, donuts and more.
Paris, France
Our next stop was Paris! The city needs no introduction, but I would argue that it was my favorite leg of the trip. While I took Duolingo lessons for a few months before going, I found that basically everyone speaks English – and everyone was very kind in helping us when necessary. The city was stunning, scrumptious and lovely. I need to go back!
To get to Paris, we took a very short flight from Ireland.
Where to stay
There’s a lot of options when deciding where to stay in Paris, so do some research on the arrondissements and how far away you want to stay from the hotspots like the Eiffel Tower, museums and more. It’s going to be more quiet and relaxed the farther away you stay. We booked a really quaint Airbnb near the third arrondissement, just north of the Seine and other landmarks.
There are plenty of hotels, but our AirBnB was very affordable and came with great amenities: laundry (we washed some of our clothes), a coffee maker with pods, a full kitchen to store leftovers from dinner, extra phone chargers, etc. Our host also gave us good recommendations for breakfast!
How to get around
I was shocked by how efficient the train system was – much faster than the trains in Chicago. A new one zips by every 30 seconds, so it’s worth taking it to get around. Just know that not every single entrance has a ticket station, so we often would buy 4+ tickets at a time so that we always had enough to get home by the end of the night. Very affordable too but a little annoying that you need a physical ticket.
What to do in Paris
Well…there is certainly a lot to do in Paris. You can’t get to all of it in just a few days, but here’s how we spent our time.
See the Eiffel Tower
Shocking….I know. It would be crazy if you didn’t snap a photo though with your friends! You can also have a picnic nearby. We didn’t ride to the top of the tower, but that is an option as well.
Walk along the Seine
The Seine River is beautiful and very long. You’ll find a marvelous pathway to walk along the water for several kilometers, and you can even catch short boat tours that will show you the sights along the way.
See the Arc de Triomphe
The Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile is one of the most famous monuments, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. You can purchase a ticket online to climb to the top to get a breathtaking view of the city.
Check out the many art museums
There are a lot of different museums to go to: the Louvre is the most famous, where you can see the Mona Lisa among other famous works. It’s so large and overwhelming, you likely cannot get to it all. There’s also the Musee d’Orsay, which is great for the impressionist lover (me) – Monet, Manet, Pissarro, Morisot, and Renoir originals are all housed here.
I really enjoyed Musee l’Orangerie, which houses Monet’s famous water lilies. This was a big bucket list item for me to see, and it did not disappoint. This museum is much smaller than the other two, and you could see everything in an hour or so – great for a pre-lunch trip.
You can purchase tickets individually online and ahead of time so you can avoid the lines. You can also purchase a museum pass (click here) which will allow you entry into tons of places, so consider buying one to save money!
Visit Hôtel des Invalides and Musee de L’armie
This is a very cool sight where you can see the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte – which is massively ornate. The museum attached explains the entire rise and fall of Napoleon’s empire, filled with all kinds of weaponry, battle gear and more.
Explore Montmartre
Montmartre is a large hill in Paris’ northern 18th arrondissement. It is FULL of charm – we loved it so much we went there two days in a row to have dinner and shop. It’s the most famous Parisian area thanks to its cobblestone streets, bakeries, and great restaurants. You can get there easily by train. Climb to the Sacré-Cœur basilica to see a great view of the whole town.
Where to drink and eat
Here’s a couple places that I would personally return to:
- Carette – A fabulous spot to go get Instagrammable hot chocolate with a huge dollop of whipped cream. Tastes great with a fresh croissant. This place was right by the Eiffel Tower and they have plenty of treats.
- Laduree – I get the sense that a regular Parisian wouldn’t visit Laduree because its a franchise, but we stopped in for a quick breakfast and really enjoyed it. Croissants, eggs, tea, fruits and jams. And definitely visit their famous macaron bar to fill a box with treats. My favorite flavors were pistachio, vanilla and raspberry.
- La Maison Rose – a small and quaint restaurant in Montmartre with delicious wine and a rotating menu with fresh vegetables, breads, meatballs and more. Plus, it’s pink! Definitely get a reservation ahead of time.
- Pink Mamma – an Italian restaurant that was simply the BOMB. A gorgeous place where we shared fresh pizzas, burrata, pesto and pasta dishes. And tiramisu of course. Definitely get a reservation as soon as you can, it’s hard to get a table but so worth it! AND – there’s a speakeasy on the bottom level that you have to check out – we stayed for hours.
London, England
London was our last stop of the trip. We arrived one week after the coronation of King Charles, which was a relief – we just missed the crowds. We had also just watched the recent season of Bridgerton (Queen Charlotte), which was a great primer for our royal activities.
How to get there
We took the “chunnel” or the channel tunnel from Paris to London, which is an undersea tunnel linking southern England and northern France. It was a lovely experience and so much easier than taking a flight. The whole thing only takes a couple hours. You can book it on Eurostar.
There’s a metro train line that you can take from the city to the station where the chunnel is. Just be sure to get to this station a good hour before your chunnel trip, since you will have to go through an immigration line.
Where to stay
We stayed in a simple hotel near Hyde Park, which is just a short train away from the hotspots of London! AirBnB’s are a fabulous option too all over the place.
How to get around
We took the train most of the time in London. I would say the Paris trains were a little better, BUT you don’t have to buy physical tickets in London. You can just use Apple Pay or swipe a credit card, which is nice.
You can also consider a Big Bus tour in London. These big bus tours are available in Dublin and Paris too – you pay a flat rate for the bus to drive you around all the big landmarks for 24 hours (probably the same price as 1-2 Ubers). There’s usually a tour guide on board who tells you the fun history as well. We loved our London tour and you can hop off and get back on when you’re ready to move on: a new one will pick you up every 15 minutes or so! Plus you get the full double decker experience.
What to do in London
There are a lot of neighborhoods you could explore in London, but we spent most of our time in the city proper to see the big landmarks.
Shop at Harrods
Harrods began in 1834 and is now a giant luxury department store. It sounds weird, but I loved walking around! You can find anything from Hermes bags to every perfume on the market to British tea to makeup. The best part was the gigantic food hall! Browse meat pies, salads, cakes, fresh breads, sushi, coffee, and pretty much anything else you can imagine. We purchased tea and macarons as souvenirs to bring home. It’s a good place to stop for lunch.
Visit Buckingham Palace
Take a walk along the royal residences in Westminster and see where the royal family makes appearances on the famous Buckingham balcony. You can’t go inside of course, but it’s cool to see!
Walk past Big Ben
Go take some photos at the iconic clock! You can also take a tour, but when we went it was closed.
Enjoy nightlife in Soho
Soho, or South of Horton, is a neighbourhood located just south of Downtown London in the West End. It has a ton of options for dining, nightlife, and shopping. The famous Dishoom (Bombay restaurant chain) can be found in Soho as well.
Have high tea at Kensington Palace
This was probably my favorite activity! I loved experiencing high tea in the palace pavilion, which is just next to Princess Diana’s Memorial Playground, a beautiful garden dedicated to her life.
We were served as much tea as we liked with milk and sugar, complete with a tower of finger sandwiches (I loved the coronation chicken!), scones with clotted cream and fresh desserts. Reserve a table here.
We then toured the palace which was so fun. Not only did we learn about Queen Victoria’s life (she lived in the palace), but we also toured a fashion exhibit that contained famous Met Gala looks from the past few years. It was so cool to see Katy Perry’s chandelier outfit, Blake Lively’s Statue of Liberty dress and more.
Tour Westminster Abbey
This church is much larger than I anticipated. Not only can you see where Prince William and Kate Middleton (among all the others) got married, but you’ll also tour the many tombs of Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Dickens, Queen Elizabeth I, King Henry VII, and many more. The church is so ornate, it’s enough to just see the architecture. If you’re a fan of the broadway show “Six,” you’ll find Anne of Cleves’ tomb here too.
See the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London
The royal crown jewels are under armed guard in the Jewel House at the Tower of London. It includes centuries of royal regalia, including both crowns and sceptres held by kings and queens during their coronations. You can’t take photos in the exhibit, but it’s surreal to see them up close. Some of the diamonds are simply massive.
See a show on the West End
There’s a lot of smash hit musicals and theatre to experience in London, so consider planning ahead and seeing a production. We went to Mamma Mia and had a blast. It was a good way to rest our tired feet after a long day of touring.
Where to eat and drink
Here were a few places we enjoyed:
- Darjeeling Express – You guys. One of the best meals of the trip. Located in Soho, this Indian restaurant is featured on Netflix’s Chef’s Table and I can see why. You pay a flat rate and you are served a whole platter of mouthwatering meats, vegetables, yogurt and other Indian fare. Dessert is included! They also have fabulous cocktails. Book here.
- Great British Fish and Chips – you have to try it at least once! I really enjoyed the battered fish and the malt vinegar. This casual spot is right by the London Eye.
- Quo Vadis – a nice restaurant for British cuisine. Try the suppli and the parsley soup!
The End
And that was a wrap on our trip! That’s how to spend 10 days in Europe: Dublin, Paris and London. We made so many lovely memories that I’ll never forget. We took a train straight to Heathrow airport in London and journeyed home.
Let me know if you have questions – I’m open for messages on instagram too: @caroline_hoffman.
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