10-Day Italy Itinerary:
London & Paris
Planning your first trip to Europe? This 10-day London and Paris itinerary is the route I design again and again for travelers visiting these iconic cities for the first time.
Ten days. Two iconic cities. Smart pacing.
This sample itinerary shows how I typically structure a trip through London and Paris — blending history, art, food, and culture while still leaving space to explore at your own pace.
It isn’t a package. It’s a starting point.
When we plan together, every hotel, guide, and experience is customized around you.
But this overall flow works beautifully time and time again.
A Quick Note Before We Dive In
The internet will tell you a hundred things you "have to do" in London and Paris. TikTok has an opinion. Your grandma who went in the 1970s has an opinion. Everyone has an opinion.
Here's mine — from someone who actually plans these trips for a living: most of what you think you need to do, you don't. And the things that actually make the trip? Those are specific to you.
This is the 10-day itinerary I design most often for first-timers — mother-daughter trips, graduation trips, and anyone visiting London and Paris for the first time. It's not a rigid schedule. It's a framework that helps you prioritize what matters and skip what doesn't.
When we plan together I'll tell you exactly what needs to be booked before you leave — and give you the confidence to build the rest around what you actually want to do.
Days 1–5: London
Day 1: Arrival & City Orientation
Private driver from the airport. Today is intentionally light — the goal is to let London start making sense without overwhelming you. A hop-on hop-off bus pass with a Thames River cruise is the easiest way to orient yourself while staying flexible depending on how jet-lagged you feel.
I know this sounds touristy. It is. It's also genuinely the smartest way to spend day one when you're exhausted and everything feels huge. Save your energy for days two and three.
Day 2: Royal London
Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London with a Beefeater guide — centuries of royal drama, prisoners, and the Crown Jewels. London history is surprisingly entertaining when experienced with the right guide. St. James's Park, Buckingham Palace, and Big Ben will appear naturally as you move through the day.
Day 3: Afternoon Tea & London Neighborhoods
A traditional afternoon tea is worth doing once — small sandwiches, pastries, proper tea. Book it ahead, the good ones fill up. The rest of the day is yours: Notting Hill, Portobello Road, Covent Garden, or just wandering. London's neighborhoods are where the city actually comes to life.
Graduation trip note
If Harry Potter is on the list — and for a lot of graduation trips it is — book the Warner Bros. Studio Tour the day you book flights. It sells out far in advance, especially in summer. This is one of the non-negotiables I'll flag for you when we plan.
Day 4: Harry Potter Studio Tour
The Great Hall. Diagon Alley. Original costumes and sets. Even casual fans find it genuinely fascinating to see how the wizarding world was actually built. Plan for most of the day.
Day 5: A Free London Day
Intentionally open. Borough Market, a free museum, West End theatre in the evening, or just wandering somewhere you haven't been yet. Some of the best London days happen when you stop scheduling.
Days 6–10: Paris
Day 6: Eurostar to Paris
High-speed train under the English Channel — about two and a half hours, city center to city center. Smooth, easy, no airport. Arrive, settle in, walk along the Seine, find your first café terrace. Paris rewards slow wandering from the very first afternoon.
Day 7: The Louvre & Historic Paris
With a private guide you'll navigate the world's most visited museum efficiently — Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, and the grand palace halls — without spending three hours lost. Then Sainte-Chapelle, one of the most breathtaking Gothic chapels in Europe. The stained glass alone is worth it.
The Louvre without a guide is overwhelming. With the right guide it's one of the best two hours of the trip. This is one I always recommend booking.
Day 8: Versailles
Private driver, Hall of Mirrors, royal apartments, the gardens. Versailles is dramatic and over the top — exactly what Louis XIV intended. Worth a full day.
Day 9: Montmartre & Food Tour
Montmartre feels like a village within Paris. A guided food and walking tour covers local bakeries, cheese and wine, and the hidden streets where artists once lived. One of the most charming corners of the city — and one of the best days of the trip for a mother-daughter pair.
Day 10: Departure
Private transfer to the airport built around your flight timing. Most travelers leave wishing they had one more day to sit at a café and watch Paris go by. That feeling means the trip worked.
Ready to build your London & Paris trip?
I'll tell you exactly what needs to be booked before you leave — and help you build the rest around what you actually want. No cookie-cutter itineraries, no doing things just because TikTok said so.
Planning fee: $250 per family for trips up to two weeks.