6 Day Eurotrip: London, Paris, and Dublin Itinerary

The end of 2019 was a complete whirlwind for me… in the best way possible. For Thanksgiving, two of my girlfriends and I went on a little Eurotrip to London, Paris, and Dublin. Some of the highlights of our trip included seeing Hamilton (finally!), Dinner at Sketch, spending a day in Paris, seeing the breathtaking mountains of Glendalough/Wicklow, and making my own pub crawl bingo.

London

My friends and I spent three lovely days in London; we wanted to balance the tourist attractions with cafés and restaurants I’ve saved to my phone from Instagram five years ago. Tower Bridge, Notting Hill, and the London Eye were some of my top favorite picture spots. Here are some sites visitors can explore to have an idea about the country they’re going to.

Favorite restaurant in London? Dishoom, hands down! The Art Deco vibe is great, but the food is even better. And if you visit London in the winter, I highly recommend booking a Coppa Club igloo at the Tower Bridge location; I had to plan the timing of the reservation very carefully, but it was so worth it! Some other notable mentions are Sketch and Dalloway Terrace. My friends and I had an odd experience at Sketch with four to five different waiters. In our experience, it was definitely nice to go once, but I don’t know if I’ll ever return (and if I do, it’ll be for just tea). We also tried the EL&N Cafe Belgravia location for afternoon tea, but I wasn’t too impressed with it either. Cher Lloyd was across the room from us filming an interview for something, so that was cool, I guess. Dalloway Terrace was probably my favorite Instagram café; the Chocolat Chaud cocktail is a must-have in the winter months, and the decor on the patio is stunning.

If you’re visiting London around Christmastime, it is one of the best places to see decorations (sorry, NYC). Take the Underground to Picadilly Circus, then walk around to Carnaby Street and take in all of the lights… wander far enough, and you’ll run right into Sketch. 😉 Hyde Park puts on an epic Winter Wonderland, and there are Christmas markets everywhere. My only regret was not leaving space in my suitcase for gifts from the markets. Tip: Purchase a reloadable visitor’s Oyster card at the airport. We used the Underground all three days with little to no issues.

Paris

2019 was the year that I fell in love with Paris, if you couldn’t tell by my original Paris blog post. I’ve always wanted to take the Eurostar, but when I first went to London in 2012, ticket prices were completely out of my budget. I managed to find a roundtrip ticket for $79, so my friends and I decided to spend one day in Paris. Plus, I had to go back for the truffle pasta at Pink Mamma.

The Eurostar arrives at Gare du Nord in Paris, which is actually close to where I stayed in March, so I was already familiar with the train station and the area. Pink Mamma is right by the Pigalle stop on le Metro, and is also within walking distance to the Moulin Rouge. I hate to admit this, but I completely missed the Moulin Rouge the first time I went. After lunch, we followed the itinerary to see some other landmarks (Notre Dame, the Louvre), and ended up by the Eiffel Tower just in time to see it light up, which happens every hour on the hour starting at dusk. Tip: If you stop by the Louvre and need a pick-me-up, make sure you stop at one of the Café Kitsune locations! They have a cool vibe, and the chai latte I got was great.

Paris is my favorite city in the world, so the day trip was definitely worth it to me. It also feels pretty nice to have accomplished visiting three cities in just under a week.

Dublin

I have another confession: I didn’t expect to love Dublin as much as I did. I don’t know why my expectations were low, but I loved the food, the architecture, how walkable the city is, and the people. Now I NEED to go back!

Although our time in Dublin was limited, I highly recommend taking the Paddywagon Glendalough/Wicklow half-day tour. The views were gorgeous, and our tour guide was great. We even got to visit Guinness Lake on our way back to the city. My friends and I stayed at the Temple Bar Hotel which was in a great location for our interests; everything was walkable, and it was easy to navigate taking the Aircoach to and from the airport. It’s probably the busiest and most touristy area of Dublin, but I have no complaints. I designed an epic pub crawl for my friends and I, and am surprised at how much we accomplished.

A few other activities I recommend booking in advance are the St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Book of Kells, and Jameson Distillery visits. The tickets are a bit cheaper online, and you avoid waiting in lines. The Book of Kells is not available to the public at the moment, but there is an exhibition about the Book of Kells and how it was made as you enter the old library at Trinity College. As far as food goes, I was really impressed with 37 Dawson Street. There were a few restaurants we didn’t get the chance to go to, but I’ll just have to go back to try them.

I fully didn’t expect to be able to return to Europe in 2019, but I am so grateful I was able to make it happen. I can’t wait to see what kind of adventures 2020 will bring!