London/Paris mid-late August

[jeepster]

Well, I'm going to London and Paris for a week towards the end of the summer before school revs up again, just wondering if theres anything cool going on between 17th and 25th. I'll be in London for about 3.5 days, and Paris for the rest of the time, so I'm just trying to figure out my time. I might be heading to Oxford during my time in the UK, haven't got much on the schedule for Paris - my brother is taking me around since he knows the area a lot better than I do (never been to Paris, this'll be my 3rd time in London).

Any spots I should especially hit. Obviously I'm going to the Louvre, but thats just for the experience of it. Any other great museums/galleries I should stop in? Good shopping (of course APC and the like, but I'm already going to APC sometime before then here in the states) - I just need a good list of things I might be able to do in the UK and Paris besides drinking/walking. I've done a lot in London (seen a vast majority of the museums) but I need some fresh new stuff (I was just there in November). Speaking of August - I understand it gets ridiculously hot - yes/no/more likely than not?

Thanks for anything you all can throw my way, awesome suggestions and cool shit will be rewarded with rep and compliments/awesomeness.

[beberthur]

the Musée Beaubourg and the Palais de Tokyo are great museums (for contemporary art). for shopping, for shopping, the left bank is great, around St Germain des Pres and the Luxembourg garden (you'll find almost everything, like APC, Dior, among others). Or you can go near the Marais and Chatelet (and even go further in the Rue St Honoré), and you'll find a lot of shops (mainly the same than in St Germain).

The Champs Elysées are like a huge mall, you won't find many interesting things (and it's really crowded), but it's surely worth the visit.

the Seine banks are quite interesting to visit, you'll find all the kinds of architecture in paris, from the middle age to the 21st century (and, by the way, you will see Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower).

actually there are too many places to visit...

[san]

oh awesome im glad someone started this thread, im in exactly the same boat, cept im going mid july for a few weeks.... i have a friend in paris who il just follow around. (aparently collette is the store to visit- http://www.colette.fr/index.php, and if your doing a lazy walk about: the gardens at the UNESCO buildings are pretty awesome, i believe they were designed by Isamo Naguchi and some other dude, and theres also a cool little pavillion type structure there done by Tadao Ando............. if your into architecture) im planning on paying a visit to the Le Corbusier Centre (again- architecture nonsense), and im excited to check out the bars in St Germain area, and i may be mistaken but i think Buddha Bar is somewhere in paris....

for london on the other hand im really quite stuck, planning on checking out the Tate & Tate modern, the London Lovebox weekend looks like an awesom festival (weekend of july 21st) and thats about it, anyone have any suggestions? stores to check out, art & architecture to see? bars/clubs to hit up???????

[jeepster]

oh awesome im glad someone started this thread, im in exactly the same boat, cept im going mid july for a few weeks.... i have a friend in paris who il just follow around. (aparently collette is the store to visit- http://www.colette.fr/index.php, and if your doing a lazy walk about: the gardens at the UNESCO buildings are pretty awesome, i believe they were designed by Isamo Naguchi and some other dude, and theres also a cool little pavillion type structure there done by Tadao Ando............. if your into architecture) im planning on paying a visit to the Le Corbusier Centre (again- architecture nonsense), and im excited to check out the bars in St Germain area, and i may be mistaken but i think Buddha Bar is somewhere in paris....

for london on the other hand im really quite stuck, planning on checking out the Tate & Tate modern, the London Lovebox weekend looks like an awesom festival (weekend of july 21st) and thats about it, anyone have any suggestions? stores to check out, art & architecture to see? bars/clubs to hit up???????

oh shit i love naguchi. if you ever get a chance to come down to NY, head over to brooklyn and go to the naguchi gallery/museum. its absolutely breathtaking and amazing. i make a point to go every summer cause its so beautiful.

anyways, these suggestions for paris sound pretty good. i'm going wiht my older brother who lived over there for a little while, so i'll pass the suggestions onto him, since he knows better than i do.

if you're gonna be in london, definately go to the british museum and if you can, try and get out of the city and head to the town of bath. also if possible from bath, take a trip out to stonehenge and the salisbury plane. one of the most gorgeous roadtrips i've taken was going from london to bath to stonehenge. amazing to see the white ponies in the hills and stonehenge is amazing. the salisbury plane is breathtaking too. man i loved that trip haha.

anyways, any more paris suggestions?