London & Paris

The majority of the trip was excellent, but I have three separate problems 1 the night of the first dinner , the food was awful. At my back there was a high bar. Bartender broke a glass causing glass shards to go down my back, inside and outside my dress. I jumped up and my seat makes helped me remove shards. I was fine. No one apologized-restaurant or Benn 2. People end of evening I’ll I was still upset and forgot my phone ion the table. I told Benn when we were riding back to hotel. He told me to hop in cab across the street and go back and get it I took cab back with a friend and it was ok. I feel he should have taken cab and I could have paid for it —- not safest choice 3. At Versaille , my Vox battery was dead within 20 minutes I was in tjj hi ousands of people. I volunteer find the group and had no way to communicate. After looking fo 30 minutes I had no choice but to locate bus and have him call Benn Suggestion:.have Benn stay a predetermined spot for emergencies Request:full cash refund gor Versaille tour

Our ride from the airport in London was late. We looked all over for a sign with our names. Finally, we located her. No sign. In London we went to Westminister Castle - that was a waste of money. We saw Queen Mary's doll house - one room with a king's bed and a room with paintings. The Chapel was closed because it was Sunday. In Paris loved the Cabaret, dinner at the Eiffel Tower. Then this is where the tour turned bad. We went to the Louve. We were split into two groups. Our group had a guide who spoke very poor English - people with and without hearing aids could not understand her. She spent long periods of time on one statue. So here comes the real bummer. We all wanted to see the Mona Lisa - that's why we signed up for the tour. Well, our guide took a vote - did we want to stand in line to see it. We all voted yes. Evidently, she didn't want to stand in line - she took us right by it - trying to get pictures of it on our way thru 4 rows of people. The more I think about it - the angrier I get. This is a once in a life time trip. The one thing you want to see most and you are walked right by it at a distance. The other group got to see it up close - their guide spoke great English -she stood in line to see the Mona Lisa. They had a great time. That kinda marked the trip - very poor for me. Now when people ask about my trip - what comes up first - the Mona Lisa - not the Cabaret or the Eiffel Tower. It is really too bad that one guide can destroy a trip like it did. I blame Collette for this - why? they should have an itinerary for their guides. They are the people we paid. We would have been better off going on our on to the Louve - spend the amount of time seeing what we wanted to see. It was a rushed tour - we had the afternoon off - we all would have liked to stay longer. We were told we could stay longer but we would be on our own to get back to the hotel.

The balance between guided tours and free time was just right. In London our hotel was in walking distance of many historical sites. Touring Windsor Castle ang then all the little shops below Windsor made for an enjoyable day. In Paris, so many memorable moments; the guided tour of the Louve, and dinner in the Eiffel Tower. But my most memorable moment was the evening cruise on the Seine River and the view of the Eiffel Tower at night, especially at 10pm, when something magical happens. A separate set of lights on the tower start to twinkle like stars. Just breathtaking.!!!

Trip was a bit rushed and not enough time allowed to enjoy the sites.

My first excursion with Collett also my first to London and Paris lived up to my expectations. A list of names and states of the group would have help meeting people in the group. Our tour manager was available to all did her best to appease the few helpful to ones that needed the attention. We encountered a demonstration and a rain storm to make this trip a memorable experience..

The Louvre tour guide excellent. Versailles Palace was a zoo - inadequate control to view art.

The Louvre tour excellent guide.

The Tower of London and watching the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace were great. Viewing the Eiffel Tower on tour and strolling the Champs-Elysees at night on my free time were wonderful.

he did every thing right

The tour experience was well planned and organized. The communication between the tour manager and guests was excellent.

Loved going the castle and seeing some of the changing of the guards

Windsor castle

it was good

Good tour overall and very good tour guide but too rushed and not enough time at points of interest. Last night out to dinner (riverboat) until 11:45 pm and had to be up at 4:30 am for departure at 5:30 am.

I particularly enjoyed the tour of Westminster Abbey and the time spent there.

problems left at the airport and not picked up to go to the hotel.

Lots of great venues to see. The only thing that could make it better would to be having only ONE bus driver while in Paris!

See below. And, London was done too quickly. You really should consider adding a day to both cities.

A great way to see London and Paris with the perfect itinerary and plenty of free time. Our tour guide, hotel staff and drivers were always attentive, full of information and ready to help when needed. Airport pickup and delivery is a stress eliminater and so much appreciated.

I think 4 stars is a very good review. My favorite experience was the night dinner cruise on the Seine River starting from under the lit Eiffel Tower.

The Tower of London, the Louvre Museum, and the ride on the Eurostar train were our most memorable experiences​.

Bus tours, Louvre, Versailles, Siene dinner cruise, Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle all good. Paradis Latin way too long for first night. Eifffel Tower ws way too rushed.

Thurs. Sept. 19 Landed on time. Took about an hour to get to baggage for pickup. Lack of signage to explain you cleared customs first and got luggage at the very end made it a bit confusing. Got to Paris Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel around 12:30 and we were pleased our room was ready. We attempted to nap during afternoon but weren’t that successful. The hotel was very nice, comfy beds, great in-room coffee, lots of ports and a very large TV. The only negative is that it’s off the beaten path and not really close to the heart of the city or the major tourist attractions. Met in lobby for Opening Dinner and a night at the Paradis Latin. The cabaret show went from 8:00-11:15; way too long for most of us who did not sleep on plane and were going on over 30 hours of no sleep. We thought we were done after the first set at 9:30. First night should be an opening dinner and that’s it. My beef bourguignon was rubbery and a real challenge to cut. Fri. Sept. 20 Bus tour of Paris comprised the morning. Tour guide was very knowledgeable with respect to the artwork and the political machinations behind how they were infused with Greek mythology to make Louis IX appear to be on par with the gods. Sat. Sept. 21 Long and busy day. In the morning we did the optional tour of the Louvre. For me, the value of an organized trip is being able to have timed tickets and not have to wait hours to get in. Tour guide here was also good. Back to hotel for another quick break before going to Eiffel Tower and dinner cruise on the Seine. Our Malaysian Eiffel Tower tour guide was extremely personable. This visit wasn’t managed well. The group got split into two elevator trips to observation deck. Being in the second one, we had less than 10 minutes to look around and get pictures. That’s absurd. Dinner cruise was nice. We were supposed to have dinner on Eiffel Tower but a switch had to be made. This was actually a better activity. Food better, but nothing exceptional. Accompaniment was keyboards, guitar and female singer. They were fine. Sun. Sept. 22 We ate breakfast and then got on the bus to go to the EuroStar train which would take us under the English Channel to London in 2 ½ hours. Once at the train station in Paris, things got disorganized. I believe we were told to remain on the bus; however, people started getting off the bus and no one stopped us from doing that. We watched as other buses came, luggage was put on carts and taken to the train. Eventually our luggage was removed from the bus and taken away. We eventually arrived at the Leonardo Royal Tower Bridge Hotel which was also a great hotel. This one is in a great location - less than a ½ mile from the Tower of London. The room was very big, very comfy bed, couch, nice bathrobes. Not as many ports and a much smaller TV screen. The concierge desk would assist if asked but certainly did not go out of their way. Fortunately, our bus driver told us to go to them to get a 20% discount card for a meal at the Mayfair Chippy, a great mall chain of restaurants with very good fish and chips. Mon. Sept. 23 Breakfasts were better here - salmon, omelette station and individual sunny-side up eggs already prepared. Morning was a bus trip through the City of London. We got out and walked around Buckingham Palace to see the brigade marching there to take up their guard post. We drove by them back at the barracks bathing their horses. We had a lunch break at Harrod’s. The group broke up in the afternoon. We went to Westminster Abbey while others went to the Churchill War Rooms. Our guide was Duncan, who also is an actor. He was the best guide of the trip - very knowledgeable, engaging and a lot of fun! Seeing the prominent people buried and/or with memorials there - Oliver Cromwell, Wm Shakespeare, Stephen Hawking - was pretty impressive! Tues. Sept. 24 We took the optional trip to Windsor Castle. Up until this day, we had been very fortunate with the weather. In fact, Saturday in Paris was sunny and around 80 degrees. This was our day for erratic weather - torrential downpours followed by sunshine. London traffic is almost as bad as Rome, so it took a while to get to the castle. Mirza, our tour guide, was out of his element here. He said there was an outdoor introductory tour that would take us to the grounds where we could take either a historic or ceremonial tour - both inside the staterooms. We went to the meeting point for the outside tour waiting in the rain for their guide to show up. Mirza made inquiries and was told they’d be there. We waited for 15 minutes after the start time and, with no guidance from anyone, we bagged it and went to the stateroom tour which leads you sequentially through both the historic and ceremonial tours (i.e., they are not separate options as we were told - it’s one seamless tour). We got back midafternoon and had a little over an hour to rest up before our farewell dinner at Brasserie Blanc. Unfortunately, it was a bad way to end the tour. The waiters were totally disorganized, we were packed in like sardines even though three people did not show up, and the food was mediocre at best. Many were upset we had to walk ½ mile to get there, but traffic would take forever. One couple took a cab and they were the last to get there. Mirza handed us survey forms to complete with our names on them and no envelopes. That did not sit well with us. We are accustomed to the provision of envelopes and the option for anonymity.

Loved the castles and the bus driver in London.

Reversed tour . The local guide was not beneficial. The dinner excursion in Paris was horrible and a waste of $110. The time in London was more beneficial and memorable. The local guide in London was fantastic!

Eiffel Tower and Seine cruised was a magical night!

I really liked going to Versailles, Eiffel Tower, Westminster Abbey, and Windsor Castle.

Windsor castle and of course the Effiel Tower

The tour was fabulous! We crammed in many major attractions in one week. -Could never have done this individually. The group admission was incredibly helpful. We also received admission to really tough to get to places like dinner on the Eiffel Tower and Versailles.- Line at Versailles was about 1/4 mile, (no lie) but we had timed group admission.

Great overall experience. This was our first trip to Europe and the tour provided a great overall flavor that would allow for more specific future visits.

All the sites we visited were amazing.

Eiffel Tower dinner was delightful. Tour manager Evan was organized and talented and our local interpreters were interesting and informative.

The tour covered all the top historic sites

Greg was wonderful! He went over and above the call of duty to try to make sure everyone was well taken care of.

Great balance of tours and free time on the trip. Only negative is they still rely on tipping the manager, coach driver and tour guides. Need to stop this.

Music was good, hit most of the important sites.

The activities were good quality

This was my first tour ever, so I judged my ability to go and enjoy it based on the fact that it was rated as a '2' in terms of steps and stairs, because I walk with a cane. Maybe if the coach hadn't broken down in front of Mayor of London's house so we walked in the rain to Buckingham Palace and later did the Westminster Abbey tour after being picked up by new bus. The trek to Buckingham was more of a sprint than a walk (I guess due to the rain). A fellow tourist with a 'fit-bit' app announced later on the replacement coach that we had walked 7,780 steps, plus whatever we walked on the Abbey tour. Not a fan of the hotel, at all. Loved, loved, loved Paris. Loved the hotel, loved the Paradis Latin, Eiffel Tower, the opportunity to photograph Arc d'Triumph up close and personal. The Louvre!!!!! Loved the food in London, Windsor, and Paris! Great people in our group; they were thoughtful, kind, helpful and understanding of my physical challanges. Ambulating was way easier in Paris. I even took a taxi that waited for me while I shopped for a carry-on bag. Loads of great information, both historical and cultural, afforded to us by the local tour guides. They were exceptionally knowledgeable, even attracting strays from other tour groups, due to the consistancy with, and obvious love of, the history and art that I have studied and/or absorbed via PBS and other specials on British and French history, culture, and art. The average rating for the accommodations is due to the fact that I was not at all happy with the London hotel. The security staff seemed menacing to me., and would not respond to questions, only poiinting or using a shooing hand gestures. The water dispenser on our floor was out of order, and the houseman filling pitchers for other rooms on my floor totally ignored my request to have my pitcher filled. Finally had to buy from restaurant. The elevatores kept breaking down... thank goodness one-at-a-time. The Marriot lived up to its name, reputation and more.

London was fantastic and saw so many places. Loved Windsor castle and Westminster Abbey.

In London I enjoyed Windsor Castle and seeing the changing of the guards. In Paris the dinner at the Eiffel Tower and river cruise were fabulous!

We loved the boat trip on the Seine and the meal in the Eiffel Tower.

Nothing to compare it to, so it gets all 5 stars. No complaints.

We saw a lot in our 6 days. Very organized and professional. Loved London , would have liked to have a little more free time in Paris. The Eiffel Tower dinner and Seine River cruise was amazing !

Great tour of London and Paris for 7 days!

Was pleased with every part of the trip especially with the optional tours I purchased.

London and Paris in the Spring with excellent weather can’t be beat. The last night we had dinner on the Eiffel Tower-Wow!

seeing the Eiffel tour lit up at night was my favorite thing to see and especially when it flickered for a few minutes.

Attention to detail and the options...all except the Cabaret (not so much) We had several church members on tour and they were not comfortable going to a Cabaret.

Local tour guides were excellent. La Paradis Latin and the Evening in Paris restaurant in the Latin Quarter were highlights. We loved time to browse on our own. The Grange City Hotel in London was fantastic in every way. If we were rating this hotel alone, the score below would be excellent. The score of the Diva Gauche would be poor.

They make taking a trip, easy and very relaxing, and still get to see so many attractions!!

London and Paris we're exceptional cities to visit. Especially the culture and history.

We received the best tours for only having 3 days in each city.

Price was very fair and economical.

Loved London and Paris day trips

Paris and London are 2 of our favorite cities in the world and Collette gave us a wonderful experience in both places.

Eiffel Tower & dinner, Windsor castle, changing of guard gave me chills!

Dinner in the Eiffel Tower on my birthday was great. Changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Local guide, Brit, was wonderful. My favorite guide.

the tour was good because you showed us all the important places and my favorite was Louis XIV's Palace and Gardens. I think a another dinner could have been included since it was your anniversary!

Everything was excellent. The hotel and restaurants were great.

see earlier review ... tour guide manager was an issue.

Dinner at the Eiffel tour and the cruise down the Seine was the best!

Tour guide for Collette was not very people oriented

London - Tower Bridge and Castle. Paris - Eiffell Tower Garden and Palace of Versailles

the tour was fantastic but the directions were questionable, consequently missed the bus in London. Loved the architecture of France and England. Harrods was wonderful. The food was great.

Great Tour overall. All of our 9 Collette tours have been great.

Add this trip to your bucket list, Everybody needs to see London and Paris.

Fantastic trip! Can't wait to travel again with Collette!!

tour was great and the whole trip was memorable

The Bistro and Dance Show in Paris was one of the highlights...Food, show , arrangements...all excellent

We could have used more time at each stop at the landmarks, but that is not Collette's fault - the traffic in London was horrendous and it just seemed to take extra time to get anywhere. Our guide, Jeff Mullen, was knowledgeable, affable and patient. Our local guide in Paris, Natalie was fun and knowledgeable, as well. Nothing to do with Collette, but if the climate continues the way it is, I would not go again in mid-July. It was unpleasantly hot and when there were crowds, most attractions, it was miserable having to stand in line and wait (at Versailles, for an hour), even though we had group priority. I would have liked to been able to stop at the Arc de Triomphe and take some pictures. Not sue if why we didn't was due to time constraints and traffic or they just don't normally stop there - I think that should have definitely been a landmark we would have liked to have seen other than from a moving bus.l

Favorite memorable experience was Paradis Latin.

The trip was lovely and my tour guide, Becky, would receive 20 stars if I could give that to her! The only reason why I’m giving 4 instead of 5 stars is because my mom and I had to add extra days in order to experience some of the things you only drive by during the actual tour. For example, Collette drives by the Tower of London and if we hadn’t booked an extra day we wouldn’t have had time to go in it and see the Crown Jewels. Also the hotel in Paris was REALLY hot and uncomfortable; everyone thought the air conditioning was broken but it wasn’t! In contrast, everything about the London hotel was perfect; they were so hospitable and the location was beyond convenient. Nevertheless, my mom and I are in the process of booking a second trip through Collette so they did something right!

The tour allowed the opportunity to see the sites we were interested in and for free time

We were able to see everything we expected to. Eiffel tower, the museums, the architecture was great and seeing the castles

Eiffel tour dinner and Seine River cruise was the most memorable.

Dinner on the Eiffel Tower

Signed up for too many excursion, one of the excursions got us back to the hotel at midnight. Many of us had to leave at 6:30 the next morning and have our bags packed by 6

Guide was personal and friendly as well as extremely helpful. Love the care-free vacations as everything is planned out for you!

Great job. Ben the tour manager was excellent. Had a fun time and looking forward to another one.

Wonderful sites/locations and guide

Again well organized and tour manager was knowledgeable and helpful at all times. It was great.

Our favorite memorable experience was watching the Eiffel Tower illuminated at night. What an extraordinary sight! Simply unforgettable!

history, very good food, educational experience,

Price I thought was very reasonable. I purchased my own airfare. The hotels we stayed at were excellent, especially in London. The Grange Hotel was beautiful

Got to see all the highlights of the two cities.

The cabaret show in Paris was so fun and memorable

Great places to see. The high spots of both

Dinner and view at Eiffel tower.

we enjoyed Paris and to have dinner included at the Effiel tower was great. Riding the train from Paris to London.was fun and a new experiance for us.

We had a wonderful trip! ****, our tour guide, as super!!!

Very nice points of interest, however description misleading for Paris in spots.

Seeing the sights was the best

Loved all our extra excursion Favourite Windsor castle and Effie Tour

Great sites, service and staff

Loved Highclare and Eiffel Tower experience

Loved the cabaret show in Paris. Highclere Castle was amazing to see in person. Loved London and seeing the places I had only read about. Great trip!

London hotel was great! Paris was not so good. Neighborhood was a bit sketchy. Did not want to walk around the neighborhood at night. Most memorable was the cruise on the Seine River and the Eiffel Tower lighting up.

WE really enjoyed the tours of Paris and London and met some wonderful people.

We loved it all, just sorry we didn't have more time.

Our local tour guide for London got us to the front of seeing the old guard, band, and horses, marching from the guard-changing. I never thought I'd be able to see any of it, having seen the crowds, and being 5'3"! Loved our tours to Notre Dame and Versailles with our local guide in Paris. She was fabulous and so knowledgeable.

Besides having a great tour leader, we were extremely fortunate to have a wonderful group of people to travel with in our group

Amazing people and everything on time!

Windsor Castle was great but had to pay extra

I reviewed the trip previously

Louvre ,Paradis Latin, Eurostar,Westminster

We had planned extra days post tour in London based on the hotel we were slated to stay at, they switched hotels. Sub par hotel, and location.Would have loved more free time post visits to site. We had hours to kill and were not allowed just a few minutes to explore around the exhibits, such as gift shops or neighboring villages.Tour manager was sympathetic but claimed he had no flexibility due lease time on our bus.

Tour was great. Paris was excellent way

It was all my favorite. Just the right amount of time for a tour.

Great time with great tour manager and guides. Whole trip was memorable.

Everything was great - Eiffel Tower at night was a majestic sight

Boat ride on the Seine and dinner at the Eiffel Tower

Our tour manager was just that- a manager rather than a guide. She was very nice but we were left on our own with instructions to " call" if we needed anything! The hotel employees were unable to help us! We loved the tours and dinners!

great tour mgr.. London local tour guide very good...Paris local tour guide knowlegable but devoted too much time to a few people rather than entire group

not treated well was looking for a wonderful experience for the price paid but that did not happen

It was a great time!Both London and Paris.

The scenic cruise around the Effiel tower was very nice. I love the woman in black proformance in London.

I loved the dinner at the Eiffel Tower. It was all lit up in red, white and blue and was beautiful.

Felt that an addt day in London and an addt day in Paris would of been beneficial and given us a chance to do more sightseeing. Seemed a little too rushed. The hotel in Paris was nice but I was disappointed as I had brought my granddaughter to Europe for her first trip and we had NO view from our hotel room window. Hotel in London was a good choice and their breakfast was wonderful. The breakfast in Paris was just ok; would of preferred to eat in the dining room of the hotel like we did in London. Have traveled with Collette before and would travel with them again.

The additional tour guides are always knowledgeable and funny.

Paris accommodations left something to be desired. Our tour guide, Ms. Bisbash, was excellent and despite being ill, gave everyone first class service. She called us all by name and accommodated everyone's needs as best possible. I did think the "tour" would be more than a drive by of most of the areas. Fortunately, we had enough free time to go back and see most of the highlights we breezed past.

Tour manager made the trip a wonderful experience with my grandchildren. Now they say they won't travel again unless they can have Emily as their guide!

We thought we would have time to see each of the places mentioned on the tour guide. However, we just drove by and never stopped. There is no way we would have been able to go back to the places on our own. There just wasn't time when you consider the amount of time it would take to get back to those places. We were already there on the tour bus. Getting off for 10 or 15 minutes would have at least given us the feeling that we had seen those places.

See comments above, I think our tour guide did a great job. I don't know how she kept up with everything and made it look easy!

dinner at the Eiffel tower and the light display on the tower afterwards