Well you’re the one that took us there. Man, those profiteroles were divine.
Fair point. 
I still dream about the duck breast, with the honey sauce, and the french fries cooked in duck fat.
I’ve been to London 3 times; the must-sees are the British Museum, Tower of London and Westminster Abbey.
I haven’t managed to see St. Paul’s yet; I always manage to get there when they’re having some kind of service or event, or just after it closed for the day.
The Imperial War Museum is totally cool if you’re a military history buff. So is the British Army Museum in Chelsea. Les Invalides in Paris is good for that kind of thing as well (the French equivalent of the IWM).
Greenwich (Cutty Sark/NMM/Royal Observatory) is good, but not worth it if you have limited time.
Seeing a show in one of the West End theaters is great; there are ticket brokers in Leicester Square, IIRC that don’t have too terrible of prices.
Yeah, that one’s good, too. 
Nonsense, I just got off the Underground (London Subway) at Piccadilly Circus and went to one of the ticket brokers and got decent seats for several shows while I was there. Oh and do check out the Underground, it’s the best way to get around London (but do mind the gap).
I always recommend that people check out a decent Thai food/Pub while in London, it’s something common there but unexpected by most visitors. Pubs that serve good British beer and hot Thai food, great combination. I like this one myself; it’s near the Royal Albert Hall and Kensington Palace.
For Paris there is just too much to see and do; you need at least a month. Still I enjoyed the show at the Moulin Rouge; right up there with top Vegas shows like Cirque du Soliel. Other than that just walk and explore, there is something on every just about every street that is fascinating.
Oh and check out Monet’s Water Lilies at the Musee de l’Orangeriein front of the Louvre. The place is huge and only has one work, Monet’s Water Lilies, which covers all of the walls in two rooms. I had no idea before I went there what a major piece of art this was until I saw it in person.
Is it just me or do the French really hate putting their menus online? In the US it is exceptionally rare to find a restaurant that does not post its menu (or at least a sample menu). Parisian restaurants seem the opposite.
Also, I have noted many Paris restaurants have oddly restrictive times they are open. For instance (one of the most restrictive I found) was Septime. They are closed Saturday and Sunday (you’d think weekend dining would be popular). When they are open it is for 1.75 hours for lunch (12:15-2…not open for lunch on Mondays either) and 2.5 hours for dinner (7:30-10). That is not even 20 hours a week.
While most are not that bad I have noted opening times as late as 7:30 and closed weekends and so on.
For such a major metropolitan city and one so dedicated to tourism that seems odd. No biggie…just find it strange is all.
From your link, it says that Thai pub serves food from 12:00-10:00. Does that mean from noon until 10am the next day and it’s open the whole night and it’s only closed 10am-noon? Or it’s only open noon until 10pm?
(Sunday it says 12:00-21:30, which is why I am reading the rest of the week in the 24 hour time.)
Probably because the menus change daily and the daily menu isn’t decided until the chef goes to the market to decide (and purchase) what is fresh. The menu is then posted by the door. In the city this method allows the diner to browse restaurants from door to door and decide on what to have without having to go inside. Remember the French have their biggest meal at midday, whereas the evening dinner is much lighter fare (soup, eggs, sandwich, etc).
Believe it to be 10 at night. It’s like they are two separate businesses with a door connecting them; you can take your beer into the Thai food side or eat on the pub side. Still it seems kind of early for a place like that to stop serving food. Perhaps they don’t want Prince Harry wandering over late at night and causing a scene.
I just spent 6 days in Paris in mid-May. I made a google map of all the places that I was interested in (I think that link should take you to the map; it should be public but unlisted). I lived near Paris for five years when I was younger, so I knew my way around a bit.
My favorite meal was at a place called Les Papilles - there is NO menu at all; they create a different meal every night, and everyone gets the same thing. Takes a certain amount of faith, but it was really, really good. I didn’t go to all the other places I list on the map, but all were places I had gotten good reviews of from various sources that I trusted - I’d recommend googling any that interest you from that map; links should be included there.
For breakfast the various Maison Kayser/Eric Kayser boulangeries were really great - nothing terribly fancy, just the best orange juice I ever had, along with the best pain au chocolate, and the best cappucino, all for around 11 euro.
I was a big fan of the Musee de L’Armee (Napolean’ tomb is on the premises too), the Musee de Cluny that someone mentioned upthread was another favorite. THe Musee D’Orsay is really good too. The Eiffel Tower I felt was overrated. I regret not heading across the way to the Trocadero to observe it from a distance in the evening - I walked through there on my final night and it was a real party atmosphere, really cool energy. Montmartre has also gotten sadly touristy.
If I could have a do-over on anything, I’d have made less use of the Metro, and used the bike rental system. The Metro has an ungodly amount of stairs, and my legs were a wreck after a few days. I’m a little out of shape, so that undoubtably was a big part of that. Bikes would have been much easier on me.
One thing that surprised me is that the Galeries Lafeyette food court was exceptional (Galeries Lafeyette is the high end department store in France), and the store itself is very attractive.
How long will you be there?
Only three days unfortunately (but wanted to hit London too…taking the Eurostar to Paris from London). Will be a Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
I have not been to either, but my wife has been to both. Based on past comments from her and others, I’d suggest:
Where to eat? Paris
What to see? London
Also known as “Les Invalides”, since the left-side of the building is still the French Veterans Hospital, while the right side is the Musee de L’Armee. The Metro stop is “Invalides” I believe.
You probably won’t have time but I’d recommend taking a trip on the DLR and getting off at Greenwich. You see some fabulous views from that line and it feels hugely different from most other parts of London.
Also go for a walk in Hampstead Heath.
For Paris I’d recommend the Musée des Arts et Métiers. It’s the best science/engineering museum I’ve been to. And it’s cheap.
The Chicago Tribune “Travel” section just posted a photo gallery of views from the Tour (tower) Saint-Jacques :
It is not usually open to the public, which would move it up on my list.
Description from tourism promotion site:
I don’t see any point in going to both places, unless you merely wish to cross them off your list of “cities I have passed through”. You will waste a significant part of your three days travelling between the two. And three days is nothing in cities of this class. Don’t even try to “capture the essence” of them. Just pick two, maybe three, places that sound interesting, and visit them. But know that you have no chance of experiencing the “real” Paris or London in such a short visit.
Though in essence I agree that three days is not long enough to do either city justice it is worth mentioning that paris is only 2h 15m from London.
You could do breakfast on the train there, dinner on the train back and not actually lose that much sightseeing time.