Last month, we spent a glorious 3 weeks in Europe and it was (not surprisingly) incredible! We visited 4 countries – Ireland, Scotland, England, and France – and I’m sharing what we did, where we stayed (and where we would stay next time!), and where we ate and drank.
As an Interior Designer, I plan projects for a living. Planning is my zone of genius. BUT I’ve never been to Europe, and I knew that I didn’t have it in me to read all the travel blogs and scour the internet to craft the best itinerary. We enlisted the help of a travel agent to do a lot of the heavy lifting for us in building our itinerary, figuring out the travel logistics, and booking some incredible experiences. Then we filled in the details of what we would explore on our own and where we would eat.
Note, these weren't the only things we did or ate. I just didn't include anything that I wouldn't do again or that wasn't particularly memorable.
IRELAND
We spent our first few days in Ireland. We flew into Dublin and went straight out to the countryside a bit to Maynooth. The Irish Countryside could have been an entire trip in itself, and we hope to go back to explore the country more. Everyone in Ireland was so kind, and it’s spectacularly beautiful.
Where to stay:
Carton House, Maynooth – top notch countryside resort
Dylan Hotel, Dublin – gorgeous and quiet
Where we would stay next time – The Shelborne, Dublin – a little closer to the city center, right across from Saint Stephen’s Green.
What to do and see:
Drive (or train) through the countryside
Trim Castle (any castle, honestly)
Visit the ruins of Knowth and Newgrange – be aware, you must book this well in advance
Trinity College Long Room Library and Book of Kells - can book tickets the night before or day of
St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Christ Church’s Cathedral. Tip - if you go for a service (I highly recommend the Evensong) you don’t need to pay an entry fee.
Walk through St. Stephen’s Green
Dublin Castle
National Gallery
Higher End Shopping Grafton and Dawson Streets; Antique Shopping on Wicklow Street
Where to eat and drink:
Carton House – the restaurants in the hotel are top notch
The Edison – restaurant at The Dylan hotel. Great breakfast.
O’Neill’s Pub – great Irish pub with the very best cottage pie we’ve ever had. Ever.
The Ivy – Don't miss this. The food, design and drinks were all incredible. One of my favorite spots on the entire trip. Get a reservation.
Carluccios – Wouldn’t expect an Italian restaurant on this list, but for a quick mid-day bite of bruschetta and a glass of wine, you can’t beat it.
The Brazen Head – the oldest pub in Ireland!
SCOTLAND
If I’m being honest, this was my favorite part of the trip. Much like Ireland, the Scots were exceedingly warm and welcoming, and the countryside defies description. Honestly, I could move here. The cities and the rural areas are fantastic. Edinburgh is now my favorite city I’ve ever visited. It’s like being inside of Harry Potter. You feel like you’re on a movie set.
We visited 4 major spots over 8 days: Glasgow, Islay, Edinburgh, and then the Countryside. Glasgow was mostly a landing place for us to be able to make the day trip to the island of Islay, which is home of some of the best Scotch Whisky in the world. If you are a whisky person, Islay MUST be on your list.
Where to stay:
Glasgow – The Kimpton at Blythswood Square
Edinburgh – The Glasshouse - pretty nice, and still reasonable walk to just about everything
Edinburgh – The Balmoral – where we would stay next time. Gorgeous, old world but updated style and great location on Prince Street.
Countryside – Gleneagles Resort – this one is a SPLURGE but worth it
What to do and see:
Distillery tours on Islay – if you love whisky, put this on your bucket list. It’s not particularly easy to get to (ferry or 45 minute flight on a TINY plane), but we did tastings at 2 distilleries (Lagavulin and Laphroaig) where we tasted whisky straight from the cask and visited a third (Bowmore). Book this well in advance, as well as arrange a driver. It’s a tiny island with a population of 3,000; there will not be a taxi waiting for you!
Edinburgh:
Shop on Victoria Street
The Royal Mile – beautiful buildings and shopping. Starting at Holyroodhouse and ending uphill at Edinburgh Castle. Stop near the top at The Flooden Wall for a great view and photo op of the castle. It is definitely worth the entry fee to tour the Castle and see the Scottish crown jewels. Get there before 1 PM to see the cannon being shot off.
St. Giles Cathedral – also on the Royal Mile
Distillery Tours – outside of Islay there are so many other distilleries to visit (and you might like them more if you like a smoother whisky; Islay whisky is more peaty and will put hair on your chest). We visited Deanston, but there are many MANY more, including the Whisky Experience at Johnny Walker in Edinburgh, and tours through the Highlands and Speyside.
St. Andrews and Fife fishing villages – if you stay in the countryside, ride up the coast to St. Andrews, home of golf, for the cutest tiny college town that is equally packed with 20 year olds and golf tourists! You can walk right onto the 18th hole and take a photo on the famous Swilcan bridge. The ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral are worth a stroll, and pop into as many old churches as you can
Gleneagles – if you splurge on a stay, they have archery, falcon hunting, shooting, off roading, a spa, and so much more! We spent most of our time just walking the grounds and reading a book (with a cocktail) by the fire.
Pet and feed Highland Coo (aka cow). These furry guys are adorable. Touristy? Yes. Worth it? Yes.
Where to eat and drink:
Glasgow – The Ben Nevis bar. They have a library wall of whisky and are very knowledgeable. They also have live traditional music most nights. Definitely has gotten on the tourist map; there were many other Americans there!
Islay – Ardbeg distillery has a great food truck setup. My Thai Chicken was bang on.
Edinburgh -
The Queens Arms – arguably my favorite meal on this trip. Comfort food but elevated, and the cocktails and food are extremely well priced for what you get. The pulled ham mac and cheese and steak frites were top notch. Grab a reservation.
Maison Bleu – a French restaurant in Scotland might sound a silly as an Italian restaurant in Ireland, but the food was delicious. We did a 3 course menu and loved every course. Definitely get a reservation.
Society Bar and Kitchen – most mornings for breakfast I had a Greek yogurt parfait, and while I didn’t think there was too much you could do to make that amazing, Society proved me wrong. I would have eaten that meal 100 times over. If you’re lucky enough, grab a seat at the counter at the window for views up Prince Street and enjoy the people watching.
Deacon’s House Café – this is tucked in an alleyway off the Royal Mile, up near the Edinburgh Castle. Especially if it’s dreary, this is a darling spot for coffee or tea and a pastry or toastie.
The Balmoral Bar Prince – the cocktails are pricy, but the atmosphere is worth it for a drink.
Gleneagles – there are several restaurants on the property, but the breakfast buffet at The Strathorn is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever beheld. Dinner at Birnham was my favorite.
LONDON
Next up was London, the largest city we had visited thus far. Even still, I was so surprised at how close together all of the major landmarks were. Much of it is quite walkable, and the Tube (subway) is simple to figure out. That stressed me out to no small degree since we don’t have anything like that in Texas and it had been more than a decade since I’d tried my hand at it in a major city. Don’t be intimidated. DEFINITELY download the CityMapper app before you go. It's free and will tell you how to navigate to where you need to go.
Where to stay:
The Wellsley Knightsbridge – definitely in a posh part of London. Easily walkable to Buckingham Palace, Kensington gardens, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, etc.
There were so many other cute hotels here, so don't feel limited by my very short list!
What to do and see:
Buckingham Palace
Westminster Abbey – this is a MUST DO. Most beautiful church I've ever seen.
Churchill War Rooms - even if you aren't a WWII nut (I'm not), you will probably enjoy this (I did).
Big Ben
The London Eye – truth be told, we didn’t go up in it. Just looked (safely) from the ground
The Tower of London
Sky Garden – this is in the top floor of a high rise and is a gorgeous indoor garden with stunning 360 views of London. Tickets are free, but once they go live each week they sell out almost immediately. Do like I did and get around this (and skip the line) by making a reservation at one of the Bars or Restaurants inside. We got to walk right to the front of the line of people that just had general admission.
My #1 favorite experience – a luxury train ride on The British Pulman Belmond Train. I’d say this was a “once in a lifetime” experience, but I would totally do this again. We splurged on a luxury train ride that started and ended at Victoria Station and wound through the countryside and south coast of England. It included a 6-course meal, wine, AND champagne. The interior of the cars are stunning, particularly the one we booked that was designed by my style muse and film director, Wes Anderson. We booked our entire trip around this reservation.
Portobello Market – Take a double decker bus out to Notting Hill and get your cash ready. There are soooooooo many great vendors here at this world famous market. Also come hungry, because the food is going to make you want to eat. TIP – it says the market opens at 8 AM, but the reality is it’s not up and running until closer to 9 or 10. We went at 8 (to get the good stuff, garage-sale-strategy) and wound up eating at a (lackluster) café. I wish we had been on vacation time and come just a hair later!
Texans – visit the plaque for the Republic of Texas on St. James Street!
Where to eat and drink:
The Alfred Tennyson – great restaurant around the corner from our hotel. Cozy vibes and great food and cocktails.
Hawksmoor – a steakhouse with multiple locations, the food and cocktails were incredible.
Food Hall at Victoria Station – by this point in our trip, this Texan was craving a taco! Victoria delivered, and there was a wide variety of food that everyone around us seemed to be enjoying.
Food Hall at Harrod’s. We didn’t eat here, but everyone said we should have! Harrod's is the luxury shopping mega-department store in London. We strolled through, but not at meal time. Everything looked and smelled amazing.
All Bar One – if you find yourself at the base of the London Eye and it starts raining and you don’t have your umbrella (whoops), duck into the All Bar one and get the French fry trio. You’re welcome.
PARIS
The tail end of our journey concluded with 4 days in Paris. I’ve been dreaming of coming here for as long as I can remember. We accidentally ended up here during fashion week, and the city is preparing for the Olympics in 2024 (so much scaffolding) so we may not have hit her at her best. But it was still magical!
Where to stay:
The Westin Vendôme – This location is amazing, halfway between the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, right next to the Louvre. BUT I’m not sure I’d stay here again. We booked it through points, so it wasn’t a big deal, but I do think if I had been paying cash money for it that I would have been a little disappointed. Not quite the luxury experience for the $$$ they were charging.
What to do and see:
Eiffel Tower - no brainer. We didn't go to the top and I don't feel like I missed out. There are plenty of other places with great views!
Arc de Triomphe and walk the Champs-Élysées
Sacred Heart Cathedral – get ready for some uphill steps, but the views of Paris are 100% worth it
The Louvre – get tickets for the earliest entry time
Île de la Cité – where Notre Dame is. If Notre Dame is restored when you take your trip, GO!
Walk along the Seine
Book shopping at The Shakespear and Company – former hangout of Hemmingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jack Kerouac and many more
Texans – visit the former for the Republic of Texas Embassy! It’s up high on a building between the Ritz and The Westin Vendome. Google it or you’ll never find it!
Versailles – get tickets for the EARLIEST entry time. 15 million people visit a year, and I think 14 million were there on the day we went. Being crammed into each room with literally hundreds of other people shoulder-to-shoulder was a beat down. It’s gorgeous, but the experience would have been 100x better if we had gone early.
Where to eat and drink:
Literally every little café we stopped at was wonderful. I am not sure you can go wrong here. We particularly loved eating on the Île de la Cité – it’s on an island in the Seine and there are very few cars and (right now, with Notre Dame under construction) very few tourists. We ate at La Rose de France. We were the only English speakers there. The food and wine were perfection. Also high praise for Café Andre in the Latin Quarter.
Le Deux Magots – where did Hemmingway and Fitzgerald and Picasso go after they left Shakespear and Company? Here! Another gorgeous café with great food and wine.
Bar Hemmingway at The Ritz – be warned, this isn’t a guarantee. They don’t take reservations, there are only 25 seats in the place, but it’s worth it. The cocktails are really pricy (splurge) but totally worth it. Get a round of mini-hot dogs to soak them up!
Café Lapérouse – Our fancy dinner out in Paris. The food was spectacular (steak frites for everyone!) and was just one block from our hotel across from Place de la Concorde. Reservation is helpful.
Cedric Grolet – this world famous pastry chef has several locations, and you might just spot him filming for Instagram (twice) like we did! Maker of the very best croissant I’ve ever had in my entire life.
One of approximately 300 croque monsieurs I ate in Paris.
PARTING THOUGHTS + TIPS
Each of these countries could have easily been a week-long vacation on its own.
Moving around this much is tiring. We averaged about 10 miles a day on foot for 21 days. There were a few moments where we thought we might be ready to go home. But somehow, we persevered. 😉
Pack strategically. We brought 2 rolling bags, a backpack, a large purse, and one weekender/garment bag to start, PLUS stuffed an empty duffel bag inside of the weekender for souvenirs. It was a brilliant move, as checking that duffel bag coming home was half the cost of shipping a box home…as we later learned when we shipped another box of goodies home!
HOWEVER. Managing essentially 3 bags each on the London Tube and Paris Metro wasn’t fun. Doable, but…I wouldn’t do it again. A taxi or fewer bags are the way to go instead of the subway when you have that many bags.
If you go for this long, plan to wash your socks and unders in the hotel and dry them on a towel warming rack if your hotel has one. On their own, socks will take 3 days to dry and the hotels may charge upwards of $8 a PAIR to launder them for you. OUCH.
IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE READ THIS. I had never been to Europe so wasn’t aware of this. When you sit down to a restaurant they will ask you if you want “sparkling or still water.” If you say “still” you might think you’re getting tap water, but you’re getting a bottle of filtered water at usually $8 a pop. If you ask for “a carafe of tap water” they will bring cool tap water to you for no charge. We easily blew $75 before we figured this trick out. Learn from my mistakes.
Thanks for coming along with me! I hope this helps to inspire you to plan for your next adventure. And if you are a visual person, check out our IG Highlight where I shared videos of many of these places.
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