Nikki Packer from Utah is back on Trip Tales, and this time she’s sharing her family’s spring break trip through England and Paris!
Mostly booked on points, Nikki’s family started in London with classic sightseeing, Borough Market treats, and the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour before making their way to Oxford, Bath, and the dreamy English countryside. But the true surprise of the trip? The Cotswolds.
From wandering storybook villages to hiking through meadows, exploring old churches, eating gelato on bridges, and staying in a tiny ancestral village, Nikki makes a strong case for why the Cotswolds can be a magical destination for kids — especially families who love to wander, hike, and explore without an overpacked itinerary.
They ended the trip with one whirlwind, dreamy day in Paris, complete with crepes, gardens, Montmartre, and watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle!
This episode is available to watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kelseygraves
If you’d like to share about your trip on the podcast, email me at: kelsey@triptalespodcast.com
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Mentioned in this episode:
- Nicki Packer: @packinpoints on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/packinpoints/
- Kelsey's Hotel Upgrade Guide https://kelsey-graves.kit.com/e1c6074077
- LONDON: Hyatt Regency London Blackfriars, Tower of London (Beefeater Tour), Borough Market (viral chocolate covered strawberries!), Padella Borough Market (Italian restaurant), Thames Path, St. Jame's Park, Buckingham Palace, Parliament Square, Westminster Abbey, Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio Tour, Covent Garden, Millennium Bridge, The Globe Theater
- OXFORD: Addison's Walk, Botanical Gardens, Rozana (best Mediterranean wrap of Nicki's life!)
- Blenheim Palace (Winston Churchill's childhood home)
- BATH: Abbey Hotel, The Bath Abbey Church, Bathwick Trail (The Bathwick and Claverton Down Circular, popularly known as the Bath Skyline, is a spectacular 6 to 7.5-mile loop offering sweeping views over Bath, ancient woodlands, and wildflower meadows)
- COTSWOLDS
Painswick: Painswick village, St. Mary’s Church, The 99 yew trees at St. Mary’s Church, Nikki’s family’s Airbnb was near St. Mary’s Church
Stroud: Stroud Farmers’ Market
Bourton-on-the-Water: Box Bush Gelato
Upper & Lower Slaughter: Walking path between the two villages
Other Cotswolds Villages Mentioned: Chipping Campden, Bibury, Stow-on-the-Wold
Walks, Hikes & Scenic Stops: The Cotswolds Way, Broadway Tower, Beacon Path
Gloucester: Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucester Cathedral Cloisters — Harry Potter filming location
- PARIS: Hyatt Paris Madeleine, Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile, Eiffel Tower, Crepes, Louvre Museum, Tuileries Garden, Musée de l'Orangerie (Monet's Water Lillies), Sainte-Chapelle Cathedral, Notre Dame, Shakespeare and Company Bookstore, La Crème de Paris (crepes), Jardin du Luxembourg, Montmartre
