Trip planning: attraction grid for cities like London and Paris

Trip planning: attraction grid for cities like London and Paris

When you are going to stay for several days in one place and do different things around the area, I find an info grid to be very helpful.
I have used grids like this in Amsterdam, London, Paris, and Rome for a few examples.

Here’s a picture from an old version on an index card for Brussels (now I have them in spreadsheets).  Well-loved and smudged from being consulted so many times:

First, determine which locations are definitely of interest and which are backups for if you have time, or it’s raining, or you end up in the area, etc.
For each attraction, mark the importance (the circled page numbers in the first column), the location (I usually use a map grid code; the last column), the days and hours it’s open during your stay, cost, and any specific things you want to see (for example if it’s a museum and there are 5 priority artworks).

When you check the weather the day before, you can plan out the next day by looking at the priority locations first, and then seeing what time you might have left for other things in the area.   Cross off things as you do them to narrow down your choices for the following days.

Happy planning and travels!