Paris

John-Holmes

Afternoon everyone,

I'm thinking of taking the better half away to Paris some time around the end of September - early October. I know Paris is a bit of a cliché for the romantic holiday but I have always liked the look of the place and can't wait to go.

So, I am really just looking for some advice. Have any of the seasoned travellers on the board been before? What would they recommend? Is it an expensive city? Who would you usually travel with? I was thinking of leaving on the Thursday and coming back on the Sunday/Monday so it would be a long weekend sort of setup.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I have never been away before. Thanks a million everyone.

JH.:)

Ponster

Travel with Aer Lingus if possible. The Ryanair bus isn't all that romantic esp. if you have to catch it at 6am when returning home.

It's not that expensive (IMHO) as hotel rooms are based on 2 people sharing and cheap yet good food is pleantiful.

If it's your first time over then you really don't need to plan all that much as you'll spend your days walking around (taking the odd metro). Like any big city it's best visited several times in a lifetime rather than trying to do everything at once. In 4 days all you really need to do is take a trip up the tour, take a boat trip on the Seine. Maybe visit Montmartre and take a walk down the Champs d'eleysee.

But the most important thing to do when visiting for the first time is find a cafe with a nice view, buy a coffee/beer and take part in some people watching

M5

I would recommend staying in the Saint Germain area as its in easy reach of most of pairs and there is are a lot of good restaurants with a short distance, along with several lively bars (even midweek). Everything around there is on par with or cheaper than Dublin. There is lots to see in Paris, but use the tube where possible as it is a big city. Also dont go to any restaurants or cafes in the really touristy areas or you will pay €10 for a coffee!

And +1 on the Aerlingus option, Beauvais is an hour away and they drop you well outside the city center on the buses!

poisonated

When I was there,the one thing I found expensive were pints,8 euro!!
I would reccomend the latin quater and you should get a carnet for the metro...it is the cheapest way to travel and the metro is pretty easy to navigate around!
Im sure you know...Paris is a great city,have a good time:D

John-Holmes

Thanks every one. Helpful as ever. Im not long out of college so it will be done on the cheap lol. Keep them comming guys.

P.s. Jesus I love people watching lol.

Munster Gal

The Latin Quarter gets my vote too. For a cheap but fantastic lunch grab a sandwich, pastry and coffee from Kaysers http://www.maison-kayser.com/ and picnic beside Notre Dame. Try Le Coupe Chou for a romantic early bird meal ( €26 each)http://www.lecoupechou.com/English-informations_r28.html My advice would be to pick one or 2 things you really want to see and then wander about and see where it takes you. Enjoy!

John-Holmes

Munster Gal wrote: »

The Latin Quarter gets my vote too. For a cheap but fantastic lunch grab a sandwich, pastry and coffee from Kaysers http://www.maison-kayser.com/ and picnic beside Notre Dame. Try Le Coupe Chou for a romantic early bird meal ( €26 each)http://www.lecoupechou.com/English-informations_r28.html My advice would be to pick one or 2 things you really want to see and then wander about and see where it takes you. Enjoy!

Legend. Cheers Munster_gal

phog

Just back from there, spent 4 nights in the Hotel Eiffel Seine, a lovely hotel about 5 minutes from the Eiffle Tower and a few seconds from the Seine, just across the road from the metro (Bir-Hakeim). The hotel is recently renovated/opened, rooms are small but that is the norm in Paris, nice friendly helpful staff, a small bar and breakfast is extra at €16 pp.

In Paris you should certainly try to do a boat trip on the Seine, on Sundays it's the popular thing to do to walk the banks of the Seine, it is closed to traffic but opens again around 5:30.

The Tower or the Arc de Triomphe at night time is a must do, especally if the weather is dry with clear skies.

For a decent meal and not too expensive try the Le Petit Bofinger on Rue de Bastille, been there twice and cant fault it.

The return bus trip from Beauvais Airport cost €26 pp and it takes about 1.25 hrs, the return trip leaves Port Malliot about three hours before your Ryanair departure time.

ncmc

Paris is my favourite place in the world. I know it's a bit of a cliche for the whole romance thing, but it is a very romantic city, just something in the air!

Would agree with staying in the 5th or 6th arr, lots going on at night, loads of bars and restaurants and shops. The hotels can be pricey though as it is a popular area to stay. The sites in Paris are kind of spread out so no area is convenient to all of them. The metro is brilliant, cheap, fast and clean. You can be anywhere you want in less than 30 mins.

I would agree with Ponster, the best thing about Paris is just wandering around and soaking up the atmosphere. There are some lovely kooky shops in the 5th and 6th arr, I could spend hours in this area alone.

If money is tight, then I would avoid the real tourist spots. The Eiffel Tower could eat up a whole morning as the queues are obscene. A much better option is the view from the Tower of Notre Dame or L'Arc Du Triomphe. Nice free things to do include, Notre Dame, Sacre Couer or what about a picnic in the beautiful Jardin Du Luxembourg. As a whole, the tourist sites are quite reasonable compared to other cities. If you like art galleries, I would recommend the Mussee D'Orsay. It has so many famous impressionist pieces. I preferred it over the Louvre which didn't have the wow factor for me. If you can aim to be there the first weekend of the month, alot of museums including the Louvre offer free admission on the first Sunday of every month.

With regards to food, I think you can pay whatever you want, from €5 to €500! Me and my hubbies favourite thing is to get a Hotdog Fromage for him and a Croque Monsiuer or savory crepe for me from a vendor (total cost about €10) and have it in a lovely park and people watch. Yes, beer is crazy expensive, but wine is very affordable (especially French wine of course!)

Enjoy, you will love it!

Ponster

If you do have to buy beer....

In a fancy touristy-type place you'll pay about €8 a pint.

In an Irish/anglophone bar you'll pay between €5 and €6.50

In a French bar/cafe you'll pay about €4.50


Because every bar can set their own prices you need to shop around at times. Oh, and locals usually pay less

Munster Gal

If you have Sky+ Anthony Bourdain's show is from Paris and is on Anytime TV. I watched it yesterday and wanted to book the next flight to Paris. If you know him you'll understand his humour and why he's called the show "Why the French don't suck".

John-Holmes

Thanks again everyone. All suggestions have been noted. Just hope I haven’t been divorced now after getting way to drunk at Slane and leaving her watching Oasis on her own.

Disaster lol.

ncmc

John-Holmes wrote: »

Thanks again everyone. All suggestions have been noted. Just hope I haven’t been divorced now after getting way to drunk at Slane and leaving her watching Oasis on her own.

Disaster lol.

:D:D

Looks like you have to bring her to Paris now to make up for Saturday!