Paris

citizen_p

Just wondering about the public transport system over there and realistically how far away from the city center, Champs-Elysee, Notre Dame etc... I could be and still have easy access, been looking at places a couple of kilometres out.

would 5 or 6 kilometres out be alot of hassle or a simple journey?
any recomendations of areas?


been looking at this (http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_5000/accueil/), but compared to Dublins backward system its a tad more complicated :P

kerry4sam

Mousey- wrote: »

Just wondering about the public transport system over there and realistically how far away from the city center, Champs-Elysee, Notre Dame etc... I could be and still have easy access, been looking at places a couple of kilometres out.

would 5 or 6 kilometres out be alot of hassle or a simple journey?
any recomendations of areas?


been looking at this (http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_5000/accueil/), but compared to Dublins backward system its a tad more complicated :P

Hi there,

Their is some really helpful info posted in this thread about transport in Paris

Scortho

I was there a few months ago and stayed near convention. Its in arr. 15 and was about 15-20 mins on the metro to the champs ELysee.
However Paris is massive! If you stay near Montmartre you'll me miles from the Louvre and Notre dam. If you stay near the Louvre you'll be miles from the Eiffel Tower! The metro lines are all linked together somewhere along the way and colour coded! It may involve a few changes though (2-3 at most).
The metros are very regular, on average one every 5 mins or so. I found this website excellent for understanding their metro map!
http://parisbytrain.com/category/maps
Where we were, we were able to travel to all the sites as well as versailles and CDG with relative ease! How long are you going for and where were you thinking about staying?

leeomurchu

5 or 6 k out wouldn't be to bad as there public transport network is great but you'll have to consider that Paris isn't particularly nice once you go off the main tourist routes.

I stayed in hotel Ares when I was there it's a bit of a boutique hotel (They actually have Versace tiling in the bathrooms haha) 5 mins walk from champ de mars and Eiffel Tower and nice clean and big rooms.

There might be someone who could provide you with more info if you let us know the area you're looking at staying in is it near the sacré coeur by chance?

Scortho

OP heres a map of the metro system including the RER lines and the tram network
http://parisbytrain.com/files/2008/06/metro.pdf

citizen_p

I'm going for 4 days, friday-monday


was thinking about a kilometre away from Notre Dame 3 arr., or maybe around saint ambrose in 11 arr., or would that be completley mad? or else up around saint-Georges or Grande-Carrieres


I'm only a student so don't be to harsh on me budget-wise! I know i'm crazy in terms of picking paris
I'd rather shell out on visiting places and having a good time, than accomadation thats will hold my bag and I'll spend a maximum of 20 hours in asleep

ballooba

Paris Metro is relatively efficient and easy to use. A couple of km out should be fine.

Scortho

As you're only going for 4 days the best ticket would be the carnet of tickets for the metro. If you do Paris right the only time you should be in your hotel is in the morning and at night.

When i was there the hotel we stayed in was about 5 km from the champs elysee. However it was 2 km from the eiffel tower. Where ever you stay you will be close to some attraction.

The metro system over there is really good and its easy to travel around the sights.

Another poster said that Paris isnt particularly nice once you go outside the main tourist routes. Id disagree with that.
The street i was on was in residential paris city. Loads of families, cheap nice restaurants and some amazing bakeries. I found it to be really relaxing. There was also some very good shops within a five minute walk including carrefour and a good few pubs/cafes that were packed in the evenings.

If you stay within Boulevard Périphérique you will be fine. Also you may find 3 arr expensive as its in the Jewish/Le Marais district which is very popular.

If youre under 25 and from the EU you will also get free entry to nearly all of the museums and sights! Just show them you're passport! It meant that we saved a fortune on entrance tickets and went into places we never even thought about. They turned out to be brilliant. The only problem with this was that we didnt get to do everything we originally wanted too.

Strumms

I agree with the above poster Bolevard Périphérique as long are you are inside that it's cool. The Metro / RER / Bus service is superb and relatively easy to use and safe although there would be areas to avoid late at night perhaps,as any major city. Also the poster who suggested that off the tourist traps are not maybe such nice places.. I'd disagree with this as someone who lived in Paris and knows the ins andoutsofnthe city prettynwell, to me some of the nicest parts of the city would be off the tourist trail although with your 4 nights and if you haven't been before id guess you want to do the usual suspects, have fun and if you have any questions feel free to PM,

leeomurchu

Scortho wrote: »

Another poster said that Paris isnt particularly nice once you go outside the main tourist routes. Id disagree with that.
The street i was on was in residential paris city. Loads of families, cheap nice restaurants and some amazing bakeries. I found it to be really relaxing. There was also some very good shops within a five minute walk including carrefour and a good few pubs/cafes that were packed in the evenings.

There's always one :rolleyes:

I was referring to outside of the city of course there are plenty of nice residential spots in the city I've stayed in many nice areas off of the tourist trail but you to do a bit more research as like many/most cities in Europe there are places which you'd rather not end up.

Anyway have a good trip and bring comfy shoes if you're planning a lot of sight seeing

Strumms

The majority of the city of Paris would be off the considered tourist route so I can understand why the other poster would have interpreted your comments the way they did as indeed I did too. The only places you would not like to be would be the suburbs of Paris rather than the city, those places way out on the end tenticles of the RER line, North West of CDG airport is not someplace you want to find yourself any time soon.

It's an amazing city, I have been back every year at least once since I lived there which was about 10 years or so ago and I still get a buzz from being there every time.

Outkast_IRE

I would highly reccomend getting a paris visite card , you can get a 5 day pass, depending how far out of the city you are you get different priced ones, the 5 zone pass is great as it will cover the rer to disneyland and out to versailles etc.

Heres the official website , you purchase them at the ticket office http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_21879/tourists/

I was there for 5 days last summer and did all my travel by metro/RER any questions just ask.

Scortho

An area not to stay in is Pigalle. Unless thats your scene!:D

Leomurchu my apologies. From you're post I was under the impression that you basically meant that anyone that isn't within a mile of the River Seine would be loosing out!
hotel Ares looks lovely! except the price:eek: Ours was that for 4 nights. Didnt have Versace tilling in the jacks though:(

Mousey totally of topic but make sure that if you go to the Notre dam Cathedral take a trip across the bridge to the second Island of Ile Saint Louis. There you'll find Berthillon. Not to be missed. The nicest ice-cream I've ever had!:)

Also if you want to get a really good insight into Paris I found discover walks to be excellent. Its free (based on tips average is a tenner) and you learn some really amazing things such as where the architect of Notre Dam put himself on the cathedral. Info for them can be found here
http://www.discoverwalks.com/paris-walking-tours/

leeomurchu

Scortho wrote: »

Leomurchu my apologies. From you're post I was under the impression that you basically meant that anyone that isn't within a mile of the River Seine would be loosing out!
hotel Ares looks lovely! except the price:eek: Ours was that for 4 nights. Didnt have Versace tilling in the jacks though:([/url]

No worries I was a bit unclear to be fair

You're not living if you don't have a bit of Versacé in the bog Yeah the hotel was a lil pricey alright and nothing fancy to be honest very well appointed rooms and decor but no lift and the common rooms were small no bar or anything if I remember correctly but it was a little treat just after christmas Paris draped in snow was beautiful

Louche Lad

Scortho wrote: »

An area not to stay in is Pigalle. Unless thats your scene!:D...

Definitely don't stay in Pigalle — too noisy, and you keep getting hassled in the street and ladies banging on their windows, inviting you in. But it does have some good, lively bars so it's worth a visit.

franc 91

It all depends on what you want to see and do here. I agree that most of the interesting parts of Paris are pretty central. You can get on one of those open-top
tourist buses to get an idea of the place and see the sights before you join the queues to go up the Eiffel Tower or climb the stairs up to the belfry of Notre Dame. If you want somewhere to stay that's reasonable there are youth hostels and there's St.Christopher's/Belushi's next to the canal out towards la Cité des Sciences and La Villette. Time Out regularly bring out a guide book/magazine which might interest you. Yes, métro tickets are valid on the RER but only within the City, and you can also use them on the RATP buses though that can take longer going from one part of Paris to another than you might have planned for. There are of course lots of places worth seeing beyond the périférique - if that's what you want to do and you can take the RER and the local SNCF network to get there - Versailles, Vincennes, Saint Germain-en-Laye, Fontainebleau and so on, but again it takes a certain amount of time. If you have something more specific to ask about, I might be able to help you.

Scortho

leeomurchu wrote: »

No worries I was a bit unclear to be fair

You're not living if you don't have a bit of Versacé in the bog Yeah the hotel was a lil pricey alright and nothing fancy to be honest very well appointed rooms and decor but no lift and the common rooms were small no bar or anything if I remember correctly but it was a little treat just after christmas Paris draped in snow was beautiful

Jeysus even our 2 star place had a lift. It had everything you needed from an en-suite to the 42 inch LCD.

Before I went I was fairly wary as normally I'd never stay in anything less than a four star. But the budget wouldn't allow. Only found out afterwards that the stars are for facilities and not the actual quality of services provided. They even did a daily sheet change!:)

leeomurchu

Scortho wrote: »

Jeysus even our 2 star place had a lift. It had everything you needed from an en-suite to the 42 inch LCD.

Before I went I was fairly wary as normally I'd never stay in anything less than a four star. But the budget wouldn't allow. Only found out afterwards that the stars are for facilities and not the actual quality of services provided. They even did a daily sheet change!:)

It's a 4star place alright with all the designer touches but it's a boutique hotel so I think they're goin for that in a big way.

Breaking news: :rolleyes: I've just been reliably informed by the boss who's never wrong that there was a lift and it was complete luxury.

I'm good at noticing this stuff I swear I wouldn't care what the hotel was like once it was clean and had a comfy bed. sod the tv I can watch that at home what was I gonna watch a travel show on Paris

What was the name of that 2star place out of interest? sounds nice

Scortho

The 2 star place was called Hotel Home Moderne.
http://www.homemoderne.com
Heres the trip advisor link as well.
http://www.tripadvisor.ie/Hotel_Review-g187147-d1639825-Reviews-Home_Moderne-Paris_Ile_de_France.html

All I wanted was a place that wasn't a dive. Somewhere clean and comfortable. It was great. The people working were so helpful as well.

Oh the tv was never watched. It was more the shock upon seeing this big massive yoke on the wall in a hotel that cost 50 beans a night.

Although the rooms weren't the biggest compared to Ireland by Paris standards they were big enough for 2.

leeomurchu

Happy days you can't ask for more than that.

I spent 10 months in the back of a 1983 hiace driving around oz so little treats every now and then are welcome

Scortho

Apart from the Hiace part I'm seriously jealous!:)
I'd say it was some experience to have done it though!

Strumms

The quality of hotel in Paris is pretty not great compared to other European cities, Ireland is streets ahead in terms of quality and value. Considering the fact that Paris is such a tourist destination this has always surprised me. There will always be an exception but my rule of thumb has always been to knock a star off. 5 star = 4, 3 = 2 etc. A lot of the better ones seem to be boutique type hotels or some of the chains like Novotel, Mercure etc. the one by the Eiffel Tower is great, reasonable at time too, and right beside two separate RER and Metro stations respectively ..


http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187147-d197656-Reviews-Mercure_Paris_Centre_Tour_Eiffel-Paris_Ile_de_France.html

leeomurchu

Scortho wrote: »

Apart from the Hiace part I'm seriously jealous!:)
I'd say it was some experience to have done it though!

Ah it wasn't to bad it was a 4star hiace had a pop top and built in stove. definitely some funny stories though especially the times I lost a fuel roulette

And gettin lost south of the middle of nowhere and stuck in sand, all in good fun though.