Paris

OLDYELLAR

Ok so tomorrow 2 weeks myself and the bf are away to paris.
Ive done up a little itinary myself but Ive heard a lot about the catacombs , just wondering where abouts they are and how hard it is to get there?
Also were doing the basics eiffel tower disney land boat trip on the seine bla bla , but where else is there to go .We have 5 days and i want it planned before we go so were not spendin all our time going what next.

Can ya book metro passes online?Anyone got a link?

funky penguin

Zute Alors!

Ah like zee frogz!

Bri

Tbh do a search of this forum. Paris has come up umpteen times.

Catacombs are really easy to get to - they're a welcome break from the sun too - I think they were somewhere near the Opera end of Jardin d'Luxemburg. Well worth going too and less touristy than the rest. Also discussed previously.

Buy a carte d'orange or pack of 10 metro tickets as opposed to individually. Why would you need to buy them ahead of arrival?

Enjoy.

P.S. Can we seriously re-think about getting a Paris sticky?! :rolleyes:

davidoco

If you have a day to spare you must go to Versailles, it's a magical place.

http://www.chateauversailles.fr/en/

Loads of people it seems get the rush of blood to the head and propose there, which may or may not be a good thing.

It's just a 40 minute train trip from the Eiffel stop. It will cost you two tickets (carnets?) from your pack of ten which as said above you should buy instead of individual tickets each time. Just get your tickets at the stations.

babaduck

Very very jealous of you... I love Paris so much!

The best pass to buy is a Paris Visite card - details at http://www.parisvisite.fr/english/welcome.html. It's a combined travel card & discount card to loads of attractions. I love the Science Museum over in the n-e of the city and you get money off river cruises etc.

If you're in Paris mid week, a lot of museums etc. close on a Monday so arrange to do something else. There's a great fairground in the Tuilerie Gardens beside the Louvre with a Ferris Wheel & loads of rides.

I'd recommend getting the bus around Paris rather than the Metro - you get to see so much more above ground & the bus system is excellent. Get the funicular from Montmartre to Sacre Coeur & then get the bus back to the centre of the city - the views are sensational!!

Versailles is almost a 2 day trip between the chateau & the amazing gardens, so use your time wisely! Get out to Disney for a day - it's great fun & the 1-5 zone Paris Visite card will cover the transportation. Bois Des Vincennes in the south east of the city is a lovely park if you fancy a bit of R&R.

Eiffel Tour at night is the best way to go - it's so atmospheric when you see Paris lit up. Sacre Coeur also offers amazing city views.

Walk up the Champs Elysees - there's a huge Virgin Megastore which has a range of really obscure cd's (husband loves it) & there's an enormous branch of Sephora a few doors down for you... you may get hooked!!!

Eating out - stay off the main thoroughfares & go to the back streets. There's a chain of restaurants called Bostro Romain which are v. reasonable & the food is excellent

Just have a great time!!!

OLDYELLAR

k we booked the tickets to take us from the beauvais airport into paris , I`ll post up the hotel name and address later if any of ye know it , ya can tell me how hard itl be to find.
I had an itinary which basically involved the first day finding our feet just strolling around paris , the eiffel tower and that evening a boat trip on the seine.
Tuesday out to Disney , that is set to take up a full day.
Wednesday a full days shopping , I was thinkin then thursday the catacombs if its handy to get too ,Can anybody suggest anything else for thursday and friday?

Loobz

The Louvre
Thats the big museum place, well worth a look. I nearly got mangled by an 8 foot female security guard when I tried to take a photo of the Mona Lisa. Well worth a look in there.

Notre Dame
Thats the big church. That part of the city is good for food. I think its called the Latin Quarter. Prices are cheap and food is tasty.

Champs Elesse.
Shopping is a no no here unless your loaded. Some are ok but most are extremely expensive. We walked the full length of it on both sides and had a look in nearly all the shops. 100e for a t-shirt. Plus we were refused entry to one shop cos we had a small backpack. Have a look in the Mercedes and Peugeot showrooms.

Arc de Triumph.
Thats the big arch at the top of the Champs Elesse. Entry is through an underground passage underneath the crazy roundabout. Amazing views from the top. All the streets point away from the arc. Well designed imo.

Sacre Cour.
Thats the big white church with loads of steps. Dont allow the guys selling armbands stop you. I got snared and he demanded 20e after he slapped a wristband on me. I gave him a euro and ran.

Moulin Rouge
Thats the place with the exotic dancing. Didnt sample this ourselves as it was 180e for entry and 2 drinks at the bar. Still nice to see all the mega rich pull up in Hummers and the likes.

We also just jumped on the metro and randomly stopped at the major stations. Do this during the day of course. Buy Metro tickets in books of 10 - cheaper. One ticket keeps you on the metro to anywhere in the city. Once you leave the ticket becomes void.

Have fun as it is an amazing city. Best of luck to both of ye.

OLDYELLAR

I heard somewhere vya can get books of metro passes , anywhere I can book em online an what should I go for ?like a book of ten or what?

Bri

Seriously I don't mind giving some help or but I had (at least partially) answered that question above:

"Buy a carte d'orange or pack of 10 metro tickets as opposed to individually. Why would you need to buy them ahead of arrival?"

Getting inside knowledge a really good thing but asking without trying at all is a bit selfish no?

I typed Paris Metro Ticket into Google just now and got this as my first result:http://www.paris.org/Metro/

Individual Métro ticket is 8FF; packet of 10 tickets (a Carnet) is slightly more reasonable. Cost of RER tickets depends on distance traveled. Within central Paris cost is the same as Métro tickets, and the same ticket is also valid on both systems.

Then I worked out that www.ratp.fr would lead me to the company site.

Anytime. :rolleyes:

P.S. To prove I'm not just being vindictive for the sake of it...I would buy a carnet if I was there for 5 days. The metro is really handy but gets very hot and sweaty. The Carte d'Orange is for a full week IIRC...It's your call how much travelling you want to do. There's also some sort of Paris Tourist Pass you could look into. Disneyland is much further than the metro line so you'll have to increase you zones for the regional train journey.

OLDYELLAR

Bri if giving advice is such a strain dont bother ok I`ll do without :rolleyes:

Im goin on holiday an im very busy at work I looked for advice not a lecture ok!
Also Id rather know thE price in euros than the ff you quoted .

Bri

Fair enough you got me on the francs

Tbh I'd just noticed the great replies you'd recieved (from others more so than myself) considering the abundance of previous threads; the lack of obvious gratitude...that's mostly what I find objectionable.

OLDYELLAR

tHANX to all the helpful replys!

If you have something to say to me Bri take it to pm please, instead a pussy footing around and tryina get digs in at me :rolleyes:

babaduck

OldYellar

Some of us went to considerable time & trouble to give you the most helpful advice possible (eh I used to live there, so I have a fair idea what I'm talking about) and the Paris Visite card really suits your needs.

However if we have been as much use as a chocolate pot, then I apologise profusely & suggest that you contact the French tourist board who will spend many hours explaining in detail all there is to see & do (this will NOT happen BTW). Don't start getting narky with Bri - his points are valid

However if you do want the benefit of our experience and are prepared to read the information & advice which we will readily give you, then I look forward to your new post

Bonne chance a Paris

OLDYELLAR

I above said thank you to all the replys!!
I do find them useful I`ve read them all even booked my hotel on a recommendation I got on here , I simply asked about the metro above , I read the replys before I did and didnt find what i was looking for.
The advice ive been given was great and has helped me plan most of the week I was juust wondering about the metro and I did say thank you above .

The Bollox

hey dudes, come on, Laura was just asking for some advise and pointers, if you have nothing constructive to say, don't say ****

Bri

There's no need to drag this off-topic. Suffice to say that I've given plenty of advise on this board, and taken some too. There is nothing personal in my comments, but I believe my points are valid enough.

Enjoy your trip.

stag39

hi oldyellar,

carte d'orange is from midweek to midweek as far as i remember, so dont go for that one... dont worry most people speak english in the metro stations..

babaduck's advice on the best metro ticket/s to get are the Paris Visite card which you can purchase at any metro station, it's a ticket that will last u the whole day and u would have to purchase another one the next day.. and so forth...

i myself have been over to paris numerious times, the area called saint michelle just south of the notre damne is a great shopping area for nicknacks and the numerious restaurants along the many narrow streets are excellant value for money...

hope u have a wonderful trip

rergards niall

OLDYELLAR

Ah cool that sounds good , Im just worried about not being able to find the hotle and stuff and we were unsure about the metro because we read in the guide book about a pack of 10 tickets but somebody told us not to go for them yea think we`ll go with those ones babducks was on about.

Although were there monday to friday , and i thought the ten pack would be good for us , I cant rightly remember why somebody told us not to get them .

stag39

hi again oldyellar, sorry wasnt too clear on the Paris Visite card, about 8.5 euro it is only the cheapest ticket if u are planning a lot of metro trips for that day.

the carnet- book of ten about 9 euro is the better bet but they run out fast if used on short stops.. also at the metro station ask for a metro/rer map they are free of charge..

cheers, Niall

OLDYELLAR

just checked the guide book ya that pack of ten is 10.90e.I think we`ll go for them , say we`ll use the metro once or twice a day , we plan to walk a lot but like e`ll be getting the metro from porte maillot to near the hotel and stuff .Thanks Niall

babaduck

Guys

The Paris Visite card is an all-day/all-night card which you can use on the buses & metro (and the funicular). The Paris Visite travel card is available for zones 1-3 and zones 1-5 and for 1, 2, 3 or 5 consecutive days :

Zones 1-3 will cover all the popular central Paris areas
Zones 1-5 will cover all of central Paris and the suburbs as well including popular areas such as Disney, Versailles and the airports.

That means that you can have a travel pass that will take you anywhere you want to go in Paris for the entire duration of your trip. It's less hassle to use than carnets and you get bonus discounts on attractions

Stag39 is incorrect in saying that you have to buy a new one each day - that's the beauty of it... you can buy a 5 day one at the Porte Maillot Metro station as soon as you get off the bus from Beauvais airport.

The prices are on the website, but I'm posting them below for clarity's sake

Paris visite Euros
1 day : Zones 1-3 €8,35 / Zones 1-5 €16,75

2 days : Zones 1-3 €13,70 / Zones 1-5 € 26,65

3 days : Zones 1-3 €18,25 / Zones 1-5 €37,35

5 days : Zones 1-3 €26,65 / Zones 1-5 €45,70

snorlax

i went to Paris two years ago and there's a few things i would definelty recommend seeing.

Montmarte (where all the artest are,) http://www.linkparis.com/montmarte-pigalle.htm
Notre Dame (definietly worth visiting ) http://www.linkparis.com/ile_de_la_cite.htm
The Louve(worlds famous paintings) http://www.linkparis.com/the-louvre-museum.htm
Museam D'Orsay (more artwork) http://www.linkparis.com/museum-orsay.htm

here's something brief about the history of Paris http://www.linkparis.com/paris-history.htm

for forums on holidaying in Paris check http://linkparis.com/forums/index.php?board=1

here's some photos of what you'll be visiting http://www.davidphenry.com/Paris/

and excellent resource is the wikipedia page on Paris http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris

make sure to buy a good map of the streets in Paris although the metro will get you almost anywhere, the traveller's lonely guide is good (they might have books in your library if you don't want to buy one)

hope this is useful for you

kaimera

solid thread.

myself and herself are aweh next Tuesday to Paris Nice to have ideas/info

Beruthiel

laura
I posted some tips in one of the private forums, did you get them?

go see the tour Eiffe for sure, but don't bother queueing to go up, go to the tour Montparnasse instead (tallest building in Paris), there's less of a crowd and you get to see the tour Eiffel in the sight as well! night time is best for the beautiful lights.

penexpers

stag39 wrote:

hi again oldyellar, sorry wasnt too clear on the Paris Visite card, about 8.5 euro it is only the cheapest ticket if u are planning a lot of metro trips for that day.
cheers, Niall

That's incorrect. There's a day ticket called Mobilis which is only €5.30 for the day.

OLDYELLAR

Cool thanx guys , I`ll go check the private forum Ber , just loooking at snorlax`s links , very cool stuff , yea those travel passes sound good because were defo heading out to Disney and stuff too.Cool

tSubh Dearg

The best place to view the Eiffel Tower from is the Trocadero, through all the fountains at night...so very rosemantic!

I also recommend climbing up the L'Arc de Triumphe, great views out over the city. And if you like Medieval stuff the Cluny Museum is excellent, it has the Lady and the Unicorn series of tapestries which are quite impressive.

There is a fantastic chocolate shop near Madelaine, that I would highly recommend visiting if only to see all the macroons in every colour imaginable. I think it was called Loutaine, but I might be wrong.

Have fun you lucky girl! I wish I was going back to Paris

kaimera

what is the metro/bus like for transport for a couple with sfa french?

is it a case of just keeping an eye on stops or what?

buying metro passes in Paris :: not overly difficult?

last thing I want to do is end up lost in Paris

OLDYELLAR

Thats our main worry too Kaimera , I even get lost in Dublin so Im freaking a bit about paris , ou tsubh a chocolate shop , cool I love Macaroon!

OLDYELLAR

ok this is the address of our hotel

Tourisme Hôtel

66 Avenue de la Motte-Picquet
75015 Paris

hope its easy to find

parsi

Hmm.. memory seems to suggest that there is a metro stop with "La Motte Picquet" in the name. Anyways as suggested before scoot off to ratp.fr , click on the english language button and select the journey planner and it will do it all for you...

edit@ its on line 6,8 & 10

Loobz

I wouldnt worry about getting lost in Paris tbh. The metro is soooo easy to use over there. If you ever find yourself lost and need to get back to the hotel or wherever, just jump on the metro and get off at the nearest stop (use one of the Metro maps mentioned). There is a metro entrance overy 500 feet in Paris, they are everywhere.

When you arrive in Paris city, have the correct change ready if you need to use a metro to get to the hotel. Normally all the n00bs quueue to get tickets from a person behind a glass wall. Dont bother. Feed the machine beside the ticket person plenty or euros and you will get your carnet (book) of tickets faster than you can say 'look at the size of that queue'. Pick up a metro map asap!!! <- thats a must. Sit down for a moment and get your bearings. Check the address or area of your hotel and get the metro to there.

Sleipnir

Anyone know where the good wine shops are?

Loobz

Sleipnir wrote:

Anyone know where the good wine shops are?

Everywhere - try the supermarkets.

LegacyUser

i'm off to paris on the 6th aug with the gf. i've been there before, was only 7.

how'd you get on OLDYELLAR?

can anyone recomend a good restaurant, hotel's near the Champs Elysee.

oooo la la!

OLDYELLAR

Going this monday man , cant flippin wait!

pheasantplucker

hi
pack of 10 tickets is called "un carnet". just ask for this at ticket office of any metro and they will understand. catacombs are great, if not a bit eerie and are situated just outside metro Denfert Rochereau. havent read all of this thread so i may be repeating what others have said .. but try to spend some time around Le Marais (metro Saint-Paul, Bastille) and a walk around Place de Vosges on a Sunday is a must. Around that area there are some fantastic restaurants.. (for authentic french restaurant try Chez Janou just off Place de Vosges.. its great!). Fantastic market in Bastille on a Sunday morning.. (metro. Bastille).
Best of luck and have a fantastic time. I love Paris. Spent 3 years there and really miss it most of the time.

OLDYELLAR

Thanx so much for the info guys , Im about to start packing, Im so excited!

LegacyUser

so how was the trip? i take it you're back.

i'm off to paris this sat with the gf.

OLDYELLAR

Absolutely brilliant!!So didnt want to come back!
The metro was dead handy , buy yer tickets at the machines rather than the counter and get the student ones there only a fiver for ten and no ID required.
Go everywhere by metro , dead handy!Although we walked heaps , my feet were in bits friday.
went up the Eiffel tower , holy cow the queue from the 2nd level to the top and back down was absolutley insane and that was at 10 at night.
The boat trip on the Sei9ne was lovely , the eiffel tower was lit up and sparkling at the time , defo get the boat trip after 9 , so romantic.
We spent a full day between disney and disney studios , the studios aernt great but ya should do what we done , get a rambler ticket 49E and spend a full day out there , brilliant craic.
Had brekkie on the champs elysee , 3e for a bottle a coke crazy but like ya gota have yer croissant and pain au choc down there a couple of mornings.
Oh the catacombs , eerie , well worth a look though , I loved em.
Then we went to the louvre and notre dame another day , got roped into gettin our pictures drawn down there , look out for Hector , a little portugeise guy doin cartoon portraits , tell him the Irish one wityh the 3 sisters for him said hey
I managed to get in a picture with some french army guys too , it was brilliant , drinking out was pricey , a jack daniels 9e and a half pint of biere 4.60e, nutz but sure fecvk it twas holidays.Brilliant .Enjoy!
Roasting last week over there , nearly got sick when we landed back in rainy Dublin Friday morning