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Hi, i'm looking at booking a short break (2 nights) in Paris in Oct/Nov this year. Thinking Eurostar would be least hassle but would like to hear peoples thoughts and also any recommendations for places to stay. Budget is flexible but ideally I think we should be able to do the travel and hotel for under £500.
Thanks, Rob.
Eurostar all the way for me. But it would depend on where you're travelling from for it to make time sense.
A useful website is Eurostar Snap that gets you access to legitimate cheaper tickets, as you choose morning or afternoon for travel, rather than a specific time. Not sure if your dates will be available yet, but it's worth a look for price comparisons.
I'll have a look, thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by hughtrimble
Register now for Eurostar they often email special offers, depending where you live take a look at going fro Ebbsfleet not Kinscross, parking is very cheap and it’s easy to get to, A2 Just east of Bluewater, plenty of good hotels in and around Gard Nord but there’s not much good around there food wise. Metro is cheap and easy to use, I’d always say do the bus tour day 1 and get to see what’s worth a visit, Eiffel Tower is great at night and they have a light show on the hour, think it’s book online now. There is also a Tower block that’s one floor shorter, a good place to visit by day to get photos of Paris. Viewing platform on roof.
Not quite a recommendation on hotel/travel.. but definitely recommend a visit to Renault Bar on Champs Elysees. Ground floor showcases F1, Lego F1, few of their hot hatches etc.
Even if your not into cars, the bar upstairs is fantastic for lunch, evening meals, dessert etc. Amazing gourmet experience.
Also, can’t beat trocadero gardens for the best view of the Eiffel. Day or night. Underground makes Paris so accessible (quite cheaply if you buy a 2/3 day pass.
Enjoy!
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First time on Eurostar last month and it was great! We are definitely using it again.
We stayed in St Germain area on border of latin which was a good call, eat in two great french restaurants (les petits pontoise) which were reasonably priced but needed booking...
Louvre was packed. Arc was great, queues moved quick. Private box in opera house right near stage £17 for both, stunning place. Check there last min sale, last wed each month i think.
Notredamme was good but visit early and go up towers (use duck the line app for booking towers). Round back is a memorial to the french deported from paris into camps by the nazis, very moving.
Boat trip, we went on one from port de l’arsenal as i wanted something not too huge or packed, was great.
Luxembourg gardens was nice for a stroll if weather is good, restaurants and donkeys included.
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I went last month, and was very disappointed with Eurostar. The organisation was horrible, and made what should have been a straight forward process complex, cramped and chaotic. Two and a half hours queuing in Gare du Nord in sweltering heat with no respite took the shine off an otherwise excellent long weekend.
We stayed in La Defence at the Melia Hotel. Beautifully presented hotel with great views towards the Eiffel Tower. A short 10 minute metro journey into the centre. We also took a fantastic evening river cruise with dinner, memorable for all the right reasons.
Chris
Went last October for a couple of days.
Was very lucky and didn’t pay myself and went Eurostar Business class and stayed at Mandarin Oriental (way outside my normal budget!)
Eurostar was superb with business class lounge each end and free drinks. A fine selection of gins.
We just walked about but enjoyed a river trip.
I did exactly this in March this year, took my son for his 18th. You might struggle to do it for £500 but it didn't cost us too much more.
Eurostar was great, look out for their sales when you can get it for £29 each way. Went out around 14:00 on a Saturday afternoon (first train on the £29 offer) and came back late on the Monday (last but one train around 20:30).
Spent a lot of time looking at where to stay, gets cheaper the further out you go but after a bit of research really wanted to stay in the 6th Arrondissment and really glad we did as it's perfect for being close to everything which is what you want if you only have a couple of days. We stayed in a little hotel on the Rue de Seine called the 'Welcome Hotel'. It's typically Parisian I guess, would not be everyone's cup of tea but I loved it and would go back there again anytime.
We ended up walking absolutely everywhere, did over 40km in the two days.
If you plan on visiting a few of the major sights then the 2 day museum pass is great (about 50euro and you can buy from the tourist office at Gare du Nord ). Used this to go up the Notre dame tower (one of our fav things we did), arc de triomphe, Pompidou centre, Lourve, musee l'orangerie, Saint Chapelle, Pantheon an a few other places too.
If using the Metro grab a Carnet for 15 Euro - gets you 10 tickets so we just shared these between us (and didn't use them all as we walked everywhere)
If you want to go up the Eiffel Tower then book well in advance.
We did a Seine boat cruise on the evening we arrived, used the smaller operation that runs from Pont Neuf and must admit we were pretty underwhelmed. I wouldn't do this again. Struggled to hear anything over the engines and all the Spanish school kids that were on our boat (possibly just bad timing) and the views weren't great, we saw so much more when we basically walked along the Seine the next day. Think maybe one of the other tours might be better but I'm just skip this next time.
Also remember a lot of museums close one day of the week - normally Monday or Tuesday so plan around that.
So cost was around £650:
Eurostar £120 + £40 to get to London
Hotel £200
Museum Pass (£40 - only needed one as under 26's are free into most attractions - though you have to queue for a ticket if you are over 18 and have EU Id)
Spending / Eating £200
Eiffel Tower - £30
Boat Trip £15
Good luck - we had a great time and would go again tomorrow given the chance. It might be worth seeing if you could stay another night as there is so much to do and see in just two days.
I've been to good restaurant a couple of times called Maison L'Aubrac LINK
Good for steak and the like. That being said you can't really miss when it comes to food in the built up parts. As long as you like butter and salt you'll be fine.
If you have an interest in art of museums I would recommend going to the Musee D'Orsay LINK Get the tour and you'll learn some interesting stuff.