OT - Paris France, best way to get there

[DaddyChoc]

from Connecticut?

lodging?

"Sites to See"?

 

[pinotbear]

I've done it twice from Boston. Lots of airlines to choose from, tremendous variation in price. One thing you might consider is Icelandic Air is often pretty cheap - and, they had a deal where you could work a lay-over in Reykavik, and spend a little time exploring Iceland, which is really cool. August in Paris is to be avoided, if you can - practically the whole country goes on vacation, the lines are long, prices are up, and it's the month for the traditional strike for trash-haulers and train workers.

Oh, and Charles De Gaulle airport is awful. Tough to avoid, as it's the main international hub, but, man, it takes forever to taxi in from the runway, get from one gate to another, get through customs, etc..

Stopover in Iceland with an Icelandair Stopover | Icelandair

 

[bags27]

If you're driving north in Connecticut, make a right

Seriously, the most amazingly beautiful city in the world and I'm writing this from Vienna which ain't bad either.

One easy way to approach the most visited city in the world is to get a Rick Steves episode on YouTube. He's usually pretty good at moderately priced strategies.

Bon voyage. I am so envious.

 

[storrsroars]

Be careful with "off price" airlines like Wow. While they have very cheap fares to Paris if you're not bringing any luggage and don't need leg room, everything is a la carte (seat selection, extra carryon, etc.) and it adds up quickly.

On the plus side, once you get to deGaulle, the Metro isn't too hard to find and pretty much takes you anywhere you want to go, if you don't want to chance a cab (my experience is cabbies do not want to let on they speak/understand English, so write down your destination). Good walking town too - easy to get around.

 

[Goodgood]

Plan ahead. Don't go to hotels. Check their Airbnb. Best area to stay is in the 5th Arrondissement. Safe and lively, most universities are there, cafe and small restaurants everywhere. No need for a car, it is nearly impossible to drive around in Paris if you don't know your way (worst than Rome with one-way streets) and the Metro + bus are outstanding. Parisians go on vacation in July/August so the city is full of tourists and a lot of small restaurants/shops are closed. Bring your wallet or two. Paris is expensive not so bad if you do you research though.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Turkish Air is inexpensive from Washington Dulles, but it requires 6 hours of extra flying and a connection in Istanbul.

I went last fall and looked at fares for several months. When I saw United offering $765 round-trip from Newark, I pulled the trigger. I bought the tickets 4.5 months before the trip.

 

[CL82]

So you are obviously going to do the the typical stuff, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame, etc., so let me add a few things you might miss.

1. Sit on the steps of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at sunset. The view of Paris is spectacular and really memorable. You won't be alone:

2. Walk back from the basilica until you find a bistro that you like. There are many that are good, relatively inexpensive, and very friendly. Have whatever they are serving that day with whatever wine they suggest. If you don't recognize the main course, ask your waiter. If you are lucky, he might just act it out for you.

3. Go to the Père Lachaise cemetery. There are plenty of notables buried there from Chopin to Marcel Marceau, but make sure to stop by Jim Morrison's grave.

4. Go see the show at the Moulin Rouge. It's touristy and campy but fun.

 

[BroadwayVa]

[QUOTE="bags27, post: 2252511, member: 6761"]If you're driving north in Connecticut, make a right

Seriously, the most amazingly beautiful city in the world and I'm writing this from Vienna which ain't bad either.

One easy way to approach the most visited city in the world is to get a Rick Steves episode on YouTube. He's usually pretty good at moderately priced strategies.

Bon voyage. I am so envious.[/QUOTE]

You are a devil aren' t you???

Vienna---and you are envious?? Just waltz your way to Paris---enjoy the Vienna food, except for pastries, the food is better, and the people are fine.

 

[UcMiami]

You can get a variety of 'city cards' (do this in any European City - they are generally well worth it) they get you into museums and attractions and usually provide a separate entrance process that avoids the lines (especially important when traveling in summer.) The duration of the card can vary from a single day pass to a week or longer, some offer free transit on buses and subways and even regional trains and if you do even moderate tourism they are cost effective, especially when you add in the time not waiting on lines.

My favorite two museums in Paris are the Rodin, and the Musee d'Orsay (there is an amazing view through the clock face of the Basilica in the distance from one of the upper floors.) But there are so many great museums in Paris many devoted to a single artist, often in their former homes or studios. Monet's gift to France following WWI of his waterlilies cycle displayed in the Orangerie can be as moving as the graveyards in Flanders. And a visit to his country home and gardens Giverny is an easy day trip from Paris - as are the various royal palaces including Versailles.

If you like mussels find a Belgian restaurant as they are famous for them - even places like the Champs have a good one Leon de Bruxelles. The Parisian parks and gardens are wonderful and a great place to picnic with fresh bread, cheeses, fruits, etc. picked up at the great little shops around.

One thing I was told the first time I went to France and I think is very important - whenever you enter either a shop or restaurant (or even your hotel) start by acknowledging the proprietor/waiter/etc. with Bonjour or Bonsoir (evening) - we Americans tend to enter a shop and immediately get to the point with 'I want ...' which is insulting to especially the French but many Europeans - they are there to help you, not serve you. You are likely to get better service and a friendlier reception.

 

[Charliebball]

stay on the Left Bank for the majority of your time........nothing better then an afternoon in the "Le Jardin du Luxembourg", or the Luxembourg Garden, located in the 6th arrondissement, a visit to the lion fountain and then an organ concert at St Sulpice, a walk through the Ille St Louis, as said earlier the Musee d' Orsay and yes the boat trip on the Bateau Moches is touristy but really fun, The Sainte-Chapelle Cathedral and it's remarkable stained glass windows and finally a walk through the Marais and then Place des Voges, a remarkably well preserved Parisian square......do those things and you will be very content

 

[msf22b]

Wait 'till mid- September or later fly one way and take a repositioning cruise home
Norwegian has one from Rome for $750 or so.
I much prefer avoiding cities like Paris in the summer...in the fall the opera, symphony and all gear up and some (at least) of the tourists are gone.

So many other cities (in France, Spain, Italy) are wonderful and much calmer...for example
we visited Pisa in early May...the area around the leaning tour was jammed.
The rest of the city was mostly locals...we loved it

 

[j66kicker]

JFK is a more straightforward and shorter drive from Hartford than Boston. Stay in the center of Paris near the Etoile, walk and take the Metro everywhere. Very easy city to get around.

 

[Charliebball]

Wait 'till mid- September or later fly one way and take a repositioning cruise home
Norwegian has one from Rome for $750 or so.
I much prefer avoiding cities like Paris in the summer...in the fall the opera, symphony and all gear up and some (at least) of the tourists are gone.

So many other cities (in France, Spain, Italy) are wonderful and much calmer...for example
we visited Pisa in early May...the area around the leaning tour was jammed.
The rest of the city was mostly locals...we loved it

In my youth I lived in Pisa for several weeks..........when the tourist buses arrived in the morning I left the city by bus for the coast only to return in the evening after the buses and the souvenir booths were gone..........nothing like having a picnic dinner while sitting on the steps of the Leaning Tower with no one, and I mean no one else around........

 

[DaddyChoc]

Hotels?

 

[Charliebball]

Hotels?

Check Trip Advisor for prices and availability...........I always stay on the left bank, my favorites are Hotel Pont Royal, Hotel De l'Universite and Hotel des St Peres in that order........... be aware rooms vary in size and quality as these are old buildings.............

 

[CBus13]

Seriously, the most amazingly beautiful city in the world and I'm writing this from Vienna which ain't bad either.

I'm doing Prague and Vienna in late September. What part are you staying in?

 

[j66kicker]

Hotels?

West End Hotel, 7 Rue Clement Marot, couple blocks south of the Champs Elysees on the Arch de Triumph end. They speak English. Rooms are $275-350 depending on what days/season. Modest but comfortable, continental breakfast included. Location is primo - walk everywhere.

 

[Creaky]

Aer Lingus now flies from Bradley. Change in Dublin for CDG. Returning, you go through the whole US entry procedure in Dublin, and when you walk off the plane at BDL, it's as if you've just come in from Baltimore. No sweat. They also frequently offer really good deals. Not a direct flight, but for us, it's now the only way to go.

 

[bags27]

You can get a variety of 'city cards' (do this in any European City - they are generally well worth it) they get you into museums and attractions and usually provide a separate entrance process that avoids the lines (especially important when traveling in summer.) The duration of the card can vary from a single day pass to a week or longer, some offer free transit on buses and subways and even regional trains and if you do even moderate tourism they are cost effective, especially when you add in the time not waiting on lines.

My favorite two museums in Paris are the Rodin, and the Musee d'Orsay (there is an amazing view through the clock face of the Basilica in the distance from one of the upper floors.) But there are so many great museums in Paris many devoted to a single artist, often in their former homes or studios. Monet's gift to France following WWI of his waterlilies cycle displayed in the Orangerie can be as moving as the graveyards in Flanders. And a visit to his country home and gardens Giverny is an easy day trip from Paris - as are the various royal palaces including Versailles.

If you like mussels find a Belgian restaurant as they are famous for them - even places like the Champs have a good one Leon de Bruxelles. The Parisian parks and gardens are wonderful and a great place to picnic with fresh bread, cheeses, fruits, etc. picked up at the great little shops around.

One thing I was told the first time I went to France and I think is very important - whenever you enter either a shop or restaurant (or even your hotel) start by acknowledging the proprietor/waiter/etc. with Bonjour or Bonsoir (evening) - we Americans tend to enter a shop and immediately get to the point with 'I want ...' which is insulting to especially the French but many Europeans - they are there to help you, not serve you. You are likely to get better service and a friendlier reception.

+ 1000 for everything here, esp. how you think of shops and their owners. You are visitors and their guests.

If you want to stay in the 7th--and we always do--the Roulet de Basquet (sp?). A great and very helpful small hotel. As to restaurants, that's such a personal choice and, alas, it is now very, very possible to get a bad meal in Paris ( though the moule at Leon were terrific last time we did that). But don't stress the food. Besides the spectacular museums, Paris is simply the best walking city in the world. Wear your most comfortable shoes (there's no sense even trying to complete with Parisians on fashion) and walk and walk, esp at night.

 

[Teacherdeb]

I've done it twice from Boston. Lots of airlines to choose from, tremendous variation in price. One thing you might consider is Icelandic Air is often pretty cheap - and, they had a deal where you could work a lay-over in Reykavik, and spend a little time exploring Iceland, which is really cool. August in Paris is to be avoided, if you can - practically the whole country goes on vacation, the lines are long, prices are up, and it's the month for the traditional strike for trash-haulers and train workers.

Oh, and Charles De Gaulle airport is awful. Tough to avoid, as it's the main international hub, but, man, it takes forever to taxi in from the runway, get from one gate to another, get through customs, etc..

Stopover in Iceland with an Icelandair Stopover | Icelandair

Exactly what I would have written

 

[FairView]

So heading in the other direction, you'd turn right at Greenland.

 

[bags27]

I'm doing Prague and Vienna in late September. What part are you staying in?

I envy the Prague. Never been and I hear it's spectacular. Staying in Vienna just above the ring road. The whole city is overwhelmingly beautiful. Heard some nice music but the opera isn't in season. That's a must. We toured the opera house today--magnificent. Even if you aren't an opera fan, that's the single most Viennese thing to do.

 

[tomcat]

It was many years ago, but what my daughter and I did was to fly Icelandair from Boston to Rekjavik and then to London. We spent three days in London and then took the Eurostar through the chunnel to Paris. If you'v never been on a high-speed train, it is an amazing experience, at least if you're a train freak like I am. You arrive at the Gare du Nord, and it's an easy subway ride to wherever your hotel is. We were staying on the Left Bank, and we emerged (after three days of nothing but rain in London) to a beautiful warm sunny day in Paris. We grabbed sandwiches from a sidewalk cart vendor. No food ever tasted better.

I would never suggest you stay away from the tourist favorites because, after all, who can go to Paris and not see the Eiffel Tower? Here's one that's off the beaten path: Of all the districts we went to -- and we only saw a few -- I liked Le Marais the best.Lots of amazing architecture to see. It has reinvented itself several times in the city's history. Years ago, it was the city's Jewish sector. It's also been the center of Paris's gay society more recently, and many years ago, there were mansions for the rich (and some of the buildings still exist). I am pretty sure a small museum called the Musee Carnavalet is in or near this district. It is a museum of Paris history. So if you are a student of urban development, or just want to see how the city became what it is today, it's worth a visit. As I said, it's been years, but I loved the place when we went. As for art museums, everybody loves the Louvre but for my money, the Musee D'Orsay, in a gorgeous converted railroad station, is where I would spend my limited time.

On the way home, spend an overnight in Iceland. It is absolutely worth the stopover and gives you great bragging rights for an exotic place that not many have visited. When my daughter and I went (and again, this was years ago), we rode Icelandic horses --not like regular horses at all, through an old, worn down volcanic site. Very cool.


I'm not sure I would do August, but it really is a great city any time.