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Post by hmp on Aug 22, 2015 2:05:14 GMT
Am planning a trip to Paris. Can anyone recommend an affordable place to stay? Places to eat? Favorite sites, walking tours... Favorite shops. Will be there 10-14 days. Thanks!
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IPeaFreely
Full Member
Posts: 389
Location: Castle Frankenstein
Jun 26, 2014 8:32:27 GMT
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Post by IPeaFreely on Aug 22, 2015 2:13:55 GMT
Hotel champ du mars. Or something like that. Its right by Rue Cler which is a fab market street. Within walking distance to Eiffel Tower. If not there, I recommend something in the 7th. Very nice atmosphere.
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Post by cmpeter on Aug 22, 2015 3:13:04 GMT
We were there in early July. I found the forums on Trip Advisor so helpful. You can post your hotel budget ($) and get lots of recommendations for places to stay. Trip Advisor Paris ForumsI posted a trip report with some highlights a couple weeks ago. My Trip HighlightsWe didn't make a lot of restaurant plans, but preferred to play it by ear based on where we ended up when we were hungry. Two of the places we stumbled upon and loved were: Coffee CrepesThis was a great place to get breakfast before going to the Louvre or the Musee d'Orsay. It's in walking distance of both. Reasonable prices and really great food. Even better the staff are very engaging and knowledgeable. We had dinner one night at a small pasta place just because we liked the window displays (bowls of fresh pasta). GloriaWe stayed at the Hotel Astor Saint Honore, it was around $250 a night. For a longer stay, I would look at an apartment rental (airbnb or the folks on Trip Advisor can recommend a reputable agency.) Definitely get a Museum Pass...worth it's weight in gold, not just for the price but for the ability to skip a number of lines. One of our favorite things was the night river cruise. Start at Point Neuff on the last cruise of the evening (ours was at 10:30 pm)...that will get you to the Eiffel Tower around 11:05 when the twinkle lights go off, so beautiful! We did the Eiffel Tower skip the line tour with Fat Tire Bikes. No bikes involved on the Eiffel tour, but they have plenty of other options that do include bikes. We loved the Eiffel tour, very informative guide. |
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Post by Basket1lady on Aug 22, 2015 3:26:14 GMT
We stayed at the Hotel de France--Invalides. We had a gorgeous view of the Invalides dome with Sacre Coeur off in the distance. It's walking distance from the Eiffel Tower, but I thought it was a long walk! It's close to a Metro stop and there was a Carrefours and a green grocer as well as a laundromat within a block. Hotel de Invalides It's in the 7th Arrondissement. It wasn't a slick modern place, but it was very clean and quaint. It was in a neighborhood, so it felt more like a little apartment in the city vs a big hotel. And there was a bathroom within the room. There is a free breakfast and it's a nice spread with lots of choices--cheeses, hams, eggs, and the best croissants I've ever eaten. We had early departures twice in the morning and they had everything all set up and waiting for us. The employees were great helping us with our french and wouldn't switch to English when we asked them not to. It was a nice safe place to practice. Our DS's French teacher recommended it and they knew Madame. And there is an entire street nearby of restaurants. It really was a good location. We mostly walked around by ourselves. Don't miss Shakespeare's bookstore down by Notre Dame. There are tons of restaurants everywhere. Some better than others, but that's all part of the experience. We loved the little patisserie we found in Montmartre by the Art Deco Metro Stop--it really was very good. And the shop girls were really cute with DS trying to use his high school French. If we were looking for a restaurant in the area, we just asked for a recommendation wherever we were. We liked the double decker bus for an overall tour of the city. And we went to the Marche Bastille market, which was really fun. Be sure to have a sausage crepe there! And there was a booth that had cheeses and tapenades (tons of cheese booths, but I only remember one with tapenade!) We bought some cheese, sausage and bread and put it all in our backpack. It was a wonderful treat after we were done at the Louvre (which we did after the market) and kept us going several more hours. We did that a few times while in Paris--it was much cheaper and quicker than a restaurant. We did do a tour one day of the Loire Valley castles near Tours. For 100 euro per person, we had transportation to and from the valley and admission into 3 castles. It was relaxing and easy and a great way to see a lot quickly. We were gone from 7 am to 7 pm and I thought it was nicely done. A good mix of guided information as well as time on our own. Feel free to ask any questions or for more specifics! |
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