How much does a trip to Paris cost?

[melvel]

We are going on a trip to Paris and London next year (so far, we’re a group of 5 girls), for about 10 days (end of June to early July).  I have a few questions:

1.    Will it be better if we do London first, then Paris?  Or vise versa?  We plan to spend about the same amount of time in each place.
2.   Are there apartments that can accommodate a group of 5?  I tried checking airbnb and parang most of the apartments are for smaller groups (couples mostly)
3.   Has anyone done a  London-Paris trip?  Ok ba yung train?

[Starlust]

^ #2 yes there are. Try www.feelparis.com or http://feelslikehomeinparis.com/

[jenny_syngkit]

^^we did a London-Paris trip last May. Eurostar is ok, -- mabilis, clean and comfy.

I really don't see any difference kung ago unahin mo. I guess mas ok if you'll know where you'll shop more, para yun yung last stop niyo.

[jenny_syngkit]

^ yup, we bought tickets online. sa Eurostar site mismo. We paid GBP164.50 for one way (London to Paris) for 3 adults and 2 kids. We have to adjust our travel date kase mahal young supposedly planned date namen. Mas mura if you travel on a weekday as compared to a Friday or Saturday. Pwede mo naman i-check yung rates per day so you can compare.

[melvel]

This is it.  We're really going.  We're planning really early para less haggard when our trip is near na.

We're going for 12 days (but I'm trying to negotiate with my barkada to make it a bit longer).  Just London, Scotland and Paris.

The main problem is that there are six of us, and since I'm principally responsible for planning everything (since ako ang pinaka-OC sa group namin), accommodations are a bit tough to handle. Another problem is that of our group, there are only two of us who have not yet been to Paris, but all of us have not yet been to London and Scotland.  So baka the two of us who are first timers will do the whole tourist-y thing in Paris and see all the sights, while the rest go shopping.

Our budget for plane fare, transportation and accommodations is US$3,000.00.  Medyo tight budget ba for 12 days?  Food, shopping and sightseeing not included in that budget yet. 

[pumngold]

there is a running summer sale all over Paris. started june27 til jul 31.

[mama squeak!]

^There is always a sale going on in Paris. The biggest sale though is every January for almost all the luxury brands.

[melodymedley]

@sis melvel.

Since there are 6 of you, you can book a full room in hostels - which will land you around 25-35 euros a night depending on the type and location of the hostel. I spent around 35-37 euros a night in a hostel in Paris. Hostels are pretty clean and safe. But don't expect prettiness and something fuzzy/cozy. Sakto lang to sleep/bathe/eat. Pretty much the basics.

Regarding the costing, I think I posted how much I spent on food/ plane fare/ transpo during my trip in the first European Tours thread.

As I always say, planning is half the fun! Happeh planning!

[melvel]

^Thanks!  The Europe series on your blog is on my bookmarks, I always read it for inspiration.

Unfortunately (fortunately?), my friends and I have decided to stay in a hotel, at least in Paris.  Lahat kami paranoid because of that movie Taken…haha! 

I am looking at 2 options right now:  Hotel Beaubourg (in the 4th arr.) and Hotel St. Jacques (5th. Arr, Latin Quarter).  Both would probably cost us about 4,000 pesos per person per night.  I am still looking at cheaper options for hotels, but we want to be in the middle of the action kasi.

For London, I think we may do a rental.  I’ve already found a place which looks perfect. 

Roughly, I have told the rest of the group that our budget will be $1500.00 for plane fare, and $1500.00 for accommodations for a 12-day stay.  The rest of the expenses (food, tours, other transpo, shopping) will be over and above the initial budget.  So I'm working on a budget of $1500 to get the accommodations finalized, pero if I can make that lower, better.

[mama squeak!]

^The Marais (4eme arr) and the Latin Quarter (5eme arr) are good areas to stay at. It's still lively even late at night. If you want to save more instead of staying in a hotel try to check out renting an apartment. I doubt if you can get any hotels less than EUR100 a night right at the center. Well, unless you go off peak and stay at 1 star hotels which are just a step up from the youth hostels around Paris.

[pumngold]

wooohoo i love shopping here in Paris. super cheap. The French say this is the biggest sale ever. i so love it!!

[pumngold]

^There is always a sale going on in Paris. The biggest sale though is every January for almost all the luxury brands.

 that is the winter sale, January. so usualy pang winter mga nakasale. now its summer, so magagandang items ang nakasale.

[mama squeak!]

^I know. Paris like any other shopping cities have bi-annual sales, summer and winter. But if you want  to get great deals on luxury branded items, go in winter. For the locals and the in-the-know fashionistas, that is the biggest sale that everyone makes abang.

[Frothe]

Hi mga sisses.. how about hop-on, hop-off bus tour?  Which is the best in Paris?

[jenny_syngkit]

^L'Open Tour yung maganda. They have like 4 routes and their buses come every 5 or so minutes. Yung ibang nakita namen limited lang yung dinadaanan na places. L'Open almost covers all the major sites.

[Frothe]

Thanks sis.  Ok, I will now consider L'Open Tour coz initially I was only looking at Les Cars Rouges.
Now I'm fixing my 2-day itinerary.  How much time to spend kaya in Louvre?  Anyone?

[melodymedley]

^^^Hope you'll find some useful info there sis melvel. Thanks.

^@sis Frothe I spent less than 3 hours in the Louvre. But I am not the artsy type. I skipped some wings. The museum has a map which marks the most popular pieces. So you can just go directly to that if that is your goal or if you are pressed for time.

I had a roommate in Florence who spent 6 hours just to look at all the paintings in the Louvre. Paintings lang - she skipped the sculptures deliberately. It was her 2nd time in the Louvre and she really loves art. During her 1st visit, it was too hurried because she was on a group tour, so she came back alone. She said she'll finish the sculptures in her 3rd visit.

[Frothe]

Thanks sis @melodymedley. I'm a little artsy but my company isn't. So I'll take your advice, thanks.
Hmmm.. I'm thinking if I should just spend more time in Champs-Elysee and Eiffel taking photos of me and my friend. 
We only have 2 days to roam around the city so it's a challenge to do the itinerary.  I hope anyone could share theirs.

[mama squeak!]

^2 days is a bit tight and bitin but doable to visit the must sees in Paris. If you really want to go to the Louvre, better know in advance what you want to see there. Our first time to visit the Louvre, hubby and I only spent less than 2 hours inside since we only wanted to see the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and some Masters. Then on our next trip, we took our time going around na. We also got the Paris Museum Pass that saved us time queueing up.

In  two days, you can visit the following sights/monuments:

Day 1 - Depends on the day, you can go first thing in the morning to Notre Dame. Climb the towers to get a great view of Paris. Visit Sainte Chapelle, flower market on the Ile. Walk around the Latin Quarter, Sorbonne, Pantheon, Jardin du Luxembourg. Take the night river cruise along the Seine.

Day 2 - Eiffel tower, Trocadero, Champs Elysees, Jardin des Tuileries, Louvre, Sacre Coeur.

Here's a link of the top attractions in Paris: http://www.aviewoncities.com/paris/parisattractions.htm

Backread ka rin sa thread na ito and the Euro thread 1 and 2 as I have already given a lot of tips about Paris.

 

[melvel]

^The Marais (4eme arr) and the Latin Quarter (5eme arr) are good areas to stay at. It's still lively even late at night. If you want to save more instead of staying in a hotel try to check out renting an apartment. I doubt if you can get any hotels less than EUR100 a night right at the center. Well, unless you go off peak and stay at 1 star hotels which are just a step up from the youth hostels around Paris.

Thanks! But it looks like we are crossing out the apartment option off our list... We agreed to stay in hotels na, even if it will cost us more. 

When you say center, do you mean the Champs Elysees strip?