France Thread 2 (Paris and all other cities) *Check Pg. 1 for reference links*

[mama squeak!]

New thread! Link to previous thread.

Reference websites to help you plan your visit to Paris etal:

How to apply for your Schengen Visa

Transportation Options in Paris

Paris Museum Pass

Eiffel Tower Online tickets for the Eiffel Tower

Bateaux Parisiens Seine river cruise starting at the Eiffel Tower

Vedettes du Pont Neuf Seine river cruise starting at Notre Dame

AirBnB apartment rentals

Budget Youth Hostel Auberge Internationale des Jeunes

MIJE moderate budget youth hostel

Paris Map a map of the different arrondissements in Paris.

TGV Train à Grande Vitesse, fast trains of France.

CDG and ORY Paris airports
 

Post away! 

[prettybarbie]

Mama squeak have you been to Nice? is it worth visiting? Nakita ko lang kasi sya don sa movie na Killers parang ang ganda ganda nya...

[mama squeak!]

^Not yet, sis, but it's definitely in my bucket list. Iniisa-isa ko talaga mga places in France 

If you have the chance to visit there isabay mo na ang Monte Carlo. Since that's in the south of France ang mag partner na puntahan dyan is Cannes, Nice and Monte Carlo.

 

[twinklebell]

Squeeze in Eze too.  It's a small village somewhere between Nice and Monte Carlo.  Very beautiful.

[mama squeak!]

^I've read about Eze and Eze-sur-Mer! Pretty medieval city on a hill that extends all the way down to the Mediterranean. It was featured in travel show way back. Perfect for a day trip if you're doing the Nice-Monaco route.

 

[twinklebell]

^yeah. :-) we went about 5 yrs ago. At first, we thought since we're there, we might as well, not knowing what to expect. Buti na lang we decided to go. You're right. :-) it's very pretty and charming, too. :-)

[prettybarbie]

Expensive din ba sa Nice just like in Paris? I mean yung mga restaurant (food in general) and accomodation?

[twinklebell]

^ I remember thinking at the time that everything was more affordable in Nice than in Paris.

Sa hotel pa lang, a five star hotel along the promenade will cost you give or take, half as much as staying in a nice centrally located 4-star hotel in Paris. The transportation was definitely cheaper. For food, of course there are also a lot of expensive restaurants, but the cafe/bistro daily specials and even McDo  were comparatively cheaper, too.

But all these, were from our experience years ago. not sure if things have changed. :-) but i've been checking hotel rates, and it looks like it holds true pa naman on that front. :-)

[prettybarbie]

Thanks for sharing sis, matagal tagal na din kami nagpaplano and mukang mas matatagalan pa lalo dahil parang gusto ko isingit yung area na yon. kailangan ko pa ulit mag research.

[ctini]

Hello everyone! need your opinion for our trip. We are a group of 6pax travelling from a 7-day madrid-barcelona trip. We will make a side trip to paris on March 28. Hotel is located in 1st arron walking distance from Louvre.

Mar 28 (thurs) arrival in Paris 6pm - should we take a taxi? How much would this cost? And do we take 2 taxis? our hotel is in the 1st arrondisement - Washington Opera.

night - not sure what we can do maybe river cruise or champs elysees?

Mar 29 (friday) - hop on hop off tour to see paris, then go back to Louvre 5pm to 9:45 for night viewing

Mar 30 (Sat) - 4 of us will be going home already so just some more sightseeing/shopping using hop on hop off bus.

 2 ppl to go see Moulin Rouge evening

Mar 31 (Sun) - last minute shopping for 2 ppl then back to MLA.

Its pretty tight and its our first time in Paris so your suggestions would be most welcome  TIA!

[mama squeak!]

^You did not mention where you will be arriving in Paris, the airport or the train station? If you decide to take the cab, you will have to take two since maximum number a cab will take is 3 passengers. If you don't have that much stuff with you, your group is better off taking the metro or RER (depends where you will be coming from). It will come out cheaper too compared to taking the cab.

The last trips for the Seine river cruise (Oct to Mar) is generally until 8:30PM to 9PM. If your group can not catch the last trip, you can probably climb the Eiffel Tower which closes really late at night. Or take a stroll along Champs Elysees.

For more sightseeing tips, you can back read on the first thread. There are a lot of sample itineraries posted there. If you have further questions, then ask them here.

 

[melvel]

Need advice on what kind of transport card to get.  We're arriving in Paris via Eurostar in the mid-afternoon of a Friday.  We're staying in a hotel in the 15th arr (but bordering 8th arr).  Leaving Paris via Charles de Gaulle the following Wednesday (flight is early afternoon).  So that's four whole days and two half days.

Should we get a carnet or the Paris Visite Pass for 4 days?  The only place we'll be going to outside the city proper is Versailles.

Thanks!

[mama squeak!]

^sis, if you think you will be using the metro twice a day for 5 days the carnet (10 single rides with transfers within an hour) will suffice. But if you plan to visit a lot of places and ride the metro to get from one place to the other then mas convenient ang visite pass.

Personally I prefer the visite pass kasi I don't have to worry counting my rides (if using the carnet) nor looking for loose change in case I run out of carnets and need to buy a ticket. If you do buy the visite pass, just get for zones 1-3 since that's where most of the attractions/landmarks are concentrated.

If you plan to go to Versailles, the RER C train will cost EUR3,25 one way. It is not included in the visite 1-3 zones but included in the visite zones 1-5. But no need to get the latter pass since it's more expensive plus isang trip lang naman yung outside zones 1-3 ninyo. The viste 1-3 pass will suffice.

 

[Starlust]

Just want to add a couple of helpful links for travelling by train

OUIGO - SNCF on a budget but limited destinations lang http://www.ouigo.com/en

SNCF's English Website http://www.sncf.com/en/passengers

[little_princess]

Hubby and i will be in paris may 11-16 and he wants to nook a hotel na lang instead of an apartment since its just a short trip lang. We are looking into hotel jouce which is near st. George stations. Anyone heard of that? It's in the top 30 in trip advisor and costs EU150 lang per night with breakfast. We want a place that is near the metro lang para convinient so if you can suggest, please do! Thanks

[vanity fair]

Does anybody know a balikbayan box service from Paris to Manila?  Thanks!

[mama squeak!]

^sis naughtybrat posted this info way back in 2011:


Re: European Tours II
« Reply #127 on: June 06, 2011, 07:03:16 pm »

Hi girls! Here's the number of the BBox shipper in Paris
+33 6 62 07 06 25
Mark Tan

Hope this helps!

The website she provided earlier is not working anymore. I've tried emailing several BB Box service in Paris but until now I have not received any response. Balitaan ko kayo once I find one. Or hopefully anyone here knows of a reliable one paki-post na lang yung info.

 

[Starlust]

^I've been trying to contact Mark/Michael Tan without success

[mama squeak!]

^Hmmm... Baka out of business na sila? Their website is no longer working.

I tried emailing Liza of Eliza, Les Ailes DuVoyage. But until now I haven't received any reply.

[Starlust]

^Tried calling them just now. No pickup - Voicemail lang so I left a message. Thanks for this lead.
I'll update you if I hear anything from them. I really need to make Filipino friends here - I'm sure they know of a balikbayan box service