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

[kulitkidz]

Hi Everyone, here goes with our iti for 2 1/2 days sidetrip to Paris from Frankfurt. Arrived in Gare de L'est at past 1pm Dec. 4. As per instruction ni mama squeak nag change kami ng train going to sorbonne thru rer b tapos sinunod lang namin ang sabi niya with a little lito kc di kami naka exit sa facing the luxemburg garden/park.. we asked around, voila!!! nakita na namin rue victor cousin. Here's iti with minimal stay:

day 1 - since afternoon na with went to Eiffel Tower (picture lang kasi nanguripot sa ticket going up/kaunti pila kc nga winter) tapos walking papuntang Champs Elysées/Arc de Triomphe picture again tapos leisure walk along the streets/pasok lv nakitingin lang hehe tapos pasok uli sa ladurée nakitingin din uli tapos by 11pm uwi na hotel
day 2 - past 9am punta kami umaga sa sacre coure (dito nag enjoy ako kaysa eiffel tower) grabe ang ganda ng simbhan tapos naka attend pa kami ng mass. Ganda din view since overlooking Paris tapos kumain ka sa isang italian resto dun fronting the church (problema lang dito, dito na nagkalat yung mga pasaway na mga babae na tatanungin ka ng "englis?,english?" tapos ang pasaway kung asawa pag titripan "ano kamo?, gusto mo ako?" sabay alis, hehe
  -after sacre coure bili2 ng pasalubong sa baba tapos punta kami ng pigalle
  - after pigalle punta naman as sa louvre (picture uli tapos dito na kami nagpalipas ng oras since by 6pm my kikitain kaming boss na pransis ng asawa ko sa La Défense)
day 3 - since past 1pm balik namin to frankfurt at malapit lang ang notre dame sa hotel, nilakad nalang namin siya

di na kami pununta sa ibang lugar malapit sa notre dame kasi wala na oras pero totoo nga 4 days in paris kaya na may kasama ng window shopping lalo na pag di ka mahilig sa mga museum...ang problema lang talaga just like in frankfurt grabe manigarilyo mga tao dito as in amoy na amoy habang naglalakad ka... sa champ elysée pala nung nandoon us soft opening ng longchamp store.
at sa ka pala, maging aware lang sa paligid lalo na pag sa train kasi nung last day namin dinikitan ang asawa ko sa metro odeon ng isang babae na may 2 kasama akala siguro nandoon yung wallet sa may pwetan niya...nung nalaman na nakita ko sila since nasa huli ako binad sign kami, di sila sumakay style nila pag open palang train sasabayan nila..  sumigaw nga asawa k sabi ba naman rarapepin ko kayo heehee...  actually mukhang di naman sila mga pranses parang may dayo lang from neighboring countries tip also mas maganda mag tanong ng direction sa mga bagong bata na pranses kasi marurunong na mag english ayan napahaba tuloy

[charm0220]

Finally we already booked our flight to Paris. Now on the hunt naman ng accommodation. We will be staying lang ng 5 days sa Paris then will be flying to Italy. We're thinking of staying somewhere na malapit lang sa Eiffel tower (affordable). mas okay ba yun or may mare commend kayo na better location? or anywhere naman as long as malapit sa mga train station? Medyo clueless pa since we just started planning this trip.

and also, do you know anyone na Filipino photographer based in Paris na pwede magshoot ng postnup? we're planning din mag allot kahit half day for postnup. Thank you!

[mama squeak!]

^sis, back read ka lang sa thread na ito and the previous one. Dami ng tips and suggestions on where to stay in Paris. After ka mag back read and you still have additional Qs then post them here.

 

[summersunder]

sa mga naka pag Paris trip na, pinuntahan nyo ba yung mga "great spot" for eiffel? hehe
Im searching the net kasi and saw - Champs de Mars,  Trocader and Pont de Bir-Hakeim.
i like to go there sana pero feasible kaya in 1 day tapos maka ibang activity pa?

Thanks

[mama squeak!]

^sis maraming "great spot" to take pictures of the tower. The most popular spot is the one at Trocadero kasi mataas yung location and full-on yung view mo. Champs de Mars nasa likod ka ng tower and ground level ka while yung Pont de Bir Hakeim nasa bridge ka and side-view ng tower ang view mo.

Kung kukuha ka lang naman ng picture, from 30 minutes to an hour okay na. Depende na lang gaano ka katagal kumuha.

[summersunder]

^ thank you sis Will search more on my itenerary and backread more.

[rowan]

hi guys! who here has tried going up the stairs of the eiffel tower up to 2F then riding the lift from there? reading a lot of online articles and some mentioned na shorter queue lang daw sa 2F. i know i can get lift tickets from the ground online but they say going up the stairs is an experience itself! mukhang kaya ko pa naman so im thinking of doing it though, kung same lang haba ng pila baka naman not worth it...

[bonzaigirl]

Hi sis. If kaya ng health mo, why not and kung kaya ng kasama mo. Shyempre mas maganda mas madami. . hehe.  Nakakahingal lang talaga. hehe

[mama squeak!]

^^shorter talaga yung line sa stairs compared to the lifts kasi konti lang gumagamit sa stairs. Pero pila ka pa rin either way because you'll have to go through security check. Yes, better to buy online so diretso ka na sa security check. Once you have your tickets (either printed or mobile) the staff will only let you in 10 minutes before your appointed time so you can arrive at the tower around that time. Mabilis naman yung flow through security. Never tried the stairs going up the tower but I'm sure it's an experience in itself. 

Tip: You can climb the tower during the day to see the Paris landscape. Before nightfall go to the Arc de Triomphe and position yourself facing the tower and wait for the twinkling light show. The light show lasts for about 15 minutes on the hour until midnight. Or you can go across at Trocadero (free) yun lang andami mong kalaban sa position. Mind your bag!

Enjoy Paris! 

[rowan]

thanks bonzaigirl and mamasqueak! hmm will buy online ticket lift from the ground up na lang siguro. how long is the estimated time spent there? from security, lift, time at the top, and going down? also, super dami pa rin ba tao sa paris ng end of october-early nov? or sakto lang crowd?

[mama squeak!]

^My sisters and I were there in late October (weekday) and we booked a ticket for 12 noon. We arrived at the tower around 1130H pero pinapasok kami 10 minutes before our appointed time. Mabilis lang kami through security mga 10 minutes tops. Less than 5 minutes from the ground to the 2nd floor where we transferred to another lift to the top. Dun na rin kami nag-lunch. My sisters who were first-timers there were okay na with a two-hour visit including lunch na. But you can stay as long as you want naman.

The pila system at the tower is actually improving kasi the first time my hubby and I went there way back in 2008 we had to wait for more than two hours to buy our tickets and go through security check. Wala pa ang online ticket purchase that time.

There will always be a crowd at the tower so try to visit during the weekdays and during alanganin na oras. 

[rowan]

great! mukhang thursday kami dun. also, whats their alanganin time ba? lunch time? plan is to go there first thing in the morning but now im thinking baka marami na ganon din gusto. thanks mama squeak!

[mama squeak!]

^Yup, lunch time on a weekday should be the best time in my experience. Or first thing in the morning or towards closing at night. Try to go to the very top and have champagne at their Champagne Bar. Nothing but champagne to celebrate your first visit to the tower.   

[rowan]

^thanks again!:)

[Noylabmay]

hi mga sis. aside from the direct website ng eiffel tower san pa pinakamura bumili ng ticket ng skip the line to eiffel.

[bzbee]

hello! just want to ask for advise on our Paris itinerary: 

Day 1
- take the eurostar from London to Paris
- check-in at hotel in Tour Eiffel area (any reco?)
- visit Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, Arc De Triomphe

Day 2
- paris photo shoot via localers for 3 hours (are there cheaper options?)
- this tour includes Palais Royal, Colonnes de Buren, Louvre museum and Jardin des Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, Champs-Elysées, Grand Palais and Petit Palais, Hôtel des Invalides, Champ de Mars and Eiffel Tower

Day 3
- louvre (not sure how long we'll stay here)

Day 4
- versailles half day tour via viator (is this advisable?)

Day 5
- afternoon flight to venice

* we also want to visit Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur and possibly attend mass. saan kaya namin pwede isingit?
* is Seine River Cruise sulit?
* what other places can you recommend?

[mama squeak!]

^We stayed overnight at Hotel Splendid Etoile on our last visit. It was right along avenue Carnot. It had a great view of the Arc du Triomphe and partial view of the Eiffel tower. If you want to splurge book a room at the Shangri-La at rue d'Iena.

Not familiar with your photo shoot company but the attractions listed can be done DIY. I had an earlier post on an itinerary with the places you mentioned here (post no. 555).

Re Versailles, you can DIY this too, we did this in one day. We left Paris around 8AM and arrived at Versailles 20 minutes after. We did this in one day. We used the Paris Museum Pass. You can do this in a day and end your day with a light show of the Eiffel tower on top of the Arc du Triomphe.

[caterpillar-girl]

Bzbee, you can do Notre Dame on Day 3 and Sacre Coeur on Day 4. Or vice versa. Sacre Coeur is in Montmartre, which is a nice trendy neighborhood in Paris. You might wanna spend more time there. After walking you can buy snacks from the many stalls and bring those up to Sacre Coeur for a nice little picnic overlooking Paris. I also liked the neighborhood around Notre Dame so explore it a bit if you can.

If you want to hear mass, check out first the times for masses in Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur. May websites sila.

[bonzaigirl]

Hi sis bzbee, as for your day 3, it took us nearly a whole day just to see one wing of the Louvre. That's how big it is. And tip, don't enter the Louvre via the entrace where the pyramids are, enter the Louvre via the underground, where the metros are. Why? Because if the queue is long then you won't be exposed to the elements whether it rains or not. Underground, the queues may be long but not as long as overground 😜😜  If you're staying near the Eiffel tower then you can also go to the Trocadero, Tuileries garden, place dela concorde , Champs elysees. Although I have to say that we did walk for quite some time such a long walk. My then fiance was very excited hehe. I was showing him around kaya nasayang lang yung binook ko na travel card for that day. You may also want to see if you can go and see Versailles. Enjoy your trip

[bzbee]

thanks for all the replies!!!

@mama squeak will check out those hotels. though we're not aiming for the views from the room naman, we just want sana walking distance to eiffel tower/champ de mars so we can visit anytime we want hehe does that make sense? im trying to figure out din how to DIY some places in case kulangin kami ng budget for tours. yung localers, i really like for some sort of postnup pictorial

@caterpillar-girl Montmartre sounds good! we'll try to squeeze it on which ever day kami magkaroon ng time.

@bonzaigirl noted your tips on louvre and other places to visit. nag-allot din kami 1 whole day for louvre and versailles just in case mawili sa paglibot libot. sana lang kayanin namin ang long walks! so excited!