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

[vanity fair]

I just got back from Paris.  Sulit ang Museum Pass.  You get to skip the lines.  The crowd in the Louvre is   ok, madami lang tao around the Mona Lisa... Ang pinaka matagal namin pinilahan, even with the Museum Pass, is Versailles.  It took us almost an hour to get in.  Medyo late din kasi kami dumating, 10am.  & it was a Tuesday, kaya sabi nila madaming tao kasi pag Monday closed ang Versailles.

I went to La Valle for out let shopping.  Not much selection.  Although magaganda ang stores na nadun.

I bought a lot of clothes from COS.  It's the high end brand of H&M. 

Regarding the Pharmacies.  Nagulat ako kasi iba iba sila ng presyo... Too late na ng nalaman ko that best Pharmacy to go to is the one in St.  Germain. 

As for shopping for handbag shopping, i suggest you go to Rue St. Honore.  Nandun halos lahat ng mga bag stores & hindi sila magkakalayo compared to the ones in George V.

[mama squeak!]

@diana, take the RER B from CDG to Paris. It will only cost you EUR9,50 per person. The train station is between terminals 1 and 3. Don't get confused with the TGV station at terminal 2 ha. You want to get on the RER ligne B that will take you to central Paris (Gare du Nord). The train travel takes approximately 45 minutes. From there transfer to the metro to take you to the nearest stop to your apartment. I hope Ludwig gave you directions on how to get to his place.

**Suggest you buy both the Paris Museum Pass and Paris Visite pass zones 1-3 (transpo pass) at the airport when you get your RER tickets since the ticket-buying lines in Gare du Nord are humongous. You can check my blog about getting around in Paris for pictures and descriptions of the pass.

@melvel, both Givenchy and Balenciaga have their own stand alone boutiques. They have shops along rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré together with other luxury brand names such as Hermes and Bottega (two of my favorite stores!). Actually the whole length of Saint-Honoré is lined with shops both high-end and affordable branded items. It's a mecca for shopaholics!  But if you don't want to walk the whole length, there is Printemps and Galeries Lafayette at the 9th arrondissement.

 

[little_princess]

melvel, wow! baka magkita tayo! diba you are also going to london?

book na your eiffel tower tickets kasi those days, may 2 block out dates and most days 10pm onwards na lang may ticket. Which river cruise company are you taking? Louvre, not sure but Thursday i guess kasi it's a weekday and they are open til late. Versailles, not anymore since we've both been to Paris separately and we wanted to see Chateau du Fontainebleu as it's a smaller and less crowded version of Versailles.

They would have their own stores and if you are in London, try to compare the prices, konti lang difference sa SRP but it would also depend on the tax refund and the conversion rate. I think I might do some shopping here but still undecided

vanity fair, re La Velle, how was the pricing? And i got a bit confused, when you say Pharmacy, I think of Boots, SUperdrug and a like. Is it different is Paris?

[vanity fair]

^ Re:  La Valle, prices are just ok, & not very low.  A medium Longchamp sells for 30 euros, i saw a purple Givenchy Pandora for 800 euros... Nag punta din kasi kami sa outlet stores in Florence, Italy.  & the prices there was very very low and well stocked... Kaya a was a bit disappointed with La Valle. I just bought a pair of pants in Diesel for 150 euros & some stuff from Bodum.

The pharmacy in Paris is similar to Watsons.  Though they don't have names.  Basta yung may lighted green cross outside, pharmacy yun.  If you're looking for a particular item & can't find it on the shelves just ask the SAs.  Yung Embryolisse & Avibon kasi wala sa shelves, nakatago sa stock room talaga.  You have ask for them.

[melvel]

little_princess:  Sorry, my post was not that clear.  We will be in Paris for the same number of days and will arrive and depart at about the same times, pero on different dates.  We'll be there from June 28 (arrival 2:30) to July 3 (departure 1 pm).  So four whole days and 2 half days, just like your trip

Our tentative itinerary is as follows:

First day (Friday)
Walk-walk around Les Invalides area
Eiffel Tower
Seine River Cruise

Second day (Saturday)
Louvre (advisable ba to go here on a Saturday?)
Jardin des Tuilleries
Champs Elysees
Arc Du Triomphe

Third day (Sunday)
Musee d' Orsay
Notre Dame Cathedral
Latin Quarter
Pantheon and Jardin du Luxembourg

Fourth day (Monday)
Free day (wala pa kami maisip)

Fifth day (Tuesday)
Versailles
Last minute shopping (Galleries Lafayette)

Workable ba? We want to group sites near each other in one day.  We're still thinking if punta kami Sacre Coeur.

[gwen10]

hi mama squeak, this thread is really helpful, thank you... just have a few questions for you...
1. what sights can i group together if we're going to visit the chapel of the miraculous medal, the one of st catherine laboure. fixing our itinerary for a week's vacation in paris.

2. also, we will be flying in from rome to CDG arrival at 15:10 ( i think it'll take us about 2 hours to get to paris central to the place where we'll be staying, immigration, buying of tickets and passes at the airport, am i correct?) so safe to say we'll be starting our sightseeing at around 5:30pm already. we'll be staying at the 9th arr. can you suggest an itinerary for us on our first night...
we'll really appreciate it...
again, thank you

[mama squeak!]

^Yup, the chapel is also known as the chapel at rue du Bac since it's at where else, rue du Bac! Both the incorruptible bodies of St. Catherine Laboure and St. Louise de Marillac (founder of the Daughters of Charity) are displayed by the altar. Even the blue chair where Mama Mary sat on when she appeared to St. Catherine is on display. Try to hear mass there when you go visit. Here's their website.. Then you can buy souvenir items at their shop. Mostly Pinoy nuns ang tumatao dito.

If you're a foodie, you can check out Bon Marche. It's right beside the chapel. They also have a department store but I prefer that of Printemps and Galeries Lafayette. Along rue des Sevres (the big street perpendicular to rue du Bac), you can find a lot of shops and cafes. Within walking distance is St. Sulpice, the church featured in the Da Vinci Code. Malapit na lang din ang Jardins Des Luxembourg/Latin Quarter from here. You can walk it but if pagod na kayo just hop on the nearby metro.

The opposite end of rue du Bac is the Seine so pagdiniretso nyo you''ll end up at the Musee D'Orsay. It's quite a walk but you won't get bored kasi andami mong nakikitang small shops along the way.

You did not mention when you will be in Paris. If it's during summer time, you'll have daylight until 8-9PM. Most of the attractions have longer hours during the summer months. You might be able to visit one museum on your first day. Otherwise, as I suggested to sis d_zialcita and what the other sis here have followed suit you can hop on the Seine river cruise for their night cruises and do the Eiffel tower as your last activity of the day. The last admittance at the tower during summer is around midnight.

Yup, better to buy everything at the airport. Same price lang naman if you buy in the city but you don't get the crowd. The Paris Museum Pass have a stand alone booth at the arrival area. And so with the Visite pass. Just ask lang the tourist info counter scattered all over the different terminals.

 

[gwen10]

thanks mama squeak!!! you're a star! will be in paris september 6-13. i'm trying to figure out what to put on the itinerary first and how to group them together. will surely pattern some from your suggestions and some from the others sisses here. thank you mama squeak, and to all the sisses. i've been reading and backreading and it feels i kind of know paris like the back of my hand already  . your stories and your shared knowledge are all very useful. will post itinerary soon and i'll ask for your feedback. thank you!

[mama squeak!]

^You're welcome, sis!    Magkasunod lang pala tayo. I'll be there on the 24th with my sister this time. We'll be coming in from New York naman. Will you be staying in an apartment on the 9th? I'm still looking for one for a two week stay.

 

[little_princess]

melvel, ah gets ko na! haha i think sakto lang naman yung time to sight see. where are you staying? i can let you know if our itenirary is workable kasi we tend to take our time in soaking in the sight plus we do coffee or afternoon tea. note that you are going there during summer so longer sunshine but also more tourists.

if you are worried about louvre, maybe move it to the last day? then the extra time, shopping na lang

vanity fair, thank you for the info! not dirt cheap but pwede na siguro since we're not going to florence this trip. i'd have to compare the prices with bicester village in london and see where i can score better bargains

will also take not of the tip re the pharmacies.

[melvel]

^Thanks, little_princess!

We're a group of six, four of whom have been to Paris already.  Dalawa lang kami na never been to Europe, so the itinerary is mostly for the two of us.  Kaya rin may free day para those who've been to Paris before can go wherever they want rin.

Personally, I want to see the following (as in non-negotiable, I have to go!):

Louvre
Palace of Versailles
Notre Dame Cathedral
Saint Sulpice (I want to hear Sunday mass here)
Eiffel Tower
Musee D' Orsay (I love impressionist era paintings so this is a must-see for me)

Then of course, I want to shop, so I want to go visit these:

Champs Elysees
Rue St. Honore
Galeries Lafayette

Basta mapasok lang lahat yan sa schedule, ok na ako.   

[little_princess]

^ i think kaya naman with the looks of it but will let you know when we are done with our trip. i'll go look at the shops but will just prolly buy in london as we are there longer. mas sight seeing and eating trip to for us.

i might drop by the la vallee village as there is a longchamp outlet there para i can give it as pasalubong to friends

[mama squeak!]

I finally booked our apartment in Paris for two weeks! I was able to negotiate with the owner to lower the rent since it will be a long-stay rent. She gave it to us for EUR50/day only plus additional airbnb's service charge of EUR70. What's nice about the place is it's very near the metro station plus we'll be staying at my favorite area in Paris, Montmartre. Excited, can't wait! 

[little_princess]

i sort of re-did our itinerary to include la vallee para i can compare it with bicester village.

may 11
arrive 2pm
check in at Hotel Joyce
Les Invalides
Seine River Cruise
Eiffel Tower

may 12
Orsay - what would be the highlights?
Sainte Chapelle
Notre Dame
Concierge - is it worth it to go??
Latin Quarter

may 13
Louvre
Concorde Square
Opera Grand Palais
Champs Elysee
Arc du Triomphe
Rue St. Honore

may 14
Chateau du Fontaunebleu
Sacre Coure
Galeries Lafayette

may 15
La Vallee
Jardin du Luxembourg

may 16
return to London

[traveltechie]

medyo mahirap pala magbook ng hotels for end of May to early June.. i'm still on the hunt, any suggestions?

[little_princess]

^ check trip advisor we booked our hotel from there and got hotel joyce for a reasonable price

[aquacharly]

medyo mahirap pala magbook ng hotels for end of May to early June.. i'm still on the hunt, any suggestions?

Same here. Arghhh!   French Open kasi!

[bluestar_65]

has anyone done the train trip from paris (gare montparnasse) to lourdes? is it manageable with older folk? i've been to lourdes before but that was via toulouse (which was around 2 hours only), so i was just wondering about the train travel from paris.

[aquacharly]

When my Atchi brought our grandparents, she broke the trip with a night sleep over in Toulouse daw.
We are planning to do it this May 23-25.  7 hour train trip daw.  Como wala kami kasama oldies --  we will do straight trips.

What is making me kinda grrrr now is -- looking for a hotel with Internet.  I don't want hubby going tapos nguynguynguy nonstop coz no Internet.  It will distract me from praying!!! Argh

Atchi said when you go to the baths -- someone must stay  behind to watch your bags and jackets oz you leave these outside daw (no can bring inside) eh di waste of time, palitan sa pila (unless 1 of you won't go lublob).  So we plan to go with no jackets & no bags  to the baths --  just cash in pants pocket, and heat tech undershirt if day is chilly.   

ANYMORE useful tips for Lourdes, PLEASE? 
Do we need to buy (like my Atchi did) the train tickets dito pa lang?
What's a comfy enough ticket category?

MAMASQUEAK & other seasoned Euro travelers --  how do you manage your drinking water expense? 
Bring a Brita? Is there any portable/small water filter?
What other cost-cutting tips can you share??  THANKS!

In France, where can I buy a Sim & load (which plan ok?) how much??   
Like in the US - I get the unlimited text & talk for 20 days for $2/dy.  While  hubby gets the 10cent per minute plan kai hindi nya maubos $2/day local calls.  Go figure sino madaldal, hahahahaha. 

I LOVE This forum & travel section --  , lalo na MAMASQUEAK. 
My friends will not say how to make cost cutting  -- ahh, the pretense of not worrying about travel budgets -- susko,  what f*cksades. Lol. 


THANK YOU all for sharing.

[aquacharly]

Well, hubby ginawa ng career to cost cut on this trip (after wasting funds in the US & Asia - lol)

Our travel agent quoted huge airline rates -- Kasi daw we decided to go lang 5 days ago & wanna leave  na May 19 or 16.  (Hello, NY-Paris then Rome-NYC eh $5300 daw -- for our traveller joining us fom NYC). 
(Our French embassy interview May 2). 

So we got Singapore Airlines: Mla-Sing-Paris, then back the reverse route.
$2504 for us both (add P1620 tax each); rebookable & re-routable but no cancellation.
After all that - well we found out after --
Looks like the best deal is with CX-KLM. Out of HK, which is for me more interesting & convenient.
Same rate more or less, and can cancel!! .