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

[minnie99]

^Wow sis! Ang init nga doon pag summer ano? Naalala ko tuloy, saktong June 21 was the start of summer. Before June 21, it was literally raining everyday in Strasbourg, but exactly on the start of summer, it was SO HOT! Naalala ko lang because you mentioned walang nagpapayong---my friend and I really wanted to use our payong but no one else was using umbrella, we didn't want to stand out!

I agree with the food--so expensive. Buti I am a small eater, so my friend and I would always share a dish. So we end up paying 8 euros each meal (with drinks na, roughly one meal would cost 13 euros). We joked na we were meant to be chosen for the training because we really couldn't finish an entire meal alone! Hehe.

Super sakto talaga 'yung training dates. Because summer started when we were there, the sale also officially began. When I got to the airport, Longchamp was on sale and I got my mother Le Pliage for less than 40 euros. Nagsisi nga ako bakit isa lang binili ko. Hehe.

In Strasbourg, ang sakit talaga ng paa ko kalalakad. We walked to the University (20-min leisure walk) everyday and dumadaan kami lagi sa may shops. Sakto rin we were there during fete de la musique. People in Strasbourg are also very nice. I mastered my "excusez-moi" during my 2-week stay.

Pero scary sa stations, nakakakita kami ng police talaga na may ina-apprehend.

It has almost been 3 months na pala since I got back from my 2-week training. So nice to look back and reminisce. Honestly, I was very depressed during my trip (something happened during that time and I got homesick), so I didn't fully enjoy my trip. But it was really a beautiful place. I promised myself that I would go back and hindi na pwedeng depressed ako. hehe.

[mathet]

Actually it was my first time to travel for a long period and nakakatuwang experience.

I remembered sa plane, sanay ako sa domestic flight, we bought foods.... akala ko magugutom kami sa plane, ang dami palang food!

Hopefully makabalik din ako sa europe or probably explore naman some other place for like a week vacation. Sa ngayon work work muna

[kobekitten]

Is $998 a good price for Manila - Paris - Manila in June 2017? This is via Etihad, but willing to consider other airlines (and destinations, actually) as long as cheaper ang tickets (and as nice ang place).

Undecided honeymooners here

[mama squeak!]

^sayang you just missed Cathay Pacific's Buy 1 Take 1 at $70 offer. The lowest economy they had that time was $900+ so lalabas less than $1000 for two. I posted the offer in the Airline Promo thread a while back. Abangan mo na lang yung travel expo in Feb2017 where most airlines will be offering deals.

[gorgeous_me]

sisies, anyone tried Paris(BVA) airport? malayo ba siya compare to CDG to city center?

[mama squeak!]

^Malayo ang Beauvais airport, mostly low cost carriers ang gumagamit dyan. Very limited din ang public transpo mo to Paris. Ang nearest alternate airport mo sa CDG would be ORY (Orly).

[luckypal]

Hi everyone just got back from my trip last weekend and, boy, am I tired! My feet were so sore from days of walking but super worth it! I can't wait to visit France again.

Just wanted to share some tips for people who are planning a trip:

1. For transportation around Paris (and outside), try the Navigo pass. It was only almost 30 euro for one week's use (initially, you have to buy the card and load it with credit that only works from Monday to Sunday). I can honestly say that we saved soooo much money doing this. It even covers going to the CDG airport. We got this because we weren't staying in Paris proper, so we needed to take the train everyday to go downtown. This pass covers both buses and metro and it's really easy to get around once you get used to navigating the system. Tapos on your next trip to Paris, you can just reload the card for about 20+ euros

2. Download the Fork app for reviews and discounts on restaurants. Our airbnb host was booking us restaurants with up to 50% discount for lunch or dinner. Then we just downloaded the app so that we didn't need to bother him, in case we were late for the reservation, or plans change, etc. I wish we knew about this app since the start of our Euro trip so that we could've collected more points to be used as credit for next time.

Also, just wanted to thank girltalk because of the wealth of information that I got here (shout out to mama squeak! super thanks!) it really helped planning my trip.

[gorgeous_me]

^sis, hmm, mas ok ba navigo pass than paris visite pass?

[luckypal]

^hi gorgeous_me I got the Navigo pass based on the recommendation of my airbnb host. I loaded zone 1-5 on my Navigo pass and I was able to go to Versailles and the CDG airport as well, plus unlimited access to the metro and buses in all those zones. For less than 30 euros, I think it's quite a good deal plus, every time you come back to Paris, you can just reload your card!

You just have to see if the schedule works for you since the weekly renewal is Monday-Sunday. So, if you arrive on a Friday and load the card with the full weekly credit, you only get to use it until Sunday. Reload ka nanaman on Sunday/Monday for the following week.

Also, I bought all my tickets to the attractions I wanted to see already so I didn't need to buy an all-inclusive pass. I checked the Paris Visite website and it's €229.00 for 6 days. I won't be able to get full value of that price because I won't be going to all the attractions listed in their site.

So it really depends on when you arrive, how long you're staying, where you're staying, and what you want to see/do in Paris. If you're staying downtown Paris, and love to walk, maybe you don't even need a transit pass it's so beautiful that you'll just want to walk around, promise!

[gorgeous_me]

^thanks sis

I didn't saw that Navigo pass, while I'm searching for transportation pass in paris, I might get that instead of Paris Visite

thanks again for sharing

[luckypal]

^you're welcome sabi rin ng airbnb host ko na hindi ina-advertise yung navigo pass but there are some blog posts about it like this one:

http://parisbytrain.com/paris-train-metro-week-pass-navigo-decouverte/

You can also go to trip advisor since there are some threads on the navigo pass that you may find helpful

Oh, for convenience and additional savings (lol!), you need to bring a picture with you for the pass. You'll need a smaller than passport size photo to be used on the pass (exact Navigo Decouverte photo size is 3cm tall by 2.5cm wide), plus a pen to write your name. Usually there are photobooths near where you purchase the pass but it's 5 euro. I brought an old picture (buti nalang I saved those photo duplicates for picture IDs and I had different sizes just in case), my husband had to have his picture taken at the photo booth.

[gorgeous_me]

^thanks sis for the tips

question lang, hehe..
nabasa ko available lang siya during mondays? tama ba? kasi sunday ang dating ko, I won't stay for 1 week in Paris, but it will be practical for me to buy that, kasi lagi akong naliligaw, haha

[luckypal]

^on your arrival (Sunday), you can buy the Navigo pass and load it up for the next week (Monday to Sunday). Tapos buy nalang the one-way tickets that you will be needing for that day to get around.

"Navigo Week pass price, valid only from Monday at 00:00 to Sunday 23:59:59 ( as of August 1, 2016)... You can buy Navigo passes for the current week up until Thursday, midnight. Next week’s Navigo pass is on sale from Friday morning onwards."

Ako rin, madali maligaw but I was given a map/brochure of the metro and bus system so natuto ako mag-navigate, plus I used maps.me (android app) for offline GPS to help me as well. I highly recommend that app for travelers because it's super precise (except in Venice) and works offline. You don't need data to use it.

[gorgeous_me]

^oo nga sis, helpful din sa akin yung mga offline maps app, yun lagi gamit ko e, hehe
anyway, baka mag paris visite na lang din ako, ok sana yung navigo, kung start na siya ng sunday, less 10euro din, lol...kaso nung nicheck ko, same din either mag paris visite or navigo ako, since 3days lang ako sa Paris, but definitely much cheaper ang navigo for 1 week stay

[luckypal]

^ yeah, just buy whatever works for you. Ako kasi from Sunday to Saturday nandun ako so sulit sya. I had to buy tickets for the Sunday na dumating ako pero from Monday to Saturday nagamit ko yung Navigo enjoy your trip!

[gorgeous_me]

^yeah sis, sulit na sulit talaga yung navigo sa inyo, sobrang tipid , thanks for sharing
oo nga, hindi ata nila masyadong inaadvertise, since gusto nila paris visite and gamitin ng mga tourist, hehe

[mama squeak!]

^basically the Paris Visite pass caters to tourists since it will be more cost-effective for shorter stays (normally the average stay is 3-4 days). Plus the visite pass gives discounts to some of the tourist attractions there. The Passe Navigo Découverte is purely for transportation use and it would require you to have a photo. Of course its timing of use has to be considered (Monday to Sunday) too. So the longer your stay the Navigo will come out cheaper. Meron din silang Navigo na monthly for extended stays.

Another consideration for transportation is the carnet (10 one-way tickets). I find this the best option if the stay is less than 3 days or if you intend to walk extensively which I believe is the best way to see Paris.

[gorgeous_me]

^thanks mama squeak, regarding that 10 carnet, I was also considering that, but is it not practical to me, I mean like me na laging naliligaw? hehe

thanks for the info as always

[galatea_spheres]

The carnet of tickets worked for us because one ticket would last a few hours (it says on the web 1 hour & 30 min, but in our experience it was longer, I don't know why pero valid pa rin tickets) with free transfers as long as you dont mix up the kind of transpo (should be all trains or all buses for 1 ticket). Good thing the citymapper app has the option of you choosing whether to travel more by train or by bus so it was easy. Of course we also did a lot of walking

[gorgeous_me]

^sana kahit mga 2hrs, LOL
try ko nga din yung carnet, kungmagwwork sa akin, LOL...

thanks sis