Going to Paris for the first time soon. I get there Sunday from the States and leave for London on Wed, early (work). Its my first time in Europe and the Paris part of my trip is strictly BUDGET!
What itinerary would you suggest if I want to sit, soak in the culture, relax, walk around leisurely AND see some of the major sites?
How far is the %26quot;chunnel%26quot; station from the major sights in Paris? Do they have hotel shuttles? What%26#39;s the real difference in Premium, 1st, or 2nd class?
Could use suggestions on reasonably priced hotels (clean, within walking distance to attractions). Breakfast included or near an inexpensive cafe or something would be great.
How much could I expect to spend with 3 nights and 2.5 days?
What have I NOT asked that I need to know?
Your advice to everyone has been great. Look forward to your responses!
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Your two full days are Monday and Tuesday, so check that any museum or gallery you want to see is open as most places are closed on one or the other of those days - eg The Louvre is closed on Tuesday and Musee d%26quot;Orsay is closed on Monday. Others like Notre Dame (free) and Ste Chapelle (fee but worth it) are open every day.
For a really budget trip, focus on walking around most of the time and taking in the beauty of Paris rather than spending time in galleries etc. The Marais area to the north of the Seine and the Latin Quarter and St Germain to the south are all easily walkable at all hours. Buy a carnet (book of 10 metro tickets) and take the metro to places like Montmartre. Look at the Eiffel Tower but don%26#39;t bother going up. The view from Montmartre at Sacre Coeur is better in my opinion and it is free. Two of the better Paris pages on the virtualtraveller sites pages for Paris have great tips on saving money in Paris and cheap hotels - Guyon and NYgaston (find them on the Paris destination pages as 3rd and 9th of the top ranking members). Guyon has a travelogue called %26quot;Free Paris%26quot; which is excellent. In his restaurant tips, NYgaston has a good guide to the amount you can expect to spend.
The differences between the 1st and 2nd class on Eurostar are slightly more comfortable seats and free meal and drink in 1st but the trip is comfortable enough in 2nd and it is only three hours at most. Take your own sandwiches and a drink.
If you want a good cheap hotel then book as soon as possible. I don%26#39;t know your budget so can%26#39;t suggest particular hotels but do try to stay near the Latin Quarter or the Marais.
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Thanks for the advice. I was thinking of paying $60 - $110 USD / night. Does that help narrow the hotel choices?
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We stayed at the Hotel du Jardin Villiers in the 17th. (On the rue Claude Pouillet) It was a fine, tourist class establishment. It was one street off of the rue de Levis, a parisian street market area, which was delightful. Our rate was 105 Euro per night, so a bit more than the top of the range you%26#39;re looking for, but not much. Rooms are small, but that%26#39;s to be expected. Included breakfast, and the staff was very helpful. We would stay here again.
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Hi tlh17,
That range is approx 50 to 82 Euros - I assume from your post that it is for a single? At the top end of that range you could get a single room in the centre with shower and WC and possibly also breakfast. At the lower end you would probably be looking at something with shared shower and WC and no breakfast - but there are plenty of ok places with share facilities that are clean and safe.
The really cheap places in the centre tend to be booked out early so you may need to look around - If you checked Guyon and NYGaston%26#39;s paris tips and paris pages as I suggested, they mention a number of very cheap places like the Hotel Tiquetonne and the Hotel Henri IV (the one on Ile de la Citie) that are popular, cheap and likely to be booked out.
Here are the websites of a few others I know of that might suit you and that are either very central in the 4th, 5th or 6th or a little further out but still in walking distance (about 20 minutes) to the Seine near Notre Dame - note that single rooms are likely to be really small - and I mean that with a capital small:
A number of these also appear in Eurocheapos selection http://www.eurocheapo.com/paris/ and you should check reviews on tripadvisor%26#39;s hotel guide section.
Hotel Bellevue et Chariot d%26#39;Or in the 3rd (Part of the Marais) http://www.hotelbellevue75.com/hten/
Grand Hotel Jeanne d%26#39;Arc in the 4th (part of the Marais)
parishotels.com/…_le_Marais_star_en.html [If you are lucky %26amp; there has been a cancellation]
Hotel de Nice in the 4th (only just affordable for a single) hoteldenice.com/English/Salon1/salon1.html
Hotel Sevigne in the 4th
http://www.le-sevigne.com/ang_tarifs.htm
Hotel du Commerce in the 5th (Latin Quarter near Place Maubert)
www.commerce-paris-hotel.com/english/main.htm
Hotel Residence des Gobelins (in the 13th but 5 mins from the Latin Quarter in the rues Mouffetard and Monge area)
http://www.hotelgobelins.com/frame.html
Hotel Port Royal in the 5th quite near the Gobelins
http://www.portroyalhotel.fr.st/
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