Favorite French Region

I love traveling to France and Germany. I just can%26#39;t get enough of those two countries. I am planning another trip to France for the fall and am looking for some ideas.

Was wondering if I could get some replies to the following two questions. I know they are tough because most people love more than one area of France. But, if you could choose???? Thanks.

1. What is your favorite region of France, other than Paris. ie....Provence, Med, Normandy, Burgundy etc. No Paris please.

2. What is it about the region that you selected that you find most appealing.

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1. Corsica.

2. The beauty, the food, the hiking.

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That bit of the Rhone Valley off the Route du Soleil between Orange and the Gorges d%26#39;Ardeche. You get your beautiful little villages there and they are less overwhelmed than their %26quot;discovered%26quot; equivalents further south. Try St Thome and Valvigneres near to Viviers. Natural gorges and the rivers are great here, wines are abundant and underrated (and so a bit cheaper) food and people are lovely and you have great access to historical sites like Pont du Gard, Avignon, Orange and further south the Arles and Camargue are easily do-able day trips. Long season here too.

Or the Vosges around Gerardmer ... sorry, I%26#39;ve picked my one ...

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1. Doubs (Franche Comte)

2. Besancon and Dole, both great towns that are unscathed by tourism. Great beauty, architecture, and history (Hugo, Pasteur, Lumiere). The citadelle and surrounding hills with forts on top around Besancon are really cool. Franche Comte cheese avec du saucisson sur une baguette...quand est-ce j%26#39;y vais!?!?

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Nice in the south of France. Why? The great beaches and those string bikinis (bottoms).

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Strasbourg and Alsace if I had to answer my own question. Great food, the German/French mix, and the Route du Vin is so charming.

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Dear american friend

Don%26#39;t hesitate ; CHOOSE CORSICA !!!!!!

You will not be disapointed.

I am living in Corsica and I love this island so mysterious.

It will took you just 1h30 from Paris with plane.

If you decid to come on Corsica I will accept to guide you because in summer I don%26#39;t work.

I am sure you will be happy to come here. The corsica life is delicious. I know Miami and I like this town because I like te sea. But in Corsica you have the sea and the mountains just near.

I will sent you pic abuot my island if you want

Best wishes

Marie-Blanche

rent a room in Paris

everyone,

i wish to stay in Paris for 3 months time.

Does anyone know which website have rooms to rent ?

thanks

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You can try craigslist.org

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thanks phread~!

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Also vrbo.com has apartments for rent for a week or month/s. Resonable prices.

I%26#39;m so jealous. Can%26#39;t say much more.

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Also www.expatriates.com

Sunday afternoon.

I will arive early in the morning in Montmartre.After a rest,what is the best thing to do in a sunday afternoon?

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Take a walk down Rue St. Martyrs.

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Go to the Marais for a falafel. LOL. Actually, they do make some of the best falafel on the planet and they are one of the few neighborhoods where businesses are allowed to be opened on Sun.

Fortunately, the Montmartre area down to the Abessess metro was recently designated the third quartier in the city have this priviledge, so you may want to stick close to the hotel for your first day and explore the locale.

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Organ concerts at Notre Dame.

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Enjoy a stroll through Luxembourg Park and Tuilleries

visit the D%26#39;Orsay, spend some relaxing time in the

Rodin Sculpture Garden or wehatever pleases you.

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I found Montmarte to be so wonderful that I stayed the whole day! I wanted to do more than the touristy things. I wandered around the back streets exploring the little cobblestone streets and saw some lovely things. I recommend staying for a while if you have the time!

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phread - interesting, I thought businesses were closed by owners choice on Sundays. But there are actually regulations about it? where might I find more info on this? (because I%26#39;m a geek and curious about everything)

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what time there is an organ concert at notre dame???

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You should find details on the Notre Dame%26#39;s web page.

I%26#39;d expect concerts rather around noon or then, later in the afternoon.

http://www.cathedraledeparis.com

Also, you%26#39;ll find all church concerts listed in the weekly what%26#39;s on Pariscope which you can buy at any newsstand for some 0.40E. Runs Wed-Tue and which lists whatever you may be looking for (special exhibits, opening hours, concerts, etc.).

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Best thing to do is what I do, stay in bed !

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Hello Grace...

Nope stores are closed Sundays because it is the law. Try google for more info.

Each city gets to decide so there are suburbs outside of Paris where you will find an open IKEA or Carrefour, while in other %26#39;burbs the shopping centers are closed tight.

Paris has four %26quot;zones%26quot; that are allowed to open Sun. Montmartre, the Marais, Chinatown and a portion of the Latin Qtr.

Opening days for pharmacies and bakeries are also controled by law so every qtr. has meds. and bread avail. every day of the week. Not sure who determines if a cafe is open or not.

Unfortunately this is all changing and there are rumours that the entire city will eventually be open 7 days a week. I find this very sad, as I lived in Montreal when they changed the law and it has a dramatic effect on society.... less family time and more shopping time. People have more time to run their errands, so they stretch them out meaning they are busy every day of the week, no down time.

Paris & Budapest

My mom, sister, and I will be travelling now in June from Paris to Budapest. We%26#39;ll be there for 5 days. I posted these questions in the Hungary forum, but if any of you can help me with these topics, it will be very appreciated.

- Are the Visa and/or American Express credit cards accepted in most stores and restaurants? Or do they only accept cash?

- What kind of souvenirs are the most typical? And their price?

- Which side is better to stay? Buda or Pest? We haven%26#39;t reserved hotel!

- Tips? What percent for services?

- We will fly with SkyEurope from Paris. Is this airline ok?

- What about language? Do they speak English, Spanish, or French?

Any other suggestions are welcome!

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VMG,

What a combination trip. Budapest is the Paris on the east side.

credit cards are widely accepted esp VISA. Use your AMEX card for exchanging money at the AMEX office w/o commission.

Souvenirs- porcelain and crystals.

Stayed at the Pest side by the Vaci pedestrian mall. Forgot the name of the hotel. Nice and safe around that area.

English is understood well.

Do thermal bath and massage at the Hotel Gellert or if you can afford it you can stay there(buda side). Do a dinner cruise in the Danube river. Very easy to get around with their transportation.

If I remember more I%26#39;ll send you more suggestions.

Have fun.

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Thanks very very much Biyahera!

If you remember more, don%26#39;t hesitate to write me...

=-)

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I%26#39;m glad to see this post and am looking forward to what posters have to say about Budapest. I will be traveling from Budapest to Paris in August. Staying at the Hilton West End I think. I%26#39;ll be stopping in Amsterdam first, then to Budapest, then Paris. Is it best to get money (is it Florins or ??sp) at the airport when I arrive in Budapest from an ATM?

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As in Paris, you will get the best rates from an ATM, but I recommend changing a $100 or so worth before your arrival, just to have cash on hand.

We had better luck with VISA in shops and restaurants.

When we were there we saw of hand painted glassware that was very pretty and affordable. Also so plenty of places to buy crafts, although I have a feeling that a lot of these %26quot;local%26quot; crafts came in from Africa. Great Art Deco antique shopping.

They speak Magyar, but you can usually get by with English and non-verbal symbols.

We stayed at the Gellert, which was GREAT... but I think that most tourists end up on the Pest side, which is probably better located for all the action.

For Art Deco fans, the Elephant House at the zoo is a Must See.

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Thanks phread!!!!!

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Don%26#39;t do what I did and forget to check what the forint is to the dollar. We didn%26#39;t have ready access to internet while traveling and I should have found a newspaper and checked. By the way, today it%26#39;s about 1.91 to 1 dollar. They told me at our hotel it was 3 to 1 so I was dividing wrong in my head when I was figuring how much I was spending. It was only a weekend so no huge damage but a bit of a shock when I looked at my bank balance online.

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Oh my God! That%26#39;s very important... Thanks AKmom!

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I meant he told me it was 300.HUF to 1dollar and it was really about 200. HUF to the dollar then. The exchange rate is 191. HUF to 1 dollar today. Sorry I didn%26#39;t put the period in the right place before.

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I stayed in the Pest side and was very pleased. The hotel was the Fiesta Hotel, and it is close to De��k t��r, the only place where the three subway lines meet. The hotel is modern and spacious, and the breakfast that is offered with your room rate is plentiful with many choices. The staff speak English and are very helpful. If you have not been to Budapest before you will love it. It is changing right before your eyes, so seeing it now is a good thing. Try not to miss the Great Synagogue, the largest in Europe, if for nothing else than for the architecture (Byzantine-Moorish style.) It is an impressive building. But first and foremost - DO NOT MISS - the Parliament building. It is one of the most impressive and beautiful buildings in all of Europe. Enjoy your trip. You will be visiting two great and special cities.

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You are in for such a treat! We loved Budapest so much and have been there twice - once with our kids and once without. For a hotel that is very reasonable and with a %26quot;US%26quot; style, try the Millennium Court by Marriott. It is long term - or short term apartments for a business traveler. Comes with breakfast, maid service, and is in a great location - just a block from the regular Marriott. It is like a Residence Inn by Marriott here in the states. They don%26#39;t have a full concierge though. Look on www.marriott.com to book. Some suggestions - go to the baths in the city park near the zoo called the Szenchenyi baths. The Gellert baths are another one to try. For souveniers and picnic food go the Central Market Hall near the Elizabeth Bridge. Very large selection of both. The souveniers are upstairs, food downstairs. The building itself is a beauty. We went to Statue Park. It%26#39;s a bus ride out of town from Deak Ter. You can buy your ticket at Deak Ter. It%26#39;s a field where they have %26quot;dumped%26quot; all the Soviet era statues and have made an outdoor museum. Very interesting for an hour or two. We ate a great meal at a restaurant near Deak Ter called the Marquis De Salade. It is central asian food. Very delicious and lots of vegetarian choices. Anyway - have a SUPER time. Budapest is one of our favorite places. Look on trip advisor about Budapest Hotels and you can read my review of the Millennium Court. I%26#39;m the one from Long Island who traveled there with 3 kids. It%26#39;s probably the first or second review. Good Luck!!! Oh and to answer one of your questions - yes most places take Visa/MC and Amex.

one day?

Enough time for one day for Versaille and France Miniature?

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With only one day I would pass up Versailles

and stay within the confines of Paris. If possible

pass up most of the museums, too much time

in lines. You might visit the Cluny and/or Rodin.

Take the hop on/hop off bus for a good overview

of Paris.

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R_S_P -

I think Romaka is asking if it is possible to visit both these places in one day, not if she should visit them on a one-day visit to Paris. Is that correct, Romaka?

Assuming it is, I think it is technically possible to do it, in the sense that you can access France Miniature by train from Versailles without returning to Paris first. But I wouldn%26#39;t advise trying to do both in one day.

I have only been to France Miniature once, with friends who took their children for a day out. Admittedly we were in absolutely no hurry, but we spent a good five hours at the park (including having a delicious picnic...) and I don%26#39;t think any of us felt we had stayed too long. The park is pretty big. I think it would take at least 2.5 hours for a fairly quick visit,

If I were you, I would pick one of the two and leave the other for your next visit. If you are travelling with children, I should tell you that the three kids I went to France Miniature with, ages 8 to 13, seemed to have a great time - as did the adults!

www.franceminiature.com/v2/index-flash.html

Travel from Perpignan airport

I%26#39;m flying to Perpignan airport at the beginning of September and am heading down towards Argeles-sur-Mer where I%26#39;ll be staying for a week. What%26#39;s the best way to get there? I don%26#39;t feel confident about hiring a car as I%26#39;ve not driven abroad before.

Also, how easy is it to get around the area using public transport?

Appreciate any help.

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Hi, we visit Argeles-Sur-Mer every year (we drive from North West UK!). I have no experience of the public transport, what I can say is that it is a very easy drive from Perpignan to Argeles-Sur-Mer. you need 2 roads and that%26#39;s it! It%26#39;s approx 30 min drive down what would be the equivalent of one of our A roads. Argeles is very well signposted all the way. You may struggle with public transport as Argeles is the largest camping centre in Europe and as such, most people tend to drive (in fact, I can%26#39;t ever recall seeing a bus). There is a website www.argeles-sur-mer.com which may be able to help you with your quest for Public transport but, honestly, it%26#39;s an easier drive than going to the corner shop in the UK!!! Good luck and enjoy your time in Argeles.... it is truly a wonderful place!

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Ooh, bit worried now!! The driving sounds tempting, but having never done it before on the continent I think I could get myself into a hell of a state and end up not looking forward to the holiday! (A wuss, I know!)

Does anyone have any advice what I could expect to pay for a taxi instead? I may have to resort to that.

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Aw, c%26#39;mon, Fauvist! You can handle the driving bit. I just got back from a trip to Cheshire for a wedding and when I discovered that a taxi from Mancheter airport to my hotel was going to cost me 100 UKP each way for about a 20 mile trip, the whole idea of hiring a car became quite appealing. If I can do it in the UK, you can do it in France! (I have lived for about half my life in the UK, though...)

Driving around the Argeles area is really easy and the only handy way to get about. The roads are good, mostly pretty quiet especially out of season, and the drivers certqainly no worse than in the UK!

You CAN get from Perpignan to Argeles-sur-Mer by train in about 20 minutes, but trains are not frequent - about every two hours I think. From Argeles-sur-Mer station there are buses for the 10 minute trip to Argeles Plage. I imagine there is some kind of shuttle service from the airprt to Perpignan.

But if you want to visit Collioure and the rest of the Cote Vermeille, to say nothing of anything inland you will really need to hire a car. Or you can just hang out in Argeles...

Either way, have a GREAT time!

Mailing packages to Paris

Hello 18 days to go:)

My husband and I are travleing to Lodon first and then on to Paris, we are shippng over our tent and sleeping bags for when we follow the Tour de France.

What do we do if we think that our stuff will get to Paris before us?

Is there a place we can ship them tat we can pick them up from that will hold the till we get there?

We are going to contact our hotel but feel they may charge us a fee?

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If I were you, I%26#39;d e-mail your hotel and explain your %26#39;problem%26#39;. Even if they should charge you a fee, it%26#39;s by far the best solution. I don%26#39;t think, they will charge you an enormous amount. You could send everything to a post office near your hotel as %26#39;poste restante%26#39;. However, I%26#39;d be more hesitant to do that.

I see more of a problem, if the tent and sleeping bags should arrive, when you are en route for the TdF already...

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We have had lots of problems with receiving packages, so I%26#39;d be hesitant to send anything by the regular postal service.

One of the problems is that we live in the 7th, which gives us the same postal code as Paris, TX. About 1/4 of our packages go there first DESPITE the Par Avion stickers and FRANCE written all over the boxes.Don%26#39;t know if this is true for those living in other arrondisements.

If it is something that I absolutely needed, I%26#39;d send it UPS.

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OK. UPS is a good solution. However, you%26#39;d still need your hotel to agree to hold the stuff for you and it won%26#39;t be cheap.

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To ship a 10 pound package to Paris by airmail will cost you somewhere around $50 at a minimum by USPS. UPS will probably cost you more. Declared value for insurance purposes will affect the cost, and you will have to investigate what options are available to you for getting proof of delivery and online tracking, etc. These will also add to your cost.

I%26#39;m wondering what the liklelihood is that the recipient of the package(s) might find themselves with some bureaucratic issues dealing with a possible assessment for import duty. Of course if you were bringing the items in in your own accompanied baggage, that would not be an issue, but if you ship them separately it might.

I%26#39;ve shipped a lot of packages to Europe over the years, but I%26#39;ve always tried to ship only stuff that the customs authorities won%26#39;t be bothered about, such as books and small gifts. Other items I have either carried myself or asked a visiting family member to take back with them and mail from inside Europe to the final destination.

In my experience most packages arrive in about a week, but I have known some to take well over two.

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WOW that is expensive

I found this store the Decathlon

would it be cheaper to just buy the stuff from there when we get to Paris?

Because we are going to London first we don%26#39;t want to bring the tent and sleeping bags, that%26#39;s alot to carry around.

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Not sure where you are staying in Paris, but there are several stores in the 5th around the rue des Ecoles called Au Vieux Campeur which between them sell just about everything you could possibly need. Each one carries a different line - so you might have to go to one store for a tent and a different one for sleeping bags, but they are pretty close together.

Many French campsites have cabins or mobile homes to rent, but at this short notice that might not work for you, especially if you will be in crowded areas with tons of other folk also following the Tour.

Honest opinion? Take a light backpacking tent and a good lightweight sleeping bag in a duffel. (You can make a single down bag and a zip in sheet thingie work for two people.) Buy a couple of el cheapo mattress pads in Paris, and off you go.

http://www.au-vieux-campeur.fr/gp/ Doesn%26#39;t seem to be an English version...

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Really if all of what you need is a tent and two sleeping bags, you should not bother to send them prior to your arrival. Buy them in Paris, it%26#39;s much, MUCH easier.

To get an idea of the prices, try au vIeux campeur as IR said, or Decathlon (www.decathlon.fr), whose camping line of product is Quechua (http://www.quechua.com/).

By the way, remember that the french word for camping is camping.

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we had looked at some camp grounds but I have talked with some people and read some reports about tent comunities that pop up onthe sides of the roads

when watching the tour last night we saw a lot of these and have planned on camping for 3 nights and we have a hotel for 2 nights in between

we have heard the cautions to make sure that we don%26#39;t camp where no one else is could be bad

we are staying in the 9th but I think I will buy the stuff over there it does sound like a better idea