Re: Paris-places to stay, eat etc
Hi folks,
We are inshaAllah planning a break in Paris towards the end of May for a few days.......I was wondering if anyone knows of any decent places to dine and stay?
There are lots of places to eat. On Champs Elysee you can find many places, for example. Every neighbourhood has good places to dine. The desi food scene (halal) is mostly near Gare du Nord (few good places) and Chateau d'eau (mostly budget and not so good), so it really depends what you want and spend. Paris can be ridiculously expensive as well, so its better to plan accordingly.
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we dont mind renting an apartment if it works out cheaper than a hotel....its for two adults and two children (5 & 8)........close to the centre as possible...dates we are looking to book are check in on 25/5/14 and check out on 27/5/14.
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Actually it depends on your budget, Paris is high cost city all year around. Apartments are mostly rented and charged on weekly basis so it does not make much sense when you are staying for 2 nights only. My suggestion would be a hotel, as it will be cheaper than apartments. You can search hotels in districts 1 to 7. These districts are core of Paris with most attraction just a metro ride away. use booking.com and book early for good price.
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Also what is the most efficient way to get around Paris inc approx costs if possible so i know what to expect.
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If you are arriving in Paris on 25th (time?) and leaving on 27th (time?) that means you have only 1 full day for Paris (26th). Paris is well connected by metro, bus and some trams. There are 14 metro lines with 300 stations. It covers all city and is densest metro network in the world. The whole city is divided into zones and most of the Paris attractions are in zone 1 and 2 (eiffel tower, montmartre, champs elysee, concorde, notre dame, louvre, etc.) Versailles palace and disneyland are in zone 5, anyway you need a full day each for these two places (even Louvre) and your travel dates don't allow it.
Cost is as follows:
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*Buy ticket to reach City center (your hotel) from CDG airport. Ticket cost is around 11 euro/person. You can take RER B train or Bus to arrive at city center.
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*For city travel buy t+ tickets (select carnet option to buy ten tickets at once). They can be used on metro, bus, RER trains in zone 1 & 2. Ten t+ tickets for adults are 13.70 euro and 6.85 euro for children under 10 (buy accordingly). Tickets can be shared, so in your case each adult can have 5 full rate t+ tickets and each child can have 5 reduce rate t+ tickets. These cannot be bought on board a bus.
**One t+ ticket bought at the station window or machine costs 1.70 euro, while inside bus a single t+ ticket costs 2.0 euro. Best option is buying ten t+ tickets (called carnet) and sharing them.
*If a person will be making more than 5 journeys a day, then buy a mobilis ticket which costs 6.80 euro for zone 1-2 and is valid till mid-night of activation day (unlimited travel in selected zones). It has no discount for children.
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*If on your arrival and departure days you are planning to visit city as well (e.g. you arrive early on 25th or depart late on 27th and want to use the rest of that day for sightseeing) then buying Paris Visite ticket is advisable. It will also cover your airport journey as well as unlimited travel inside city for that day. It costs 22.85 euro per adult and 11.40 euro per child. This is advisable only if you willing to travel a lot on your flight days (and have no luggage to carry around). *
It may seem bit complicated but its not difficult. If you plan accordingly then you can know exact travel cost.
I live in Paris and if you need any other information, feel free to ask.
