nannibray

Hi all. Will be in Paris for 1 week in May. There will be 5 of us. (ladies) I have come upon a French site that offers GROUPONS for dining and other such in Paris. (I get these offers a lot for my local city in the USA) (Only use them occasionally.)
These Paris Groupons seem to have offers of up to 1/2 off. Since food is so expensive in Paris, does anyone have experience using these offers? Of course, they are always pre-pay and have an expiration date. Is it crazy to have to travel to another arrondissement just
to get a GOOD DEAL?

One such offer is for restaurant Oscar in the 1st.

Is there a way of knowing if it is a DEAL or not?

Coupons and discount offers are used a lot in the USA. What about Paris?
I like to get a lot of bang for my buck.

Thanks a lot.

IMDonehere

I do not know about Paris, but we live in NYC and usually when a groupon is offered business has fallen off or it is new.

StCirq

First, food in Paris is not expensive, IME, unless you choose to eat in fancy places.

Second, it is never "crazy" to travel to another arrondissement, whether for a good deal or not. People do it all the time. Sometimes another arrondissement is just across the street, too.

Third, you could find out if it's a deal or not by going to the restaurant's website and confirming that you're getting whatever discount is claimed. And reading restaurant reviews on TA and elsewhere.

I've never contemplated using Groupon for Paris, but I've used La Fourchette successfully a few times. I tend to look for La Fourchette offers at places I'm already familiar with, though.

Tabernash2

I wouldn't do it. Half the fun is just meandering around and eating at an appealing restaurant you find. With 5 people, especially, I wouldn't lock in dinner plans.

The Groupons I've seen in our city are never for the best restaurants. The best ones don't need to discount their prices to get customers.

Food in Paris isn't outrageously expensive. The fixed price menu is usually very reasonable.

Sarastro

Groupon France has a lot of great deals. For example, here is one at a One Star Michelin restaurant, le Relais d´Auteuil:

http://www.groupon.fr/deals/paris-ou...494?city=paris

Sometimes there are restrictions to lunch only or certain days of the week only but le Relais d´Auteuil is a well know restaurant.

_____

Here another one for a 4 star Paris hotel at 99€ per night including breakfast:

http://vacances.groupon.fr/34285468

_____

This offer is for a 2 hour guided tour of Paris in a Deux Cheveaux, the classic French car similar to the VW Bug.

http://tinyurl.com/ndht3cb

_____

I have seen limos to CDG for 39€, dinners on the Seine for under 50€ and a host of interesting offers for tourists. The downside is that the offers are only in French but it should be easy to understand and the conditions of sale can limit the appeal for some visitors (for example the offers date may not coincide to you Paris visit.)

Laforchette is also has interesting offers and it´s a great way to reserve without worrying about the need to converse in French.

www.laforchette.com
www.thefork.com

StCirq

The link above should be www.lafourchette.com

Sarastro

Thanks StCirq. Edit feature needed once again.

TPAYT

We used lafourchette and received 40% off at Le Reminet in Paris---what a deal. It paid for a $40 bottle of wine which is better than I usually choose.

I would definitely use some of their discounts again.
I'll be interested to hear if the Groupon idea works.

nannibray

Thanks everyone, especially Sarastro. I will now have to do some research! Main problem is that
I absolutely DO NOT KNOW ANY FRENCH! I have to translate "word for word' on the internet.
Anyone know of a simpler way to understand each offer?
Thanks again.

AJPeabody

Google translate is your friend. Cut and past into the left box, read the translation in the other box. Chrome can do it automatically, I believe.

nukesafe

Yes, Chrome works wonderfully well for this. When you open a French website, a bar across the top asks if you want the site translated. If you choose to do so the text translates into English. Well, not all of the text does, and some of it is garbled, but for restaurant sites it gives you enough of an idea to be able to decide if you want to eat there.

For me, it was well worth downloading Chrome just for this feature, and it is now my browser of choice.

lateinlifetraveler

We used two Groupons in Paris last fall when we were there. We only bought the Groupons after our entire trip was bought so that we knew the dates were locked in. One was a very expensive truffle meal that we could not have gotten at menu prices and the second was walking distance from our hotel.

We also used one in Amsterdam and one in London. No worries with any of them. Just read the fine print the same as you would at home.

As at home, I check the restaurant website, menu and reviews before buying it.

StuDudley

>> meandering around and eating at an appealing restaurant you find. With 5 people,<<

I sure wouldn't do that!!!!! Maybe with 1 person at a counter - but not with 5 ladies.

Stu Dudley

aliced

I would never buy Groupons for Paris food. There are zillions of restaurants in Paris; once you see where you are staying, you can plan a tentative itinerary. Nothing is more annoying staying 'over here' and then having to get to a dinner 'over there' when you're thoroughly exhausted. The places offering Groupons are looking for business or as stated above, brand new. Paris food need not be expensive. The beverages (coffees, sodas) always strike us as poorest value. Finding good food at reasonable prices in Paris has never been a problem for us (after five visits) and we have never done tours w/ meals assigned, etc. Read 2-3 travel guides and any recent (last 3 years) travel magazines or newspapers featuring Paris and you'll have more than sufficient resources for finding delicious meals, hotels, sights to suit you ladies.

nannibray

Sarasoto
Groupon France has a lot of great deals. For example, here is one at a One Star Michelin restaurant, le Relais d´Auteuil:

Where do you find these groupons?? We are staying in the 7th on rue l"universite. How do I find discounts for this area??

joannyc

Nannibray, go to groupon.fr and sign up for emails for the cities you want.

Sarastro

You can sign up for the Groupon emails or you can just visit the website and purchase any deals of interest. If you do sign up for emails, Groupon can be aggressive in the number they send per day so I would use a disposable email address.

nannibray - here is a restaurant I have wanted to visit for some time. Now there is a 30% discount available on you total tab if reserved through La Fourchette.

http://www.lafourchette.com/restaura...nt_reservation

La Poule au Pot is on rue l´Université

StCirq

I wouldn't sign up for Groupon; as Sarastro says, they send countless emails to you. Just visit the website. and see if something appeals.

And IME there is nothing "annoying" about going to another arrondissement for dinner. I'm rarely "exhausted" by dinner time in Paris even after a long day of sightseeing, and I often have friends I want to meet up with. I'll happily travel across the city (it's only something like 6 km from farthest point to farthest point - hardly a trek).

Sarastro, the Poule au Pôt is a great little place. If you can find a discount for it when you're in town, I highly recommend it.

Sarastro

Well I´m in town, I live in the 7th but on the side near the 6th. It´s just a matter of reserving and going to the Poule au Pôt, perhaps this week. The interesting thing about the offer is that it´s 30% off of the entire bill, including wine so it´s too good to pass up.

I have found some good deals on lafourchette.com and I often use them just to reserve.

AlessandraZoe

I am another big fan of lafourchette.com. But I am interested in what you find on Groupon. So please keep reporting back on this.

As to visiting another arrondissement, my only reply MUST be...

WILL TRAVEL FOR FOOD