Erika Braverman

My fiance and I are thinking of going to Paris sometime next year (our first time overseas). We are both extremely busy and don't have a lot of time to plan each separate part of the trip, ie, air travel, lodging, etc. Even if we did have the time, neither of us knows the first thing about Paris, the arrondissements (sp?) or anything useful that would help us in our planning. Travel packages are looking better every day but I do not want to get stuck with a run of the mill company or spend time in a large tour group getting shuttled from tourist trap to tourist trap. Can anyone recommend a good travel package or company that can provide us with the basics and perhaps some decent advice regarding what to see/do in Paris? Thanks so much.

lindy

Dear Erika, <BR> <BR>I know the people who regularly read this forum will be very helpful, or will try to be, but you do have to put in a little time thinking about what you want from the trip. Are you interested in staying in Paris, going to museums, eating great meals, seeing all the sights, etc., or do you also want to combine some time into the country, or going to, say, Brussels or London? <BR> <BR>If you want to stay in Paris, there are lots of airline packages that would give you air fare and hotel, and allow you to structure the rest of your trip. We used an American Airlines package last year from Chicago, for example, that gave us airfare and hotel for $832 in March, and the hotel was perfectly acceptable. Get an up-to-date guidebook and scan it at least for the TYPES of things you might like. <BR> <BR>My favorite thing about traveling abroad is that I find almost ANYthing more entertaining and exotic than it would be at home: I can enjoy something as mundane as buying throat lozenges because the packaging is so cute, for example. But what do you like at home? Do you like flea markets? Go to one of the many in Paris. Do you like architecture? Walk around Paris and enjoy. Do you like movies? Go to a "version originale" movie, ie, one in English with French subtitles, it will be fun. <BR> Paris is one of the most easily navigable cities in the world--the metro can be mastered easily, and the maps are really good. <BR> I hope this helps.

Erika Braverman

Thanks Lindy! What a quick and thorough response. I guess I took for granted that I knew what I wanted to do but never actually wrote it down. Once we get to Paris, we don't want to have everything planned out in advance. Instead of cramming a lot into one 7-10 day trip, we'd like to spend maybe 3 days tops on the major Paris attractions, but spend the majority of the time seeing Paris as the people who live there see it. Your "throat lozenge" example was perfect. I will look into airfare/hotel combinations as you have mentioned - I never knew anyone who did one and was a little skeptical. I'm glad to hear that you found it met your needs. Thank you!

Donna

We took Trafalgar's Free & Easy Paris and were very pleased. (Note that Globus offers a similar package, but the hotel is not as well located.) You book the flight separately (an advantage)- the travel agent can do this for you. The package includes seven nights lodging (your choice of three hotels - we stayed in the mid-priced Frantour Suffren and were very pleased with the hotel and the location)with continential breakfast. The trip runs Saturday (overnight flight, you arrive in Paris on Sunday) through Sunday. This is terrific because the Carte Orange (unlimited travel on the RER, metro and buses) runs Monday through Sunday. Also included is a half day bus tour (Tuesday morning) and an afternoon at Versailles with plenty of time to visit the gardens and an inside guided tour (also on Tuesday). The package also includes airport transfers to the hotel and back (a really nice convenience). The rest of the time, you're on your own. I probably have every tour guide on Paris. My favorites are the Knopf City Guide Paris, Eyewitness Paris, Access Paris and Cheap Eats in Paris. But, I also found Time Out and the Cadogan Guide to Paris really useful. Be sure to take a good map (my favorite is the Rand McNally CityFlash) and an excellent phrase book (I really like Barron's French at a Glance because it included phonetic pronuncations, is well organized, and has lots of other useful information). I highly recommend getting around the city on the buses (much more scenic than the metro, and no long hallways or stairways - and no pickpockets). A booklet called The Paris Mapguide has all the bus routes and attractions on small maps. Even though you are a busy person, the more you know before you go the more enriching your experience will be. I spent many a lunch hour with a tour guide, highlighter and pad of tiny post-its. Planning was almost as much fun as actually being there. I can't imagine how you could see Paris as the people who live there see it without familiarizing yourself with the lay of the land, the neighborhoods and their characteristics, an overview of the history and so forth. Frankly, I did not think anything in Paris was a "tourist trap", including the Tour Eiffel - and riding to the top at dusk and staying until after dark and the lights have been turned on all over Paris is a magical and unforgettable experience. In seven days, there were plenty of places we didn't have time to visit and we didn't get around to any side trips (such as Giverny). The Carte Musees et Monuments is a real bargain. These are available for one, three or five (consecutive) days. I highly recommend going first to Paristoric which is a multimedia presentation on the history, monuments, and attractions in an around the city. Having seen this, you'll know what most appeals to you for an up close visit - what not to miss and what to skip. My list of not to miss would include: Sainte Chappelle (and the Conciergerie - I was astonished at the contrast between Marie Antoinnette's boudoir and gardens at Versailles and her cell and "garden" here), Musee Rodin, Musee d'Orsay, L'Orangerie, Eglise du Dome (and Napoleon's tomb), a boat tour down the Seine, and the view from the rooftop terrace at La Samaritaine. If you enjoy museums, the Louvre is spectacular. The building itself is incredible. And, there's so much more. The gardens are spectacular, so be sure to go when the flowers are in bloom. And, I have my own "losenge" experience. I had read in a tour guide not to bother packing all sorts of "remedies" as you can just drop into any pharmacy and mimic your "symptoms" and the pharmacist will recommend the perfect product. While there, I developed a dry cough (probably from the fumes, perfume and cigarette smoke). I went into a pharmacy and hacked away for the pharmacist. He responded with a huge array of syrups and sprays. When I indicated that I was looking for cough drops, he exclaimed, "Ahhhh...SUCK!", and produced a box of fabulous soft losenges rolled in sugar. Did they ever do the trick! In fact, I only used a few, and did not realize until I got home and read the ingredients that the main ingredient (although a miniscule amount) was codeine!

Arizona

Good idea to check with TWA. They have some excellent packages that will give you just the freedom you wish.

elaine

Package tours can be very convenient, especially if you don't have time to <BR>research. However, I do strongly recommend that you check out the various hotels that are listed as options. Try to find them in guidebooks, and certainly locate them on a map of Paris. <BR>You won't think you got such a good deal if your hotel is inconveniently located <BR>(too far out or too far from a metro stop). <BR>And be sure to search this site for Paris info. There are tons! Instant <BR>research! <BR>

Meg

For our honeymoon, we booked a Delta Dream Vacation. We had never been to Paris and had never planned a foreign trip on our own so this was definitely what we needed. One extra that we opted for was a private car to meet us at the airport and it made a world of difference. We were both anxious about our arrival and my French was rusty so having someone meet you at the gate was comforting. Buy a guidebook and try to locate the hotels the package offers. Ours was nice, but not where we really wanted to be - although we didn't realize that until we returned a year later (confident and able to make all our own plans without an agent)and stayed near the River. The hotel on our first trip was the Ambassador and was a block from a metro stop. The next year we stayed at Hotel St. Louis on the Ile St. Louis and just fell in love with it - very small room, but great charm. Definitely get a transportation pass and study the metro maps - they can be overwhelming at first if you're not used to public transportation (we're from Mississippi and had never used public transportation), but once you get the hang of it, you'll be fine. Our package only included one or two organized activities such as a half day city tour which really helped orient us and a tour to Chartres which we never took. We enjoyed a bateaux mouche ride on the Seine which gives you a totally different perspective of the city. After visiting twice, we definitely prefer staying on the left bank, but that is a personal preference - others wouldn't leave the right bank. Buy a couple different guide books and read - then experience it - you'll love it!

Christina

I think your request is perfectly <BR>reasonable, as everybody doesn't have the time (nor interest) to spend on researching and contacting hotels, etc. However, from what I've seen, I <BR>would not recommend you take a simple <BR>airline+hotel package from an American <BR>airline like AA or Delta. It sounds like you want a little more than that, <BR>and those packages often schedule terrible hotels in inconvenient locations (but they get them cheap). I'd <BR>recommend you choose those "independent" <BR>tour-type packages as mentioned previously from Trafalgar, or something <BR>similar (TWA has such things also). I'd <BR>also suggest French sources as probably <BR>a better bet for good advice and better <BR>hotel selections. Air France has some <BR>pretty good packages right now to Paris, <BR>I think (check Frommers WEB site www.frommers.com newsletter archives for last 2 wks or so). Also, there are 2 agencies I know that specialize in Paris and France, I'd suggest them: <BR> the French Experience <BR>(www.frenchexperience.com) and Nouvelles <BR>Frontieres (www.frontieres.fr)--the latter is a French travel agency (not <BR>sure if their WEB site has English) but <BR>they have a US office in NY city at <BR>phone 212-779-0600. French Experience <BR>is also in NYC. I think one or both of <BR>these advertise in the Sunday travel <BR>section of NY Times paper, also. Last <BR>tip, don't stay any where without checking its location on a map of Paris <BR>to see how close to metro stop (subway) <BR>and central Paris it is, w/o further <BR>research, you are pretty safe if the <BR>location is in the 4th through 8th <BR>arrondisements (in terms of convenience <BR>and nice area). <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Christina

I just found an 800 phone number for that French agency, Nouvelles Frontieres, in the US: 800-366-6387. Also, you could try Jet Vacations (www.jetvacations.com) which I think is owned or affiliated with Air France. They have a lot of flight+hotel packages, but you still have to select the hotel yourself--they have a very wide range to choose from and at least give you a map of them, but you will still have to decide yourself. From what I've seen on their WEB page, their packages aren't really a great savings and you could just as easily book the flight and hotel yourself from their list. For example, they show a per person price of about $1200 high season in a moderate 3-star hotel double occupancy for 5 nights, from DC. Well, I think that flight might be about $800 RT in summer, which means about $80 a person or $160 for the room. That seems <BR>about like the same price you'd pay <BR>yourself from the ones I've seen on their list. But, it gives you something to compare. <BR> <BR>

Jody

We booked our trip with "The French Experience". Added in a couple of side trips. We were very pleased with the service and our trip went very well. Totally agree with the advice to read a few tour guides, peruse a good map (and bring it along) and familiarize yourselves with the language (and have a good phrase book along). We did not do this. But did bring along the Access Guide (on a whim, didn't even open it up before we left but brought it to "read on the plane"). Thank goodness! We would relax in outdoor cafes and plan our itinerary for the afternoon or in the cocktail lounge of of hotel for the next day. But, realized immediately that it would have been much better if we had been more prepared. Actually, everyone else was carrying the Eyewitness Guide all over - one I decided was "too heavy" to bother with. Sure, you can have all the arrangements made for you and just pack (we did this poorly as well) and hop on a plane. We had a wonderful time, but it could not have been more apparent that we would have had a much richer experience if we had done a bit of research, reading and planning, rather than assuming we could just "soak up the atmosphere" without knowing a thing.

louise

Just went to Paris in Sept., it was wonderful.Went on American Airlines Vacation Package. It was great, it included airfare, choice of about 12 hotels,inexpensive to expensive, right bank or left bank, it also included transportation to and from the airport in Paris in private car, a full breakfast every morning in the hotel, and I mean eggs,breads, fruit, bacon,, sausages etc,, tickets to a fashion show at Printemps, free passes to the Louvre. We decided to stay at the Hotel Du Louvre which is on the right bank, right next door to the Louvre, one block from Cityrama, and the metro stop was one block away. We never took the metro because we were so close to all the sites we wanted to see, we just walked. We walked to the Louvre obviously, the Tuilleries Gardens, Musee D'Orsay, Conciergie, Notre Dame, St. Chappelle, the department store Samartaine, where we had lunch on the roof terrace, overlooking the whole city, also walked to the Place de la Concorde.. With Cityrama one block away it was so easy to take some tours, the first day we got there, we took their city which gives you a good idea of the famous sites in two hrs., we also took their tour of Versailles on Sunday when all 99 Fountains are going and 17th century music playing, took their tour of dinner at the Eiffel Tower with a Seine Cruise, they also had a tour which took you to the Nouvelle Eve and Lido, Dont miss the Lido show. I could go on and on obviously I am, if you want to know more. Email me good luck whatever you do, youre bound to fall in love with Paris. <BR>