Can anyone help with decisions?
 

We will be in France Oct. 17 through 27 on a planned tour, but with some free time in Paris. Our hotel is IBIS Montmartre. Not sure how far this is from things we want to do on our own. We would like to take some walking tours, and also a boatride on the Seine. On Tuesday our tour goes to Chartres, but we would like to see Versaille instead. Can we do this on our own, or do we need to book a tour? Or would you recommend we just go with the tour to Chartres? We are in our 80's and this is first time in France, so would appreciate any advice.

hi, i hope you get some responses, but would like to suggest that you repost this message with a new title that includes some of your question and mentions something like "daytrips form Paris" in the title line so people can identify it more easily and help you out.

I congratulate you on your energy, and suggest that you try to find a small escorted tour group (of 6-8) to visit Versailles-the grounds are huge, a major undertaking really, and it will help you focus on getting the most out of the excursion.
Others may have names of tourcompanies, but I found such a group easily at a Tourist information office on the Champs Elysses.

If you decide to remain with your group and go to Chartres however, you will find that visiting the Cathedral there is a fantastic experience!

Have a fine trip, and may you continue to be forever young!

Go to Chartres. The Cathedral is wonderful and you may have a tour with Malcolm Miller which will make it all the more meaningful.

I'm not familiar with your hotel except that the IBIS chain is adequate but without charm. The Paris Metro is easy to navigate. Go to your nearest Border's or Barnes and Noble and survey all the guidebooks on Paris and pick out one that seems to fit you. Also check the 'content' section of Fodor's, Frommers and http://ricksteves.com

If you decide you actually HAVE to see Versailles instead of going out to Chartres then the answer is, yes, you can do it without booking an organized tour.

You can certainly reach Versailles by using the Paris Metro/RER system but this would entail a walk from the station to the palace.

A lot of tour groups book in hotels like that which aren't the most convenient. The hotel itself is probably an adequate 2*, most Ibis are, but the location is not best for you. It's right on place de Clichy which is not that attractive a location (and kind of a large busy area with a bunch of streets intersecting). There is a metro stop there and some buses, but you are probalby not going to be walking to anything from there that you want to do.

YOu can go to Versailes on your own, of course, but it might not be the best method for you, I don't know your stamina and fitness, although maybe you usually walk for miles if you want walking tours. The RER can be a bit much for some people -- lots of crowds and walking around and stairs. If that's no problem to you, just be sure you take the right train and get off at the right stop as the trains that go to Versailles split at one point. Those are the suburban light rail trains called the RER.

If you do want to go to Versailles by a tour group, both Parisvision and Cityrama have a lot and are priced about the same. Their half-day Versailles tour is around 55 euro per person.

I think you could enjoy Chartres, and since you are there 10 days could have enough time to see that with your group and Versailles another day. But if that doesn't work, I do agree you have to do what is most important to you. Cityrama (Grayline) actually has a tour that covers both Versailles and Chartres in one day -- I would not try to do that on my own as their transportation would be more efficient. It's a shame to spend the money for your group tour and not go, but if that was an extra charge anyway, I'd try to get the most out of my visit. The Cityrama cost is around 93 euro for the combined tour which is all day, of course.
www.cityrama.com
www.parisvision.com

One of the attractions of Versailles is the water shows, but I'm pretty sure they end in early October, so you would probably not see that, and the Hall of Mirrors is under restoration. I have no idea how long that will go on, but you would probably want to check that before deciding to go. When we went in early October, if was uncomfortably crowded, with long lines at the bathrooms, ticket office, information office, and the main chateau, but some of the more remote locations were very open. We had a whole day there, and good instructions on how to get there, and a pass, but still I don't view it as one of the highlights of our trip. Your preferences may differ, of course. If you go to Versailles, I would suggest you go with a tour, as they will bus you right to the gate and handle the ticketing for you, which would save a lot of time. I wonder if your tour company has picked Chartres because of some of these considerations; it is certainly a very memorable site.

Paris is very walkable; just do some research and decide where you want to go on your walking tours. Even if you hotel is not centrally located, it is easy to get where you want to walk using the metro or the busses. We bought carnets, which are sets of 10 metro tickets that come at a discount, and then we walked or took the metro as our schedule and the weather dictated. For some walks, we took the metro to the far end, then walked back toward our apartment. Another poster points out that the busses are very good, and you get to see the scenery from the bus, whereas the metro is underground. Perhaps next time I'll try that, but on prior visits we have stuck to the metro because of a pretty good map of the metro system we had.

Enjoy your trip.

Hi allie,

>We would like to take ... a boatride on the Seine.<

Check out www.batobus.com It is a hop on/off boat ride.

The eiffel tower is lit at night and blinks on the hour.

>our tour goes to Chartres, but we would like to see Versaille instead.<

In late Oct, I suggest you go to Chartres; it's a wonderful cathedral.

If you enter the address of your hotel at www.mappy.com, it will show you the closest metro stops.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

Thanks so much to all of you. Your suggestions and insight are so much appreciated.

Allie

A lovely and relaxing boat ride on the Seine is the one in the evening, when buildings along the route are lit up. The most convenient company, in terms of an easy-to-reach dock, is Vedettes de Paris. Don't be persuaded to take a dinner cruise, as they are overpriced and the food is underwhelming.

Since this is your first trip to France, I think you'd be wise to see Chartres. The cathedral is incomparable, and the town's medieval precincts are very interesting. Versailles is vast and requires a good deal of walking--really an entire day is required if you want to see the grounds as well.

I really loved Chartres. I wonder whether you are opposed to visiting it, or are planning to skip it only because you have such a strong urge to see Versailles. If you are determined to go to Versailles, maybe you could go on one of the days scheduled for Paris, instead of missing the Chartres trip included in your tour. I do think it's also very important to see Versailles because of its role in history, but I actually DISliked visiting it.