First time in Paris
 

Hi everyone -

My girlfriend and I, both of us college students, are flying out of the US on the 27th and arriving in Paris on the 28th, and we'll be staying there till the 5th of January. We have several questions that we hope you guys can help us on.

On the way to Paris, we will have a 10-hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany from 5:30 AM to 3:40 PM. I am not sure whether or not if we should get out of the airport and explore the vicinity during our layover, or if it is too early in the morning to do so? If not - then where can we go and how can we get there?

Seeing that we'll be spending New Year's in Paris - we would like to eat at a decent restaurant, however not too pricey (i would say about 50 to 75 US dollars per person would suffice) any ideas of a place for us to eat at a reasonable price in the area? We're up for eating in any part of Paris really... we'll be staying in Montemarte throughout the New Year's, if it is of any help.

My last question is this: we re taking off at 6:55 AM on the 5th, and the general rule states that we should be at the airport 3 hours before the departure time. I am wondering if it is necessary for us to be there that early in the morning and wait till the plane is ready for us or should we go later in the day? How will it be transportation-wise? Will the RER be open or will we be stuck with flagging down a cab?

Thank you verrry much in advance to anyone who posted any advice for us! Appreciate it!

I'll answer your last question. The 3 hour rule is for departure from the US. 2 hours is more than enough and if you arrive at the airport earlier (given that your flight is very early) you will probably find the check in desk closed. Call your airline and see if they can tell you what time the checkin is open at the airport. At that hour I would probably arrive 1.5 hours ahead.

I'm not familiar with Frankfort but I definitely wouldn't sit in an airport for 10 hours. Can't you get a different connection? See if you can find cheap tickets between Frankfort and Paris and jump ship if you can find a real cheap fare. If you do this, don't check your bags all the way through to Paris, claim them in Frankfort.

first of all DO NOT "jump ship" in Frankfurt. Doing that will very likely void the entire rest of your ticket including your return flight to the US.

I haven't been through Frankfurt in more than 30 years so can't help much there - but you will have plenty of time to go into town. I might suggest posting a new thread with a title something like "10 hour layover in Frankfurt. Suggestions what to see/do?"

In Paris $50 will not get you a "special" meal in Paris - especially on NYE. But you will be able to get a decent meal at that price. There are LOTS of Paris pros on here so you'll likely get all sorts of restaurant suggestions.

For your return flight I'd plan on getting to CDG by 6 a.m.. But if that makes too early a morning for you (you'd have to be up and out before 0500), I'd consider staying the last night at a CDG hotel. You could stay out on the town until late and then head to CDG for a late hotel checkin. You would not miss out on any Paris sightseeing time.

Regarding being at the airport (CDG I presume) 3hrs before: I originally thought this must have been a case of over cautiousness; but having done this just two months ago, this long lead time now makes more sense.

Just before we got to the airline counter, we were told to go to one of the security agent (no, we were not selected, everyone had to do this.) he then started to ask detailed questions about our visit, starting with the usual to very detailed: how long have you been in France, where did you go, prove that we actually went where we said we did with ticket stubs, hotel confirmations,etc, who did you meet, how did you travel, etc, etc. The who process probably took about 7 min, but felt like eternity.

Actually, you can have a special meal in Paris for $50 to $75 a person. Harder to do on New Year's eve since many restaurants have fixed price menus that evening that are more costly than their usual offerings, but not all restuarants do. You'll need to research, and reserve soon. There are dozens of possibilities. Here's a review of one, Mon Vieil Ami on the Isle St. Louis, by Patricia Wells, the well-known food writer of the International Herald Tribune:

http://www.patriciawells.com/reviews/iht/2004/01-30.htm

But with this, as others, you'll have to check to see what they're doing New Year's Eve.

Have a great time in Paris.

The first RER train for Charles de Gaulle Airport leaves the Gare du Nord in Paris at 4:56 a.m. on weekdays and arrives at the airport at 5:28-5:30, one hour and 25 minutes before your takeoff time. That's too tight. If you're staying in a hotel, arrange with the desk to call a cab for you. Ask the evening before.

laura - i enjoyed our 20 hour layover in frankfurt, and in 10 hours we could have seen what we did of the "old town" without having to suffer thru our only bad hotel experience in europe.

you may have to go thru customs first, but then i think it's only about a 20 minute train ride into town. if your bags are checked thru to paris, you can easily walk from the train station to the old town. it's very atmospheric, with a couple of beautiful churches and old half-timbered buildings on the square. we enjoyed a good german meal in a possibly touristy restaurant, but with character.

and the best part was stumbling upon an old cloister that was not in any guidebook we saw. there's some kind of museum there now, and when we went to check it out we saw they were getting ready for a party, a member's banquet or something, so we turned around to leave. but one of the employees ran out and called us back, with many gestures and few english words, to tell us come in, we were welcome. they showed us to the cloistered interior, where the walls were covered with crumbling frescoes of Christ's life (including his circumcision if you can believe it!). the people seemed very proud of their cloister and eager to share it.

you can do all that easily in 5 hours and walk back to the train station along the Main (pron. "mine") river in 30 or 40 minutes. just give yourself plenty of time to get back so you don't have to sweat it. alternatively, you can go the other direction on the train, to the smaller town of Mainz.

you'll be exhausted after your flight, but i think you'll be glad you took the opportunity to get just a taste of Germany. and a leisurely stroll is just the thing for jet-lag. (but make sure all your valuables are safely in your money belt - a jet-lagged tourist is like an unwatched candy store to a pick-pocket. at least i was :)

enjoy your trip. i think you'll love Paris and be so glad you have more than a month to enjoy it. -kate

oops - don't know how I did that. Must have just been too late. I definitely meant to say $50 won't get you a special meal ON NYE. Other times, as Dave_in_Paris says, you won't have a hard time finding really fine meals for $50 or less.

I, too, haven't been through Frankfurt for about 20+ years, but a 10-hour layover in any European city is enough time to get out of the airport and do a quick tour around.

You definitely need to be at CDG 3 hours before departure - it's a crazy airport. Get your hotel to call you a Taxi Bleu the night before.

Restaurants in Paris tend to hold NYE "events," which need to be reserved in advance. Never having been in Paris on NYE I can't recommend specific ones, but do a search on Google and reserve NOW if you want to be sure of having a venue. I would guess places like Bofinger might have decent special offerings that night, though I'm not sure if you could get by for $50.

Good luck!

Don’t rely on “flagging” down a cab. They don’t really have them at night in Paris – at least not roving around looking for custom.

Also you say you’re staying in “Montmatre”, well that’s close to Pigalle, and a couple of girls standing on street corners in that neighbourhood could attract some unwelcome attention (and it’s risky in other ways).

Get your hotel to arrange a cab.

Montmatre is packed with restaurants – some good some not so good (many are tourist traps). I can’t recommend any I’m afraid as It’s not an area I go to when I’m over there.

I agree with StCirq; I would leave plenty of time for the airport. We took our first trip to Paris a few weeks ago. We arrived at CDG about 2 hours before our plane was supposed to take off. The airport isn't very user-friendly and the check-in lines were a mess (I think there was a left-luggage bomb scare earlier that morning) and we finally arrived at our gate about 20 minutes before boarding. To be on the safe side, definitely arrive early. As suggested above, for a flight that early I would probably consider just staying at one of the hotels near the airport for the last night.

Tracy

You can't flag down cabs in Paris, they don't do that there. I'm just one occasionally might stop if you do that, but it generally is not the custom or allowed. You have to go to a taxi stand.

I always try to get to CDG 3 hrs ahead for international flights because you never know about the lines and security. I think that early in the morning, it might not be necessary because there isn't even anyone there real early. I don't know how early they open at the airport, but for a 7 am flight, I'd try to be there by 5 am at least.

You won't get a special meal for that price, and I'll be surprised if you can get any kind of restaurant on NY eve for that price. I know someone on here recently had a trip report and mentioned a good cheap bistro they found near rue Mouffetard (Auberge Pot de Terre on rue pot de fer). Now, I know nothing about it, but found their website and noticed they had a NY eve menu at 75 euro -- this was a place that usually has prix fixe menus at 11-14 euro.

Meal suggestion: Visit food shops, buy bread, vegetables and sandwich fillings. Next..French wine! Dine in your hotel room. Later hit the open pubs!

Montmartre is not a dangerous area for women or for anyone else. However, it's best not to stray to the east of Sacré-Cœur at night (there's nothing to see that way, anyway).

My group had to catch a BA flight out of CDG at 6:55 a.m., so I can tell you that you certainly don't need to be there 3 hours before hand. In fact, they don't even open things up until around 6:00 a.m., but you will need to be at the front of the line so that you can get through security and make your flight. Have a cab or airport shuttle lined up to pick you up around 4:30 or 4:45. You'll make good time to the airport at that time of the morning, and then it's just a matter of waiting in line for them to open up.

Yes, you can flag a cab in Paris. We do it all the time. But don't try it at that hour of the morning, or any time you're in a hurry. The majority are taken.

Jut to confirm dave's comment : yes, you can flag taxis in Paris, except when you're near a taxi station(and even then, they'll often stop nevertheless). That's the usual way to get one. Taxis that are not taken have the white lamp on the roof alight. Easy to notice at night, less so during the day.

And yes, you should reseve for a dinner on NYE. Restaurants will either be closed or will propose a special dinner. Even in ordinary restaurants, these meals will cost at least 50 $. It's probably possible to find a restaurant which is not fully reserved one or two days before NYE, but it probably won't be a fancy one. Which doesn't mean that the dinner can'tbe good in ordinary restaurants, but on the other hand, if it's not fully reserved, there might be a reason for this, right?

- Frankfurt: I go there every year for the book fair, so know it a little. It's nothing to write home about, but definitely better than staying 10 hours at the airport. As one poster pointed it out, the good thing is that the connections from airport to town are so good and quick: yes, 20 mn by S-Bahn (a kind of German RER). They have great museums there, by the Main river, but, if I am not mistaken, you'll be there on a Monday morning, and I am afraid they will be closed. You could do a google to check. The Architekturmuseum, built by Richard Meier, is a gem not to be missed... if open! Then you have the Städtisches Museum, the classic painting museum, full of European masterpieces. If you want to enjoy a shopping experience, you can stroll on the Zeil, Europe's largest pedestrian shopping street (ie "avenue" would suit it better! ): plenty of department stores and mini malls. The Römer, the main square, is 100 % new, but it was rebuilt in the 50s as it used to be before Frankfurt was totally destroyed during WWII (sad to think that before 1944 the whole of the town used to be like that), and at this time of the year there should be a Christmas market on it. Actually, if you want to see old Germany, another option from the airport, using the S Bahn would be to visit Mainz (40 mn from FRA), a nice medieval provincial capital by the Rhine, home of Gutenberg (with museum and all). On the other side of the Rhine from Mainz, you can visit Wiesbaden, an aristocratic 19th Century spa town (you can even go to special spa swimming pools, with hot water, quite cool! ).

- Your departure from Paris: I am assuming that your 6.55 departure is a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, where you'll connect to your US flight. Which changes the whole perspective to it: it'll be a European flight within the Schengen area, ie a domestic flight, with much fewer peopole on it and lighter procedures than for a transatlantic flight. Getting there by 6am is more than enough. I think this'll enable you to take one of the first RERs out of Gare du Nord (if you are staying in Montmartre, take métro line 2, change at La Chapelle, there is a connection to the Gare du Nord via a corridor). You can check the schedule on ratp.fr, look up "Horaires RER B". Otherwise a cab should be around € 40-45 all included.

- Réveillon (a word you ought to know, it's how the French call their NYE big dinner) at the price you are indicating will be tough to find, but not impossible. Contrary to what people have told you, no need to book weeks in advance, no local does (and anyway special menus are not advertised before mid December at best). But you've got the advantage of being there, so quietly look around, read the weekly city magazines (Zurban, Figaroscope, Télérama, Le Nouvel Observateur, A Nous Paris), having a "spécial réveillon" is a classic of their mid December issues. Restaurateurs always whine that people are getting later and later to book their réveillons. Well, if the mark up was not that ridiculous, guests might rush more to their telephones! Finally, there are plenty of neighbourhood restaurants that don't have a particular menu for NYE, just an extra good meal, but without the whole fuss... and mark up. And, if the worst gets to the worst... with your budget (€ 100-120), you can have a fabulous meal in your apartment or hotel, with the usual suspects: champagne, foie gras, etc. Anyway, chances are that you will have hooked up with other young people, locals or expats and will have gotten invited to one of the many private NYE parties around town.

Thank you soo much for all of your input and advice! We greatly appreciate you all taking the time and effort to make our trip a more pleasant one!

We decided to stay in at another hostel on the 4th instead of pulling an all nighter at the airport. We ll just take the RER or get a taxi and be there at least 1 1/2 hrs before departure.

And by the way to clear up any confusion - i m a male college student and I'm using my mother's account (which is why the acct has a woman's name on it) haha.

Someone suggested we go to Mainz during our layover in Frankfurt. Does anyone else think it would be a better place to visit than the other towns nearby? More advice in this area would be great.

Another thing is the riots going on in Paris. My girlfriend's parents are afraid that it will ruin the Parisian experience with all that violence going on, but we think otherwise. Should we be cautious in our escapades in Paris during this time or is it nothing for us to worry about really?

Thanks again!

Hi Art,

Sorry to take exception to your advice, but this local does think it's important to book far in advance for New Year's eve - precisely to avoid the restaurants that are doing "special" (a.k.a. pricey and not all that much better) menus. What these folks want is a memorable meal at a reasonable price. That's most likely to be found at a good restaurant that's not awash in Champagne and made up "fun" on Dec. 31.