My husband and I will be traveling to Paris from London via British Airways, on Nov. 20 (for our 5 year anniv.!) We arrive at CDG and will be staying at the Holiday Inn Paris Valdebievre on 1 Rue de Lalibertie. I am waiting on a brochure of this hotel to be mailed to us - we have no idea where this hotel is located. We do know that it is NEW. Does anyone know where it is located and the best way to arrive there from CDG??. Any tips from travelers on things to do, shopping, etc. for only 2 days would be greatly appreciated. This is a "dream trip" for us, and we want to make sure we do all we can in a short amount of time! We will be having dinner at La Fermette Marbeuf one night - how is the food/service? Thank you so much for any responses!

Since you only have two days I suggest the following: <BR> <BR>1. Take a taxi from CDG to your hotel (about 350F). This will save you a lot of time, worry and effort. Get a $100 in Francs before you leave or in the airport when you arrive. <BR> <BR>2. If you can change your hotel to one in the central area of Paris near the Louvre, do so. Rue de la Libertie is in the 19 arr. in the NE outskirts of Paris. You are not in walking distance to any of the major Paris sights. Your nearest Metro station is Botzaris and I think you can take it to Place des Fetes and change to the No. 11 line heading to Chatelet. At Chatelet you can then change to No. 1 line to the Palais Royal and the Musee du Louvre. This should take about 30-40 minutes. <BR> <BR>3. With only two days in Paris don't waste your time with shopping. There is not much you can buy in Paris that you can't find in the USA and prices are high. <BR> <BR>4. You will have only time to see 4 or 5 major sights in Paris from the hundreds that are available. Pick the ones you want to see most and make certain that they will be open the days you are there. Since it might by cold and rainy your best bets will be indoors at places such as the Louvre, Orangerie, DÓrday etc. I think Ste. Chapelle is a must for anybody visiting Paris. <BR> <BR>5. It is hard to find a bad meal in Paris. La Fermette Marbeuf is a good medium priced place in the 200 to 300F price range. It is in the 8th arr. way on the other side of town from your hotel. Make certain that you have reservations if your plan to go. The nearest Metro stop is Franklin D. Roosevelt on the No. 1 line. Unless food is priority in your life there is more important things to do with only two days. For example, go the the Opera or Ballet in the old Opera House. The Louvre is open one night every week. You can always find a good food near where you are most anywhere in Paris except on Sunday where most places are closed. Many places close on Monday also along with most of the museums. <BR>

Jill: I agree with the comments stated above. Try to pack in as many of the sights as you can. Paris is truly a wonderful city - don't waste time on shopping. Two very different suggestions for a memorable meal are: a dinner cruise on the Bateau Mouches - very expensive but one you will always remember. The last time we did that it did require tie and jacket for the men. A much more casual, but equally different experience is the Tavern of the Sergeant Recruiter - on the I'sle St. Louis. Price-fixed, reasonable meal that comes with built-in entertainment if you get one of the many, funny waiters. Either way, you can't go wrong. Bon voyage.

Thank you for the comments! This is very helpful!

Thank you so much for your comments! This is very helpful - and I welcome all suggestions! Jill

I fear that the situation of your hotel is much worse than the one stated in the first post. A "rue de la Liberté" (Freedom street) is to be found in nearly all of our 36 000 cities. And the fact that your Holiday Inn is called "Val de Bièvre" suggests that it is located precisely in the... val de Bièvre. Smart, ain't it ? But what's less funny, is that this area is not within Paris intra-muros, as we say, but in the suburbs. A very good one, for that matter, but I don't want to see you spend your 2 "dream-days" struggling with the commuter trains. So, check the complete address of your hotel. At the end, there should be the name of the town with the Zip code. If it says 75something Paris, OK, you're in Paris ; but if you see figures beginning with 77, 78, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, then you're in the outskirts. So, please check, and contact me directly on my e-mail, we'll look at the situation, and I'll give you special insider's tips so that those days are actually special. OK ?