Gigi

Hi! A friend and I are just back from a trip to Paris and would be happy to help any other first time travelers if we can. Feel free to e-mail me directly or post here and we will check back. Happy trails!

Cathy Beckhouse

Yes! I will be in paris early-mid May & am checking out good acomm. in St Germain area. Looking for very nice 3 star hotel - trying for Le Clos Medicis or do you know the Pantheon? any other ideas?
Plan to do all the touristy things plus some shopping. I'm certainly open to ideas.

Gigi

Hi Cathy, I am not familiar with those two hotels as we stayed in the 7th arrondissment. However you might try several internet sites, some even have pictures and recommendations. www.astotel.com, www.globe-market.com, wwwlhotelbook.com and www.paris.org. Our hotel was the Hotel de Champs du Mars. It is a two star, but very charming and incredibly cheap. Only 65.00 US per night. We loved the neighborhood, it was upscale and lively and felt very safe even late at night. You will probably be taking the Metro everywhere so be sure to find a place convenient to a Metro stop. There are so many things to say about Paris, it is hard to know where to begin. As you research your trip and have specific questions, fodor's is a good place to get opinions and answers. What I found when planning my trip is that I had to get really specific and then I got lots of great information. If you just ask for general info. you'll get stuff like, "Be sure to see the Eiffel tower" and "Spend a day at the Louvre" which is not terribly helpful. Get a really good guide book with lots of pictures like the Eyewitness guide or the gorgeous Knopf guide, then pore through it and pick 5 or 6 things that you absolutely must see. We made up a very flexible itinerary which included addresses and metro stops and recommendations for lunch and dinner in those areas. If you are picky about food, go to places that have been recommended, otherwise it is totally hit or miss and the food is so expensive, you will be really annoyed to pay 25.00 for lunch at what turns out to be the taste equivilent of Denny's (or worse!). I am a major style girl so I can give you lots of shopping recommendations if you let me know what you are interested in. I can also give you a personal opinion about the museums we saw and direct you a little to what you are interested in so you don't just wander around looking at Monet when you are most interested in Interior decoration or 15th Century religious art. Also check out the posting of "Two women in Paris" or something to that effect here in this forum. My friend Gwen has some good general info. that she posted in response to that question.

robinson

There will be four of us travelling together (2 adults/2 children) - but maybe you can help re: taxis. I've read here that the taxis in Paris will only take two passengers. Any suggestions on how to get from the Gare du Nord train station to our hotel would be appreciated. Also - we will be staying in the 7th at Le Tourville Hotel - would like your recommendations on restaurants. Champ de Mars sounds like a great price - I'm thinking of changing reservations. Our room for four at Le Tourville is $305/night. Any suggestions,ideas appreciated

Holly

Cathy,
There is a Holiday Inn St Germain Des Pres that is supposed be a three star. Holly

Gigi

Hi Robinson. I'm afraid I don't know about whether a taxi will take four people, as we just had two. I do highly recommend taking a taxi regardless though, to get to your hotel. It will be slightly more expensive than using a bus, or metro but after a long flight with all of your bags, believe me it is really worth the price. You are very vulnerable on the metro when you are tired, not familiar with the area and carrying bags, and with children too, you might as well hang a sign around your neck. A real target for the pickpockets. As far as eating, that will probably be your largest expense. What do you like to eat, and do you want to just get light meals or snacks as you sightsee or are you going to go gourmet and eat at the more wonderful and expensive restaurants? The are some brasseries in Paris with very good up and coming chefs that serve wonderful meals for less than you would have to pay in a more famous restaurant. I, and I'm sure the other more experienced Paris travelers can give you some great specific recommendations once you decide what type of restaurant you prefer to eat in.

Donna

Hi! Glad to find you. My friend Cindy and I are heading to Paris for two days before continuing on to the south of France. We are going in May, and one of our main criteria in finding lodging is small, quaint, clean, and with a view! I'm finding lots of hotels in tour books with descriptions like "overlooking a garden courtyard" but I want a city view or the Eiffel Tower. Can you give us some advice? Price should be below $150 per night. My friend Cindy, used to live in Paris years ago in the 8th.

Gigi

Hi all of you first time Paris travellers! I just read back over my posts and thought I might sound a little vague. This is the thing, many of these general questions have already been posted under other topics with Paris in the title, so I am trying not to repeat information that is elsewhere in this forum. You really have to scan all the way to the bottom and read every post on Paris. Before I went, I checked the forum frequently and then cut and pasted the answers and info. I wanted to remember into a Word file. Also, If you are new to the forum please understand that there are many people on the forum who have checked in regularily for a long time. They understandably get tired of posting the same general guide book type info. over and over, so sometimes if you are not really specific in your questions, you might not get good answers. You cannot avoid doing research for your trip on your own. You really have to get a guide book and a map and think about what you would like to do. Then go ahead and ask away! Also, you may have to approach the issue several times as you learn more about it. Thats all, just thought I would pass along some of the things I learned while planning my trip.

Gigi

Hi Donna! As I mentioned earlier, we stayed in the 7th arrondissment and loved it. Check out the posting called "Hotel Champs du Mars" further down in this forum. I described the hotel to someone with a similar question. Breakfast is served in your room or downstairs for 35 francs. It included cafe au lait, tea or chocolate, a half baguette and croissant for each person, along with cheese, butter, jam and orange juice. It is beautifully presented on a silver tray with starched white linen and china pots for the coffee and steamed milk. I would stay there again without hesitation.

greg

We like the Hotel de Nice, on rue de Rivoli, on the edge of the Marais. It's quite close to some of the things you will probably want to see and it is on the main metor line that goes from Bastille, past the Louvre, Tuileries, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, all the way to La Defense. We are paying FF480 for a double in april - it's not luxurious but it is clean and comfortable - you won't get a large room in a 2 star hotel in Paris
Good luck

Helen

Dear Robinson,
Saw your question about Paris Taxis and wanted to let you know about a great service my husband and I used a couple of years ago. Paris Airports Service.
They have a great shuttle service that will pick you all up and deliver you right at your hotel door. You can call them at (1) 49.62.78.78 or fax at (1) 49.62.78.79 or e-mail at [email protected] You need to make arrangements ahead to time. Prices THEN were: Orly to Paris for 4 people - 200 ff or about $35. CDG to Paris for 4 people - 300 ff or about $50. You should call to get current prices. We just returned from Paris about a week ago and it was wonderful as always.