Just decided to look at going to Paris April 8th-18th! No comments please about the craziness of this plan-Two years ago, planned for over a year to go to Paris(a lifelong dream)and ended up with emergency surgery 36 hours before the trip and unable to go so this time going for the last minute route! Very desperate as I have forgotten much of wait I knew then, needless to say in the next few days have to get air, hotel and a passport for my 16 year old son so I'm looking for some great advice and immediately thought of this site as I've gotten great comments in the past.First time for myself(late 40s)and my 16 year old son. My 18 year old son went 2 years ago but admits his focus was with a school group of teenagers and would like to be more diverse this time. Would like to see the main attractions-Monet is a favorite of mine, Versailles is a dream of mine(my son went there last time and can't wait to take me back). We've decided cheap(not hostels) because we haven't planned for this(worthwhile for the price) but safe hotel since we don't plan to spend much time in it so need any ideas re: hotels,ideas re: ways to save on food costs-my son says the food is great and we won't need to be cheap in this area, deals on tours, etc. Excited just thinking that this may be possible so thanks for any quick help!!

How exciting... sometimes the best trips are the ones that come up by surprise. You've got a few weeks to get organized. If you enjoy Monet, take a day trip to Giverny. It's about a 45 minute trip via train from Paris. Also include a stop at the Musee D'Orsay. The Museums & Monuments pass is a great deal. If you do get it, take the stairs to the top of the Arc d'triomphe. I really like the view from here - it's not nearly as tall as the eiffel tower, but you get the geography of the CHamps d'Elysses, the position of the sacre coeur and the eiffel, and it's just cool, especially in the early evening as the lights are coming on. Have a great trip.

It sounds like you have not gotten tickets yet. If that is true I got some recently by bidding on Priceline.com for 4 of us at $560 a ticket. Travel dates June 16-24 from Tampa to Paris. I suspect you could do better than that with traveling in April.
We went to Paris for the first time 2 years ago and stayed at the Citadines Louvre. It is an apartment with a small kitchen so you can prepare some meals yourself. This allowed us to splurge at a couple of nice resturants. I checked out the Citadines site recently and the Louvre apt. has gone way up to about 330E a night. However, some of the other locations are as low as 149E for a 1 bedroom apartment.
Put in a search for apartment and/or hotels in paris and you will find loads of comments on this board.
Have Fun!

Read Beatchicks "Paris is Paris" trip report, she stayed at a wonderful place in the Marais, quite reasonable.
The food in Paris is so good, you can definitely eat well on a budget.
Get some good guide books, my favorite is Access Paris.
Sit down with the boys at Barnes and Noble and get all the books you can on Paris and make tons of notes..then make lists of what you all want to see and do, that way you won't be overwhelmed with so much to do and so little time. You can see Monets in Paris rather than taking the trip to Giverny at **

The Michel Monet Collection
The second son of Claude Monet and Camille Doncieux Michel Monet was passionnate about African art and hunting. He died childless in a car accident and bequeathed the Giverny property to the Academie des Beaux-Arts and the collection of paintings inherited from his father to the Marmottan Museum.
This donation consists not only of eighty oils, four pastels and three drawings by Claude Monet but also the personal collection of the painters with works by his friends Boudin, Caillebotte, Guillaumin,Jongkind, Manet, Marisot Pisarro, Renoir and Rodin.

**

Versailles can take half a day if you want, easy to take the train there for the morning and back in the afternoon.
The Louvre on Monday and the D'Orsay on Tuesday-or the other way around, one is closed when the other is open.
Small cafes and bistros off the main big streets will be cheaper.
Take sandwiches to the Luxembourg Gardens and have a lunch on a bench.
Get museum & monument passes and travel cards.
Last minute trips are the Best!! The time will fly and before you know it, the three of you will be stepping off the plane in Paris ~

It's never crazy, always go when you can, no matter. The city is so beautiful that it makes serindipity the most beautiful word in the world. It allows YOU to make your own discoveries and not go in someone else's footsteps.
Have a wonderful time.

Hotel first! Airfare second! or maybe simultaneously... that's Easter weekend...
Not clear on how many in your party, you and 2 sons, or are there 4 of you..?

Thanks for the support-it is myself(the mom) and my two sons. Husband unable to get of work-his loss!! Keep those ideas coming!

Could someone please elaborate on the museums/monuments and metro passes available? Are there different types to choose from? Are there websites with further information? Thank you.

Museum pass - click on lower right image on this page; for the Paris Visite transportation pass, click on the lower left image.
http://www.ratp.fr/ParisVisite/Eng/index.htm

Carte Orange / weekly pass, French only:
http://www.optile.com/guide/carte-orange.html

Some good info (English) on passes (probably what you are looking for):
http://www.gisparis.com/paris/paris_subway.htm

katk: 10 days in Paris...fabulous! I'm envious! You can do a search here and find hundreds of ideas on hotels and restaurants. My main suggestion is to get a good map of Paris (I really like Streetwise Paris, it shows every little street, major sites, metro lines, taxi stands, etc, plus it's laminated and folds ups) and then make a list of what you want to see and arrange it by arrondissement. That way you catch all the things in each area in a day and don't waste a lot of time backtracking around the city.
Have a wonderful trip!

Just so you're not confused. Travelnut's post for the carte orange has a note "French Only" - that is to say the WEBSITE is in French only. The pass (although originally designed for French residents) can be used by anyone.

Might want to give the hotel Victoria Chatelet a look: http://www.hovicha.com it is small hotel in the 1st, about a block from the Seine with the metro at the corner. Not fancy, but clean and friendly. Have a great time!

Not to hawk my own goods Kat, but if you will type "Paris trip report" in the search bar you will find my extra long blow by blow trip report as well as several others. I wish I were going back but the wife says we must go somewhere different.
One work of advice, do not, I repeat do not plan on a lot of activity on the day of arrival. You will regret it on day 3 unless you have the constution of a draft horse.

Mike

Congrats on the upcoming opportunity to experience a lifelong dream!

Bookchick's hotel was, I believe, the Hotel Jean D'Arc. I, too have stayed there. It's a great location and the price is right, but it books up *months* in advance and I'd be very surprised if they had rooms for your 10-day stay, which is less than a month off.

www.paris-resa.com is one hotel booking site that allows you to search for availability by date. There are others, and those might be a good place to start.

http://paris.hotelsearch.com/

Is another hotel site which allows searches by dates (and price range.)

Bonne chance!

One more!

www.venere.com - I usually use this for Italy, but just checked your dates for Paris and it shows availability for 3 people at 160 properties! This site also includes user ratings/reviews, which are helpful, and lists rates for your total stay.

Au Royal Cardinal, Vendome St-Germaine, and Europe St. Severin are 2-stars in the 5th that show up and which I'd consider. Perrevve in the 6th, and Palais Bourbon in the 7th, too.

There are also listings for residences and apartments, which might be great for you and your sons!

http://www.hrs.de often has great cheap rates, particularly for Paris and Germany.

Yeah, Margie, I did mean the site was only in French..then I found the 3rd one that I also had saved, and it does a comparison of the passes,incl. the Carte Orange, and in English.

We have bought the weekly C.O. several times, and no one will ever mistake me for being French. Sometimes, though, we just get a carnet (10 tickets, cheaper each than buying separately).

Lucky you! We went to Paris in June & took the kids (16 & 21). Beware climbing to the top of Notre Dame- it's a killer! The view is great though. We went to the Louvre & I would suggest to go early as it does get crowded. Under 18 is free but you need id to prove age. They allow free admission to university students but we were told that only applied to European Union universities.

Versailles was wonderful. We did get the audio tour & it was helpful. I seem to remember buying our tickets at Gard du Nord & getting a deal that was fare to get there, admission & free tour.

For a free view of Paris go by the Samartaine store & see the view from their observation deck.

We stayed at the Hotel Lyon Mulhouse at 8 Blvd Beaumarchais. The metro was in the same block & there was an atm nearby. Very central location. Price was reasonable to us after being in London.
Here is some info on it.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ce.hwoink_html

http://www.france-paris.com/1-hotel-...S/index-gb.htm

I recently read that Samaritaine closed the observation deck; too bad.

No, I don't work for them. BUT I have mentioned this alot...
Laterooms.com, it gives you prices per date, star rating, names and arrondizement.
I have a fantasy about this spontaneous thing some day!