radiofanatic

Thanks again Night! two more questions: first, how did you get to mont st. michel from the train station?

also, re the boat ride on the Seine - did you buy tix for it before you left? And do you know if the rides still go on in February?

night

For anyone thinking of doing a day trip to the Mont: We found out inadvertently that if you stay on the Mont overnight, you get something like a 25% discount on your train fare making your hotel very cheap if not free.

Radiofanatic,
Take the metro to the Montparnasse station, one of the transfer stations for "the Grand Lignes" to purchase your tickets. When you purchase TGV tickets for Rennes/Mont St. Michel, the 50 minute bus ride from the Rennes TGV station to the Mont is included in the ticket price. The bus leaves from behind the car rental building to your right as you exit the TGV station. We almost missed our bus because we mistakenly thought we should wait at the bus stations in front of the exit.

Oh yes, the "VOIT" on your ticket as in "VOIT: 17" is the car number you are assigned on your train. We got confused because the "VOIE" number which appears on the marquees at the station is the platform where your train departs.

I looked in my Bateaux Mouches brochure and it doesn't say whether the cruises run in February. The information line is 01 40 76 99 99 and I think there is a website. Good luck and have a great trip!

night

I just reread my post and what I meant to say was that if you purchase roundtrip tickets to Mont St. Michel returning other than the same day, you get a discount on your train fare, not to imply that you need to stay on the Mont itself.

We purchased our Seine cruise tickets on the Seine at Pont de L'Alma, right at the gangway 2 minutes before the boat left.

radiofanatic

thanks again - you're making my trip VERY easy!

platzman

I'm e-mailing this report to my uncle who is going to Paris in a week. I know he will be VERY interested in your detailed log of exact costs in euro.
I'd love to see more people do trip reports in this manner.
Good job!

Burley

I really enjoyed your report--thanks for this info!
I'm wondering specifically about Mont. St. Michel. This too is a dream I intend to fulfill on my next trip. Can you tell me your schedule for those two days? Was the $150 lunch worth it? Did you visit it at night also? Are you saying you could have saved 25% on your tickets, or was the 181E with that discount? How would you get the discount? Sorry for so many questions and thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge.

Beatchick

Night, you travel like I do! I spent between $1800-2000 on a 9-day trip to Paris last year and even had tea at the Ritz (just 30 euros).

I think we may have had strawberries from the same place in the Marais ~ either on the rue des Francs Bourgeois or the Rue des Rosiers? I was there in April and couldn't BELIEVE how luscious the strawberries were!

I haven't done the Montmartrotrain but I have done the Montmartrobus around twice just to get a feel for Montmartre!! It's very easy to get lost and turned around.

"architecture of the museum it self was not to be missed"
Did you mean the Louvre or the d'Orsay? Or both? A friend of mine told me she likes to look thru the windows of the Louvre to the outside and pretend for a moment that she was queen in the palace!!

I've been wanting to stay at your hotel for a while but they don't usually take reservations more than 3 months ahead (or so I was told). How did you enjoy your stay there?

I'm glad you two wife had a great time in Paris and Mont St-Michel!!

A bientôt,
Beatchick

DavidNWendy

Awesome - we did Paris last year for our Honeymoon in September and I can say that we enjoyed spending time there and not spending much money like you. We splurged a few time as well (Moulin Rouge was something my wife could not have lived without -and I enjoyed it too) but we also enjoyed late night snacks from street vendors after a busy day on the town seeing everything we could see. Every where we went we found deals - thanks to some pre-planning and some good freedom to do things when and how we wanted. Packing a snack and having something light was both refreshing and a real time and money saver. We would have loved to have eaten several good meals but the real point of us being there was spending time together and doing the things we like to do most. Again we enjoyed your report and look forward to doing one on London when we go in Feb.

night

My pleasure to help out, Burley.

We purchased our tickets a couple of days in advance directly from the Montparnasse station. The 181 E is with the discount.

We found out about the discount because we actually missed our train due to the Voit fiasco and were trying to get a refund. (The agent that originally sold us our tickets did not speak any English and sold us the full fare tickets.) A nice agent who did speak English told us about the overnight stay discount and gave us replacement tickets.

We caught the 7:10 am train to Rennes and arrived at MSM about 11:45 a.m. We asked around for accommodations and checked in by 12:15 or so.

We had heard about La Mere Poulard from Rick Steves and I really wanted to eat dinner there but they were booked for the night. So we ended up doing lunch. The restaurant is apparantly world famous and has all of those celebrity autographed pictures on the walls everywhere. The food was wonderful and worth it, I felt, because it sort of set the stage for our short stay. We must have lingered over lunch for more than two hours and then we browsed the little shops and took lots of pictures.

We didn't get to the Abbey until about an hour and half before closing so we practically had the place to ourselves. We took some of the most amazing pictures of our trip at the Abbey. I thought I was on the set of the Lord of the Rings (sorry for the trite reference, but that's all we poor Californians have to compare to such magnificence!)

Afterwards, we watched the tourist busses drive away and strolled along the empty ramparts and drank some local brandy. It was quiet, peaceful and very very romantic. Wait until just after all the busses leave for a fabulous shot of the Mont from the causeway approach. I was surprised to see that not many people bothered to do this and all my friend comment on how lucky we were to get such nice pictures.

I wanted a picture of the Mont from a distance as the Abbey lights came on at dusk, so we walked onto the sandy area. We knew the area was reputed to be dangerous with quicksand, but we didn't really think about it until we were in the middle of the vastness. Then, in the still of the night, we could make out the hiss and gurgle of the water beneath as we took each step. This really freaked us out because once the darkness had fallen, we couldn't really see a safe dry path back to the parking area. It made for a memorable night! We had a good laugh.

After the La Mere Poulard meal, I really didn't want to eat a proper meal for about 4 days, so I'm glad it was towards the end of our trip. We forewent dinner at the Mont and opted for crepes, coffee and beer. The place is really isolated at night and we were lucky to have run into another couple who spoke English. We chatted over beer until we were given polite glances from the owners of the tavern at about 1:00 a.m.

The next day, I got up early and went for a walk on the sandy area around the Mont and took more pictures. Our bus left for the train station at 9:45 so we didn't have time for breakfast. We grabbed some quiche and coffee at Rennes and ate it at the station while we waited for our train back to Paris. I think we got back around 2:30.

More than you probably asked for, but I couldn't resist going into some details.

night

Beatchick,
I actually meant all of the museums! I had as much fun being in the spaces as I did looking at the art. The angles and curves of the spiral staircase under the Louvre pyramid made for some wonderfully graphic photographs.

DavidNWendy,
I will be sure to look on this forum for your trip report in March, 2005, since London is on my list just after Italy next year. Have a great trip!

Burley

Many thanks, Night! Your details were just what I was looking for, and I hope my trip to the Mont will be just as wonderful--I love thinking of having the place to ourselves and walking thru the town at night (I think I'll forego the quicksand experience, though!)

sandi_travelnut

Please clarify whether those costs are for one or for two people?

night

All of the costs are for two people.

austine

Great posting Night. Thanks for the information. I always like to know what to expect regarding costs when I travel. This was a big help.

Beatchick

Ah, yes, Night, ALL the museums. Paris is like an architectural smorgasbord. I'm not a huge fan of Picasso, prefer Braque, but enjoyed that Museé due to the work shown of his friends/compatriots and the molded ceilings inside were just lovely! I took pictures. Silly me.

This was a wonderful posting, Night! Thank you for sharing with us.

ciao,
MaryC