PARIS IN DECEMBER
 

Hello.....im planning on going to paris in december for my one-year anniversary with my boyfriend. niether of us has ever been to paris. So i have a few questions...i've decided we're gonna do the solo thing without tours so where should i start...hotel? sights? food? any tips would be much appreciated....thanx!!!

PS,

does anyone have any idea on what i might be spending including airfare and a modest hotel??? and what is the weather like at this time??

Hi R,

Start by looking up Paris under "Destinations".

Air fare at www.kayak.com and www.mobissimo.com.

What is your hotel budget?

Weather in Paris in Dec is usually cold.

((I))

hi there.
You might want to start by searching this site for Paris, and there will be a great wealth of information!
Also try clicking on the "Destinations" link above and read up about Paris.
It is hard to give you recommendations about where to go/stay/eat - without knowing more about you, what you like and what your budget is.
So to start - do some research and come up with a few things you would like to do/see, and the people here can answer more specific questions.
My personal paris favorites:
Walking along the river at night,
Notre Dame tour,
Montemarte
The louvre
Going to a street market!
espresso at any street side cafe

I've been in December a couple of years ago. Temps were in 40s-50'sF, there was a patch of rain each day, but no downpours.

Since you are off-season, you should be able to get some decent deals. You can check some of the on-line booking agencies (for example http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/h75005notredame.htm ) chain hotels (for example http://www.timhotel.com/ ) or individual hotesl with web sites (for example http://www.lodging-in-paris.com/ )

Once you get a feel for hotel availability, I would book a flight for around those dates. This forum has lots of recommendations for hotels, so once you have a flight, work on that next. You might look at flight / hotel packages, but I'm thinking you could do as well organizing this on your own.

The first question you will get here when asking for a hotel is...what is your budget. So plan on that. As a swag, for a nice place, you could expect 100-150 euros. Paris is broken down into 20 arrondissements, with #1 being at the center and the others circularly wrapping around that (does that make sense? ;))

Popular arrondissements for lodging are on the Left Bank #5 #6 and #7, which are the Latin Quarter/St Germain/Eiffel Tower areas. I've also stayed on the 4th, on St Louis island, which I can recommend... 5min walk freom Notre Dame cathedral, central,lots of restos nearby etc..

The Metro system is excellent, so you ar never really far, time wise, from all of the major sites. Staying in the "lower #" areas might mean you could walk to a lot of the sites.

We can help you with an itenerary. A serach will also pull up lots of ideas. Based on what you want to do, it can be tweaked. A common mistake is to want to see everything, and not build in time for sitting at a cafe doing nothing. This, along with the sites of the city, are essential :) to getting a sense of the city.

There are also a lot of resto recommendations on this site if you do a search.

Hope this helps,

Mike

That was a very nice response Michael. raqu15 - my first recommendation would be to go to a large book store with a cafe, Borders, Barnes & Noble, etc.. and check out the travel book section. Take as many as look interesting to you, Fodors, Rick Steves, Frommers, Lonely Planet, Let's Go, etc...

Relax in the cafe and take an hour or so to go through the books. When you find one, or more that suits your budget and tastes, buy it.

Go through it thoroughly at home, and come back here and do a Search on specific sights, restaurants, hotels etc. and then we ask questions. You will get much better answers, more suited to you, your budget, etc., once you know what Paris has to offer.

You will need a guide book anyway for your trip, so pick the one that feels 'most like you', and be sure to take it with you.

Hotels and flights fill up early for Paris, no matter what time of year - so get on it ASAP.

We might even bump into each other, we'll be there in late December.

You'll fall in love all over again in Paris.

Nina

You received alot of helpful information already so I just wanted to say that December is a nice time to visit Paris. If you go during the holidays (we went during New Year's Eve 2004) the atmosphere is fantastic. But if you are going during New Year's it's a very popular time so you'll need to book your airfare and hotel soon as suggested already.