jngrant28

We are traveling to Paris, Prague & Munich in late September, early October '08 for 2 weeks. We want to hit Oktoberfest & English Garden in Munich, Eiffel Tower & Louvre in Paris and Charles Bridge & Old Town Square in Prague. What's the best way to travel in between Prague, Munich & Paris? Since Munich is more expensive I expect we will stay there fewer days than Paris & Prague. Any suggestions on budget hotels in these cities and great pubs/bars/restaurants?

MaureenB

A great little B&B-type hotel in Munich is the Hotel Uhland, which is practically across the street from the park where Oktoberfest is held. It is a great value, and of course will book up very far in advance. You will find lots of fodorites who recommend it.
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Jake1

What's your price range for a budget hotel?

Munich restaurant: Leibighof im Lehel. http://www.liebighof.de/

Christina

Is Munich really more expensive than Paris? HOw did you come up with that? I don't know, I haven't been there, I just wondered why you say that.

You don't mention your dates or expected itinerary, but I would think Munich would have to be in the middle of this itinerary to make sense. I would take the train from Prague to Munich as there is no reasonable airline I know of on that route (direct). Then you could fly from Munich to Paris (or Paris to Munich, if you started in Paris). The train would take about the same time as that between Prague and Munich, but two 6-hour train trips may be too much in 2 weeks. If not, I prefer train travel myself and six hours isn't that much as you can relax and see the countryside and it will be more convenient than flying. You can get cheap advance purchase fares on the train between Paris and Munich for only around 40 euro.

There are hundreds of budget hotels in Paris, so it's hard to recommend any one in particular. I don't have a favorite myself, but others do -- and it would depend on your taste and actual idea of budget, I suppose. I don't stay in budget hotels in Prague, so I don't know them as well. There are plenty of them, also, so you'd have to narrow down where you wanted to stay, perhaps.

Lily

Re confirm that Munich is more expensive than Paris - I found it to be the reverse.

scatcat

Maybe during Oktoberfest Munich hotels will be higher than Paris. But my 2* hotel in Paris is about 50€ more per night than my 3* hotel in Munich. And the location in both cities will make a difference in the price.

jngrant28

Yes, the reason why I was saying that Munich was more expensive to stay in than Paris is due to them raising the prices for Oktoberfest and the fact that the majority of places are already booked. Here is our tentative itinerary:

Arrive in Prague 9/27
Head to Munich 10/1
Head to Paris 10/5
Head home 10/10

Our idea of budget is $200 or lower with a private bathroom.

Thanks for all the help so far, everyone!

Lily

I agree with MaureenB that Hotel Uhland is a great find at a very reasonable price.

kammie_joy

Are you planning on flying between cities? If you are check out www.harefares.com

Cowboy1968

During Oktoberfest, anything for $200 or less is a good find.
If the other suggestions turn out to be not available during that time (which I assume), you could check out a new chain of hotels in Germany, called Motel One (don't get scared by the name, that location is brand new). Their Munich East location (named München-City-Ost on the website) is close to the Munich East train & subway station. It's on the edge of the nice and central Haidhausen district, with 5 minutes walking to a lively neighborhood with restaurants and stores, though not historic & cosy like a hotel in the Old Town district.
The subway from Munich East station will take you straight to the Oktoberfest grounds in less than 15 minutes, or to the city center in less than 10 minutes.
Rooms cost some €115 incl. breakfast buffet (which is appr $170) per night, and still seem to be available.
Most of the other budget hotels are more likely to be found at the edge of town, near the motorways (like "real" motels), and with more complicated access to public transport.

Cowboy1968

Sorry, forgot the link:
www.motel-one.de
Change to English in the upper right hand corner.

gard

Hi

I can only help with Paris. Maybe you can find some useful information in my Paris trip report: http://gardkarlsen.com/Paris_France.htm

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

jngrant28

Thanks everyone! We have narrowed down our trip to this itinerary so far:
Paris: 9/24-9/29 @ Grand Hotel des Balcons
Munich: 9/29-10/3 @ Hotel Uhland
Prague: 10/3-10/8 @ Hotel Kampa Garden

Currently, it looks as though we would fly Air Berlin from Paris to Munich and take the train from Munich to Prague. I have not made these reservations just yet.

If you know of these hotels that we will be staying in, let me know of some smaller cafes or restaurants & pubs that are located close by. I doubt we will want to spend the 10-20 Euros for breakfast each morning at our hotels. Maybe when we are too tired to wake up early, but other than that we will want to roam around to find a good place to eat.

Also, after looking at all the postings about pickpocketing & looking like a tourist...do you all have any tips for us late 20/early 30-somethings that are first-timers to Europe?

KL467

<You can get cheap advance purchase fares on the train between Paris and Munich for only around 40 euro.>

Christina, What is the best website to use to purchase the train tickets between Paris and Munich?

Cowboy1968

Supersaver rates for Munich-Paris start at €39, but availability is limited so better book in advance.
You find those rates at www.bahn.de, the website of German Rail.
There is now one direct TGV from Munich to Paris, but it leaves Munich already at 6:20 am. 3 more connections with one transfer are available for the same price during the rest of the day, with only a few more minutes travel time.

jngrant28

Hello all. I wanted to say thank you for all the help I have received along the way. Only one month left!! I can't wait.

Here is the current plan:
Tues 9/23 KC --> Paris
Wed 9/24 Arrive Paris
Mon 9/29 Train to Munich
Fri 10/3 Train to Prague
Wed 10/8 Prague --> KC

Our Paris itinerary includes the Louvre, Orsay, St Chappelle, Notre Dame, Ile St Louis, Latin Quarter, St Sulpice, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elyses, and a Seine boat ride.

Our Munich itinerary is scarce so far. Currently, it includes Oktoberfest and a beer museum! We are not sure if we will take a day to go to Dachau or not.

Our Prague itinerary includes a private tour of the New Town, the castle & surrounding area, the Jewish quarter sites and some crystal shopping and pivo!

As you can tell, I have not fully planned Munich or Prague.

We will be staying at the Grande Hotel des Balcons in Paris, Hotel Uhland in Munich and the Hotel Kampa Garden in Prague. Suggestions are welcome for restaurants and bars that are close by these hotels!

All that's left is a little last-minute planning & packing! Thanks again for all the help.

Jake1

Up to $200 for a budget hotel! I wish we had your budget.

Below $100 is budget for us, and we do always get a private bath--I think it would $75 for our son; he doesn't care about a private bath. But we do often stay in B&Bs and pensions as well as regular hotels.

It is all relative to your own experience and expectations.

jngrant28

Jake,
I was unable to find anything in Munich for that price during Oktoberfest. Could have used your help back in January when I planned the hotels for this trip! Maybe on our next European excursion I will remember to look to you for budget hotels / bed&breakfasts.

Thanks

Do you happen to have any tips on restaurants in Paris/Prague/Munich? Can you tell me a little about the Leibighof im Lehel that you suggested back in January?

PalenQ

There is also a Germany-France railpass that, if you want flexibility that full fare tickets offer, may save you money - take you to the Czech border from paris and it's dirt cheap from there on Czech trains.

jgg

We were at the Hotel Uhland in June. A great little Italian restaurant within walking distance is called La Fiorentina (Goethestrasse 41).

Otherwise, our favorite restaurant in Munich was Zum Alten Markt just behind the Viktualmarket (Dreifaltigkeitsplatz 3). This was our best meal in Munich and one of the top 3 of the trip. One word of warning, the street is not listed on most maps. I had the front desk at the hotel help us find it on a map and we probably looked at 3-4 different maps before she took me to this VERY large map they had hanging on the wall – then we finally found it. It is located in a very charming square right behind the Viktualmarket – when you see the Subway (sandwich store) you are headed to the right plaza – a good landmark, but really incongruous in this otherwise charming location. Make a reservation – it was packed when we were there.

In Prague there is a restaurant called Kampa Park that would be near your hotel. It is excellent, but IMHO a bit spendy unless going for a special occasion. Tri Soleti ((Misenska 4, Mala Strana) was an excellent Czech restaurant near your hotel, and had one of the nicest servers we had in the Cezch Republic.