All my Paris Questions

Hi everyone,

My husband and I will be touring Europe for the first time. Paris is our first stop! We will arrive on May 23 at 0800 at CDG. First I would like to know how to get to the hotel Champ de Mars by bus, or metro. We are young and on a budget so we have no money for shuttel or taxi rides that are 50-70 euros.

I don%26#39;t have a detailed iterneray, but these are some things that we want to see: orsay, sainte-chapelle, eiffel tower, notre-dame cathedral, maybe a morning or afternoon seeing versailles. What do you think? Am I missing anything, or trying to do too much? I think we are going to purchase the museum pass.

Thanks in advance for directions and input!

Jenn

|||

To make a museum pass worth while financially you have to see more than one museum each day. Practical aspect is that you do not have to wait in line to purchase tickets but you still have to wait to go through security.

Your program sounds very basic. How many days are you staying?

|||

We are staying three full days.

I was on the site for CDG, I was thinking about taking the Roissy bus, then walking to my hotel - do you think this will work? Thanks!

|||

Hi Jenn, yup, we definately need a timeline here!!

Is this in two days , four days, a week ??

Museum pass does not sound worth it, there are other ways of avoiding most long lines( going first thing in the morning, or using lesser known entrances for things).

I personally do recommend Versailles, take the train out there for 5 euros, easy and cheap. Take a picnic as the food at Versailles is overpriced for budget minded. It is a great day trip.

Sorry , no idea about how to get to your hotel, I am a taxi it or walk it person!

|||

We will be leaving the Champ Du Mars the night before you arrive. We will probably pass in the air some where over the Atlantic!

I hope you like the hotel. We stayed there once before and are staying there again in May for 11 nights. It is nice and quite, with a grocery and pharmacy practically next door. There are places to eat close by and the metro is only a short walk.

We took a taxi so I am not much help on the transportation.

|||

Hi Jen:

My husband and I are also arriving in Paris on May 23rd for a trip for my 30th birthday. We will actually be staying for 6 days so our itinerary has quite a bit more and according to a lot of people on this site, it is very abitious. My suggestions would be to get a good guide book (Rick Steves, Frommer%26#39;s, etc.) and take a look at what interests you. Since you will only have a couple of days I don%26#39;t want to bog you down with a big list. In these guide books it will give you the hours of operations and cost of each site (this can help you determine if the Museum Pass is a good deal).

Also, we have a day trip planned to Versailles and I am thinking about making it an optional trip (depending on how much we have been able to accomplish at that point) because it will eat up almost a whole day. That being said, if this is a major point of interest for you and your husband then certainly make a point of going. You can purchase a Forfait Loisirs for 19€ that include round trip train fare and your entrance to all sites at Versailles. This is a huge saving from taking a tour for 60-90€.

|||

Thanks for all your input! My husband and I have read a few guide books, fodors, rick steves, eye wittness guides. I don%26#39;t want to try to fit everything in, but I want to see as much of paris as possible. Maybe we will try to see some more museums to make the pass worthwhile, or maybe we just will skip getting the museum pass.

Is the metro, and bus system easy to figure out? I have been looking at maps of the metro, and trying to figure out how to get to places using mappy.com, but I guess I won%26#39;t know until I get to Paris!

|||

You%26#39;ll have no problem with the metro. I just taught a teenager how to do it. She thought it was great fun. The hotel you%26#39;re staying in was right in our neighborhood. I looked in on it and it looks terrific! And it gets great reviews here on TA. The %26#39;hood is great too. Great patisserie on rue Cler VERY close. Ask away...we%26#39;re happy to answer any questions.

|||

Yes, the Paris metro is very easy to figure out...my 14 year old was excellent at figuring out the lines/stops after just a few days (and she doesn%26#39;t speak any French!) We were just in NYC this past weekend and I do have to say that I find the NY subway system initially more intimidating than Paris...all those letters and numbers and colors!!...and you have to make sure that you enter from the correct side of the street! Of course I was just probably missing being in Paris :)

|||

If you are travelling on a budget I would recommend the Lonely Planet series of guide books (they are always my first choice). They are geared towards people travelling on a budget and updated frequently - you can find further updates on the Lonely Planet%26#39;s website.

|||

Actually, sistereurope, I find the Paris metro infinitely easier than Boston, London or NYC systems. I%26#39;m sure two such great minds as ours can%26#39;t be wrong:)