We need recommendations for a good economical hotel that is very near a metro station - 2 minute walk or less - with elevator and parking available. An 81 year old with daughter and 12 yr old grandson. The older lady has somewhat limited endurance for walking and climbing. First trip to Paris and wants to see the basic sites via metro and the red double decker buses. Daughter has been to Paris quite a few times. They need a base of operation. Arriving from Belgium for 4 nights April 16th to 20th by car. Will also be going to Versailles. Don%26#39;t have enough knowledge to know what area of Paris might be most suitable to look at. Not interested in the night life etc., but will be going up the tower at night as well as a canal cruise on another! Any suggestions would be helpful!
|||
I think you need to plan on sticking to buses only- most of the metro stations I was in require that you climb stairs if I remember correctly and involve very long walks underground- sometimes lots of them. The hop on and off bus might be a better plan- or even the city buses.
|||
Thanks lulutoo! You are right about the stairs into the metro stations. We had not considered that! Is the bus system in Paris easy to understand and use?
|||
Since you are mainly interestied in the main sites, I suggest you just use the YELLOW AND GREEN hop on and off buses, they are called%26quot; L%26#39;Open Tour%26quot; buses, they have a web site( just google) .. They have more routes( 4, which cover most areas of tourist Paris) and stops then the red hop on and off bus . They will get you to all main sites, and you won%26#39;t have to worry about stairs( well since they are double decker there are steps to the top level, which has nice view seating) .They cost 25 eruos for one day and only 28 euros for the two day pass. Buy pass as you board.
As for your hotel , it is very difficult to give recommendations without your actual budget, cheap to me might be 100 euros, but to others it may be 200 euros,, so please post a price range.
Be aware that Versailles if done by train is the which is the cheapest, still has a fair amount of walking, perhaps a bus tour( which is not cheap) and then buy the pass for the shuttle that runs through the grounds.
|||
Go to: http://www.ratp.info/informer/anglais/ for information on the Paris transportation system. If you click on the %26quot;Plan Interactif%26quot; button, you can choose the buses, and then enter the address of your hotel. Then enter the address or name of where you want to go, and it will bring up an itinerary, with the walking times to the bus or metro closest, the routes to take, and the elapsed time, as well as how long to walk from the bus stop to your destination.
Takes a bit to get used to the system, but you can even print out maps of the routes, stops, and maps of each destination.
I%26#39;m 76, myself, and have a bit of a problem with steps, too. I found the buses the best option. Going again in October.
Have a great trip!
:-)
|||
Hi Kenny
If you search the forum (top right) for disabled or disability you will find a lot of posts discussing the topic.
These links might also help to some extent
access-able.com/tales/Paris-access-2003.html
access-able.com/tales/paris-suppliment.html
(not sure if this has already been provided)
www.ratp.info/informer/reseau_ferre.php
(ditto) http://www.infomobi.com/page5.php
|||
The bus is the way to go. I%26#39;ve found the interactive RATP site the most useful and we use it almost every day: www.ratp.info/orienter/cv/cartebus.php.
I also agree with previous posters on l%26#39;OpenTour buses for moving between the main attractions. If you can manage the steps to the upper deck, it%26#39;s one of the best ways to see the incredible architecture and beauty of this city, the opposite of taking the Metro...
The center of transportation in Paris is Chatelet and the next runner-up is Avenue de la Opéra. If you can find a hotel a short walk from those places, you%26#39;ll have the best bus access with the least amount of walking.
When you arrive in Paris, go to any %26quot;Presse%26quot; (boutique news stand), Virgin Megastore, FNAC store or almost any bookstore and buy a %26quot;Le petit parisien, 3 plans par arrondissement%26quot; map booklet published by mapmaker %26quot;L%26#39;Indispensable%26quot;. It%26#39;s the ultimate tool for navigating the bus, metro and streets of Paris. It%26#39;s basically 3 seperate maps of each of the 20 Paris arrondissements, one for streets (with index), one for Metro entrances, and one for the bus stops. It%26#39;s less than 8 € and it really is %26quot;indispensable%26quot;.
Hope this helps.
|||
The buses are the best way to go as others have said. As to hotels and areas try www.parisby.com That site will provide information by district and has pictures and hotel descriptions. Once you have a tentative selection, you can cross check on the Trip Advisor site. Since you are looking for a central hotel--Districts 1-8 and with an elevator and nearby parking, it is hard to know what economical means.
We love Relais du Louvre in the 1st but a triple is around 190 euros w/o breakfast and parking is 22 euros per night. Great location for buses and walking. Cador%26#39;s is on the corner for breakfast. www.relaisdulouvre.com
|||
We are researching madly all the advice. You have all been incredibly helpful. They are hoping for a hotel in the $100 to $200 Cdn a night if that is possible. I have seen some deals where you pay for 3 nights and the 4th is free, so that may be a possibility.
Another issue for my wife is driving. She is somewhat intimidated by the literal maze of streets in Paris. My experience with street signs in Paris has not been memorable. Any suggestions as to the advisability of car parks outside the core, then a train, bus or metro trip to a hotel in the city would be welcome. They will need to have a fairly secure place to park as they will bring only what is necessary into Paris. One suggestion has been to park at CDG in long term parking, and purchase one of the limo offers that take you from CDG to your hotel and back to CDG after your visit. Good idea??
Thanks very much for all your help out there.
|||
On the subject of cars, I recommend that you split your car rental plans into pre and post Paris. Paris is no place to drive or park a car if you have the option to avoid it. Parking on the street guarantees a damage claim and even a valet service will return a dented, scratched or otherwise damaged car. Unless you%26#39;re staying at four star hotel with exclusive parking, I%26#39;d arrange for a drop-off of your car on arrival in Paris and another car if you plan to drive after your stay. The car will without question be a ball and chain otherwise.
|||
CanadaKenny, well as a fellow Canadain I have to say , the budget will most likely be closer to 200 hundred dollars a night, not 100. Sorry, you are booking a triple, and you will find that you cannot book at some of the cheapest hotels as they do NOT have elevators, not cool for grandma at all.
PLUS our 100 dollars in how many euros?? ?Not enough thats how much! LOL
As for driving in Paris, well I agree it is best avoided, my own father would park just inside the ring road, and we would metro in and about Paris, and my father grew up in Paris.
Fatal/ serious accidents are most likely not the concern, but fender benders and fighting with the rental companies re damages would be more my concern.
No comments:
Post a Comment