A month in France…what to do?? Paris suggestions?

Wildstrawberries,
What do you teach? There is obviously so much history, Art, … in France everywhere you go. You will also have the upcoming Tour de France in July which right now is shaping up to be one of the greatest Tours ever. From what I have always heard France basically shuts down for the Tour. It is like the SuperBowl and Word Series all rolled into one.
My wife and I will be going to France for two weeks at the end of July. You mentioned some International ID card. I am a Teacher as well, where do I get one of these cards and does anyone out there know if this card is of any benefit? SalB would possible know.

Enjoy your time in France!

Jack

Jack,

I teach french, actually. I am in France taking an art history course, so I will see plenty of it. The teacher ID card I purchased at the following site: http://www.statravel.com

There’s a link to ID Cards, and the dropdown will give you a link to the teacher ID card.

Where will you be in France?

-wildstrawberrie

wildstrawberrie: Rail travel is super in France although not as convenient as driving. Renting a car can be expensive. Check out raileurope.com BEFORE leaving for France. They have a number of packages available. Make sure you see Lyon, Beaunne, Dijon, and the Haute Savoie. And much much more. I don’t think there is a bad part of France – although not too many people talk much of the northeast. Donerail

I’ve been on RailEurope.com and it has been very easy to use and very helpful… I’m visiting a friend in Germany on one of my weekends. I want to see Lyon, but can’t find a hostel/budget hotel that I can afford– the cheapest I’ve found are around $50 per night, which is fine, except that I want to see as much as I can, and $50 a night is too much if I want to do more traveling. Thanks for your input though, I do really appreciate it.

Merci beaucoup!!
-wildstrawberrie

hi I’m a music proff. The international teacher card is very useful. You can go to the Louvre FREE with this card. Most museums will give you a reduced price with this card. I alwaus go to France for at least 6 weeks during my summer vacation, however, I’m not going this summer. If you want, you can ask me questions and I’ll try my best to answer everything.

I usually take the train while in France. I go to the train station a day or 2 in advance and purchase a ticket 2nd class. You can reserve a seat in advance on a specific train but you’ll pay a few dollars extra. It’s worth it, if the train ride is a long one. Without the seat reservation, you’ll have to find an unreserved seat (first come first taken) or stand for your trip.

If you go to Beaune, don’t forget to stock up on mustards and wines! I’ve been to Beaune (I also spent 5 hours in the hospital there being poked and prodded by doctors) and it’s a beautiful city! The countryside around Beaune is wonderful!

sorry donerail, I had said I have hundreds of pix I haven’t put online yet

At least I feel better about this Teacher Card. I do have many museums in Paris that I plan to visit, and the fewer I have to pay for, the better. Although I know they’re worth it, I’m sure I could find many more things to spend my money on. And frankly, everyone knows how much teachers make these days, so you can imagine what I can really afford! Thanks heaps to all of you that have given me input so far! I really appreciate it.

wildstrawberrie, Accomodations do exist under $50 but you really have to search. Have you tried the France.com Hotel search button. If not, click on the blue and red France.com above and then click on hotels. You can search by area or by price. If you do the area search, the selections will have a price but if you then click on the hotel, the prices are more accurate.

Another good site for low priced hotels is the Logis de France chain. They are very nice, have good restaurants and come in all price ranges. Their web site (in English) is http://www.logis-de-france.fr/uk/

You can search by town, region or amenities. There aren’t any review but there are photos.

We’ve used both France.com and Logis de France for booking online and they have both been excellent. You might also check the Lonely Planet web site (Thorn Tree forum) since they cater to the backpacking crowd.

Good luck in your search. BTW, I hope you’ve been to the Cluny Museum (Musée de Moyen Age) in Paris. It’s a favorite and I’m sure you would enjoy it. They also have a lovely garden that locals use for picnics. It’s fun to sit and eat and watch the natives!

Hello~people~
I am planing a trip to Paris for a month, and recently I checked lotS of studios in Paris that has reasonable prices on month rantal, and my budget it’s about 4000 Canadian dollars, which includes flight, foods,metro fare, well, basicly everthing, but i’ve heard people saying that 4ooo canadian dollars are not even close enough for a month, but to be frank, I don’t really believe what she’s telling me, so can anyone give me any suggestions? like how much it’ll cost living in paris for a month? thanks~just an aprox will be fine~ thanks again

SalB

Hi. I just checked and $4000 Canadian is worth only 2754.35 euros today. It takes $1.45 CA to purchase 1 euro. http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi 

If you are paying for your flight, you are going to be squeezed to stay a month unless you can stay with friends. Explore Youth Hostels (by clicking Hostels in the blue side panel on your left here). Plan on buying local food in markets or supermarkets to save on meals. You can get a one-month Metro pass and that should save on transportation. You'll have to figure your own food, but you can go to a web site to get prices on Metro Passes. See below.

 http://www.ratp.fr/

 It will be tight and it depends on how much you can live without to spend a month in Paris but you may be able to do it. Just don't plan on eating in fancy restaurants. If you are a student, take your student card for museum discounts. (This only works for students under age 26.) If you are a teacher, take your faculty ID to get into many museums free. When you get there, check on free days in various attractions. Plan on lots of long walks and you can view art for free in churches and commercial galleries.