Short tours in Paris???

Michaeld: My suggestion would be for you to pick up a three day Metro Pass and a three day Museum Pass. It would be about a $50 – $60 investment that would give you three full days of the key Paris sites. And you won’t have to wait in line. No matter what interests you most, you will find it in Paris. Bon voyage. Donerail

The museum and Metro pass are excellent suggestions. There is also a hop on hop off bus tour that takes in all the major sites. On the Seine there is a Bat-O-Bus that also stops at major tourist sites along the river and you can do single ticket or get a day pass. Both would be fun.

Ask for advice at your hotel too. They are usually very good about suggestions of things to do. If you prefer a guided tour, I’m sure the hotel concierge would be able to direct you to someone. (If you’re in a budget hotel without a concierge, simply ask the desk clerk. They’re great.)

Have a good trip.

Thank you very much both Donerail and SalB for your informative replies.

In my investigations about ‘a package’ I should have been more specific in asking:

a.) Is it best to source accommodation separately to these transport and museum passes? or
b.) Are there total packages that have accommodation and sight-seeing packages that are cheaper than buying them both separately? and
c.) What web sites have you searched for the most economical or best value hotels in Paris with a two star rating?

Much appreciated for your assistance and advice.

Regards… Michael
16th Feb 2005

Hi, Michael. The information is very helpful. We’ve found that purchasing accomodations and tickets separately saves money. However, we don’t use organized tours so that may account for it.

As far as finding hotels in Paris, you are in the right place. My husband and I have used France.com for years. Just click on the blue and red France.com at the top of this page. There is a hotel search engine on the home page and you can search by district or by price. There are photos of the hotels and the rooms and best of all, there are reviews of the hotels by people who have really stayed there! We always use this site for Paris and have never been disappointed.

We discovered on our last trip that the flight search is also excellent. There is a button on the right side of your home page screen that is marked "Flights" or "Airlines" or something like that. You can do a search and choose the flight that most appeals to you. The only problem I’ve run into is that you don’t always know what airline it is until you’ve bought your ticket. We solved that by checking all the airline schedules and that gave us a pretty good idea what Franc.com’s "major French airline" might be. (Many of the flights do give the airline so that is not a problem.) We’ve only used the flight section of France.com once, but were very happy with it.

There are lots of search engines for hotel rooms, but France.com is the best I’ve found as far as letting you choose your price, your location and know what you are getting.

BTW, if you are looking for a reasonable 2-star, I would recommend Hotel de la Sorbonne. It’s about 80 euros for a double and is in the Latin Quarter right across from the Sorbonne University and easy walking distance to the Louvre, the d’Orsay, the Cluny, Notre Dame and three Metro stations. It’s also only a two block walk from the RER from the airport. The rooms are small but clean and the photos are representative on France.com

Good luck.

Michael, One further note . . . Many package tours put you in hotels that are pretty far from the center of things. I know the Metro is handy and you can get all over Paris easily, but it does take time and is more fun to be right in the center of things.

Package tours won’t have discounts on Metro passes or museum passes as these are fixed price. The only thing a tour will do is save you the trouble of doing it yourself and if this is important to you, it would be worth the extra cost. We find Paris is very compact and different sights easily gotten to, so we’ve never felt the need for a guide.

I hope this is of some help to you.

Hi SalB

Thank you very much for your sound and practical advice. I really appreciate your effort in your reply.

I’ll jump onto the hotels section of this web site as I have found France.com to be very good to date, it’s just that there are so many choices it’s a little daunting, and to me they are just names. Having not been to Paris to know the good and safe places to go it’s great to be able to call on your wonderful experience for we once in a life time travellers.

Thank you again.

Regards… Michael

Michael, Once you’ve seen Paris, I’m betting that you will return soon. I actually didn’t want to go the first time because I’m not fond of cities. It only took a few days and I was hooked. We try to go at least once a year.

Whatever you do, I hope you enjoy your trip.

The choice of hotels is daunting but you can sort them by area or by price. Then check out the pictures. That really narrows things quickly. We like the friendliness of the Latin Quarter and our second choice is the slightly more upscale St. Germain Quarter next to it. Many people prefer the area near the Eiffel Tower. It’s a matter of taste. It’s a good excuse to make a few trips to Paris to see what you prefer.

Check the following web site to see photos of the hotel and area. You plug in the hotel address and a photo of the street appears. You can then click on right and left arrows or reverse arrows to see what is up and down the street and what is across the street. You can follow a street to see where it goes and what the area is like. It gives you an idea of the atmostphere of the area. Here it is: http://photos.pagesjaunes.fr/

Michael: I will have to cast my vote with SalB with regard to the Latin Quarter (5er). It is home to some amazing historic places and museums. Notre Dame, St.Severin, Cluny as well as an endless assortment of restaurants, cafes, and bistros. It is very safe as well. The are also the Conceirgerie and Ste. Chappelle close by. The Hotel that we stay at is the Hotel Colbert and it is four star wonderful – but not cheap. But we only stay there once a year. And SalB is correct (again) when she says that you will return. Donerail

Hi SalB and Donerail,

Thanks so much for your valued wisdom and experience. I had the Conceirgerie and Ste. Chappelle high on my ‘must see’ list, and I like the fact that you say it is a ‘safe’ area as well.

Thanks again. …MichaelD

Michael, I don’t know where you live, but Paris is pretty safe in all the tourist areas. I am much more comfortable there than in LA.

The first time we went we heard horror stories about pickpockets in the Metro ad nauseum. It’s just never been a problem. There is grafitti that looks bad but it seems to be universal now. We’ve ended up in some pretty shady areas by accident (I’m not great at giving directions!) and never had a problem. Common sense will take care of most of it. Don’t flash large amounts of cash; hold on to your things; keep a low profile; you know, the usual advice to anyone going anywhere.

Paris, I’m sure has its problems, but generally it’s a very safe city. Safety would not be a concern for me. I would even go alone and be comfortable . . . albeit lonely!

Metro Passes and Museum passes…

Is there a place on the web where I can purchase this in advance ?

I am planning to be in Paris first week of May this year. Just for 3 days… but would like to ride the metro to wherever we go. Since I dont speak a word of French I hope to buy all tickets / passes in advance so I can save my vocabulary for art and food!

There is, but you really don’t need to. Just go to the window in any Metro and ask for a museum pass and a Metro pass. They will know what you are asking and more than likely they will speak English

We usually get a carnet (ask for a carnet) of 10 Metro tickets and don’t bother with the passes. The museum pass is the museum pass and they may ask you how many days but generally there won’t be much conversation. If nothing else, hold up three fingers when you ask for the museum pass and they will give you a pass for three days.

We always go in and ask in French and they always reply in English so I really don’t think you’ll have a problem.

If you are really worried, go to http://www.ratp.fr and click on the tiny British flag to get the site in English. You can get the Paris Viste pass and the Museum pass both there.

alex15

Hi Michael, Why dont you try this site for historical tour for Paris? Paris- is also a great place for relaxing. Do a search on this – you will find loads of info about it! http://www.viamigo.com/place/3037/paris