1st Trip to Paris in 6 days - Advice required

Leigh-Anne_60

Hiya

Im off to Paris next week (Fri-Sun) to celebrate my 35th birthday :beer: Its my 1st trip & usually would have spent hours getting genned up on all the ins & outs, but with xmas & NY etc just havent had the time & just geting into it now

This trip needs to be in true MSE style & with our flights & hotel booked using airmiles we have started well :j However coming to the realisation that MSE & Paris are not easily associated

Have read though a few previous threads & picked up some really good info, but still have a few Q's tha hopefully someone out there can answer

1/ Was hoping to buy a 3 day Paris Visite card, Can i buy this on arrival at CDG & if so where?

2/What is the best way to get from CDG into Central Paris (specifically Metro Station Dupleix in the 15th District) and can i use the Paris visite card for this?

3/Have read about the museum card - Is this worth getting? Probably looking to do the Louvre, Notre Dame & maybe D'Orsay. Dont think i could fit any more in?

4/ Boat trips - Are these worth doing? Any specific tour recommendations?

Think thats all for specific Qs for now - However any other hints & tips would be gratefully recd

TIA

LA

BillTrac

You can get the Air France coach/bus from CDG into Paris.

You can eat quite cheaply in Paris if you look for the tourist menus, especially around the latin quarter near Notre Dame, or in Montmatre. Two and three courses are the norm

Be careful as even though beer is very, very cheap in the hyper/super markets it is quite expensive in the restaurants. If you go into a bar you pay more for being served, sitting down etc. Standing at the bar is cheapest but still quite expensive.

For getting around the Metro is best and easiest. Buy a carnet of tickets which cover travel by Metro/bus/venicular. Do not buy them this side of the channel as the price is not the best.

But above all, enjoy. Paris is a fantastic city just to walk around and explore.

Techno

Hi
Look here for our first trip to gay paree. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/26311355#Comment_26311355 We bough the navigo decouverte at the airport which covered all of the metros and buses and a 2 day museum pass and squeezed everything in

[Deleted User]

Wrap up warmly. Every time we have been to Paris in winter it has been freezing. We tend to walk around a lot, but you need hat, gloves, scarves the whole lot. Even my husband who will go out most days in just a t-shirt had a hat and coat on and was a bit chilly!

PompeyPete

Couple of great places to visit are the Catacombs, and the Paris Sewers, both on the Left Bank.
St Germain-en-Laye, at the end of RER Line-A is a lovely suburban town with a lot of history.
Versailles is also easy to get to, and has a brilliant Sunday market.

pandora205

When doing a short visit to a new city I usually buy the Dorling Kindersley Top 10 book, as it gives brief but informative advice, prices, maps, walks and lots of useful tips. These are great if you don't have time to read up or spend lots of time in a city.

There is one for Paris too.

KonkyWonky

Buy wine, spirits, beer (whatever is your tipple of choice) in a supermarket/off licence for your room so you can have a couple before going out for dinner.

Alchohol is very expensive in bars/bistros, expect to pay in the region of 18 Euro for a bottle of wine, 7 Euro for a beer and slightly more for a spirit with mixer.

Lady_S

Leigh-Anne_60 wrote: »

1/ Was hoping to buy a 3 day Paris Visite card, Can i buy this on arrival at CDG & if so where?

You can get one of these from the rail station at Charles De Gaulle airport. I used this website to get my bearings so to speak. It gives you a picture journey of how to get to the train station, and how to get the train to the centre of Paris.

We did this and it was super easy, although we only had to stay on the same line. I found the Metro quite easy to use, and you can use your Paris Viste tickets as soon as you have purchased them.

http://parisbytrain.com/paris-airport-terminal-2-train-photo-tour/

DCFC79

Keep an eye on your hand bag etc as these can get picked so either dont take 1 or wear clothing that has pockets on the inside,

maybe a nightstick would be a good idea (just joking)

Mrs_Money

Lucky you - one of my favourite places!
River boat trip - good idea you can see lots of sights (and be told what they are) in a short time.
Louvre - I'm betting you wont have time - its massive! We chose the Musee D'orsay - thought about 3 hours - then had to reassess and decide to do only the Impressionists - 4 hours and very sore feet later we collapsed with an ice cream in the cafe!
Eiffel tower - good, expensive couple of hours queueing - what's quicker is to go up the Tour Montparnasse - huge modern tower, bit higher than the Eiffel I think - high speed lift takes you to the top - not much queueing- cost about 3 or 4 euros (3-4years ago) much cheaper than Eiffel tower. Try to go just before sunset - Paris turns pink (on a nice day of course) as the sun sets on all the buildings. There is a 360 degree viewing room with a small cafe at the top and you can go outside on the very top - scary and windy!

Watch the lights come on on the Eiffel tower (if they still do that) from the steps of Montmatre at sunset, after you've spent all afternoon looking at the painters in the square!
Then finish up with a meal at the Refuge des fondues where you can have cheese or meat fondue, friendly service and drink wine out of babies' bottles - I found it a very quick way to get trollied!:rotfl:Get there early - 6.30 ish otherwise you queue to get in! Cheap but not exactly Cordon Bleue!
Vist Les Galleries Lafayette, very pretty department store - great stained glass dome to look up at - don't buy anything - toooooooo expensive, but you can go out on the roof - great views of L'Opera and Paris in general.
Have a good time!

mmmsnow

I spent 5 days in Paris in January a couple of years ago. Weather was bright and sunny but a little chilly.

We did the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, the Seine cruise, Eiffel tower, Napoleon's tomb (which is very impressive), went up the Arc de Triomphe (great views!) and went to the Sacre Coeur.

We took the underground and the walked most places. It was very easy to get around. I would recommend buying 10 metro tickets at a time (there's an option when using the self-service machines) as it works out cheaper and means less hassle if you are hoping on and off the metro like we were.

I would also recommend, if you have time, a trip to the Pere Lachaise cemetery. It's right next to a Metro station and is great for a wander. Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Champollion (the man who first translated hieroglyphics) and Jim Morrison are buried there. Oscar Wilde's grave is pretty unmissable but we had to hunt high and low for Jim Morrison's.