Great 'MoneySaving city guides, part 1: Paris' Hunt

ewenny

Never used formule 1 but have used better premiere classse, etap, balladins, & similar motorway-type hotels many times in france . Strongly recommend them. Plenty in paris all convenient to metro

thevilraggydoll

carefulcath wrote: »

Also which is the best guide book to buy/ Any recommendations?

I recommend DK Eyewitness' Top 10 guide. It is perfect for a short break as it has lots of snippets of information and pictures to help you make informed decisions about what you want to see and do. It is also a good size for putting in a handbag.

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/DK-Eyewitness-Top-10-Travel-Guide-Paris-Mike-Gerrard/9781405358491

Breakfast Save money on breakfast by researching the nearest baker to your hotel (Parisians buy fresh bread daily so there will be one) and buy pastries to eat on the go or when you get to your first destination. Delicious and less expensive than a sit down brekkie.

Dinner Either research before you go or have a look around during the day for a good restaurant. There are alot of overpriced or lesser quality places to eat, especially along the Champs Elysees. Look out for where the locals are eating. The best thing about France is bread and cheese is a cheap dinner but is often the tastiest thing on the menu.

newtothemoneytips

Thanks to everyone for the tips that make my visit now cheaper!

In terms of hotels & places to stay, Ive used the following two and found them okay:

Residence du palais - more like a hostel, shared toilet but shower in the room. Its on the far side of the Jardine du luxembourg, but its a nice walk on a sunny day. We had a balcony and we sat and watched the eiffel tower sparkle with our cheap wine from the supermarket! 78 euro for this stay, and was a late booking.

Hotel Europe Saint Severin - right in the latin quarter so not great for those light sleepers but fine for me - got this double at under 99 euro

Guides: I get lonely planet magazine who do regular reviews on Paris, and I have their Paris encounter book - but if you have time to wander its really worth it to do so - get lost in the city and see its sights. Lonely planet often do a budget/average/luxury plan for the trip also. Gallerie Lafayette produce a free map with all the tourist stuff on in pictures which helps to plan the day if you select an area and work from there - you can get the maps in most places, with a woman with an eiffel tower on her head.

Kids: If you want to take kids to Paris you can do euro disney and parc asterix with tesco clubcard rewards, some of the museums are very big and my kids would like them but not all would. I havent been in the museum near Canal St Martin - Centre Pompediou - is this worth a visit or good for kids anyone?

Jardin du Luxumbourg is very nice on a Sunday with donkey rides and games for kids, but i think you would have to have a child who is happy to see things and learn, I dont know a lot about Paris for kids, sorry.

Travel: Can you get the navigo card online in advance (the photocard that is?)

Although Paris visite isnt the cheapest option, it can also take you out to Versailles on the train, I havent been so I cant comment on whether its worth the journey out!

Actually getting to Paris.....anyone living in reach of Liverpool airport and travelling Manchester to Paris CDG.....save on the flight cost, by going to Liverpool John Lennon to CDG - lowest price ive seen with Easyjet is £25 inc taxes, which wont happen at Manchester (Im booking for next March, now). There is also a bus from Manchester and Salford to Liverpool for £5ish return (it was last time anyway) so saves on airport parking

I love Franprix! forgot all about it!

:T

newtothemoneytips

Mr_Forgetful wrote: »

Are there any other crackers we should aim for?

What do you like doing as there is plenty to suggest!

The Louvre is worth a visit if you like museums, just because of the sheer amount of artefacts and art they have. I went to Egypt two years ago and an Egyptologist was sharing his disgruntled view that the Louvre had more Egyptian artefacts than Egypt! Its also not a bad price, or go for free if you are there are the free times.

I quite liked the catacombs but they are not for everyone - start having philosophical thoughts next to incredibly ordered displays of human bones....

Jemima62

If you want a bit more than a hostel but don't want an expensive hotel, think about renting a studio apartment. You can get decent ones for around 75 euros a night which, if there are 3 or 4 of you can work out really cheap. There's usually a double bed and double sofa bed in the ones we've been in.

I would endorse the recommendations for buying a carnet of 10 metro tickets. You can share them between your group and as far as I know they don't expire. I always make sure I have a couple left over when we come home so that when we arrive on our next trip we can get straight on the metro without having to stop and buy tickets when we're hauling luggage around.

To get into central Paris from CDG takethe Roissybus. It's about 9 euros and the journey is approx 45 mins depending on the time of day and traffic. If you're sharp eyed you can get a glimpse of Sacre Coeur on the hill as you come into the city. The bus drops you right next to the Opera Garnier where you can hop on the metro.

Entirely agree that walking is the best way to see the city but if you want to do a bus tour there's a relatively new one called Foxity (am I allowed to give the name?) It's not a hop-on-hop-off - therefore cheaper - but the tour lasts 90 mins and goes round all the main parts of the city. It starts from the Place de la Madeleine and you can't miss the orange buses.

If you want to go to a restaurant but need to keep it on a budget try Chartier on the Rue du Faubourg Montmartre. You won't get a gastronomic experience - it's a turn of the century 'canteen' type restaurant and the food is basic but perfectly decent. It's a huge and bustling place and there's always a queue but it tends to move quite fast (unless you're a large party determined to sit together - you'll have to wait!) It's always an interesting mix of tourists and locals and if there are two of you, you will be sharing a table with another couple. It's the atmosphere that takes us back time and again - as well as the prices. Our average bill for a two course meal for two with a bottle of house wine and some cheese to finish is about 45 euros. It's a fast turnaround place so you won't be encouraged to hang around after your bill has been totted up on the paper tablecloth and paid.

The Musee d'Orsay is open until 9.45pm on Thursdays when,if you go after 6pm, you will get a reduced price ticket for 7.50 euros. It's hit and miss whether there will still be a large queue for tickets, we've done this twice - first time we walked straight in, last time we waited about an hour in line and only just got to see the galleries we wanted to see before they started clearing the museum (a bit earlier than the 9.15 stated on the website).

There are sandwich shops and food markets galore and one of the most delightful things to do on a fair day (it doesn't need to be particulary sunny!) is to get some picnic goodies and go sit in one of the beautiful parks - or on the river quais - to eat your lunch and watch the world go by. If you're going to take a bottle of wine take care - I read in a recent newsletter that drinking alcohol in many public places is now not allowed between 4pm and 6am. I was unsure if it was allowed anyway (after seeing park guardians in the Jardin du Luxembourg challenge some young people with cans of beer) so we have always been fairly discreet about it.

I'm not sure how the price of Eiffel Tower tickets compares with the Tour Montparnasse but I'l take the Montparnasse every time. No queues or crowds therefore much less chance of pickpockets and the view from the roof is simply stunning (I think it's the 59th floor).

butterfly72

We went to Pere Lachaise cemetry for a wonder. It was really intruiging and nice for a bit of peace and quiet! You can buy little guides to whos buried where, but we just took a piccy of the info board with our phones and used that to get around. oh and it was free to visit.

Imp65

We needed a family or triple room which are rare and expensive in Paris but found Hotel Victor Masse and booked it via Hotel.com through the Top Cashback website. There was a 10% off code available so used that and got the cashback as well. The hotel proved to be very good, a large room which is unusual in Paris and recently refurbished. Breakfast wasn’t included in our booking but the hotel offered it to us at half the advertised rate.
Also booked the Travelodge (in London), Eurostar, Disneyland Paris and the travel insurance via Top Cashback.
There was a supermarket just round the corner which we bought sandwiches etc from to have for lunch, much cheaper than buying near tourist sites.
Buy a Carnet (10 tickets) for the Metro rather than individual ones.
Be prepared for long queues at all the major sites. While queuing for the Eiffel Tower we noticed that there was a short queue for people with prepaid tickets. Since returning home I have found that tickets can be bought in advance on the internet which will save you an hour or two in the queue.
Followed Moneysaving Experts advice and used a cashback credit card to pay for the things I booked while in the UK and then used the Halifax Clarity card for spending while in France.
Even having done all this we still ended up spending a shed load of money.

tenuissent

We were all disappointed in Pompidou (four culture vulture adults and a fourteen yr old boy), and ESPECIALLY do not eat there just above the ground floor! Tiny overpriced and tasteless sandwiches have to be seen to be believed. Plenty of little places outside to grab a cheap lunch. In my opinion, the best thing about Pompidou is the large area in front, full of entertainers.

Imp65

Forgot to say if you are going to Disneyland paris by Eurostar check the prices for going direct and for a normal eurosatar to Paris.
We save hundreds of pounds by going to Paris and taking a local train out to Disney instead of taking the direct train.
It is easy to use the underground to change stations in Paris. I found full instructions of what platforms and ticket machines to use (which have an English language option so not speaking the lingo doesn't matter) on the internet. Trains run to Disney every 15 minutes or so.

Labman20

Don't buy the book of 10 Metro tickets on the EuroStar, they'll charge 14Euros when you can get them for 12Euros at GdN, or any metro station.

Also consider if you will actually use the Mobilis tickets, mentioned here in a previous post. At 6.30Euros per person its more expensive than 2 single tickets at 3.40Euros (1.70 each). Assuming you just go from your hotel to the centre and then back again in the evening which we did a Mobilis (travelcard) is not worth it.

TOP TIP, book your trip to coincide with the first Sunday of any month. All the museums are free entry on these days, although they may still charge for specific exhibitions.