Travelling To Paris - I Have Some Questions!!!

Quincifer

Me and my boyfriend were planning on going to Paris for a few days for our anniversary in february and I have a few questions because I've never booked a holiday before!

1) Do I need a passport to get to and from Paris? Mine needs renewing at some point so I need to know if I need it for this trip

2) Whats the best way to get there? Fly? Eurotunnel? (going from lancashire, cannot drive, cheap but not too slow please!)

3) Any recommendations of where to stay? We'd like to do some sight-seeing and shopping but nothing too expensive!

4) Whens the best time to book? I know the earlier the better really but is it worth waiting for January sales?

Any help from anyone is much appreciated!!!

xxx

TimothyEBaldwin

You need a passport (or EU/Swiss national ID card).

Train (changing in London) is likely to be chaeper and not much slower than flying once recommended check-in times and travel to/from airports is included. For example Preston to Paris return is £90 by train (cheapest advance purchase), the air fare from Manchester Airport to Paris CDG Airport has to less than £62 to be cheaper. As for Liverpool airport, the flights are poorly timed, either you lose a day in Paris or there is a lack of public transport to/from Liverpool Airport.

See Eurostar's website for fares from stations served by Virgin Trains (and GNER), and SNCB's website for train times, which may not have alterations for engineering works.

Walking is the quickest way between Euston and St Pancras station, and not much further to walk than taking the tube; enter St Pancras via the Underground station.

PeteMc

A quick reply ;

1. You need a valid passport that covers the entire length of your stay.
2. From Lancashire, I'd advise flying. EasyJet from Liverpool, Jet2.com, Air France and FlyBe from Manchester.
3. I live here so difficult to advise. There's plenty of threads with Paris hotels in them on this board.
4. For flying, the earlier the better.

Paris on the whole is expensive, particularly with the current exchange rate. Tourist areas can be outright rip off's in some restaurants and cafe's.

lobster123

I recently stayed at an Etap hotel in Porte d'orleans. Very cheap and clean. I think I paid around 58 euros per night for 2 people which included a buffet breakfast. You can purchase a day metro ticket for approx. 6 euros and this offers unlimited travel around the city with buses included.

This particular hotel was on the metro line and the walk to the metro from the hotel was only around 5 minutes. Last stop on Line 4 and it took approx. 15 minutes or so to get into the centre of the city. A taxi home late at night would be around 10 euros.

Enjoy your trip.

pmcgurk

If you are travelling in February and will not have a valid passport, apply now! More stringent checks on photographs and the issue of new e-passports (they look the same, but have a computer chip embedded) can push out processing times. It's easy now to apply/renew - do it (mostly) online at http://www.ips.gov.uk/passport/apply.asp

Also, make sure you pay careful note to the following:

- travel tickets must be booked in exactly the same name as the passport - is your boyfriend Dave, for example, but his passport says "David"?

- your passport must be in good physical condition - if the photo page in particular is worn, or the backing has started to come away, then it might not be accepted for travel - and neither will you!

LuciferTDark

Have you had all your inoculations?
Seriously though when was the last time you had a tetanus booster?
Travel insurance? getting some?

kaaloo

Ive stayed at

http://www.hotelformule1.com/formule1/index.html

Not the best hotels but was around £35/£40 for 2 people in paris and the breakfast was awesome!

Quincifer

Thanks for all your help guys!
It seems that after looking into it all and talking to a travel agent it'll actually be cheaper for us to go to Athens (which was our second choice).
However we will probably be flying from London so the train vs plane to get to London is still an issue I'm looking into.
And yes we have already bought the travel insurance!

Thanks all
x

pmcgurk

Q: If travelling down to London from Lancs, consider also National Express coach (www.nationalexpress.com) as they may have a direct service to the airport you're flying from - slower than the train for sure, but also MUCH cheaper. If it's Athens, then I presume it's Easyjet from Luton or Gatwick - Luton will be way easier for you to get to and is also in my view less of a zoo to travel from.