My wife and I, along with my brother and his wife will be in Paris July 25 in the afternoon and all day July 26.
We have never been to France and do not speak French. We are staying at a Marriot hotel in the city and will not have a car.
Is it feasible to get around without a car. Any MUST SEES ...keeping in mind we only have a day and a half.
What about restaurants, etc???? Can we get around via train and walking or what?
What about a tour????
Thanks for your help in advance!
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Which Marriott? that will help us advise you on transportation from that hotel. You absolutely do not want a car, so you%26#39;re good there.
You can take an %26#39;overview%26#39; bus tour if you like, or buy tickets for the %26#39;hop on/off%26#39; bus company.
http://en.parisvision.com/
http://www.pariscityrama.com/
http://paris-opentour.com/
There are 100%26#39;s of good restaurants, so if we know which Marriott we could place some near to the hotel. You don%26#39;t have to limit yourselves to an area, though.
p.s. deeeeeeep breath, there that%26#39;s better.
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Please read for awhile on this site and you will get all of your questions answered.
You definitely do not want to have a car in Paris--that would be a nightmare for you. People get around Paris mostly by walking, Metro or bus (occasionally RER train which you get at the Metro stations).
You must be kidding--you are going to Paris and you ask if there are any MUST SEES? Please either get a guide book for Paris or read on this site and you will see the same famous sites mentioned over and over again. Then, because you have almost no time in Paris, you can pick what you want to do in your l.5 days.
Perhaps you can do the on and off bus to see the layout of Paris. Or you can take a boat ride on the Seine to see the layout of Paris. You could hire some company to drive you around Paris to see the layout of the land. Or you could just walk around Notre Dame, St. Chapelle, Ile St. Louis area, then walk past the Louvre, tuilleries gardens to the Place de la Concorde, down the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe (go up and see the magnificent view of Paris and the Eiffel Tower). If you want to climb the Eiffel Tower I suggest that you go in the evening when there is likely to be a shorter line. In any event, be sure to look AT the Eiffel Tower at night after dark on the hour when it twinkles for 10 minutes each hour until 1am.
You get to eat 2 dinners in Paris apparently. Do you want to spend some of your sightseeing time having a luxurious sit down dinner somewhere or do you want to grab food somewhere and continue your sightseeing? That will help people know what to suggest. Also, there is no point in suggesting a restaurant for you which is on the opposite site of Paris from where you will be. So it would make the most sense for you to figure out what you want to do and then we could help you find a place to eat located nearby.
You might want to purchase a carnet of tickets for the Metro/bus the first time you ride public transportation. That is 10 tickets at a discounted price and you can share them between the 2 of you. If you take public transportation 5 times while you are there, it will be cost effective. If you don%26#39;t think you will, then just purchase tickets one-by-one.
I don%26#39;t think there is any point in getting a museum pass or anything like that. You don%26#39;t really have time to spend inside of museums. If there is a museum or two which you are dying to see, let us know what it is and we will try to give you the best strategy for getting in and out as quickly as possible.
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Thank you so much for your ideas and suggestions.
Regarding the hotel...we are planning on booking the Paris Hilton which is located very near teh Eifel Tower.
Would you recommend a different location? We do have 3 full days to see the city.
Thanks in advance!!!
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LOTS of people stay at the Hilton, it%26#39;s fine, comfortable..... the neighborhood is fine.....
Everyone asks for one, but if you%26#39;re a frequent Hilton business traveller, you might have enough pull to ask them to put you on the side with the view of the Eiffel Tower?
You DO NOT need a car. The Metro is so simple to use, you can be almost anywhere in the city in 15-20 minutes. Taxi%26#39;s are reasonably inexpensive (because you never need to take one very far), but you end up walking so much...... Just buy %26quot;un carnet%26quot; of Metro tickets, a book of 10 will be more than enough for a day %26amp; a half for both you and your wife and maybe even your bother and his wife.
MUST SEES are definitely one of personal choice. Do you like Museums? Churches? Any Particular Artists? Do you want to spend an evening dining at a fine restaurant? A Paris walking tour, hiring a personal guide for a day (since there%26#39;s 4 of you) or maybe a Fat Tire bike tour might be an interesting way to get a %26quot;feel%26quot; for the city in such a short time.
Do yourself a favor, learn the few required polite French phrases. Bonjour, Merci Beaucoup, s%26#39;il vous plaits, etc..... Use them often! Even though you don%26#39;t speak French, use of the %26quot;magic words%26quot; makes a tremendous difference! You%26#39;ll be fine with just a basic 5 or 6 %26quot;polite%26quot; phrases, you%26#39;ll use them over %26amp; over - you%26#39;ll be glad you did.
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Thank you so much for your post...San Diego Jeff...I take it you have stayed at the Paris Hilton? There are many conflicting reviews of the place some real good...and some real bad.
Bottom line we are not against going or seeing anything in Paris. It is simply a layover after a business/vacation trip in Switzerland. We are taking a train from either Montreux or Geneva Switzerland into Paris. We will be arriving on July 25 around noon and then our flight leaves Sunday the 27th at 11am. We figured a day and a half in Paris is better then no day!
I think I will book the Paris Hilton. Although I would love to get more insight from others on this location.
Thanks in advance for all your ideas and help!
James
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I%26#39;m confused. You say you have 1.5 days in Paris. Then in your next reply to say you have 3 full days. Then in your last reply you say you have from the 25th at noon until you leave on the 27th at 11am. That sounds like 1.5 days. Which is it? How much time you have affects how much you will be able to see and what types of suggestions people might make for you.
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To be honest, no, I have not stayed at the Paris Hilton. However, I have read enough posts about the Hilton, good or bad to assume it%26#39;s a %26quot;Hilton%26quot;! You mentioned the Marriott or the Hilton..... I just thought you were already booked although you did not say whether you were using points to stay there.
One of the nicer points for the Hilton (IMHO) is that some of their rooms do have views of the Tower and the neighborhood is fine and fairly central.
I personally would not stay at a big Int%26#39;l Business class hotel in Paris. I stayed at Le Meridian Montparnasse in %26#39;06 and really couldn%26#39;t complain about any of it (large room, large bathroom, quite comfortable) - I just didn%26#39;t like it, it lacked a certain soul. If I could afford the Ritz or Plaza Athenee I would certainly stay there, but in Paris, I prefer a smaller %26quot;local%26quot; hotel.
Regardless, I%26#39;m sure the Hilton is acceptable, it%26#39;s probably nicer than Le Meridian or any of the other places I%26#39;ve stayed in Paris. You%26#39;d be comfortable there and it has a certain comfort level (at least for American travelers) of expectations when you book a room at one.
But........ if you%26#39;re open to suggestion and do not HAVE to stay at a Hilton or Marriott, I%26#39;m sure you can find lots of smaller Parisian hotels that would give you a more distinct Parisian experience in similar comfort and cost. Post a question asking for hotels w/in a certain neighborhood within a certain price range. You%26#39;ll get a lot of recommendations - however, since July is coming on so soon, you%26#39;d better scramble to get you%26#39;re rooms booked.
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Sorry for the confusion...I AM ARRIVING ON THE 25th around NOON and Flying out on the 27th in the am...basically have a day and a half!
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jamesh74,
If you book the Hilton Eiffel Tower you will should be extremely happy with the location. It is very convenient to both a RER (1 block) and Metro (1-1/2 blocks) if you want to go anywhere. We stayed there two years ago for 10 days and I loved it. This past year we stayed at the Marriott Rive Gauche and Pullman Rive Gauche and both were just a little too far away from the sights although with the metro nothing is that far. Actually this last trip I walked everywhere from the Marriott Rive Gauche and never used the metro.
If time permits on the 25th do a Fat Tire Bike tour at 7:00 in the evening. It is very fun and you get to see some of the famous sites plus a wine cruise on the Seine. At this time the city will be lit up and just charming.
Restaurant near Hilton is Restaurant de la Tour - loved this place. Ask concierge at hotel to make reservations for you there. Small but very homey with good food at a reasonable price.
Have a great time - and you%26#39;re right a short time is better than no time.
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If I had only a day and a half in Paris this would be my plan: Day 1, walk along the Seine a bit and take the water taxi from the Eiffel area to see Notre Dame from the river. If you are religous then I%26#39;d take in Notre Dame and St. Chapelle, for me it was a very moving and touching experience. If you don%26#39;t care to do the cathedrals then walk the Latin Quarter. I loved the Muse D%26#39;Orsay for the impressionist paintings and furniture-we spent about 2 hours there. The Louvre was amazing but frankly, you don%26#39;t have the time to do it justice. Rue Cler, near the Eiffel Tower, is a market street with a great bakery, a chacuterie (deli), wine shop, cheese shop and chocolate shop. Build your own picnic and take it to eat under the Eiffel tower at or after sunset. This was the #1 highlight of our trip, our food was amazing, the wine was great and what better backdrop! Day 2, see the Arc de Triomph and stroll down the Champs Elysee a bit. Metro to Montemarte, check out the artists square, Sacre Couer and the sunset from the steps of Sacre Couer and watch the City of Lights light up.
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