long weekend in Paris

Camalot

Camalot

Camalot

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Hi guys.

I'm planning to take my GF away to Paris for a long weekend in Feb. I'd like to do something like have dinner by the tower at night for V.DAY. I've never been out of UK before so I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to this. Can anyone give me any tips on things like where to stay, where to visit, preparations etc.

Cheers!
 
I have been a few times and really enjoy it ever time. I always just have a stroll until I find a nice looking restaurant with happy looking customers.....a lot of them right by the sites are rubbish and overpriced like any tourist destination.....
 
Bobmunkhouse said:
I have been a few times and really enjoy it ever time. I always just have a stroll until I find a nice looking restaurant with happy looking customers.....a lot of them right by the sites are rubbish and overpriced like any tourist destination.....
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Where/who/how did you book up? Do you have to book the hotel then travel on eurostar? Or one of them train+hotel deals?

How much money should i save?
 
To the OP, how was your long weekend trip to Paris? We are going there on a similar long weekend break in August so can you let me know how you found the Eurostar and hotel package if you did that in the end? If not did you book each separately or go through a company such as Thomas Cook?

Also any hidden gems you found such as restaurants that the locals use, good pâtisseries or boulangeries that you can recommend and the like?
 
I went last summer via Lastminute.com / Eurostar. Probably wasn't a terrific deal but I wanted to book everything with one company.

It was great! We stayed at a lovely hotel not far from the Arc de Triomphe called The Garden Elysee. Nice and handy. Near a metro, near the main sites, in a smart area of town.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&rlz=&q=champs+elysee&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

Montmartre is an interesting place to be but quite 'bohemian'. Montparnasse is clean but dull (there's a tower there with a great view but it's basically the business district and although there are loads of cafes etc., I wouldn't say it's the best place to be a tourist).

Buy a boat pass for the Seine, you can travel up and down it as many times as you like for however many days you bought the ticket, and it's a much more interesting way to see the sites nearer the river. Also buy a block of metro tickets, it works out ridiculously cheaper.

The premium Eurostar tickets were nice, you get a nicer / quieter cabin with a meal and champagne.
 
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Some good advice there thanks Robbie, I especially like the idea or travelling down the Seine by boat viewing the site with a rather large glass of red in hand :) . Montmartre is somewhere i'd like to visit mainly for that reason and to see the area that has such a history with great artists.

Do you remember any of the restaurants you dined in and would recommend?
 
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MonkeyNews said:
Some good advice there thanks Robbie, I especially like the idea or travelling down the Seine by boat viewing the site with a rather large glass of red in hand :) . Montmartre is somewhere i'd like to visit mainly for that reason and to see the area that has such a history with great artists.

Do you remember any of the restaurants you dined in and would recommend?
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Bear in mind I'm referring to the 'Batobus', basically a few bus-like boats go up and down in a constant loop, so glasses of wine at sunset would be had elsewhere, as this is basically tourist mass transport :p (still more pleasant than the tube though).

On the Champs-Elysee, 'The Drugstore Publicis' was quite nice for a fairly simple bit of good quality nosh. But leave this area entirely if you want value for money! Dining gets busy on the Champs-Elysee in the evenings but there's usually somewhere with a free table or two.

http://www.cieldeparis.com is spectacular but will own your wallet.

We also ate at the Louvre restaurant which was in a beautiful room. You have to book for the evening like most places.

Montmartre is lovely, really interesting and it's fun watching the sharkers trying to catch out the tourists with cup games :p. They always have a buddy that wins money to make people thing you can beat them.

The Sacre Coeur is a must-see, climb the steps for an incredible view.
 
Robbie G said:
Montmartre is lovely, really interesting and it's fun watching the sharkers trying to catch out the tourists with cup games :p. They always have a buddy that wins money to make people thing you can beat them.
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Walking through there was pretty
ugh.gif
watching all the dumb people handing over cash. Haven't they ever watched the real hustle?

The church at the top is a fantastic place to take pictures and the quieter areas of montmartre are nice to walk around.
 
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