For contractual reason, I have to get my tail to the US next month. (I was just home in October, for Pete’s sake!)
So, rather than do the usual layover in London, I was thinking about Paris. Mainly (and I am sort of ashamed about this) in order to get a Hard Rock Cafe shirt.
Still, the Euro is super-strong right now. I am not sure I can really justify a night in the City of Lights just to buy a shirt.
So anyone have a favorite middle-of-the-road hotel in Paris? Any thoughts on how m much all this might run me?
I can’t believe you’re even asking yourself this querstion. Hie thee to Paris, stat! Even if you have to stay in a youth hostel. It’s the off season; how bad can a cheap hotel be?
(Sorry, I can’t recommend any; I crash there with friends. But I highly recommend Let’s Go: Europe for hotel and other budget travel advice.)
Hell I’ve got an old Paris HRC shirt if you want it. I got really tired of the Hard Rock a long time ago so I stopped wearing it. Though I’d say it’s a good twelve years old. At least I think I still have it. I guess if you’ve never been Paris is nice, but I’ve never really wanted to go back.
Well, crap. On checking, they went and upgraded my favorite old hideaway by the Bastille and jacked the prices (Home Plazza Bastille, if anyone cares). At any rate, this site seems pretty comprehensive and they can stick you in a Best Western right by the Arc de Triomphe, for $90 or so, which ain’t so bad.
People should stop in Paris on 100% of their opportunities to do so.
The thing about Paris is that the French language defeats me. German I can fake, Spanish I can manage, written French is like Greek to me. I just don’t like visiting France.
On the other hand, Paris is nice.
Ninety bucks? What the heck. Anyone want some pins?
While I hate the Charles de Gaulle airport with a passion, I love Paris! The metro system rocks. It’s a beautiful city (obviously), and easy to navigate. And Jim Morrison is buried there. Although if you really are going* just* for the shirt, well, I’d probably skip it. That airport is such a pain in the ass (unless you fly out of Orly, which I’ve never been through). I’ve been stuck there far too many times, including once when I missed my flight because so many people were cutting in line at the baggage check. Arggh! But who knows, maybe your experience will be different?
Of course, if you’ve never been before, then you should definitely go just to check the city out. Either way, welcome back to les Etats-Unis!
Now that you mention it, AF does have a reputation for labor strikes. (How the heck can AF loose money when they fly to France for Pete’s sake? Now they are merging with KLM. I hope it improves AF rather than ruining KLM.)
Get thee to the nearest bookstore (don’t worry it’s not going to cost you any money).
Go to the travel section, find the Lonely Planet guide to France.
Whip it open and look up Paris, you’re looking for the ‘Where to Stay’ section after the attractions and ‘what to see’ and ‘what to do’ sections.
There should be a break down of top end, mid range and humble accomodation choices listed. Now read through the section you feel meets your budget. They should tell you which places have which amenities, what lies nearby and other criteria that should help you pick.
Just memorize the names of 2 or 3 hotels/inns/guesthouses that seem likely choices for you. Write them down when you exit the bookstore.
That’s it, no cost to you, and you’re ready to tell the cab driver where to drop you when you leave the airport in Paris.
I’d love to be going to Paris, hoping you have a fabulous time.
A visit to Paris sounds nice. Here is my favorite site for finding cheap (or middle-priced, or expensive) hotels in Europe and beyond. The page I linked to is for France. When you look at the hotels check out the postal code in the heading. It’ll be something like 75006 or 75011. The last two numbers are the “arrondissement”, or sector of the city of Paris. The lower numbers, (1 thru 8 or 9 I think) are in the more central parts of the city. I’d pick one of these (preferrably 4th or 5th Arr.) to be in the heart of things.
An aside-- is KLM really combining with Air France? Who bought who? Speaking of which, KLM is a very nice airline and I think it flies out of Saudi Arabia. Maybe you should take a non-stop to Amsterdam instead! Everyone I’ve ever spoken to LOVES the airport there (Schiphol) it even has a casino!
They have a Hard Rock Cafe in Amsterdam too (or at least they used to). Plus-- what a lovely old city!
Everybody speaks English. We have the Van Gogh museum, modern art 'Stedelijkmuseum ’ Rembrandt museum, We have works of Picasso, Leonardo da Vinci, Hieronimous Bosch, the naughty bits Paris doesn’t have, all the romantic bits Paris doesn’t have [sit on a terrace, have a white wine and watch passers-by]
We have the laid-back attitude France doesn’t have. And we LOVE the Americans.
Well, for a really tall cathedral, you want to head for Ulm, Germany. Tallest in the world.
I just did a weekend in Paris in late November; had a great time and saw everything I possibly could in 33 hours. I caught my train out of town by one minute.
If I had the chance, I’d go. I hope I never get to a point in my life where I miss visiting a place like that because it’s too much trouble.
I’ll be visiting Paris for the third time in July, plus a week in Amsterdam.
On my last trip, I discovered the only bad thing about Paris: the strikes. After I was there for three days, there was a general strike, and so many of the things I wanted to see or do were closed, including transportation. It was a grand exercise in making the best of a frustrating situation.
If you want inexpensive lodging, I recommend the book *Cheap Sleeps in Paris, *which I’ve used on each trip.
