A Short Trip To Paris
Written: Aug 03 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Just as you imagine
Cons: Hard work unless you try to speak a little French
The Bottom Line: Everyone should visit Paris at least once.
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| looby5's Full Review: Paris |
One Friday afternoon, about this time last year I was in the office, sitting at my desk board to death, looking out over the grey Manchester skyline thinking to myself there really must be more to life than this. I started thinking along the lines of what I should do on that particular weekend and from somewhere popped the idea that I should go away. But where? The idea gnawed away at me all afternoon and before I knew what was happening I was scanning the internet for inspiration. I got on the Easyjet Web site and looked at the destinations. Mmmmm, so much choice. I fancied Paris but it was a bit on the pricey side so I started looking around and found a good deal with Air France through the expedia web site. That was it, decision made! I booked there and then. I was leaving Manchester airport at 06.30 the following morning returning at 21.45 on Sunday all for the princely sum of £121.50 including tax and £9.00 insurance, which was optional.
At this point I did think about booking some accommodation but I couldn’t find what I was looking for, not that I was exactly sure what that was. I wasn’t familiar with Paris so I didn’t know which areas were good or which to avoid so I thought I’d ‘wing it’ and find somewhere when I got there.
I touched down at Charles de Gaul at 09.45 local time. My plan was to take the train into the city. The station was at the far end of the airport terminal. It was here I encountered my first problem. The automatic ticket machine would not accept my debit card for some reason, I had no coins and the shops would not give me any change. There is a manned ticket booth but the queue was hellishly long, reluctantly I joined it and about half an hour later I purchased my two day travel pass valid for all trains, bus’s and metro for the princely sum of ㈜. I though this was good value as there was no restrictions on zones or time of travel plus it gave me the piece of mind of knowing I wouldn’t get stuck anywhere. I picked up a free map of the city complete with public transport layout and climbed aboard to train into central Paris.
When I finally arrived in the city I had to eat, I was starving. I know it’s a cliché but I really wanted to eat at a pavement café, and I found one that lived up to the fantasy right next to the Sein where I had a Croque Monsure and a Café au lait, just to get in the mood. I sat for a while, absorbing the romantic, artistic, sophisticated ambiance of the whole thing and watched the world go by. I noticed the green and yellow open top bus’s that seemed to go by every few minutes and decided that would be a good way to see the sites and get my bearings. There are a couple of open top bus tours that go round the city but L’open Tour has four separate routes around the city. The main tour lasts two hours and has 19 stops. There is a bus every 7 minutes. The 3 other routes each take one hour. This is a hop on/hop off service and the ticket cost ㈗ for a one day ticket and ㈜ for two days. The grand tour takes in: Madeleine", "Opéra", "Louvre Museum",
"Notre-Dame", "Saint-Germain-des-Prés", "Orsay Museum", "Concorde", "Champs-Elysées", "Arc de Triomphe", "Trocadéro", "Eiffel Tower "and "Invalides". This tour offers commentary via a headset in both English and French and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I did the full tour and also used it to get around the city as the buses were so frequent it was often quicker than waiting for a regular bus.
After sussing the place out I found a small hotel in the Latin quarter, it was a two star hotel which felt very Parisian due to the winding staircase and loft style room, complete with skylight. The Hotel Agora cost ㉄ for one night (excluding breakfast). It was clean, centrally located and good value.
I only got to visit a couple of Paris’s main attractions as queues were long. I was restricted to just visiting the places I really desperately wanted to see. Unfortunately, there were many others I just couldn’t fit in. Below I’ve mentioned the places I did manage to see just to try and give you a taste of what they are like.
The Louvre
The Lourve is a truly beautiful building, majestic and regal imposing and splendid. The entrance is in itself an art form; it is a great glass pyramid in the centre of the courtyard. The pyramid houses the escalators where one descends into the belly of the building and you actually enter the galleries from underneath the building. I headed straight for the Dennon gallery which houses the famous Mona Lisa. I was surprised by the amount of sculpture and carvings on display for some reason I wrongly assumed the Lourve was just about paintings. Some of the sculpture was quite magnificent and well worth seeing.
The entrance fee was Ԉ.50 and, in my opinion was well worth the money. I could have spent the whole day exploring this fascinating place but I was on a tight schedule and had to make do with just under three hours, which wasn’t nearly enough. I did see the Mona Lisa and was caught in a scrum of people all trying to get as close to the painting as possible. Cameras were held high to get a snap despite the signs requesting no flash photography. I couldn’t see what the fuss was about to be candid. I found the painting unremarkable, especially when compared to many of the others on display but at least I can now say I’ve seen it.
The Eiffel Tower
The tower is an awe inspiring site, standing tall, presiding over the city skyline like a protective parent. The thing I found most stunning was actually the base, the legs of the tower straddle a square and the size of this magnificent structure takes your breath away. The down side to the tower as an attraction is the queues to go up. It took me around 45 minutes to get a ticket to walk up to the first floor and the queues for the lift where twice as long. It cost Ԇ.50 and again I thought that was good value for what it one of the most recognisable structures in the world.
Champs-Elysées
This tree lined avenue is like Oxford Street and Pennsylvania Avenue all rolled into one. The first half is where the Presidents official residence is located though from the road you don’t get a good view as it’s hidden behind the trees. The avenue is leafy, green and pleasant and is lined with myriad brightly coloured flowers and plants. The second half is where the shops begin and all the top names can be found here. Designer names like Louis Vitton and D&G along side Planet Hollywood and the Virgin Megastore to name just a couple. I would say it’s approximately a couple of miles long culminating with the imposing and grand Arc de Triomph at the end. This is another of Paris’s fantastic structures and the eyes really are spoilt in this city. You almost take for granted that around the next corner there will be something amazing and you will almost always be right.
I can’t say much about nightlife or evening entertainment as I was only there for one night and I was so tired from walking round all day I was asleep by 10pm. The gorgeous French Merlot I had with dinner assisted with my flaking out.
In summary I would heartily recommend Paris as a destination for a weekend break but would really advise you to stay for longer if at all possible. I loved it and next time I will definitely stay longer.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
looby5
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Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 0 members
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