Cheap Paris in the Off Season
Written: Oct 06 '99
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Low crowds
Cons: chilly weather
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| xrae's Full Review: Paris |
My husband and I took a week-long trip to Paris in early February 1998 thanks to a super airfare deal on Northwest. It's the greatest vacation we've ever had! Don't be afraid to go discover the world on your own - you don't need the 4- and 5- star hotels and expensive sightseeing tours that the travel agents will recommend. With a lot of research on the Internet and a few guidebooks to show us the way, we had an exciting trip and we didn't spend more than $1500 for the week including airfare and accommodations and all of our other expenses.
The average temperature when we visited was in the 40's, which meant we needed jackets, sweaters and gloves most times, but the chill didn't hamper our enjoyment of the city one bit. There were few tourists around (compared to the summer high tourism season), and short waits at the major attractions that we visited like the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.
Many people will say that Paris is best enjoyed at night anyway, so the shorter days and longer nights of the winter gave us more evening time to enjoy.
For a change of pace one day we took a train trip out to Disneyland Paris to enjoy some thrill rides. If you're a fan of roller coasters then it's worth it to check out the Parisian version of Space Mountain. Disneyland was definitely the most expensive thing we did on the trip, although the entrance fees are cheaper during the off-season. And because it was February, the crowd was low and we hardly had to wait for any rides.
Here are some of our tips to keep the cost of a trip to Paris down:
* Research accommodations on the Internet via a free booking service such as Paris Discount (www.parisdiscount.com) or Hotel Boulevard (www.hotelboulevard.com), and don't spend more than you would on a typical trip anywhere in the United States. Our room at the very clean and very quiet two star Hotel Cluny Sorbonne in the Latin Quarter was only 400F per night (the price is slightly higher now). We had a double bed and our own bathroom, television with cable, and telephone.
* Familiarize yourself with the Metro system and use it to get around town. Buy "un carnet" of tickets at the station. That will get you a pack of 10 discounted tickets, each good for a one-way trip on the subway train. And wear good shoes - Paris isn't a huge city, but you will walk a lot, especially in some of the metro stations.
* Grab your lunch or dinner at one of the many street vendors that sell sandwiches and crepes. Stop in a grocery store for a small bottle of wine. Buy croissants or pastries for breakfast.
* Invest in a good guide book before you leave, and study it well. Visit discount book shops and buy other guides that are one or two years out of date. Take a walking tour suggested in a guide book.
* If you plan on visiting a lot of museums, purchase a Paris Museum Pass (carte musées monuments). You may or may not save on admissions depending on how many sites you visit, but you won't have to stand in any lines to purchase tickets, a definite time-saver.
* Make sure your ATM card - not your credit card - will work in European ATMs. We saved on money exchange fees by pulling cash directly out of our checking account at home, and we didn't have to carry large amounts of cash on us. Charge purchases, especially large ones such as your hotel bill, directly to your credit card. But remember to call your banks before your trip to make sure of the fees for using foreign credit or ATM services. I believe some banks have increased their rates recently.
* For a unique and inexpensive experience, visit a Paris cemetery. We visited Cemetary of Père Lachaise, probably most famous for the grave of Jim Morrison, the lead singer of the Doors. There are many other famous people buried in this cemetery including the composers Chopin and Bizet, the playwright Molière, the French singer Édith Piaf, and the writer Oscar Wilde. It's a beautiful place to visit with many interesting mausoleums and graves. It's also a great place to take artful photographs.
If I had any bad memories of our trip it's because I got a cold with a fever the minute we got on the plane in the U.S., and it took me a couple of days to get over it. Next time I'll go armed with some better cold medicine. It's not always easy to shop for over-the-counter drugs when you don't understand the language the labels are written in.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
xrae
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Location: Tennessee
Reviews written: 61
Trusted by: 24 members
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