Wow! You'll be cream-crackered after your weekend.

Take comfy shoes and moleskin to help if you get blisters. Seriously for the day in Paris why not take a city tour on a bus then you'll get all the main sights in and know what you are looking at (commentary in English!). You can then revisit for interiors after - such as Notre Dame -don't forget an icecream at Berthillon's just behind the cathedral - or go up the Eiffel Tower. Try http://www.parisinfo.com for starters. Have a great time, but do wrap up warmly; it's cold and damp at the moment!

Hi Jimbouk

Good to see you booked the Holiday Inn at DLP (I'm the one that recommended it to you and where to book it to get the best rates!)

We were in Paris a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it.

For your trips into Paris, get a Mobilis ticket, it's an all day unlimited RER/Metro pass and will get you from Disney to Paris, all over the metro and back to Disney. It costs about 12 euros for adults, less for children. You just buy it at the station at Disney.

I'd recommend getting off at Chatelet, exiting on the Rue de Rivoli, turning left and heading for the Hotel de Ville, where your 12 year old can go ice staking, outdoors for 5 euros - great views of the Seine. After that take a walk across the bridge to the Notre Dame (free entrance) and have a little stroll around the Latin Quarter on the Left Bank, down Boulevard St Michael and St Germaine, it's the quintessential Paris. You can stop off at little bar/cafe's and get a nice glass of red to warm you up, kids are allowed. lol

Of course the Eifell Tower is a must for first time visitors, it costs about 10 euros but ques can get big, so you'd probably be best heading for that either first thing or around 4.00/5.00 p.m. when you get the best of both worlds (view wise) just as day is ending and the lights are all starting to glow. The Eifell Tower 'sparkles' on the hour for 10 minutes (when it starts to get dark) which is a lovely sight.

We did the http://www.paris-opentour.com/index_eng.htm hop on hop off tour bus (24 euros for 1 day) a few years ago, and that was good - it goes to all the main sites, but as you will have your Mobilis ticket, you can get there yourselves, it just depends on how much d.i.y you want to do lol

Anyway, have a great trip and post a report when you get back.

Cheers for the replys
TOTP we booked the hotel on your recomendation so it better be good
I think our plan is to get the Mobils ticket and travel in that way and instead of the open top bus we are going to go for the boat hop on hop off thing ( http://www.batobus.com/english/8escale.htm ) that way itll give us the trip up the river and take us to most of the sights.
Any orther tips on where to eat and drink and what prices to expect to pay would be greatly appreciated.

totp how far is the RER sttation from the hotel ? and whats the best way to get there?
Where did you eat when stopping here?

The hotel's a bargain Jimbouk - you'll be fine. I've stayed at the Santa Fe, Cheyenne and Sequioa Lodge and it's better than all of those.

We ate mostly at the Disney Village, Planet Hollywood was good, main course about 12 euros. There's a McDonald's there too, meals cost about 6 euros. In the parks, the meal deals in the fast food places are about 10euros, there's lots of places to choose from.

In Val d'Europe there's lovely boulangeries where you can get delicious filled baguettes for about 3-4 euros, as well a McDonalds and a cafeteria called Cafeteia Casino with great prices for food and drinks. There's also a few 'proper' restauants, they're in the Las Terraces food court area.

In central Paris, you can grab a baguette type lunch from one of the many, many boulangeries (bakeries) costs about 4 euros for a baguette and for the evening, the bistros/brasseries offer a great meal in a typically Parisienne setting, 2 courses plus drink for about 15-20 euros per person. There's also a McDonalds on the Champs Elysees, near the Arc de Triomphe, again meal deal prices around 6 euros, also further down the Champs, you'll see the pavement cafe's (with the patio heaters and see through enclosures) and we've often had a ham baguette (jambon) and a beer for about 10 euros, which is pretty cheap, especially as your sitting on the Champs Elysees and watching the world go by! lol

We had a lovely meal in Le Topiary restaurant, on top of the Samarataine store, right on the banks of the Seine, with great views, metro stop Pont Neuf, it's a lovely Art Nouveaux style building, I don't think the open roof top where you get a great 360 view is open in the winter. 2 courses with a wine was about 14 euors per person (lunch time). We also had a lovely meal in an Italian restaurant on the Boulevard St Michael, just across from the Notre Dame and near to the Hotel de Ville, can't remember the name, but it's on the corner opposite the bridge. Main courses were about 12 euros, bottle of wine about 10 euros, the kids meal was great, 2 courses and a drink for about 7 euros, go upstairs for great views of the Notre Dame, nice for the evening.

Where you're staying you'll have loads of choice of places to eat, I didn't eat in the hotel restaurant, except for breakfast so can't comment on that. The best way to the train station from the hotel is by the free regular shuttle, no problem - it only calls at the four Disney Select hotels (pink bus) so it only takes about 5 minutes. There's nothing stopping you eating in any of those hotel restaurants also as they're all next to each other.

Have a great time!

My parents are off to Paris in April. They will be doing a lot of walking around and never been before.

Does anyone know of any good detailed maps online? I have been searching for a while now and haven't found any good ones.

Thanks

Hi, have you seen this one?

http://www.hot-maps.de/europe/france/paris/homeen.html

There's a thread about Paris in the City breaks forum, which has got lots of useful tips.

Here's a link....

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=22263

hope your parents have a great time

Quote "TOTP we booked the hotel on your recommendation so it better be good"!

Well Jimbouk, how was it?

we are hoping to go to Paris for new year,does anyone know of something
like Premierlodge,children 13&10 too young for seperate room

I'm not sure that Paris at New Year would be the most enjoyable of destinations for you and your youngsters as it is either celebrated very traditionally en famille or in a crowd in the Champs Elysees, drinking themselves silly. And 1st of January is a bank holiday so no museums or shops will be open (sales are regulated by the government, usually from mid January, so that's another downer) and it's often FREEZING.

However, for suitable hotels, I'm afraid that the 'Premier Lodge' type of hotel doesn't really exist ... Formule 1 and Etaps are for 3 persons max in a room, but you might like to try the IBIS chain, the NOVOTEL chain (a bit pricier, and avoid those in Villejuif and Arcan that are MILES from connections to central Paris) or the TIMHOTELS chain. Much better to celebrate NYE in London, then watch the telly/snooze and overeat on Jan 1 and THEN come to Paris on 2 January!!

Kyraid hotel chain is a bit more basic than Travelodge but did family rooms. Dont know if public transport runs over new year but if youve got kids Disneys hard to avoid! and great fun. We stayed in the Kyraid at Torcy 2 stops from Disney which was fine.

Have a look at http://www.ratestogo.com/ or use the link there to hotel net, or Octapus travel.

Alison

I have used several hotels in the Campanile and Ibis group....these are 2 star.

Campanile tends to be a little more basic than Ibis in my experience.

The Accore group (which includes the Ibis) also have a range of suite hotels which are 3 star. I suppose they will be a little more expensive.

you tend not to get 4 bedded rooms in the centre of paris so you are probably best looking at teh area near teh Cite de science ??? and around the outskirts of the city , in the centre i can think of 2 taht we used when i worked for a paris specialist taht had a four bedded room , but as someone said it may not be that enjoyable in paris for new year especially with kids in tow , a couple yes but family probably not

We had to do a bit of an emergency stopover in Paris last week due to a flight change which left us transferring over CDG. We stayed at the Economy B&B hotel in Roissy which gave us a tiny room which somehow accommodated a double bed, a shower room plus a sort of gallery upstairs with two single beds in. Definately not huge but gave both us and the rugrats a space to sleep in.
I was shocked (for Paris) at the room rate which was just £55 for the four of us including breakfast and shuttle bus from CDG.
The phone number for the hotel is 0134 385501 / fax 0134385500

There is apparantly a chain of B&B hotels (though I couldn't find them on the web) which circle Paris

Hello Scared.

We are a family of four and stayed in a family suite near the Place De Nation. You can read my review here:

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/reviews/france/paris/paris-city/best-western-le-patio-st-antoine-hotel/

We enjoyed our stay there

Hi everyone!

I am off to Paris in August for 3 nights with my mum for her 50th Birthday. We would like to go to a show in the evening for her actual birthday - any suggestions?

Also we plan to do the usual during the day, boat trip on the Seine, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, shopping etc but is there anything else we shouldn't miss???

Thanks

The only shows I've heard of are the Moulin Rouge type ones, so it depends if your Mum would like that sort of thing! (They're quite pricey too)

There are also 2 opera houses (one is where they filmed Phantom of the Opera!)

or another idea, did you know there is a restaurant halfway up the Eiffel Tower? Or you can go on posh restaurant cruises in the evenings?

I've only been to Paris once, so I hope other people will reply with more info for you!
P.S. (added after) why not post in the City Breaks section too?

A place not to miss, not on the main tourist trail, is the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. It is a little bit of countryside in Paris. Very hilly, very lovely and it even has waterfalls. For a really relaxing couple of hours I do recommend it.

If you are up at Sacre Coeur, it only takes 10 minutes on the metro and you then look across the city towards SC but be on the same level. That in itself is unusual.

Thanks for the suggestions!!!! Acorncup - I had a look on the City Breaks section and also found a really useful thread there

Hi - I would recommend 'Le Lido'. Depending upon where your hotel it - this is a fab show right on the Champs D'Elysees. It is a very 'Moulin Rouge' type show, and really really good!

It is about 50 Euros for dinner, a drink and the show - not a bad price for Paris!