Airfare to Paris,France

[scanmom]

DH was told the other day that he has to go to Paris for a 3 day business meeting. He wants me to go, and I want to, but I need to find a good deal on airfare. If I go, we will also need a good deal on a Paris hotel, and maybe some advice on which area of Paris is convienient and nice (but not too expensive) to stay in. We would have a lot paid for, but would want to stay at least a few days longer than the meeting, so those days will not be paid for by the company. So, any advice on what sites to look at for airfare, hotels, what to do, and retauraunts... pretty much everything! would be graetly appreciated!LOL!! Thanks!

 

[phred52]

The first thing to pop into my head are passports! Check to be sure yours are up to date!

We've stayed in a friends 'flat' the two times we were in Paris. I say a weekend anywhere in Paris is better than a weekend at home. That city has an unbelievable subway system, so literally the whole city is available to you. We've visited Versailles on our own using the public transportation system. Also, Disneyland Paris is easy to get to and the train stops RIGHT there!

If I was paying for a hotel, I'd definitely take advantage of priceline.

You'll make great memories no matter where you stay. Have a BLAST!!

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

I use kayak and cheapoair to hunt out airfare... It's crazy expensive right now though to fly internationally. Easily up a couple hundred from last year. Paris may not be as bad as other places though price wise to fly to since its a big hub (we were flying in and out of Venice).

I like venere for hotels. My last stay in Paris was at a cheap pension. It was just a friend and I and was fine for what we needed, just a place to sleep. They have nicer places too though.

 

[plutolovr]

Seriously, get to a Travel Agent and see if they can get you a Consolidator Fare. These fares can be quite a savings over published airfares. There may not be any available, but I would at least check, you may be surprised.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

If you are going this summer, book asap. Flight prices to Paris are extremely expensive right now. I just got back for a week there and I used a combination of FF miles and cash for my ticket and it still cost a small fortune.

I assume that if this is a business trip, your husband's work will be paying the hotel bill. They may have preferred hotels. A hotel which includes breakfast in the price will save you a lot of money. Eating out is very expensive in Paris. Try and find something close to a Metro stop (the Paris Metro is cheap, clean and easy to use), then location of the hotel won't be that important, as you can get all around Paris on the Metro fairly quickly.

If you have never been to Paris, you need to hit all the main tourist spots - the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysées, a boat tour on the Seine River, shopping on the Boulevard Haussmann (Galeries Lafayette and Printemps department stores) and Blvd Saint-Germain (Le Bon Marché department store), etc. If this is your first trip, I would not recommend going to Paris Disney or Versailles. Too many other must not be missed things to see right in the city. Get a good guide book and start planning!

 

[prncess674]

You may want to check your husband's travel policy. My "big employer" has very generous travel policies and sometimes if I save boatloads by traveling coach a weekend ahead (i.e., stay over Saturday) then the ticket price drops drastically and they cover the cost of the ticket plus hotel. Also if the savings is significant enough they even cover spouse travel.

 

[SettinSail]

A very good, small hotel that is recommended by Rick Steves is Hotel Duquesne Eiffel. I have stayed here twice. The staff is so helpful. It is walking distance (15 mins) to the Eiffel Tower, just around the corner from the Rue Cler area and is ranked #38 out of over 1800 hotels in Paris on TripAdvisor. A short walk to the Metro Station (can't remember the name) and a very safe area. I would suggest not eating the hotel breakfast as there are cheap cafes and patissieres everywhere! Be sure to do some touring in the Montmarte area - heavily featured in the new Woody Allen movie "Midnight in Paris". Have a wonderful trip - I Paris!

Shawn

 

[maggiew]

We went to Paris a couple years ago with DH's work. They put us up at the Marriott on the Champs-Elysees. Needless to say we moved to a different hotel when we had to pay the bill. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott in St. Denis because I had some Marriott points to use. I really liked this hotel because it is relatively inexpensive, around the corner from a Metro stop and there was a Patisserie right by the metro stop for a quick breakfast of croissants!

I really recommend the Rick Steves book on Paris. We used it faithfully and had such a great time! His tips were really great. His itineraries were great too.

I did my own things while DH was working. After his meeting, we stayed several more days on our own. We got the museum pass for 4 days and did exclusively things on the pass during those days. So it was relatively economical to see all the sites. (Eifel tower is not on the pass. So that is extra. We did that on our arrival day before DH had to be at his meeting.) I did anything else that I wanted to do that wasn't on the museum pass the few days while DH was working.

Eating in Paris was expensive. We ate a lot of great pizza because we could share one pizza instead of having 2 big meals. We also took an apple each day from the hotel's workout room to have for a snack while touring. I also filled up a water bottle each day in the hotel workout room to have while touring. Although, I did see many street vendors selling bottles of water for 1 Euro. Many of the restaurants do have reasonably price prix fixe menus for lunch (especially in the Latin Quarter). We had some great hotdogs in the park area by the Eiffel tower too! It was in a sort of kiosk/cart type place.

We plan on going back next year with our kids (teens) to see it all again!!

Maggie

 

[Janepod]

Have your husband check with his travel dept. Where I worked (large corp) you could fly solo in first or business; or fly with spouse in coach. Ask, just in case.

 

[MinnieVanMom]

Do check VRBO and see if you can find something more appealing to you. I rented a 2 br flat on Isle de Citi for 120 Euro a nite! Great location by Metro and RER. We just went and got pastries, fruit and bread for breakfast. Our flat had a full kitchen and I bring my small french press and starbucks when we travel. Coffee is expensive in Paris as in soda. I suggest wine with all meals. They have the best French reds.