Paris info

[kaygela]

We're going to Paris the 3rd week in April for 6 days and we plan on spending two days at DLP. Is that enough? I really don't want to take more time away from Paris but I don't want to frustrate ourselves by not having enough time at DLP.

Also, if anyone has any good tips for our stay in Paris, I would really appreciate it. Especially good places to eat and shop. I have a pretty good idea of what museums, monuments, etc we plan to visit (I was there 25 years ago). Any special tips would be great!

 

[MinnieYC]

If you have 6 days in Paris, I'd actually suggest spending just one day in Disneyland Park (can skip the Studios) and 5 in Paris. If you get to the park at opening time and stay until closing time, you can see quite a lot, if not actually even go on every ride and attraction. Meanwhile, you can easily spend a full week in Paris and barely get your feet wet. We've been to Paris several times (we go there about as often as we go to WDW), but throughout our trips, we've only spent a total of 2 days at DLP. We love DLP, but given how long it takes for us to get to Europe and the price of the flight (as comparied to getting to Orlando), we can't help but stay in Paris for most of the time.

As for Paris tips, well it's an amazing city but you know that . For shopping, Paris has the best department stores in the world. I particularly like Au Printemps and Galleries Lafayette. What kind of shopping are you looking to do? Various areas have different highlights. This may sound silly, but products made in France are a lot cheaper there! But it's true! Gorgeous hand bags, for example, that verge on being downright expensive in the US are more than reasonable in Paris (although maybe not so much now with the dollar being at such a low ).

Are you familiar with the Paris Museum Pass? If not, I'll post more info later, but it saves you a lot of money, and you do not have to wait on lines to get into museums with it (huge plus at places such as the Louvre). It's good at nearly all of the Paris museums (definitely all of the major ones), plus several other monuments (like going to the top of Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, Versailles, etc.)

 

[MorganB]

I wouldnt stay more than two days in the park. However, I am not so sure you can do it in one day because it will be spring break in France the 3rd week in April for 2/3 of France. Also Space Mountain Mission II opens April 9th and will probably have a major add blitz to go with it. I am sure Disney is hoping the park will be filled to the brim. When the park load is light its easy to do it in one day.

If you are staying in Paris and riding the RER to Disney, I would recommend buying a combined RER/ Disney pass which is available at most metro stations. This will allow you to skip the lines outside the gate and go right in.

As far as shopping is concerned it depends on what kind of shopping you are looking for.... Avenue Montaigne (Chanel, Dior etc)?, Tati (five and dime)? I personally enjoy shopping at La Vallee Outlet center next to Disneyland Paris. It has alot of higher end brands at discounted prices.

For some restaurant info check my reply in this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=703876&page=2

I am talking about moderatedly prices restaurants. I dont know much about high end ones as I dont go.

Have a great trip!

 

[kaygela]

Thanks for all the great info. I have read about the museum/monument pass and it definately sounds like the way to go. I'm glad to hear that french made items might be reasonable. I was very worried that the prices would be sky high. My whole family loves to shop and we would love to have a couple of items of clothing to bring home as well as a special something for the house (perhaps a piece of limoge). I would also like to buy some perfume and cosmetics.

We plan to visit Versailles. Is it also worth it to visit Giverny. We love Monet's works and I thought that would be nice to visit (especially since that would be new for me). I thought we could do that the same day as Versailles. Any thoughts? Also, should we book that as a tour or go on our own with the train?

MorganB- thanks for the restaurant info. I intend to print it out and bring it with me.

Please, if you think of anything else, I would love to be armed with alot of suggestions when we go. Thanks again.

 

[MorganB]

To me, Versailles is an all day project. You have not only the main chateaux but the gardens and fountains (dont think they will be on however), the petit trianon, the grand trianon and Marie Antoinettes hamlet. I think it is really worth a day to take it in at a leisurly pace and truely get a feel for it. Keep in mind that you also have to spend the time getting out there and back.

Here's my personal opinion on Giverny. You have Monet's home which is interesting enough although it is heavily restored. I think the roof had caved in before they worked on it. The gardens were completely gone so they are an accurate recreation of what would have been there. However, there is a highway(was a carriage way at the time) right through the middle of them. So you go down some stairs and under the road to get to the other side of the garden. There is constant road noise in the garden so its not exactly peaceful. When I was there is was completely packed with people. Every inch of the garden was full so you basically walked in line the entire time and tried to avoid people traffic jams. I felt that I could have gone to see a garden in Paris that would have been much less crowded and saved myself the trip. Now that said, many people really enjoy it and perhaps you will too. It just wasnt my cup of tea. As far as going there is concerned I personally dont like tours because you arrive at the same time as 40 other people so it is automatically crowded. I perfer to do it on my own. You can take the train but it is a bit far from the station to the Monet home. You can take a quick taxi ride from what I understand. When I went we drove.

 

[kaygela]

I'm curious about the outlets near DLP. Are they easy to get to by train?

 

[MorganB]

I'm curious about the outlets near DLP. Are they easy to get to by train?

The outlets are on the same RER as Disney. You get off at Val d'Europe which is the stop before Disney. You turn to your right upon exit and walk straight into the Val d'Europe Mall. Walk the length of the mall and exit next to McDonalds which takes you directly into the outlet mall. Check this thread for more info and links to the malls website:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=705379