hi,
just got back from a fantastic trip, we were there from NYD to Sunday, i can%26#39;t go into too much detail, so any questions or want more detail just ask.
DAY1
flew from Liverpool airport, bit of a drag from the M62, but well signposted, straight into the longstay car park, right next to the terminal.
No problems in the terminal, standard clean etc.
my partner finally worked out where we were going on the flight, as the guy next to her had a Paris guide book. (Surprise trip for her 30th on the 2nd)
arrived at Beauvais, no problems through passport control, the shuttle bus ticket office is straight there as you come out into the foyer. Note, this window is cash only, there are no signs up. Went out the door, there is a booking office that accepts cards, bought two returns (no discount), no problems. The busses were waiting next to the ticket office.
1 hour journey to Paris, dropped off at Porte Maillot depot, which is just a car park with a tin hut as ticket office. The weather was bitterly cold, however we decided to walk to our hotel which was near the Louvre / Notre dame. Note the Metro is there as well, a few minutes walk.
we walked up to the Arc de Triumphe, and went under the subway to get underneath it. has a few pics taken, and walked to the Trocadero. had a coffee outside a cafe on the roundabout and got a taste of just how expensive Paris is for real. went across to the Trocadero and saw the Eiffel tower for the first time. Bought a hat from the street vendors to cover my partners ears, haggled from 12e down to 5e, decent enough price for a hat! had a wander round, caught the back end of the NYD parade, there were some Asian / Indian guys in full Scottish kilts etc entertaining the crowds with Bagpipes, very good, but a very unexpected sight!! From there we just wandered and made our way to our Hotel on Rue de Beaune, on the opposite side of the river to the Louvre. Despite the cold, it was great to just wander.
We stopped at the hotel de Beaune, at a cost of 85e/night for a double ensuite room. I picked the hotel from previous posts on Trip advisor. For our simple tastes and us it was superb, however i can imagine some people being extremely disappointed if they haven%26#39;t investigated enough. It is small, and somewhat tired in appearance and is certainly the other end of the scale from Ibis /Etap etc regarding finishes etc. However, it is clean, tidy, warm, we had fresh towels every day and the bed made. The room was great as a place to hang our clothes, get a bath or shower to warm our skin, and sleep. randomly, there was a flat screen TV!!. There was a guy there 24hour for any problems, however the only problem i had was there was no safe to keep the passports etc either in the room or the hotel. Just ended up hiding them, as there was no way i was carrying them about. For what we wanted and needed i would give the hotel 9/10 - Superb location for everything, no hassles, clean functional, comparatively cheap. Note, we passed a hotel on an adjacent street charging 144e for a double room!
We freshened up, she put on extra clothes and we went out for the evening. we picked a decent looking restaurant on our way towards the Louvre, it cost us 52e for a good main meal each and a large, welcome beer. we then went across the river, to find the Louvre had shut, which turned out to be an absolute bonus! We walked the big wheel and had our first (of many) crepe with Grand Marnier, superb. We then walked towards and up the Champs Elysees towards the arc de triumphe, the whole way lit with decorations, the Eiffel tower flashing, and the bustling traffic, absolutely marvellous, just to soak it all up.
We then made our way through back streets, and main roads to the hotel, had a couple of beers on the way, and got the feeling we weren%26#39;t going to find cheap beers even off the beaten track.
DAY2
Got wrapped up again, and decided to make our way to Notre dame. Picked up a croissant and coffee on the way, through the SNOW!!! (Only on the backstreets) and checked out Notre Dame, had a few photos and lit a candle, then made our way to Sacre Couer, stopping at a stand for another coffee. Picked our way up the hill through the back streets emerging where the cafes etc are. Warning - there are a lot of street artists doing portraits. we agreed to ours being done as they assured us we didn%26#39;t have to pay if we didn%26#39;t like them. mine was fairly good, however my partners looked absolutely nothing like her; when i told the guys we wouldn%26#39;t buy because of this, they got very shirty, I’m sure that by doing this most people will be polite and pay!! we just smiled and walked off, be warned, be firm. we went round the Scare Couer, no street entertainers, just a guy with a Harp, so we decided to eat before we moved on. Chose a great place right in the thick of it, cost 16e each for 3 courses, had a carafe of water so had two great meals for 32e, a steal under the circumstance. there was a menu for 12e, with more basic food ie spag bol. made our way down the hill to see the Moulin Rouge and of course take pics. made our way to Hard Rock, went straight past the massive queue to the bar and splashed out on two cocktails, its become our tradition to do so now, wherever there is a Hard Rock (Madrid, Barcelona, Cologne. made our way back to the Louvre, paid to get in, but apart from the Mona Lisa was very disappointed; but that’s all we went in for, so its ok.
from the Louvre, we had a wander into the Pigalle area, had some crepes, and just wandered around window shopping and people watching. Found a few bars doing happy hours, most doing cocktails for 5e each. Ended up wandering around and then back to the hotel late on.
DAY3
made our way to the Place d%26#39;Aligre for the flea market, which turned out to be a very poor attempt at a car boot sale, with most %26quot;stalls%26quot; being rubbish scavenged from bins laid out on sheets!! We were a bit disappointed as we had both looked forward to a big flea market, but we were enjoying ourselves too much to be anything but happy.Stopped on the way there in a patisserie and had fantastically fresh croissants and hot chocolate, which turned out to be melted chocolate in a cup, gorgeous. It was too thick to drink, had to dip the croissants.
we then made our way up to the pere lechaise cemetery. beware, there are maps at entrances showing where the different graves are you might want to see, but once you wander off you are on your own. we made our way towards Jim Morrison’s grave, it was easy to find as there were a few people milling around. We just wandered around soaking it all up as it is very impressive til we had had enough.
we then wandered down towards bagnolet, through the market stalls and grabbed a meal at a cafe on the roundabout. we had the choice of three meals on the Plait de Jour; steak au poivre which she had, sausages, or Veal which i went for. Mine turned up with a plate full of macaroni with cheese on top - superb, very basic but really tasty and filling.
We then jumped on the metro for the first time and made our way see the catacombs, something well worth seeing. Warning, we got there at 2.30 and queued around the block. it shuts at 4pm, we didn%26#39;t get in til 3.40pm and there was a long queue behind us; the guys running it didn%26#39;t seem bothered and I’m sure they will just shut the doors at 4!! Once in, its like nothing i%26#39;ve ever seen before, it really needs to be seen with your own eyes.
it took us about 40minutes to come out at the other end, further down the road. we took some seats outside a cafe (under the heaters) and enjoyed some expensive coffees watching the mad motorists on the roundabout.
after a good rest, we mad our way to the end of Bvd St Germain to a very lively area of bars etc. Again we made use of happy hours to get carafes of wine and cocktails, and ate hotdogs and crepes while watching the street entertainers and break dancers, really good. We made our way back to the warm hotel for a bath and bed.
DAY4
up early, packed and checked out by 6.30am, to get to the bus for 7.30am. This was when i noticed the flier for a shuttle bus to Beauvais for 17e each. I paid 13e for the standard bus, plus 1.60e each on the metro, not sure but i would have liked to think about it; we had online booking and no luggage to check in so could have gone later to the airport. its something i will investigate next time, ask the hotel if they have any deals for shuttle buses etc.
warning for the shuttle bus - we were told that the bus would depart 3 hours before take off time, which meant 7.30 for us. We made our way there by Metro, got to the buses at 7.15ish, there was organised chaos as people tried to work out what was happening, and that horrible panic that you are going to get on the wrong bus, even though they are all going to Beauvais! I%26#39;m glad we had return tickets as people were struggling to get tickets, i think the card swipe wasn%26#39;t working but I’m not 100% on that. the warning is, get there in plenty of time, and be aware what is happening as noone explains anything to you.
Beauvais airport was a bit chaotic, there was a lot of guesswork as to when we would be allowed through. They were also checking bag sizes, something we hadn%26#39;t seen before, a few people got turned away and sent to check bags in, very costly, beware.
Arrived back in Liverpool early, no problems, off and away.
A thoroughly enjoyable trip, I’m glad i was a bit prepared with a few %26quot;sights%26quot; and cafes etc marked on the map, I’m glad i checked the weather report, I’m glad i had allowed enough money as there were no real options to save or scrimp, and finally I’m glad i went!
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Excellent trip report, sounds like you had a fantastic time. I was in Paris last November, agree that Paris is a bit expensive but worth every penny. Thanks for posting.
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