Navigo Decouverte at CDG

We land at CDG airport in March and want to buy a Navigo pass to use on the metro, bus etc. Has anyone bought one at CDG, was it easy to buy there and use afterwards? Any hints and tips more than welcome.

Many thanks

K.

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The Navigo-system%26#39;s DÉCOUVERTE access %26#39;device%26#39; is readily available for sale (5€) at manned ticket booths at either of the two(2) RER train stations located within CDG. These are the ONLY locations within CDG where the DÉCOUVERTE access %26#39;device%26#39; may be purchased at the airport. You may also purchase and %26#39;.load%26#39; the fare for the weekly CARTE ORANGE transportation pass product onto the DÉCOUVERTE %26#39;device%26#39; at the same time.

Unless you plan to use the RER %26#39;B%26#39; ligne train or perhaps ROISSYBUS as your mode of airport transfer between CDG and Paris (Zones 1-5 required), there is no advantage to purchasing the DÉCOUVERTE %26#39;device%26#39; at CDG upon arrival...and unless RER %26#39;B%26#39; or ROISSYBUS is part of your %26#39;plan%26#39; seeking out and making your way to a RER station at CDG may be more inconvenient than necessary. The DÉCOUVERTE %26#39;device and weekly CARTE ORANGE pass fare can be quickly and easily purchased at any RER or METRO station in Paris.

The weekly (valid from First Train on Monday, AM thru Last Train on Sunday, PM) CARTE ORANGE transportation pass for the CURRENT week is available for sale through WEDNESDAY of the CURRENT week%26#39;s validity. The weekly CARTE ORANGE pass is NOT available for sale on THURSDAY. It becomes available for sale again on FRIDAY...but only for the FOLLOWING week%26#39;s validity.

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Many thanks for all your advice KDKSAIL.

K.

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Removed on: 2:17 pm, August 26, 2009

Just-right hotel?

We%26#39;re making our 3rd Paris trip in May. I%26#39;d appreciate suggestions for a hotel that would be ideally:

1. Located in a pedestrian area of town.

2. Super-clean and well-maintained.

3. Priced at less than $400 per night for a large well-lit room or suite.

4. Very convenient to Metro stops.

5. Not in Montmartre.

Any suggestions appreciated!

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If you are willing to go up to $400, you could try the Hotel Lotti.

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If by %26#39;pedestrian area%26#39; you mean no vehicular traffic, you%26#39;re probably not going to find anything.

For ref. purposes, $400 is about 290€.

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Best Western Jardin de Cluny is in the Latin Quarter, walkable to St-GFermain, the Panthéon, the Jardins du Luxembourg, Notre-Dame, etc. and has Junior Suites in your price range.

…bestwestern.com/bestwestern/priceAvail.do…

Compare their best price on the BW site with Expedia, sometimes price is a lot better on Expedia, even though you have to pay in advance.

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We have stayed at the Hotel Muguet just blocks from the Seine in the 7e arrondissement(which is near Eiffel Tower). The hotel is immaculate and it is located on a quiet side street. The hotel is not a chain and it is only a 2 star...but it was recently renovated. The hotel is just a few blocks from Rue Cler which a neat market area. The rooms range in cost from about $125 to $220 per night.

A hotel can make or break a trip for us.....this hotel was perfect for us.

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Check out these excellent choices in the upper-6eme--Saint Germain des Prés--(check individual hotel sites for any special %26#39;promotional%26#39;/%26#39;package%26#39; rate offers)

http://www.hoteldaubusson.com/

http://www.paris-hotel-vieuxparis.com/

www.hotel-paris-relais-saint-germain.com/

http://www.villa-saintgermain.com/

http://www.hotel-bel-ami.com/en/index.php

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Paris has simply LOADS of decent, clean, small Hotels in quiet streets that you will never have heard of, yet these quiet streets can be literally YARDS away from the main action!!

I once stayed in the Fleche D%26#39;or in Rue D%26#39;Amsterdam, close to Gare St Lazare, the famous big department stores of Galleries Lafayette %26amp; Printemps, Place Clichy, Pigalle, Moulin Rouge and all that %26#39;stuff%26#39; and yet a quieter street you would be hard to find (in Paris terms that is!!).

Fleche d%26#39;Or is another Best Western Hotel, but there are great deals to be had all over the internet for this place.

If you don%26#39;t like this location though, have a look at Best Western website, they have hotels all over paris and many of them in simmilar vein!

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You might look at the Villa d%26#39;Estrees in the 6th. The location is good and the rooms are large.

www.villadestrees.com

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How about an island on the Seine, just west of Notre Dame. This island may get as pedestrian as one would hope. It would be walking distance to quite a few tourist sites as well as restaurants on both the right and left banks of Paris.

There are four hotels on the Ile St. Louis: Jeu de Paume, St. Louis, Lutece, and Deux Iles. Lutece and Deux Iles are owned by a M. Buffat who owns two other hotels, the Galileo in the 8th and the Henri IV Rive Gauche in the 5th. If any of these appeal to you then check the TA for recent reviews.

www.saintlouisenlisle.com

www.Paris-hotel-lutece.com/en.html

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Ile St Louis is an ace idea, you can%26#39;t really get more %26#39;pedestrian%26#39; in Paris than that!!

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I stayed at the Hotel Select a few months ago and can recommend it. It%26#39;s on Place Sorbonne, which has now been pedestrianised.

Help with approx Taxi cost!

Hi Folks,

We are off to Paris next Thursday and will arrive via shuttle bus at Porte Maillot. We are staying at Astor Saint Honore, 11 Rue d%26#39;Astorg and I have looked at RATP for some help in getting to the hotel but it%26#39;s two lines and still about a 5 minute walk to the hotel.

Given that we are going to have luggage we are thinking that a taxi might be the best bet. Can anyone tell me how much roughly we can expect to pay and what the traffic is likely to be like at 10.30am??

Thanks in advance

Kat

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Hi;

You say you are taking the shuttle to Porte Maillot.

Are you taking the Air France Shuttle?

If so you might consider staying on past the Porte Maillot stop and get off at the Arc de Triomphe stop.

The cost is the same.

There is a taxi stand right there and the fare to the Astor would be around 7 euros...

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The distance is roughly 3.5 km per car. You can find the rates at http://www.taxi-paris.net - it will probably be the minimum fare: 5.60 euro (not counting extra charge for luggage).

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Hi,

We are getting the shuttle from Beauvais and I understand it only goes to Port Maillot.

It looks like it will be worth taking a taxi at around 7 euros it will save a lot of stress.

Thanks for your replies, it has been most helpful and much appreciated!

Do you know if there is a taxi stand at Port Maillot or will we need to walk somewhere to get one?

Thanks

Kat

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Hi,

The shuttle will drop you close to Hotel Concorde Lafayette, and you can have a try to get a taxi there, there are always some waiting there. There%26#39;s a taxi station a bit further, walk the opposite direction (mind the hotel tower will then be behind you, on your left), pass the main entrance of Palais des congrès and walk 5 minutes to %26quot;Avenue de la Grande Armée%26quot; (there%26#39;s a %26quot;café-restaurant%26quot; at the corner), the taxi station is there. If there%26#39;s any taxi waiting, just pay attention to those passing by to hail one, it is free if the sign on the roof is lit up.

Enjoy your trip !

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Depending on the time of day and vageries of surface traffic, the fare for a Taxi Parisian from the BEAUVAIS SHUTTLE drop off on Blvd. Général Pershing to the Hôtel Astor Saint Honore, 11 Rue d%26#39;Astorg, 75008 should run 9€-10€ or so.

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Thanks everyone fot your help it is much appreciated and I feel better prepared for our visit now!

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Sorry for my question but I am also trying to find out what i ashould for my family gtransportation from my hotel (Novotel paris montaprnasse) to olry airport by taxi. I would like to ask if you could tell me what is this sign

http://tinyurl.com/8mg3o7

is it a taxi station ? it is right in front of my hotel !!!

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Hi,

Not exactly a station, this is where taxis can stop and let their passengers step out of the car. Best thing would be to ask the reception to call you a taxi.

If you can walk and don%26#39;t mind taking the Air France bus, it is not that far (http://tinyurl.com/axvcfc ), in front of Le Méridien Hotel.

Bye !

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I really thank you for your advice.

I believe I will prefer the taxi solution, but by the way the air france bus operates 5:00 in the morning ??

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You%26#39;re welcome .I think the air france bus starts later, around 6 am. Enjoy your trip !

Bye,

Bruno

Paris - MSM- Bayeaux - Paris

We will be visiting Paris in April. We would like to take the train to MSM, spend the afternoon there, then travel by train to Bayeaux and spend the night there. Then do the WWII tour the next day and return to Paris that night. Can we do all of the above in two days, or is it just too much?

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Removed on: 1:25 am, August 27, 2009

Wine Road Tour from Strasbourg

Hi, my husband and I will be staying in Strasbourg for 3 days in September. Is there an organized tour(small group preferred) that will take you down the wine road? Also, does anyone have a hotel or Bed and Breakfast recommendation that cost between $100 and $200 a night?Prefer central location, so that we can just walk around.

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I don%26#39;t know of any guided tours - I normally drive around myself - but I%26#39;m sure the hotel you find could help. The below link could be useful to give you ideas

visit-alsace.com/winstub/vins_ang_road.html

As I live nearby I don%26#39;t use the hotels but the below link looks nice. I stayed in a %26quot;chateauxhotels%26quot; place just before Christmas and it was exceptionally good.

chateauxhotels.com/public/hotel-2395/Cardina…

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Writer Sue Style (www.suestyle.com) who writes the Alsace wine travel guides, recommends Hotel Cathedrale and Hotel de Rohan both in the middle of Strasbourg, which should just about fall into your budget, though September might be expensive ...

Self-drive is definitely the best way of touring the vineyards if you can rent a car for a day - vineyards near the villages of Obernai, Molsehim and Mittelbergheim are not very far away. It%26#39;s a lovely time to visit - could be harvest if the end of the month.

Sorry, don%26#39;t have details on organized tour, but the Strasbourg tourist office might help. Also you should find the following site about the wine route useful:

http://www.alsace-route-des-vins.com

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Thank you so much for information. We were trying not to rent a car, but may change our mind. We are taking the train from Basel on the 27th after a Viking Rhine River cruise. I will check the hotels you mentioned. Thank you again.

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Thank you for your quick response. I will check into the hotel chain you mentioned. We are trying not to rent a car, but may change our minds. We lived in Germany for 4 years, so use to driving in Europe, but we find it expensive with insurance, etc.

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Removed on: 3:21 am, August 27, 2009

Where were we?

We were exploring Paris and wandered into a park with 2 rows of trees leading a path through a park. Part way down the path between the trees were several sculptures of wolves chasing each other. We were in the vicinity of the Louvre or Palais Royal. I am trying to label my pictures and don%26#39;t know where this was....Any help would be appreciated.

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Probably the gardens of the Palais-Royal? See if these ring a bell...

…gouv.fr/culture/…comestoppey.html

www.flickr.com/photos/gherm/3155094819/

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This is it. Thank you very much.

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Removed on: 6:22 am, August 19, 2009

restaurant reservation websites???

I have read on here about websites to make reservations for restaurants. I would use the rest. own website, but if it doesn%26#39;t have one %26amp; I want to use a website, which ones are the best %26amp; most reliable. I have read on here some bad experiences with some. I know I can stop by to reserve for another time, or call, but I want some options. Thanks!

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Which restaurants are you interested in?

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Very bad option: www.bestrestaurants.com

Before I went to Paris in Sept. 2007 I used this website to make 10 or 11 reservations (as I was staying a month in Paris). It was truly a nightmare. Some of the sites responded positively and when I got to Paris and reconfirmed on the phone they didn%26#39;t know anything about my reservation. Other reservations I made through the site were not confirmed by email (and I had to write them again and again without ever receiving confirmation). Even though that was the case, several of those restaurants, who never confirmed, said I had a reservation when I got to Paris and actually called them.

What a mess! The woman who runs that site even came on Trip Advisor and said that when there are problems she helps people fix them. I emailed her with my problems and she never responded to me.

You can%26#39;t trust the results of what you do on that site. With such bad service as I received, I like to discourage people from using them.

I have found that when I make reservations through the restaurant site itself, everything goes smoothly. I know some restaurants don%26#39;t have websites. Most of the big ones or famous ones do though.

I have this dilemna with the restaurant Spring. I want a reservation there. They only take phone reservations and they fill up 6 months in advance. They aren%26#39;t taking reservations until some time in February now. I have to call at 2:30am to make a reservation. So far--I don%26#39;t have a reservation for my Sept. 2009 trip. But I will--one way or another.

Good luck to you!

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I have to agree with ILWP. I always email the restaurant directly and have had excellent results, even when my French wasn%26#39;t grammatically perfect. They seem to get it right anyway and respond in a timely fashion.

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Contact the restaurant directly either with a call or email to make a reservation. Using third parties (unless it%26#39;s your hotel concierge) to make reservations add needless complexity.

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Removed on: 3:16 pm, August 11, 2009