Live in France

You can’t afford a luxury trip to Paris? A 5 star holiday can be had for a three star price but you need to be a little clever.

The single most important thing for a cost-effective vacation is pick you time. Times to avoid in Paris: Christmas, September/October when there are large trade shows. If looking for a luxury hotel: check if rates are cheaper at weekends or in August, when traditionally when anyone who is anyone leaves Paris.

Try to time your departure so that you leave late at night having had a full day in Paris: your hotel will hold your luggage even if you have to check out in the morning. An extra day in Paris and no hotel expenses, perfect! Sleep on the plane its the best thing to do on them.

Don’t go alone: preferably take a couple of friends and share a room: you will normally pay the same for two adults as one and the third person is much less than half the tarrif for two.

Don’t hire a car . Paris was not designed for cars. You won't be happy if you hire a car and fight the crazy traffic: instead walk or catch the metro. If you are hiring an auto for the remainder of your vacation, arrange it so that your hire period begins as you say au revoir to Paris.

On-line travel sites are great for finding and coparing the best hotel rates. Don’t just book with the first site you find though. Try five or six especially if you are looking for smaller, boutique hotels. Not all travel websites list all hotels.

Its worth knowing that most art galleries and museums open only 6 days and are often closed on a Monday or Tuesday. If you are in town for those two days then double check which days your “must see” sites are open to avoid disappointment.

Don’t use taxis to hop around town: use the Metro for longer trips or walk: Paris is one of the most walkable cities in the world and most of the major sights and shopping areas are within easy walking distance.

A new development in inner city transport is the Vélib program (“vélo Liberté” or Freedom Bikes) by which it is possible to rent a bike for a very modest price. The first 30 minutes is free (plus a Euro1 daily fee payable by credit card) and prices rise raipidly for longer rental: designed to encourage you to drop off the bike and pick up a new one as you require: what a great reason to stop at cafe or two…

Paris is a wonderful city and who doesn’t want to see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Musse d’Orsay, Notre Dame Church. Make sure you make the effort to make it to top stared restaraunt at least once on your visit.

Choose a Paris Luxury Hotel for your next European vacation and really see a different side of that wonderful city. A central Paris hotel will help you spend most of your time in the city of romance not commuting from a remote suburb. Choosing the right Paris hotel can be the difference between an average trip and memories that will last a lifetime.

Tags: central Paris hotel, cheap Paris hotel, discount Paris hotel, friends, last minute Paris hotel, luxury Paris hotel, Paris apartment

This entry was posted on Friday, October 10th, 2008 at 4:55 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.