Friday, March 23, 2012

Paris arrive 13th Oct depart 17th Oct Questions please help.

Hi, my husband and I are off to Paris for three nights and we really want to see the Moulin Rouge. We were going to go for the meal and show option but I have read on here somewhere that the food doesn%26#39;t live up to much considering the price. Can anyone please recommend somewhere for us to have a meal close by before the show? Somewhere romantic with devine food and wine but not out of this world expensive.





We arrive at 4:30pm from Amsterdam and we are staying at the Hotel Leveque on Rue Cler. Would it be easy to get from the train station to the hotel on public transport (we travel light) or do you know roughly how much for a taxi?





We leave on the 17th from the De Gaulle airport, flight leaves at 1;50pm.





Can any one give me any tips and adivce for these days? I haven%26#39;t been to Paris since I was 10 and my husband has never even been out of Australia. We want to do all the typical tourist things.





I was thinking on arrival after check in getting some local cheese, bread, nibbles and some champagne and having a little feast on a park bench near the eiffel tower, is ok to have a drink in that area? And seeing how we feel maybe go up it and perhaps have a drink at the restaurant? Can you do that or do you have to get a meal too? Then I was thinking back to the hotel for a rest and then grabing a quick supper somewhere and having a resonably early night.





I am in the process of working out the rest of our itinerary, museums, opening times, shopping etc and any advice would be much appreciated.




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I cannot tackle all your questions, but I will try with a few.





Yes, food is overpriced and underwhelming at Moulin Rouge, as should be expected as people go for the show not the food.



No , I cannot recomment anywhere else as I tend to eat whereever I wander after checking out menus( which by law are always displayed outside so you can check them out)





I am not sure which station you arrive in Paris at, but I will assume Gare Du Nord. Guesstimate for taxi 10-15 euros. Yes, you could get the metro too, with light travellers it is a great option. There are posters here that are better suited to give you the routing then I.





The picnic idea sounds great, no one will bother you having a drink with your picnic as long as you do not get screaming drunk( LOL%26lt; yes, I realize unlikely)





No, you cannot go into a %26quot;restaurant%26quot; for a drink only, BUT , you will find tons of cafes in the area where you certainly are welcome to have only a drink.





Enjoy.




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TAXI PARISIAN from the regular taxi rank at GARE du NORD (walk to the end of your THALYS arrival platform, turn Right onto the main concourse of the station and walk Straight Ahead until your bump inot the TAXI stand) could run anywhere from 15€-to-20€ (you%26#39;ll be trying to get %26#39;cross Paris at rush hour).





From GARE du NORD via METRO to GRAND HÔTEL LÉVÊQUE--2-star) 29 rue Cler (btwn: rue de Grenelle %26amp; rue du Champ de Mars) 75007, Metro: École Militaire-- http://www.hotel-leveque.com/ --is to head for the entrances down to the RER/METRO portion of the GARE du NORD station %26#39;complex%26#39; (walk to the end of your arrival platform, Turn Left and walk along the main station concourse to the RER/METRO entrances) is to take the #4 METRO ligne (heading in the direction of Porte d%26#39;Orléans) to the STRASBOURG-SAINT DENIS station...then transfer over to the #8 METRO ligne (heading in the direction of Balard) to the ÉCOLE MILITAIRE Metro station....then walk the short distance (approx 800 meters) to the hotel.





If you decide to take a Taxi Parisian from Gare du Nord, you should be aware that when trains arrive, there is often a wait for the next-available-taxi at the stand....so with this in mind, when your THALYS train arrives at the station be prepeared and ready to detrain as soon as the train stops and the doors open. Then hustle directly to the TAXI rank. There ar a couple of good reason for this: 1st is to minimize the amount of time you might have to wait for an available taxi...and 2nd is that taxi fares increase during %26#39;rush hour%26#39; at 17:00 (5 PM).




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The Moulin Rouge is near the Montmartre area. I suggest walking through the neighborhood. Take the funiculaire up to the Sacre Coeur Basilica. It offers a wonderful view of Paris. I really enjoyed this neighborhood. Many restaurants/bars to have dinner or drinks in.




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Thank you so much everyone for all your help, especially KDKSAIL with all the info on how to get to our hotel on public transport.





Joan1 and faith stl I think we will book a show only, the 9pm one and just head to Montmartre area a few hours early and pick somewhere for dinner. This is our big night out in Paris so I can%26#39;t wait to get dressed up! hopefully with something new ;-)





We have decided to go up the Eiffel tower the next day in the morning so we can take the stairs. We want to try and stay reasonably fit on our trip as we both enjoy good food just a little too much! So I was thinking for that night when we get there having the picnic and having a good old fashioned wonder around and just enjoying being in Paris.





We arrive at the Gare Du Nord, had to go and check my tickets after posting, lol!I have been google earthing everything to see how far away it all is from each other. We fly out from the Charles De Gaulle airport, is that easy to get to?





Thanks again everyone for all your advice, I am so excited!




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A great way to see/enjoy the city is to walk along the Seine. If you begin near the Eiffel Tower you can walk all the way down along the river to Notre Dame. You can do this walk in around an hour and you will see so much...I love the Latin Quarter (area on left bank of Seine near Notre Dame) for walking, shops, and cafes.





Enjoy! You can%26#39;t go wrong with a trip to Paris!




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My husband and I went on the Isango! Eiffel Tower+cruise+Moulin Rouge tour on 27 August. We enjoyed it very much - but remember that it IS a group tour so considerable time was spent waiting for people to arrive on time etc. The Moulin Rouge show is spectacular. I would not describe at as being the ideal place for a meal as they do 3 shows a night and it is pretty hectic getting in and out. A glass of champagne is included in the admission price, I think.



St Germaine is a great place for eating - the Vagenende restaurant has superb food and wine and watching the staff is a show in itself! You should book there. Another great place, which specialises in souffles, is Le Cigale Recamier - again, best to book.



I gave up on shopping in Paris - the prices are really ridiculous - but looking at things is cheap! Gallery Lafayette has a superb roof/ceiling, and their cafe is quite good - if you sit near the windows it can be quite fun!




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We%26#39;ve had two quick trips to Paris and here%26#39;s what we did:



Notre Dame, Saint Chapel (both Latin Quarter) - take the English tours if French isn%26#39;t one of your languages. Stroll the beautiful walk from the Louve to the Arch de Triumph, see the Louve - I think it%26#39;s closed on Tuesdays. Also, at night we took a Seine River boat cruise - very nice and a nice way to acclimate to the city on the first night. We never went to Sacre Cour but wish we had. We didn%26#39;t feel it was necessary to %26#39;go%26#39; to the Eifel tower as you can see it from anywhere in the city. Public transport is easy and inexpensive. Be very polite and if you need to approach someone for directions excuse yourself first and ask if it%26#39;s alright to ask them a question. The French are wonderful. There is also a wonderful park close to Saint Chapel, sorry I can%26#39;t remember the name but our friends who live part time in Paris recommended it to us. If you%26#39;re interested, I%26#39;ll look up the name.




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