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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 8:01 pm
by joydivision
Im of to Paris for the Mrs bday in the summer.
Not yet booked the hotel, so anyone fancy sharing which area to stay in? Paris is a huge city!
Anyone stay at a certain hotel which can be reccomended?
Any attractions which I dont want to miss, I know the obvious ones.
Also, where is reasonable to eat & drink? I do realise I am going to get spanked, but I have heard horror stories of 200 euro bills for a meal! Dont they know were in a recession!!
Cheers
JD
Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 9:34 pm
by Pablo
I've been to Paris many times and love it although I've not been since 2004 so can't remember many names. If it's your first time then you've got to do the full tourist thing and see the Tower Notre Dame etc they're amazing and need to be got out of the way. As for districts to stay you can go from high class to slum just by turning a corner in Paris so I'd say it's a good idea to get a decent map and buy the latest rough guide and use trip adviser to check out accomodation. Sacre-Coeur is good to see in the evening at sunset and there's loads of wee places to eat full of locals in the streets around it where you'll get a decent feed and not be ripped off. There's a lovely park called Parc Des Buttes Chaumont in Belleville that's a great place to spend the afternoon wandering about especially with a picnic it's an old quarry thats been landscaped with some of the huge rock faces made from moulded concrete it's like Gaudi's been practising before he went to Barcelona. Paris is massive but the Public transport is superb and if you like walking then you'll see plenty. One thing though Parisians don't pick up their dog sh#t and there's a lot of dogs in Paris.
Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 10:59 pm
by lutonlagerlout
if you go on the paris forum on tripadvisor and ask they will tell you the latest
IIRC it is bone numbingly expensive, went when i was 12 with the school,cost me £4.20 for 3 effing icecreams,that was when they were 10 p here or 15p for a 99er
wiped me out for the trip
brother in law was inter railing and saw a sign "plat du jour 50 fr" so him and his mate had the 5 quid dinner,and 3 cokes which cost them 4 pounds each,that was 20 years ago
unless your missus has a thing about 5 star places i would aim for premier inn standard and spend your hard earned on restaurants and doing stuff
I have stayed in a couple of £300+ per night 5 star places and at the end of the day you go to sleep,its nice having rose petals on the pillow and fresh fruit but its hard to warrant the extra £230 over a clean comfortable and warm premier inn
I have used this chain when travelling in france and they are clean and secure,probably a somewhere between travel lodge and premier inn
and importantly reasonable money
hope this helps
LLL 
Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 11:06 pm
by lutonlagerlout
oh and jd ,any capital city in the world tends to be 30% dearer than the rest of the country
I went to a dinner for 6, just before xmas in central london,
it came to just shy of a grand
we split the bill, but my eyes were watering for days
LLL :O
Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 11:42 pm
by ilovesettsonmondays
been to paris a couple of times for the arc on a racing trip.was paying about a fiver in 2003 ish for a pint . dearer for a short.cant really reccomend anywhere was with 20 lads on the drink, except the pigalle if you want a bit of naughtiness . good irish bar if i remember rightly around those parts too.
Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 11:44 pm
by ilovesettsonmondays
tony where the feck did you eat lol.
Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 6:38 am
by lutonlagerlout
oslo court,in st johns wood
the dinner was 42.50 a head but then the pink champagne started flowing etc etc
a fantastic restaurant and it was only greed that got us into the hole
LLL
Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 8:28 am
by seanandruby
you've got to sample the pereferique....nightmare :laugh:
Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 9:42 am
by Carberry
Go to the arc de triomphe and figure out how to cross the roundabout :laugh:
My first holiday was to paris. Euro disney was a complete waste of money. Pablo is right about going from class to slum by going around a corner, we ended up walking through the red light district which was highly amusing to me at 15.
Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 5:52 pm
by joydivision
Cheers all for the input. Im going to get one of the city guides before I go. There is so much to see and do, I know id forget something if I didnt.
I have been to France a lot, mostly alpine towns and villages, always found the people nice to be fair, but the Parisians seem to have a reputation for being rude/arrogant. What did you lot reckon?
Cheers
JD
Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 5:54 pm
by DNgroundworks
Id like to go to paris, just need a tidy bit of skirt to take there first!
LLL whats the difference between a travel lodge and premier inn? I thought they were the same ish?
Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 6:18 pm
by rab1
cost me £45 roughly for 3 beers and a diet coke and vodka. that was 6 years ago.
Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 7:02 pm
by lutonlagerlout
travel lodge is not as nice as premier inn on the whole
and the cost reflects that
as i said to me as long as its clean,secure, and comfortable I'm not over fussed on rose petals
money better spent on activities
LLL
Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 1:31 pm
by Bec@LondonStone
Hey guys:) JD - you'll have to let us know when you get back what you thought and how the hotel was. I'm gonna take my mum in October I think for both our birthdays. Have been hinting to my boyfriend for years but he's having none of it 
so need somewhere cheap and cheerful and close to the action! That park looks brilliant Pablo (just did a quick google search), very pretty.
Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 4:12 pm
by lutonlagerlout
had to look up La Peripherique sean
found thisloon
LLL :O