A week in Paris

[Libby]

Looks like I'll be visiting Paris the first week of April (or there abouts) with my friend and her family. There will be 6 of us in total so we're looking at renting an apartment and doing as much on the cheap as we can.

At first I thought a week was too long but having looked over what is available I'm thinking it's a good length of time to be there. What do you all think?

We're planning a day at Versaille and I want to take a day and visit Vimy Ridge. How I'll do that is still up in the air.

Any suggestions?

[WillTravel]

Libby, sounds like a nice trip.

For renting an apartment, take a look at the reviews at www.slowtrav.com and the forum at www.slowtalk.com .

A week is definitely not too long. I liked the town of Chartres, and not just for the amazing cathedral. There are a number of other towns you can visit as daytrips from Paris. But of course there are lots of things to see in Paris too.

If you are interested in the military aspects, there are lots of options there.

Paris Walks are a good deal, and I've always wanted to take the walk about the occupation and resistance.

www.paris-walks.com/

[Eagle]

Libby,

A week in Paris in April sounds great! As I recall, there's a song titled "April in Paris".

I was there in May for almost a week and had a great time, although I was BUSY every day. There's so much to see and do!

One question though, have you (or any in your group) been to Paris previously? That will have a bearing on what activities you do this time. One somewhat unusual activity you might consider trying would be a tour with citysegwaytours.com/paris (I've done it and it's a lot of fun). However, these tours are a bit "pricey" and they require a deposit of about 400€ in case the machine is damaged (be sure to have credit card with an "adequate" credit limit).

With a group of six, you might also consider hiring a local Guide as I've found that it provides a much more interesting and memorable travel experience. You could use a Guide either for local walking tours or for specific sights such as the Louvre. I can provide some suggestions if you're interested.

Of course, a www.parismuseumpass.com/en/home.php (perhaps the two day version?) would be a really good idea, as that's a cost effective way to visit numerous sights and more importantly minimize time waiting in queues.

I'll have to do a bit of research to determine the options for visiting Vimy Ridge. Using a rental car would probably be the easiest solution, especially with a group. I believe the Vimy Ridge historic site is a bit "off the beaten track" so you might be able to get close by public transportation, but not right to the site.

Have you been checking any Guidebooks for tips on Paris?

Good luck with your planning!

[Libby]

I'm sorry. I posted this and went away for a while. It's taken me a while to get back.

I'm travelling to Paris with 5 adults and a teenager. While we won't all be seeing the same thing, we will be spending some time visiting the usual Paris hotspots; Versaille, The Louvre, the Eifel Tower, etc.

We are renting an apartment but haven't found one yet since we still don't have firm dates. My friends are waiting for a seat sale before buying their airline tickets. I need to work the Scandinavian part around them.

IF I go to vimy I will be doing it on my own. I'm not sure how I can get there.

I've picked up the latest Rick Steeves Paris book and it's pretty good.

[madamtrashheap]

Libby, some details on how to get to Vimy by rail:

You can take the train from Paris (Gare du Nord) to Arras then change to the smaller train for Vimy (weekdays the connections are better than weekends). The walk from Vimy station (if you don't do a tour) is about 20mins (you'll be passed by lots of joggers on their way to the memorial) otherwise you can take a taxi from Arras to the memorial (it's about 10km). If you phone the centre they may have a better option to suggest or check the www.sncf.fr site for train times.