Travelling to Paris

[Im a BusyBee]

Can anyone recomend a nice but reasonable priced hotel in paris. Planning a trip for easter next year. Also best way to travel there from east anglia. if you have some costs too would be good. At a later stage i shall be asking for the things we 'must' do or see while we are there. thanks so much.

[~Wingnut~]

Hi I'm a busybee :o)

I went to Paris about 3 weeks and got excellent advice from 2 ABer's! Here is the link;
http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Travel/Question 529495.html

The link from me on that thread about the hotel is the one we stayed in and found it very reasonable and nice. �221 for 3 nights (7 euros for breakfast)

A must see for me was the Louvre and Notre Dame Cathedral but of course everybody's different :o)
We went up the Eiffel Tower but wouldn't bother to do it again if (when) we go back.

Have a great time!!!

[mushroom25]

there's really nothing to add to the advice in Wingnut's link - except maybe -

you've not specified whether by "best" you mean most convenient or cheapest.

"best" in my book would be by Eurostar from London, but the cheapest is likely to be by budget airline from Norwich (FlyBe) or Luton (EasyJet)

[Buenchico]

(2-part post):

Hello again, Busy Bee.

From clues picked up from your previous posts, I believe that you're somewhere close to Norwich. FlyBe currently operate from Norwich to Paris Charles de Gaulle. The flight goes via Jersey but the additional flying time is offset by the time you'll save through having a local departure point. Flight prices (excluding taxes and charges) are currently between �1.17 and �52.17 each way. You need to add on �38.50 for outbound taxes and charges and �27.37 for return taxes and charges. The current schedule offers just one (lunchtime) daily flight outbound and one (teatime) flight back.
http://www.flybe.com

You need to be aware the FlyBe are constantly reviewing their services from Norwich (where they struggle to make money). There's no guarantee that they'll still be flying from Norwich next Easter:
http://www.uk-airport-news.info/norwich-airpor t-news-120408.htm

Car parking at Norwich airport costs �10 per day (or �9 per day if booked online).

Somewhat surprisingly, there are no direct flights from Stansted to any of the three Paris airports.

Eurostar fares start from �29.50 each way. (If you book well in advance, and avoid the most popular services, it's usually fairly easy to get tickets at that price).
http://www.eurostar.com

[Buenchico]

The Open Return rail fare, from Norwich to Liverpool Street is currently �71.00. If you can travel off-peak, the Saver Return fare is �41.00. There might be cheaper advance purchase fares available, but these can be hard to get around holiday periods. Additionally, you should be aware that rail services between Norwich and London are often disrupted by engineering works over the Easter period.

Car parking at Norwich station is �8 per day.

My preferred option would probably be to drive to Ebbsfleet station to board a Eurostar train from there. The AA website gives the distance, from Norwich, as around 120 miles with about 2� hours driving time. Parking costs �11.50 per day:
http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisure/travel_i nformation/at_the_station/terminals/ebbsfleet_ international.jsp

A further alternative is to travel to Luton airport (about 100 miles from Norwich, 2� hours driving time) and take an easyJet flight to Paris CDG. For some random dates I've just checked, fares are in the range �23.61 to �31.61 each way, including taxes and charges. There are 4 flights per day in each direction
http://www.easyjet.com

Car parking at Luton is �9 per day if you use the long stay car park.

Travel from CDG airport, into central Paris, is cheap and easy using RER Line B.

Paris has such a good public transport system that it doesn't really matter which area of the city you stay in. However, the Latin Quarter is full of cheap eating places (with the price of a 3 course meal starting from around �10) and handy for access to many of the main tourist attractions. The hotel recommended by Wingnut is on the edge of the Latin Quarter, so it's well

[Buenchico]

. . . worth considering.

(I hate it when AB cuts off the last bit of a sentence without warning!)

Chris