London to Paris

Hi there,

I will be travelling to London this summer with my 14 year old niece. I%26#39;d like to take the Eurostar into Paris for 3 or 4 days. Is it best to book a package deal through one of the discount sites or book eurostar and hotel seperately? I%26#39;ve also used priceline in the past for trips to NYC and Vegas....how reliable is it for a Paris hotel (I%26#39;ve checked biddingfortravel.com and it seems you can get a 4 star hotel for the price of a 2 or 3). Any advice as to hotel and area (I%26#39;ve stayed in the Marais last time I was in Paris and loved it but am now considering the left bank).

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!

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Hi zoeyb,

I%26#39;m travelling from London to Paris this week with my 15-year-old son - I booked the Eurostar and hotel separately, and enjoyed the freedom and flexibility (and fun!) this gave me to browse the Tripadvisor website looking for hotels. Eventually I decided on the Hotel du College de France on the Left Bank, because of all the nice reviews and the price-range too. I%26#39;ll let you know what it%26#39;s like when I get back next week!!

This website is so brilliant I%26#39;d suggest you find a hotel by checking out the posts here on Left Bank hotels. As for the Eurostar - I%26#39;ve not yet travelled on this, it%26#39;ll be my first time, but it was certainly very easy to book on the Eurostar website - www.eurostar.com - and if you book ahead the fares can be very cheap. Our return fares London to Paris cost 60 pounds sterling each, and the tickets were posted to us the same day. But I can%26#39;t comment on the package deals you might get via the USA, or whether you can book direct on the Eurostar from there.

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Whatever you do, BOOK Eurostar ahead of time! I looked at prices online before my fiance and I left for London (from Boston), and it was very cheap (don%26#39;t remember the exact price). Well, we procrastinated, not knowing exactly when we%26#39;d want to get to Paris. Long story short, all the cheap tickets were gone, and we ended up paying ~$500 (US) to get to Paris on the Eurostar.

We stayed in the Latin Quarter in Paris, which seemed like a very safe neighborhood. Lots of patisseries and nice, little Italian restaurants around. It was also close to the subway, and within easy walking distance to Notre Dame. I%26#39;d book separately though, so you have your choice of hotels. I%26#39;ve booked package deals to Orlando, and they tend to choose not the greatest hotels.

I%26#39;ve also heard that staying near the Tuilleries is nice, because you%26#39;re close to a lot of stuff. I%26#39;m hoping to get to Paris next July (2006) for my first wedding anniversary, and if I can%26#39;t find a moderately priced hotel around the Tuilleries, then I%26#39;ll book in the Latin Quarter again.

I don%26#39;t know if you%26#39;ve ever been to Paris, but I found the people to be very nice. Just speak some French (you don%26#39;t even have to know a lot, I only knew a couple words at the time (but was inspired to take French and now understand a lot), and the shop owners, etc, seem very grateful.

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I would love to hear back regarding the Hotel College du France. I would also like to hear some comments about priceline. I%26#39;ve seen winning bids for 4* hotels come in at about $110 USD per night. That%26#39;s a pretty good deal. I just want to make sure it%26#39;s reliable (though have never had a problem booking through them in the US), would hate to arrive to find nothing is booked. Also, I really did love staying in the Marais area. So many great cafes, pubs, restaurants nearby. Also felt very safe (which is most important for me especially travelling with my niece) any suggestions for good hotels there?

Thanks!

PS. I%26#39;ve learned all to well to book Eurostar in advance. My last time in London, I didn%26#39;t and missed out.

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I know you want to go to Paris for 3-4 days, but we had a great trip using Britain Shrinkers for a 2 day trip. We left about 7am on the eurostar, were met at Gare du Nord and took a bus tour, a boat tour and then had a quick lunch at the food court near the Louvre and then a guided tour of the Louvre. They put us in a cab to our hotel--the Sofitel Rive Gauche (sp?). It was clean, huge bathroom, but the rooms were kind of worn, and the king size bed was really two twins. We were also given a Paris Viste for the next day. So we had that evening and the next day to explore on our own. We had a 6:30 train back to London and booked first class then so we were served dinner on the train. We had never been to Paris so I wanted some help planning. We went back this spring on our own. I found the Britain Shrinkers site in England better than the American version.

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Actually, you may want to check www.easyjet.com for a flight instead of the Eurostar. I just checked, and a flight from London to Charles de Gaulle in Paris could be less than 100 pounds for both of you depending on your travel dates. Just a suggestion...it also only takes about a half hour.

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I would look at easyjet also, we are going to London in June and then flying over to Paris for July. You don%26#39;t leave from Heathrow but we are leaving from Luton and it is only about 10 min difference for traveling time. The price can%26#39;t be beat and it is a none stop flight. It is a similar airline to the US Southwest. Have a great time maybe i%26#39;ll see you on the plane.

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Try BMI. We booked for three people in Mid July and the price was 89 pounds for all three of us, one way. We are not returning to London, so I cannot comment on the return flight. Best of all the flight departs Heathrow, Terminal 1, just 15 minutes from Paddington.

Peter

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Hi,

I am traveling to Paris in 2 1/2 weeks with my family of 5. We bought Eurostar tickets on the Rick Steves website and were able to buy the most discounted tickets ($45 for each child, and $90 for my husband and me). The earlier you buy your tickets, the better chance of paying less for them.

I don%26#39;t know anything about the package deals. I also found our hotel near Luxembourg Gardens through Rick Steve%26#39;s as well.