Going to France for 3 weeks in September and have a choice of some optional tours through Gate One.
Versailles for $85
Montmartre $59
Monte Carlo at night $60 (from Nice)
St. Paul de Vence $40 (from Nice)
Just interested to see what you all think as we have never been France and trying to decide yay or nay on these options.
Many thanks!
Judy
Those would be easily manageable by public transportation at less cost, but without a guide, so how much you value having a guide--and how much you object to being tied to the tour company's itinerary--will be a factor.
St.-Paul-de-Venice is reachable by public bus but not by train. Montmartre, of course, is right in Paris, so you can explore it for the cost of a couple of bus or Metro tickets.
If you want a tour, consider the Secret Food Tour in Paris, if it suits the schedule. You will walk through some neighborhoods on that tour and Montmartre might be one of them-I don't remember.
Even as very experienced and knowledgeable travelers, we have found that a guide for a day trip adds immeasurably to the experience.
We love using guides and find the added value of someone describing what we're seeing to be great value for the money. Both of those Nice tours intrigue me, especially at that price.
I agree, tours can give you the best experience. Since the tours are offered through our Gate One trips( as optional) I think they should be good. Only one I am really unsure about now is the Montmartre area as we are staying at the Terrass
Hotel (in the Montmartre area) for 4 nights. Looking forward to exploring France! Any tips are appreciated....:>)
Depending on what day of the week you are there, you could also consider the Paris Walks tour of Montmartre. It's 25E each and you book by the night before online.
http://www.paris-walks.com/cariboost_files/2022_20SEPTEMBER_20WALKS.pdf
"EVERY WEDNESDAY 10.30am The Village of Montmartre On this picturesque walk you will
discover a delightful neighbourhood with old winding streets, the vineyard, artists' studios (Renoir,
Lautrec, Van Gogh, Picasso) street art, quiet gardens, historic cabarets, the place-du-Tertre with its
artists and the Sacré Coeur Basilica. Meet at metro Abbesses (use the elevator, the station is deep!"
Does the Versailles excursion include admission to the Palace and a guided tour? Guided tour of any other areas of Versailles? TBH, unless you are REALLY in to seeing Versailles, with just 3 full days, I'd stay in Paris as there is so much to see there.
We have visited all the places that you list above and they are all good places to visit.
We have a tour/Nile Cruise booked with Gate 1 for Egypt in Jan. Looking forward to it. Price is great. We booked all the optional tours.
I don't know the details of these optional tours, but St. Paul de Vence is a must, we love that place.
Monte Carlo is Ok, but you probably should do it anyway. Montmartre is good, what are your options if you don't do the tour. You could go on your own, but you will still spend $$ taking the METRO or taxis.
Versailles is a must as well, we did it on our own taking the RER and METRO from CDG airport. Hang on to your wallet and valuables, pickpockets are terrible on the RER and METRO. I know we took a tour of Versailles provided by Versailles, but don't remember what we paid.
We are in Paris a total of 9 full days-
We are coming from the west coast so I always add a day or two to adjust to time change etc.
In place of Versailles VIP tour and Montmartre tour (different days) it is free time. We are staying in the Montmartre area for 4 nights so not planning on that tour at this time, but will do Versailles.
Instead of St Paul de Vence we could take mini-train up to Colline du Chateau or explore Nice (Promendae, Old town etc).Have lots of options....
3.Monte Carlo tour is at night so thought I would go (unless Nice should be seen at night as well?).
Since I have never been to any of these places I really appreciate all the suggestions! Keep them coming! ....:>))
merci
How long are you in Avignon? We stayed overnight in Arles and it didn't do much for me. Our favourite memory was catching a train to Avignon to see Palais de Papes.
I loved Nice enough that it's on the list for a month long stay. I haven't been to Monaco at night but that tour intrigues me. I can't think of anything in Nice that makes it any better in the evening than the day.
Nice is OK, but St. Paul de Vence is special. It is a walled city preserved from centuries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Paul-de-Vence
I stayed in St Paul de Vence with a car and day tripped. It was delightfully quiet in the mornings and evenings (March) but during the day it was jam packed with tourists. I would see them streaming down as I returned each day around dusk. There's plenty to see and do in Nice, including an excellent Monet museum, or you can easily day trip by train to any of the towns along the coast, like Antibes, Menton, and Villefranche
