paris

WOW. To me that is a lot of money. That is certainly up to you though. If it were me, I would save that money and come home to US and get a B&B around east coast and do some wine tasting, there are good vineyards in NJ and NY.

I could definitely find a much better way to spend 300 euros... like towards my next plane ticket to Europe (however I am a frugal traveler without unlimited funds) I would rather have many inexpensive trips than blow the whole wad on one trip.... There is enough to keep one busy for 8 days easily, even if it means just hanging out in cafes (one of my favorite activities) and watching the Parisian lifestyle.

Just the fact you are asking if you want to spend 300 Euro on a champagne tour when it's your first visit to Paris & you've got 8 days there & a number of things on your "must see" list which will differ wildly from your friends who have been to Paris several times, sounds like you already have decided it's not how you want to spend your time or money. The real question is how comfortable are you telling your friends you want to use the time to go off on your own to do something that's not part of the group plan? Do you feel like you need to have your friends with you 24/7 because you are in a new city & might be uncomfortable finding your way around without their assistance? Do you feel like you need 1 or more friends around because you may not speak French, or you don't want to eat a meal alone? There's no rule that says you need to do everything as a group when you travel with friends. Often if someone doesn't want to take part in something the other group members want to do, it ends up causing unnecessary stress, bad feelings or trip "drama" if they go & have a bad time. Paris is a fairly easy city to get around & as long as you can learn some minimal phrases (please, thank you, do you speak English? where is... etc.), & start off at least attempting to speak some French, you'll find many Parisians speak some English. If you feel funny about eating a meal on your own in a restaurant while they are off on a tour, then grab some take-out & eat on a park bench. You can always politely decline the champagne tour & tell your friends you want to use the time to see something they may not want to repeat on this trip because they've been there before (i.e., visit the Louvre or Notre Dame). Offer to meet up with them somewhere after their tour ends so you can have dinner as a group & hear all about their day.

300 euros is crazy, you could take the train to Reims and tour a champagne house for less then a 1/3 of that ,, just say "no thanks see you at dinner"!

Just checked with grand daughter who was in France month ago and they did a tour from Paris and it was as previous poster said to Reims. She thinks it was only about 100 euro each give or take a little, was a whole day, toured champagne house and lunch on their own so is a lot less than your friends state.

That's pretty extravagant. This must be with a private driver and a very expensive lunch, and then some. You may end being on different wave-lengths for a some of this trip because it seems they are in a "been there, done that" mode and digging up new out-of-the-way adventures, while you are discovering the city for the first time.

My husband, sister and I are visiting Paris this April and were thinking about doing a champagne tour since it is cheaper than the wine tours and the commute is shorter. $300 seems rather expensive since most of the tours I have looked at are between $70 - $200 Euros. If you aren't as passionate about champagne as your friends maybe you should save your money and spend the day exploring Paris instead. You could always stop at a cafe for wine or champagne!

The Rick Steves books are very helpful and he has really good recommendations about where to stay. I really liked the Rue Cler area and the Hotel Beaugency. However, you also need to check out www.tomsguidetoparis.com. Tom has some really great ideas, especially in the section called "strange and interesting walks." Be sure to eat at Chez l'ami Jean. (http://www.lamijean.fr/1.aspx) It is a Basque restaurant and well worth the price. For dinner you will need a reservation. I managed to get in on Bastille Day for lunch without one but they were crowded so a reservation might be good for lunch too. I was there for 6 days and didn't come close to seeing everything I wanted to see. So... I'm going back this summer. :) Concerning going off on your own, I did the trip totally alone and enjoyed every minute. Paris is NOT a scary city to visit. Just read a lot ahead of time, take a map, and have some idea where you are going.

Susann took her trip in September.

Well...now that this thread has been revived, let's tie a big bow on it. How did your trip go (or not)? Did anyone take the €300 tour?

I went on my trip to Paris in sept with my girlfriends, one of the girls that I spent most of my time and I did some viator tours one which was a champagne tour it was so much less than the tour the other girls took which by the way ended up costing more than 300 euros and they didnt get to moet chandon and we did I had the time of my life in Paris would go again we did so much in 8 days and when it came to dinner time my friend and I would walk up and down side streets reading the menus and than decide where we would eat had the best food we rented an apartment on rue Dominique great location

I agree with everyone else. 300 euros is even pricey by cruise ship shore excursion standards. Use the money to do some day trips to Versailles or Normandy or anywhere that is different that the USA.