Need help with hotel and train info please! I am a "newbie" on this helpline so please don't scold me if I ask dumb questions!! LOL! 1) moderately priced hotel- clean and in safe area for 2 people. Familiar with Central La Defense? If so, please PM message me . Can you get something for 75 euros in late July? B&B ok. ok to stay in the outskirts of Paris as long as it is not too much trouble to get in and out to see Paris during the day. 2) have Eurail passes- need to make reservations ahead of time for the train to Paris? Heard it gets pretty crowded on trains and hard to even get seats. What trains- high speed trains and regional? 3) We leave our of CDG airport for home (late July).... difficult to get to the airport from Paris by bus or train? How long does it take and is it difficult to get reservations ahead of time to ensure we have a secured spot? That will determine where we stay- close to Paris or closer to CDG and just visit Paris and then retreat to our hotel closer to CDG....
4) Want to be sure we don't run into any snags getting to airport and missing our flight home.
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6713 posts
(1) I think you'll have a hard time finding much for 75 euros in late July unless it's so far out that you'll spend too much money and time getting in to central Paris. Definitely I'd stay inside the Peripherique (belway highway). La Defense would be OK but I'd think quite expensive, I've never stayed there and don't know a Central Hotel. (2) I understand you have to make reservations, even with a railpass, on the high-speed trains, and there's a fee for that. Some other trains get crowded, we came in once from Chartres sitting on steps. But you don't say which "train to Paris" you're taking, i.e. from where. (3) It's not hard to get from central Paris to CDG, but you want to leave ample time to get there 3 hours before your flight. You can get from central Paris to CDG (cheapest to costliest) by the RER "B3" train (which connects with metro), by the Roissybus from the Opera Garnier, by Air France bus from various train stations and other central points, or by taxi. Depends on how many people and how much luggage. Check http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/en-GB/Passagers/Access-maps-car-parks/ for more info. The RER train is probably most reliable for time because it's not subject to highway traffic, taxis least so. 4) If it's a morning flight you could spend the last night of your trip at one of the airport hotels or nearby in Roissy with a shuttle service, that's good for peace of mind. But don't spend every night out there just because you want to catch a flight on the last day. Stay in the city near a metro station.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33819 posts
2) To Paris from where?
Posted by
OP
Ventura, CA, United States
17 posts
I will be visiting with family in a little town called Dieuze sp?(France) for several days then leave for Paris from there. It is in north east part of France near the German border (Saarbrucken).
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
Try the place I stayed at earlier in this year: Solar Hotel (www.solarhotel.fr). 69 euros per night inc. breakfast, two pleasant buildings in the Denfert Rochereau area in the SE of central Paris. Not a big tourist area but as safe as it gets and in easy reach of various sites by Metro/RER (RER trains direct to CDG from the local station). They may be full for July but enquire.