It was a birthday trip for my wife, so we didn’t scrimp. But there is significant discussion on the forum about costs. I have never seen the exchange rate between dollars and euros mentioned. When I started booking the trip the exchange rate was 1.06 dollars to the euro. And our last expenditures cost 1.25 dollars to the euro. Ouch! People have different travel styles so absolute costs will rarely be comparable for different sets of travelers. I tallied costs for the trip in dollars (although some miles were used) and I think the results for the trip (+/- a percent or two in each category) were interesting: TRAVEL ~ 30%; HOTELS ~ 30%; MEALS ~ 15%; ACTIVITIES (tours/passes/bike rentals) ~ 15%; EVERYTHING ELSE ~ LESS THAN 10%. Currency exchange fees and phone roaming fees are included but were insignificant in cost compared to having nice wine with dinner.
We began in Paris seeing the last day of the Tour de France... then a selection of museums of course... and the cleanest building in Europe, Notre Dame. After all, no one cleans a 780-year old Cathedral of candle soot and city grime unless they must. The outside is gorgeous, and the inside is absolutely resplendent. The Rue Cler neighborhood remains a wonderful place to get a comfortable hotel stay with many excellent restaurants. We enjoyed the Hotel Beaugency. To Rick’s restaurant recommendations I would add Le Campanella three blocks northwest on Rue Ste-Dominic, and the seafood restaurant at the La Sablaise fish market on Rue Cler. Our next stop was Lyon where we stayed near Place Bellecour at the Hotel des Celestines and did food, wine, and bicycle tours (all Lyon specialties). Restaurants to add to your “must-visit” list include La Mere Lea/Maison Lea on the Quai des Celestins and Café Le Terroir in the same area on Rue Montcharmont. Then we went on to Chamonix for the Aiguille du Midi of course and the Mer de Glace (now regrettably reduced to the Mer de Roche (rocks) from climate change). The Hotel La Sapiniere was very comfortable with a great balcony and terrace with a view down the valley. The Brevant ski gondola in town ferries Paragliders up in the summer too. It turned out that Paragliders use the open area of the baby ski slopes at the edge of town as their landing zone. Our hotel looked out over those beginner slopes so we could watch it rain paragliders coming into land as we sipped our drinks. An absolute “must-visit” restaurant in Chamonix is on a back street south of downtown across from a construction site that hasn’t moved a brick in eighteen months. Bizes at 64 Rue du Lyret. It had outstanding selections on a riverside site. There are of course buses from Chamonix to the Geneva airport, but there are also several shuttle van services from door to door. This was a bit of a “moving about” itinerary, but it had the advantage of having a non-stop flight from the east coast to Paris, and a nonstop flight back from Geneva. I think she had a wonderful birthday.