Don't ask me to talk about Paris -
How can I convey the fragrance
Nina Ricci's Love KissAnd Van Gogh's red sunset?
T. Vorontsova
Really, reading and talking about Paris is a thankless task! Well, how can I tell in words about the city, sung
poets and writers, ancient and modern, romantic and pragmatic? You can read all the books about it, but only a trip to Paris will help you understand what kind of city it is and fall in love with it for the rest of your life.
On my own or "supervised"?
You can go on a trip to Paris, first of all, by buying a tour at a travel agency. This option is suitable for beginner travelers, as well as for those who are very busy and cannot organize a trip to Paris on their own. For those who already have travel experience and are not afraid to make decisions, it will not be difficult to make such an independent tour, and there are much more advantages to such a trip, compared to a vacation on a package tour from a tour operator.
What are the benefits? Let's list the points:
1. You decide whenwhat mode of transport you will use or fly.
2. Nothing limits, except for the date of the visa, the duration of your stay in France.
3. You are free to choose where you will live: in a hostel, hotel or rent an apartment.
4. With an open Schengen multivisa, you can travel for several days, for example, to Italy or Spain.
5. With the independent execution of all documents, booking tickets and accommodation, you can reduce the cost of travel several times. For example, a travel agency offers to spend a romantic weekend together in Paris for 77,000 rubles. This amount includes accommodation in a 4-star hotel and flights. Additional expenses for a visa, medical insurance and aviation fuel tax will amount to another 10,000 rubles. Thus, a romantic weekend in the French capital will cost 87,000 rubles per person. Experienced travelers have calculated that if you apply for a visa yourself, choose cheaper tickets (flights with transfers or early in the morning) and a less stellar hotel, you can save from 9,000 to 20,000 rubles for each. Impressive?
We talked about the positive aspects that an independent trip to Paris will bring, now about what actions
needs to be taken so that everything goes as planned, and the trip leaves only wonderful memories and emotions.
When is the best time to go?
At any time of the year, the French capital will be able to surprise, charm and fall in love with you. However, if the trip toParis is organized by you on your own, and if you want to save money, it is better to hit the road after the New Year and until mid-March or at the end of September and be in time before Christmas. At this time, the French capital is in the "low" season, which implies a drop in prices for air travel and hotel rooms.
Collecting documents
Before ordering tickets and booking a hotel, you need to find out what official papers you need to collect to obtain a visa, check the validity of your passport. Detailed information about what documents are needed, where and how to apply for a French visa can be found on the website of the Embassy. Document requirements are the same as when applying for a Schengen visa to any country: air tickets or reservation, a valid passport with a 3-month validity period and mandatory three blank pages, documents confirming financial capabilities (certificate of employment or bank statement). Medical insurance and hotel booking confirmation are required. Now about everything in order.
Booking accommodation
Before you start this step, whether you are planning a weekend trip to Paris or a whole month, decide in which area of this big city you would like to live. Prices for accommodation in the French capital are very different: from 15 euros per bed in a hostel in a suburban area to very large sums in luxury hotels.
If you plan to walk a lot, and also visit the suburbs of Paris, thenit is worth considering options for hotels located near the East or Lyon stations. For example, Helvetia or Hôtel de l’Aveyron, located in the Gare de Lyon area, will cost about 80 euros per night.
Despite the rather low prices, you should not book hotels located in the rather criminal Gare du Nord district of Paris, near the North and West stations.
In the event that a trip to Paris to Disneyland is planned, then it is better to focus on hotels near this huge amusement park. The cost of rooms in such hotels located within walking distance starts from 100-110 euros.
Where and how is insurance issued?
The list of documents required for obtaining a visa to France must include a medical insurance policy for foreign trips. It is quite easy to buy such a policy, and the French Embassy has a list of insurance companies with consular accreditation.
If you are planning a trip to Paris for two, you can buy it either at the representative office of the insurance operator, or use the web resources of well-known or accredited by the French Consulate insurance companies and apply for a policy online.
The received insurance policy must be carried with you at all times. In addition, before the trip, you should scan it and save it in your e-mail box, so that in case of force majeure, you can easily access it.
How to get to Paris?
Today to the capitalFrance can be reached by bus or train, which is quite long and tiring, or you can fly to Paris by plane. Regardless of which mode of transportation is chosen, this is the most expensive stage of the upcoming journey. For most tourists, a trip to Paris begins with air travel.
Let's not dwell on how to buy a bus tour of Europe with a visit to France and get to Paris by train. Plane, though more expensive, but much faster. You should choose the date of departure in advance and book a ticket for one of the regular flights. There are direct and connecting (with one transfer) flights to Paris from many Russian cities, primarily from Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as from Rostov-on-Don, Tyumen and many others.
To save some money on excursions and other pleasant entertainment, when an independent trip to Paris is organized, it is better to buy tickets right there and back. The final cost of travel documents will be lower.
When searching and booking tickets, you should pay attention to the airport of arrival. It is important that it is within city limits, as public transport in Paris is not cheap. Charles de Gaulle International Airport is the most conveniently located.
Paris transport
An independent trip to Paris, most likely, will not do without moving around the city. Of course you can rent
car or take a taxi, but both options are quite expensive. And besides,The public transport system in the French capital is very well developed. For buses, trams and metro, the same type of tickets are provided, which are subdivided only by the number of uses. You can buy them both at the box office and from the driver. The latter option will cost a little more.
According to the Parisians themselves, the most convenient metropolitan transport is the metro, which is connected to the RER suburban train network. On the subway map, they are marked with letters from A to E.
Another convenient mode of transport for travelers is buses. In Paris, in addition to the usual city routes, there are special tourist routes that pass through the historical part of the city and cover most of the sights.
If you are planning a budget trip to Paris, the cost of travel on such tourist buses will please you - it is one of the cheapest! You can save on single tickets: for example, one ticket for a trip costs 1.70 €, but a set of 10 will cost only 13.70 €.
Tram service in the French capital is not very developed - only four lines. Moreover, only tram number 3 runs around the city, all the rest serve the suburbs.
Where to go and what to see?
For someone who has dreamed of a trip to Paris for most of his life, this question is not worth it: the Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and Versailles, Fontainebleau and Montmartre. Everyone has their own list of attractions!
If you want to see everything at once, but it’s difficult to decide on the order, you can useservices of various travel agencies and Russian-speaking guides.
Children at Disneyland Paris
For those who travel with children, a trip to Paris to Disneyland will give the kids a fairy tale, and adults for some
time to feel like kids. Before heading there, be sure to research the rides and their locations, and be sure to buy your tickets online at least five days in advance. This kind of forethought can save you up to 30 euros per person.
In general, the price of tickets to the amusement park is different, and they can cost from 55 € to 145 €. True, it should be noted that their validity is from 6 months to a year.
If there is a desire to further reduce the cost of a trip to Disneyland Paris, it is better to plan it for the end of September - mid-December, and also book a hotel near this entertainment center in advance. In the event that you live in the center, then you will have to spend time and money on the road, since Disneyland is located in a small Parisian suburb - Marne-la-Vallee, located 35 kilometers from the capital.
So, if you go to Disneyland Paris on your own, you will have to spend 250-300 € for a flight, 75-100 € for a night in a hotel, 55 € for the cheapest ticket to the park. The result looks like 400-450 € without a visa and insurance. The price may increase slightly, but only because of the location of the hotel, as you will have to pay for travel if you live far from Disneyland. Touristoperators offer to pay for such a holiday from 700 €, excluding the cost of a visa, medical insurance and various additional fees.
It is worth visiting Paris at least once in your life to feel its romantic atmosphere of narrow streets, the beauty of the Seine and its bridges, to understand all the writers, artists and poets who glorified this beautiful city. And how much to pay for all this is up to you!
