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Pulse of Paris

March 2 - 8, 2010

A new Pulse of Paris trip…5 nights, instead of 6.  We have eliminated the Optional Day, the day you can do as you wish. This change in schedule allows us to keep the 2007 tour price

The facts: 

• The value of the dollar has plummeted.  It has been declining over the last several years and now it’s an all time low vis-a-vis the euro.

• Airline fares are up...it’s the high price of oil.

• Guide fees, with the new exchange rate, are way out of line.

• Hotels seem to be holding their prices, but have raised breakfast prices.  Prices range from 7 to 15 euros at a medium-priced hotel (15 euros is $23 with the dollar at $1.54 to one euro)

What’s a passionate traveler to do?  If you still want to travel, and who doesn’t, you’ll have to be willing to be flexible, be willing to think of your ultimate goal …to get away.  (See our tips below -- Cheapskate, Smart Traveler -- with strategies we developed on our January, 2008 trip to Paris.)

We offer you Paris’ best focusing on its history, art, fashion and cuisine.

Our Itinerary:

Paris' most famous café

Day 1
Arrive in Paris, transfer on your own to our hotel, located in the prestigious 6^th arrondissement.  In our opinion, this is the best location in Paris, within walking distance of great restaurants, shopping, and museums (near Musee D’Orsay, a long walk to the Louvre plus several jewels of smaller museums).   

We always keep activity to a minimum on your day of arrival.   We’ll visit the Louvre for just an hour where I will show you the museums key masterpieces including the: Winged Victory and the Mona Lisa.  You may want to stay longer on your own or come back another time.

Short walk around our neighborhood, St. Germaine-des-Pres, if you have the energy.  Early dinner.

The Seine from the Bateaux-Mouche

Day 2
Morning walking tour of the Marais, one of Paris most intriguing neighborhoods, ending at the beautiful Place des Voges.  The Marais chronicles the fascinating  history of  Paris during the 17 & 18^th centuries.

Afternoon…Orientation sightseeing tour of the city’s great monuments including the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides and more. .  Then the Bateaux Mouche cruise on the River Seine, another view of Paris’ glorious monuments.

Dinner at Altitude 95 at the Eiffel Tower…not the best food in Paris but dining here gets you from the lower level of the Eiffel Tower without having to wait on line.

Day 3
Our close up of Paris many aspects of Paris cuisine... Morning visit to a street market.  Along the way we’ll pick up the ingredients for a tasting at our hotel later in the day: cheeses, chocolates , pastries and breads.  Visit to Bon Marche with the best food department in the city. 

Lunch (your dinner) at a 2-star restaurant. You should experience one of the great restaurants of Paris and you’ll be delighted with the service, ambiance and food at Salon Helene Darroze.

After lunch a brief stop at Fauchon, the justly renowned food emporium   Afternoon demonstration cooking class at the luxurious Ritz Carlton Hotel…It’s wonderful to watch a haute cuisine chef go through his paces.  The class is informal, low key and fun and you learn and taste the menu.  We always try to gain admission to the Ritz lobby with its long corridor with dozens of vitrines showcasing luxury goods.

If the group wants, we can have a cocktail in the bar (optional and probably 20 - 25 euros).

Day 4
 

Morning fashion Show at Galeries Lafayette, our pick for the best place to shop in Paris.  We stop at the Welcome Desk to get a 10% discount card.  Most of the fashion houses have boutiques here so it’s one-stop shopping.  We provide ample time to shop.

Late afternoon spa treatment at the beautiful spa at the Four Seasons Hotel.  We include a deluxe warm manicure (cost $116) or a deluxe warm pedicure (cost $130). Either is included in the tour price. You might prefer a more expensive treatment such as a facial or a massage.  Just figure these treatments are twice the cost of a manicure (you would get a credit of $116 toward another treatment).

Queen's Bed at Versaille

Day 5
Versailles is spectacular.  We see Versailles with a single focus, Marie Antoinette, the queen of Louis XVI who has progressed from reviled to revered.  See her bedroom, visit the Petit Trianon (if it is open after renovation), and the Hamlet, the informal complex of farm-like structures which was Marie Antoinette’s retreat at Versailles. We finish off our study of Marie Antoinette with a glass of champagne, the favored drink of the Queen, and, of course, cake.

Day 6
Return home or stay an extra day on your own.  I urge you to stay on.

Note: Itinerary subject to changes and adjustments.

Cost
$3,100 (USD) includes hotel for five nights (single occupancy, no single supplement), 3 breakfasts, 3 dinners, all activities outlined in itinerary.  Price does not include airfare, airport transfers, lunches, café stops, alcoholic beverages, personal expenses, and wine/alcoholic beverages.

Transportation is by Metro (subway) and bus.  If the group wants to take a taxi (SWT Tours' preference), the taxi fare will be shared, making the ride more affordable.

Cheapskate Paris

A gift at Sonia Rykiel for 5 euros...Free coffee in  china cups all day long at Nespresso, a manufacturer of espresso machines that are wildly popular in Paris,  located near Bon Marche department store...Champagne tasting of a 36 euro bottle at Bon Marche...Super-star pastry chef,  Pierre Hermes, indulgent macaroons for 1.70 euro each, buy a few but one is enough as a substitute for dessert. 

These money-saving tips with style add don’t detract from the quality of your trip.  So ignore any inclination to put off your European trip due to a plummeting dollar.  Don’t cancel, instead become a thrifty traveler, determined to make your trip more affordable. 

Here’s the blueprint we used on a late January, 2008 trip to Paris…

Timing matters…You’ll find the best airline rates from January through March.

Hotel rates are cheapest in January. And cheaper until April.

Another plus, this year the winter Paris sales in almost every store  runs from Jan 9 to February 16^th.  Deductions start at 30%, then may eventually get to 50% and 70% as time goes on. Summer sales start the first Wednesday in June and run about a month.

Cut the length of your trip. Say 5 days instead of 7.  If you are organized and have your itinerary planned by a travel professional, you will be able to see almost everything you would in a longer trip.

Stay at a less expensive hotel…use the internet for some new hotel ideas. Don’t dismiss a 2-star hotel. The star rating is not foolproof and some 2 star hotels have not been upgraded after undergoing extensive renovation. If the hotel has recently been renovated and has good guest comments (take with a grain of salt) are two measures I use.

But the most important decision maker for me  is location. I must be able to walk to good restaurants, shopping and museums. You’ll save time, money and energy . For my money, the 6^th is the best hotel location choice. It can also be the most expensive.

Reality check…Google “olanda cheat sheet” a conversion from dollars to euro.  I print it out and put it in my wallet.  I knew instantly that paying 10 euros ($15,41 last week) was overpaying for a bad sandwich and cup of coffee.

Tier 2 money saving tips:

• Skip a taxi from the airport, about 60 euros

• Opt for the Air France bus to one of the big train stations or L”Opera for 14 euros

• Take a cab from drop off point to your hotel…for me about 6 euros

• Returning to the airport, we used a shuttle service, Navette-Aeroport, 01 41 50 42 50, an 8 passenger mini-van that gives door to airline service. Sure, you’ll have to ride around to a few  other hotels, but the car was brand new and this is the only service I ever used that was on time (6:45 a.m.).  Cost: 25 euros.

Taxi verus Metro versus Bus…My first day in Paris, I spent about 25 euros on 3 taxis. A considered extravagance but since I hadn’t slept and I needed to cover 3 very diverse areas of the city, the cost was worth it.  When you take the metro, once you get off at your station, you still have to find the address you are looking for. If yu are a good map reader, this is easy for you. I am not.

My favorite map is the series called Streetwise Paris (maps are available for most European cities. Cost: in US about $7)

Metro vs Bus…I am not a fan of the Metro…many destinations require changes to a different line requiring long walks, lots of stairs. The buses are less crowded, I always got a seat, you can pay on the bus 1.50euro. You will have to master the routes but with the help of your concierge and some well marked diagrams (not maps) at some bus stops, you should be able to handle this.

Eating…You can save lots of money here depending on how much you care about food. I care a lot so here are my suggestions.

Breakfast …Your hotel may not include breakfast in your room rate. Breakfast  is running 7 to 13 euros at a medium price hotel. Eat at your hotel a couple of days. The rest of your stay, you have lots of alternatives.

Satisfied with just coffee?  Go to any of the small bars in your neighborhood. Have an espresso for just 1.50 euros, a croissant will cost about 2 euros. Don’t sit down. Do as the natives do, stand at the bar. If you sit down, you’ll add a couple of euros to your breakfast. Many brasseries offer continental breakfast for about 4.5 euros and you can sit down. Look for signs. Subway, if you can find one, offers continental breakfast for 2.5 euros.

Lunch…Want to save money and eat very well?   Do lunch instead of dinner.  I had 3 excellent lunches each about 35 euros with a glass of wine. Considering Paris’ haut cuisine dinners can cost 200 euros, these are bargain lunches.

Salon Helene Darroze…the ground floor of this 2-star restaurant, called the Salon, offers a great 30 euro prix fixe lunch …3 tapas size courses that offer intriguing  choices.  I had foie gras; black rice with chorizos and calamari and fish and chips.

You must treat yourself to the delights of eating in a 2-star restaurant. French service is matchless, they will make you feel important, loved and pampered. Priceless.  Lunch was 35 euros with a glass of wine, services and taxes were included.  Excellent lunches at two other restaurants: L”Epi Dupin 3 courses: 22 euros and La Bastide Odeon…2 course lunch 26 euros. Very elegant kind of casual ambiance.  Don’t worry about taking too much time out of  your sightseeing.  Both restaurants served lunch in about an hour.

More cheap skate tips:

Don’t splurge on a $15 issue of French Vogue.  Instead, drop in at any of the top designer boutiques.  Most have beautiful 4 color brochures featuring the current collections. The Sonia Rykiel is always a favorite. Her spring message: think Yellow.

Shopping for gifts…Both Au Printemps and Galeries Lafayette have set up sidewalk stands offering  great buys. We picked up very long scarves with good design for 5 euros each. What’s more they come nicely folded inside transparent plastic wrap…I also love my two inch wide amethyst bracelet, 5 euros..

Sonia Rykiel , pink heart shaped post-its, just 5 euros. They will wrap your gift nicely in tissue and a lovely little shopping bag just as if you had bought one of their thousand euro sweaters.

Street Savvy…there are many streets in Paris that you want to haunt because of the many possibilities they offer. Rue du Seine in the 6^th arrondissement is an excellent example.

• Fromagerie Quatrehomme…great cheeses with a tiny glassed in area with a couple of tables where if you go early, you can enjoy a delicious lunch of 5 different cheese with a glass of wine for around 10 euros.

• Da Rosa, a couple of doors down, good for lunch or dinner, few tables. Plat du jour of pasta, risotto about 16 euros. Splurge on their delicious chocolate covered raisins with sauterne. Addictive.

• Fish, down still further, is a great wine bar with good food.

• On the opposite side of the street, pick up a rotisserie chicken to eat for dinner in your room. Of course, you will have brought a knife and fork from home for just such money-saving dinners.

Dare to ask for tap water…Why spend 4 euros for bottled water?. Tap water is safe in Paris, You will probably feel intimidated asking for tap water. I did it in a 2 star, even having the guts to order it from the sommelier. My water arrived in a lovely decanter.

French Chocolate is justly famous with many wonderful artisanal chocolatiers in Paris. Skip the large boxes of chocolate with astronomical price tags. Opt instead for their small offerings that come pre-wrapped. From 4 euros each at Maison du Chocolat. Their chocolate éclair, reputed to be the best in Paris, is a 6 euro treat. At Jean Charles Rochoux, I had my favorite: a large chocolate raisin square for 3.50 euros. I was offered a free sample of a truffle that might have been the best I ever tasted at this tiny chocolate heaven.

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