Visiting Europe for a month this summer - Page 10

TheMetetron · #91 02-25-2007, 08:28 PM

Thu 7/26 - Mon 7/30 :: London, United Kingdom

Thu 7/26

We have a 14:00 flight out of Paris, Charles De Gaulle Airport on EasyJet. Through the magic of time travel we arrive in London Luton Airport at 14:15, a mere 15 minutes later.

Using the wonderfully convenient easyBus for only £2 ($4) per person we are getting dropped off one block from the Victoria tube station where we catch the Victoria line to Green Park and switch to the Picaddilly line getting off at Russell Square where our hostel is located. You apparently need to book the easyBus ticket at least 6 weeks in advance to get the ridiculously low fare though. The bus ride is about an hour and 15 minutes to Victoria station and from there it is another 15 minutes on the tube to Russell Square. I'm expecting to be checked into the hostel by 17:00.

We are staying at The Generator hostel in London. It is located near the Russell Square station on the Piccadilly Line in Bloomsbury. We are paying £12.25 ($24.50) per person per night. It is a 78% on Hostel Bookers and is London's biggest hostel. It includes free bed linen, towels, and a continental breakfast every morning. Also has free luggage storage, in-dorm lockers, and a free drink upon arrival. Happy hour from 18-21 with £1.50 pints in the attached Generator Bar. They also have "value dinners" or whatever they call it available in the hostel, which is basically just pizza, burgers, salads, etc that you can buy there for cheap. 24 hour pool tables and laundry facilities also available.

Also worth mentioning is the way that the tube works. By far the best way to do ticketing is via the Oyster Card system. Walk up fares are £4 without an Oyster Card or £1.50 with one. Obviously, a huge difference and incentive to pick one up. Buses are usually £2, £1 with an Oyster Card. Here is a link for the London Underground.

The best thing about Oyster cards is the daily capping. Once you reach a certain amount of fares charged to your Oyster Card in a day, you are not charged for any additional travel. For instance, say that on a Saturday I take a tube ride to the first place I want to visit. Then I want to see something else across town so I take another tube ride. I want to see another attraction fifteen blocks away so I take a bus. Finally, I need to get back to my hostel, so I take one more tube ride. Normally, that would be 3 tube rides at £1.50 each and one bus ride at £1. Instead of being charged £5.50, I am charged the daily cap of £4.60. The daily cap is £6.10 ($12) if you travel before 9:30 on a weekday during the 24 hour period or £4.60 ($9) otherwise. This is 50 pence cheaper than just buying a paper travel card with the obvious advantage being if you don't use the Oyster Card enough to reach the daily cap, you are charged less. Obviously, there is no reason not to use an Oyster Card when visiting London unless you hate money. There is also a £3 refundable deposit for receiving a pay-as-you-go Oyster Card.

Anyways, after we arrive by 17:00 we don't have any real plans for the night. We will probably just stay in the Bloomsbury area and hit some pubs and meet some people in the hostel. I'm open for good dinner recommendations nearby. It is possible we see a show this night if we can find something good and cheap.

Fri 7/27

So today we are waking up around 9am to be have time to get ready, eat hostel breakfast, and be at the British Museum in time for its 10am opening time.

The British Musem, like all other national museums and art galleries, does not charge an admission fee which is especially nice because of the expensive GBP. This museum seems pretty awesome with a good diversity of antiquities. Obviously, the Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon Sculptures are high on the must see list. We only have a few hours budgeted here, which may be cutting it short.

Around lunch time (1-2pm) we are taking the Piccadilly Line to Leicester Square to grab some lunch and head to the National Gallery which is also free to visit. It has a fairly extensive collection as well and we will spending a few hours here as well.

Those two museums comprise our entire daylight hours for today and there is nothing planned until the evening except for randomly wandering around Piccadilly Circus / Leicester Square / Trafalgar Square so we have some decent flexibility if we really like one of the museums and want to see more.

We are going to grab a bite to eat somewhere in the West End at night (open to restaurant recommendations again) and then either catch a stand-up show at the Comedy Store which has an 8pm show for £16 ($32) or a 12am show for £13 ($26) or go watch a movie in Leicester Square. The 8pm show is the current front-runner and lasts a bit over 2 hours. Possible bar/nightclub shenanigans likely somewhere in the West End afterwards, recommendations again appreciated.

Sat 7/28

This is going to be a somewhat early day; we will probably be out the door of the hostel by 8:30 or so. The plan is to take the Piccadilly Line to Green Park and switch to the Victoria Line one stop to the Victoria station. Then walk over to Buckingham Palace and take a quick look from the outside (the apartments are closed while we are there, but we probably wouldn't see it anyways).

After the quick stop, we are going to walk through St. James Park on the way to Westminster Abbey which is where the British royalty are crowned and many are buried. It is ridiculously overpriced at £10 ($20) for admission, but what are you going to do? It's not like I'm coming to London and NOT seeing the inside of Westminster Abbey. It opens at 9:30am and I want to be there not much later than that time.

After maybe an hour checking out the church, we are going to take the walk over to the House of Parliament, officially known as the New Place of Westminster. We are unfortunately visiting while Parliament is in session and not during the summer recess so we can't visit the inside of the building. All we are going to do is take a quick stop by to hear the bells ring and admire it from the outside.

ThenWe take either the District Line 8 stops or so to Whitechapel. We are going to grab some lunch in this working-class neighborhood and then do a unique creation of my brother. He is going to make his own Jack the Ripper tour in the Whitechapel area for us. Yes, he's that twisted. Basically, he is going to find out where all of the bodies were found and other places of interest related to him in the area and we are going to just check it out and take some pictures. Should be a twisted and fun experience and also allow us to see some of the poorer areas of London. He hasn't finished it yet, but when he is done, I'll update this section. We need to leave Whitechapel by about 2:30pm.

Then it is time to hop back on the tube (we are using it a lot today) three stops to Monument where we switch to the Central Line and go one more stop to St. Paul's. You guessed it we are going to be visiting the cathedral, crypt, and towers of St. Paul's Cathedral for the low price of £9.50 ($19). The views from the cathedral and supposedly very beautiful and I expect to spend about an hour here.

Then it is back on the Central Line for two stops to switch at Holborn and go back to Russell Square on the Picadilly Line and the hostel. Take a quick nap, shower, and change into something more appropriate for the evening. Head out of the hostel by about 6:30 or 7pm.

We are then heading two stops on the Piccadilly Line to Leicester Square where we switch to the Northern Line and get off at the Waterloo Station. Here we are going to get in line for the London Eye which costs £13 ($26) and will probably take 30 minutes to an hour to get through the line plus another 30 minutes for the ride. Can't forget to bring binoculars for this.

Then probably find a nearby bar to grab some drinks and pub grub for dinner while waiting for it to get a bit later. Around 11pm or so take the Bakerloo line two stops to Elephant & Castle and get in line for entrance to The Ministry of Sound disco. Entrance is probably going to cost around £13 ($26) and there is no bar located inside. That's okay because this is an awesome electronic-music club and alcohol is not the drug of choice. There hasn't been much thought put into how to get back from the club when the tube is closed, but I'm sure we can figure that out. It should be a good warm up for Amsterdam.

Sun 7/29

We get to sleep in a bit and plan to be out the door by 9:30am or 10am after some satisfying hostel breakfast.

Take the Picadilly Line to Holborn, Switch to the Central Line at Bank / Monument and then get on either the District or Circle Line for one stop to Tower Hill where we are going to check out the Tower of London which costs £16 ($32) to enter. This used to be both a prison and royal palace and houses the Crown Jewels and the Queen Mother's Orb as well as other cool things. Free guided tours are given every half hour on the half hour that start by the first gate. It should take about 2 1/2 hours to see everything here.

After that we are going to take the half mile walk across the London Bridge and over to the Tate Modern which is free to enter. We may grab a light snack (probably no real lunch today) from one of the cafes while taking several hours to check out some really awesome 20th century art from the likes of Picasso and others.

Then we are planning to grab some dinner somewhere nearby (suggestions?) and hang out for a bit until walking over to the Globe Theatre for the 6:30pm showing of Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost where we are going to have yard "seats" which means stand up, son. We chose this option not only because it is cheap but it seems like the best experience as much as I'd like to sit on my lazy ass for the play. Tickets are £6.75 ($13) a piece.

After that, we hop back on the Northern Tube Line to Monument / Bank and then on the Central Tube Line to Holborn, then the Piccadilly Line to Russell Square and back to the hostel. Get some rest and get ready for the flight to Amsterdam the next morning.

7/30

Today we have to be up and out early. We have a 10:30am flight from London Gatwick, which means we should be there no later than 9am. We are taking the tube to London Victoria (Piccadilly Line to Green Park, Victoria Line one stop to Victoria) for the last time and then getting on a train operated by Southern from Victoria to Gatwick Airport that leaves at about 8:20 and gets to the airport around 8:50 (can't book tickets until 90 days in advance). The cost is £9 ($18) which is £6 ($12) cheaper than the Gatwick Express.

Hostel Cost: £49 ($96)
Tube Cost: £15.10 ($30)
Airport Transport Cost: £11 ($22)
Museum/Cathedral/Attraction Cost: £48.50 ($95)
Entertainment/Nightclub Cost: £35.75 ($70)

Total Cost Per Person: £159.35 ($313) excluding flights and food/drinks.

Ortho · #92 02-25-2007, 09:45 PM

London:

-Just take the easybus to Baker Street instead. It'll save you like 1/2 hour of sitting in traffic. Then get into the tube and take the Circle, Hammersmith and City, or Metropolitan lines to King's Cross and walk to your hostel. This will save at least an hour.
-Generator is fine for a party hostel, and is very well priced for London.
-Spot on about Oyster card. A must.
Day 1:
-British Museum and National Gallery: Good.
-Restaurants: There are some OOT threads on this.

Day 2:
-(Sorry: edit)Just take the Piccadilly Green Park and walk to Buckingham Palace from there. It's like 2 blocks. This walk from there to Westminster Abbey and Parliament is good. After, I'd recommend you just walk across Westminster Bridge to the South Bank where the Aquarium and London Eye are right then, then walk along the South Bank all the way to the Tate Modern, go across the Millenium Bridge, and end up at St Pauls. This is the trail I take people on.

Day 3:
-Imo Tower of London is overpriced, but well worth it as tourists. A nice 1/2 day or so can be made that goes Tower early before crowds->across Tower Bridge->Globe->Tate Modern.

-Also, on the tourist trail you have missed Soho and Covent Garden, and I'd personally recommend doing your bar night in these area rather than way out at Elephant and Castle, which isn't near anything else. There is much more here. Also, the tube stops at 12-ish, and you can walk home to Russel Sq from West End or Covent Garden but E&C is dodgy late at night. Your nightlife options within 30 min walking distance or short bus ride to your hostel are infinite.

Getting to Gatwick: Walk to King's Cross and take the Thameslink. It's probably cheaper and it's definitely easier.

Entertainment in general: Grab a copy of Time Out.

TheMetetron · #93 02-25-2007, 09:54 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Entertainment in general: Grab a copy of Time Out.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is true of any city where Time Out is published, including Buenos Aires. I'm aware of it.

TheMetetron · #94 02-26-2007, 02:13 AM

[ QUOTE ]
London:

-Just take the easybus to Baker Street instead.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think this is an option. If it is once we get on the bus, I'll do it but the site is saying there is only one stop option at Victoria.

[ QUOTE ]
-Generator is fine for a party hostel, and is very well priced for London.
-Spot on about Oyster card. A must.
Day 1:
-British Museum and National Gallery: Good.
-Restaurants: There are some OOT threads on this.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good, where is the OOT thread? Could you link me to it by any chance?

[ QUOTE ]
Day 2:
-(Sorry: edit)Just take the Piccadilly Green Park and walk to Buckingham Palace from there. It's like 2 blocks. This walk from there to Westminster Abbey and Parliament is good. After, I'd recommend you just walk across Westminster Bridge to the South Bank where the Aquarium and London Eye are right then, then walk along the South Bank all the way to the Tate Modern, go across the Millenium Bridge, and end up at St Pauls. This is the trail I take people on.

[/ QUOTE ]

Problems: We want to the London Eye at night. And the Tate Modern is probably one of the highest London museums on our list; we definitely want to spend significant time at it. I appreciate the tube suggestion though and we'll just do that instead of switching lines.

[ QUOTE ]
Day 3:
-Imo Tower of London is overpriced, but well worth it as tourists. A nice 1/2 day or so can be made that goes Tower early before crowds->across Tower Bridge->Globe->Tate Modern.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think most of London is grossly overpriced. Nonetheless, you have to do it at least once. That's pretty much our last day and we are using the whole day for it.

[ QUOTE ]
-Also, on the tourist trail you have missed Soho and Covent Garden, and I'd personally recommend doing your bar night in these area rather than way out at Elephant and Castle, which isn't near anything else. There is much more here. Also, the tube stops at 12-ish, and you can walk home to Russel Sq from West End or Covent Garden but E&C is dodgy late at night. Your nightlife options within 30 min walking distance or short bus ride to your hostel are infinite.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll consider it but Ministry of Sound is high on the list.

[ QUOTE ]
Getting to Gatwick: Walk to King's Cross and take the Thameslink. It's probably cheaper and it's definitely easier.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oddly it is quicker to take the metro then the train instead of the train from King's Cross. Still the price is the same and its definitely easier, so I'll probably just do what you are suggesting.

Peter McDermott · #95 02-26-2007, 05:05 AM

[ QUOTE ]

Oh yeah, this is super important. Nothing sucks more than to drag luggage all over Europe. I travel extremely light.

[/ QUOTE ]

The best travelling advice I ever had? Take half as much luggage as you think you'll need, and twice as much money.

Words to live by.

Also, I've stayed in hotels all over Europe and have never had either bedbugs or lice. If you're worried, avoid confusing flophouses with hotels.

Ortho · #96 02-26-2007, 05:31 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
London:

-Just take the easybus to Baker Street instead.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think this is an option. If it is once we get on the bus, I'll do it but the site is saying there is only one stop option at Victoria.

[/ QUOTE ]

The site I see here (could be different in the UK) gives two different routes from Luton, Victoria and Baker Street. Link

Incidentally, I forgot to mention that I don't like the bus option at all (although I understand that it saves money). Luton is way out there, nowhere near the City, and the bus really sucks. It will be busy, the traffic will be bad, Luton is reporting roadworks that I'm not sure will be done by July, etc. If this is the spot to save money, then that's fine, but I would vastly prefer taking the Thameslink here too, though obviously £11 is more than £2.

Also, if you are going to take the bus, it's probably worth booking easybus ahead of time only if you can get the £2 fare, as the National Express from Stansted airport (which is about the same distance as Luton) is only like £7 or £8 single, and I'm sure that there are 10x as many National Express buses per unit of time as Easybuses. This is not something that I actually book ahead for when going/returning--I just turn up and buy a ticket from the driver or on the train platform.

[ QUOTE ]
Good, where is the OOT thread? Could you link me to it by any chance?

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry, I can't seem to find it now and have no idea why. Also, it was for highish-end stuff, and I see you are somewhat concerned about price. The thing that I personally use for finding every day, reasonably priced stuff is "Time Out's Guide to Cheap Eats", though that may also be standard in towns where Time Out publishes. This won't be the food end of your Europe trip, I'm suspecting, though if you get over to Whitechapel I recommend having a curry in Brick Lane.

[ QUOTE ]
Problems: We want to the London Eye at night. And the Tate Modern is probably one of the highest London museums on our list; we definitely want to spend significant time at it. I appreciate the tube suggestion though and we'll just do that instead of switching lines.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, I agree with what you're saying here (London Eye at Night and time for Tate Modern). I actually just meant that you can walk past the London Eye and Tate Modern (this is where the bridge is to get across to St Pauls) when you're going along the south bank, and then actually visit them at a different time. The bit that you are talking about (Parliament to St Pauls) walking probably takes 40 minutes or something, and is one of my favourite parts of London, not because of destinations so much as it is just a nice place to walk, has good views of London, good people-watching and cafes, etc. and is better than travelling in the tube.

[ QUOTE ]
Getting to Gatwick: Walk to King's Cross and take the Thameslink. It's probably cheaper and it's definitely easier.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
Oddly it is quicker to take the metro then the train instead of the train from King's Cross. Still the price is the same and its definitely easier, so I'll probably just do what you are suggesting.

[/ QUOTE ]

I assume you mean the train from Victoria? Perhaps it's somehow quicker on paper, but the tube times are notional only. There is just no way that getting into the tube at Russell Square, changing to get to Victoria, and then taking a train from Victoria at the height of the morning commute with luggage is going to be faster (or more pleasant) than taking the Thameslink, though the actual train trip from Victoria, if it is nonstop, might be a bit quicker. I show about an hour from King's Cross Thameslink with trains going every 30 minutes or something, and after trying just about every way, that is what I use to get to Gatwick from home. I'm sure either way will get you there, although I definitely wouldn't mess around with the bus on this day. I have chewed my nails too many times on the bus (if you fly too early in the morning, you're typically stuck with the bus unless you take a taxi or drive) wondering if the traffic would clear in time to get me to the airport.

LB_001 · #97 02-26-2007, 05:49 PM

I've been thinking of doing something similar to this but always held back because all my friends are too busy working and are generally broke. How easy is it to meet other people in the hostels and do stuff with them, or is everyone pretty much on their own schedule? I'm just worried I'll get there and end up by myself 90% of the time and bored a lot. I'm sure it'll still be a great trip but just wondering if people think it will be a lot better if I wait for a friend or two to come with. I guess there might be some companies that offer group packages/tours or something, not sure if those would be any good though...

Ortho · #98 02-26-2007, 07:08 PM

Imo, it's just like life, only a bit easier to meet people.

If it is easy for you to meet people, then you will probably love living in hostels in Europe and will make a lot of friends and have a good time with them. If you are a loner, you will probably just let it go by, but you will still likely meet some people, because they will approach you. I am quite introverted, but even I met and had conversations, beers, etc. with people in almost every hostel I stayed in.

Also, it is imo easy to meet people from the countries that you are travelling through if you are polite, etc. as you are interesting to them because you are a foreigner. Of course, this applies much less to places like London or Paris, where there are foreign people everywhere.

Personally, I would prefer travelling alone and meeting new people or meeting up for part of the trip with friends, as I feel that the dynamic of the group tends to take over sometimes and I don't like feeling that I'm losing my one chance at doing x in city y because I am being polite to my friends. But I am an introvert. However, after a couple of months of travel, even I was getting really lonely and chatting up the cashier, etc. so it's probably good to have people around. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

I personally wouldn't recommend package tours, etc.. I think it would certainly be better to wait for some friends to become available than to commit to a long holiday with strangers.

TheMetetron · #99 03-04-2007, 01:08 PM

I am going to repost my trip up until the time I leave London because some of the things have changed and I want to be accurate. Amsterdam will be up in a few days.

Thu 7/19 - Thu 7/26 :: Paris, France

Thu 7/19

I get in somewhere around 6pm at Charles De Gaulle and I am taking the RER Line B to St-Michel Notre-Dame then switching to Line 10 of the Paris Metro until Boulogne Pont de St-Cloud. The cost for the trip is 8.10€ ($10.65) and it will take 1 hour and 15 minutes.

It should be around 7:30-8pm by the time I get to my friend's house in Boulogne. I will probably go out to dinner somewhere nearby and then go to sleep. I have to get up early the next day so not a whole lot going on today except getting situated.

RATP - Maps, tickets, and itineraries for subway/RER trips in France

Fri 7/20

I have to get up early and be out the door by 7 AM at the latest, probably earlier because I want to grab some breakfast first. I am going to take the subway to the center of Paris, then an RER train to Marne-la-Vallee where Disneyland Paris is located. I've detailed the journey (which will take about 1h15m to 1h30m or so) in the picture below. For both today and tomorrow I am getting a Mobilis Pass good for zones 1-5 for 12.40€ ($16.30) which is basically a day pass for the RER/Metro/Bus. It is cheaper than two one way RER tickets and will also cover my Metro use during the day. Also allows me to go to the mall one RER stop away from Disneyland Paris for free if I was so inclined. Do not ever get a Paris Visite pass, they are pretty much the same thing as a Mobilis but more expensive.

The plan is to go to Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios on July 20th and 21st. I am getting a 2 day park hopper ticket for 96€ ($126) that will let me go back and forth between the two theme parks at will. Disney is really good at separating you from your damn money.

I will be spending the day at the resort going on rides, eating some food, watching fireworks... the usual stuff. I am planning on taking a break in the middle of the day by sneaking into one of the hotel pools nearby to take a nap. I haven't quite worked out the logistics of this sneaking, but they are French so it can't be that hard.

At the end of the day I am taking the RER A back (and probably sleeping the whole way). The next morning I have to get up early again.

Sat 7/21

There is pretty much no point of detailing this day. It will be exactly the same thing as the day before. Another mobilis pass for 12.40€ ($16.30) is the only added expense since the ticket I bought yesterday is good for 2 days.

Sun 7/22

My brother arrives later this day, but first I've got the morning to myself. I haven't figured out what I'm going to do yet, but I think explore the area near where my friend lives and sleep in late are both very likely.

My brother arrives around 6pm. He is going to get to Boulogne the same way that I did when I arrived. We will grab a quick meal as he is probably tired from the travel at this point. Also, his psycho-planning has us getting up early as balls in the morning so I can't imagine doing much more than heading off to bed early.

Mon 7/23

After getting up and out of the house sometime around 7am, we are taking the Line 10 Metro to La Motte Picquet Grenelle where we switch to Line 8 and continue to the Concorde stop (travel time: 21 min) for the Place de la Concorde (pictured below) in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. From what I understand, is it a big public square in Paris in which some 1,300 people were guillotined including Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI. The obelisk was a gift from Egypt and is over 3,000 years old.

After a quick stop by the Place de la Concorde, we are going to talk a stroll through the Jardin des Tuileries near the site which is near the old Tuileries Palace that burned down in the 19th century. It is supposedly very beautiful and has a lot of classic and modern sculptures scattered about.

Then it is off to the main attraction of the day, Musée du Louvre. I think the Louvre really doesn't require any explanation, but this is going to be almost our entire day. We intend to be here by the 9am opening time and don't have anything else planned until the museum closes at 6pm. Of course a lunch to break things up, but this is mostly going to be a day to explore and appreciate as much of the art that is in the Louvre as one day will allow without rushing. Entrance fee is 9€ ($11.85) per person.

At some point here we are getting dinner. The plan is to walk down avenue des Champs-Elysees and go to the Arc de Triomphe. 8€ ($10.50) or 5€ ($6.60) for people 18-25 to go to the top of the Arc.

The last thing planned for the day is to check out Le Tour Eiffel at night. We are going to take the Line 6 Metro 3 stops to Trocadero then cross the river to get to the Tour Eiffel. The lift to the top floor is 11.50€ ($15.15). Nothing planned after that, but going out for drinks is a possibility near where my friend lives.

Tue 7/24

Note: For the next two days, we are going to be buying a Paris Museum Pass for 30€ ($39.55) which will give us entry into every cathedral and museum we are visiting during those 2 days. It will save us 6.60€ total. Visit the web site to find participating museums and to decide if it will save you money. I will still list the individual prices of each museum/cathedral for your reference.

Today is going to be spent in the 5th and 6th arrondissements of Paris. Get up at some point and take the Metro Line 10 to Cluny-La Sorbonne then switch to RER B by taking metro walkway to Saint-Michel Notre-Dame and and get off one stop later at Luxembourg (travel time: 29 min). Grab breakfast somewhere nearby and take a walk through the Jardin du Luxembourg to relax and just take in the sights.

Head over the Pantheon to check out Foucault's Pendulum and a bunch of dead guys tombs. Entrance is 7.50€ ($9.90) or 4.50€ ($5.95) for persons aged 18-25. It opens at 10am and we probably want to be there around that time.

I'm expecting to spend about 2 hours at the Pantheon and since we are already in the Quartier Latin it probably isn't a bad idea to check out the streets and grab some lunch at one of the bistros here. Also check out the Fontaine St Michel and just hang out for a bit.

Afterwards, we are crossing the Seine River at Pont au Double to reach Ile de la Cite and the reason we are there, Cathedral de Notre Dame de Paris. We are going to get down like a hunchback and climb to the top of the towers for 6.50 ($8.60) or 4.80€ ($6.20) for people 18-25 and take some time to explore the art inside the Cathedral. I'm expecting another 2 hours inside the Cathedral.

While we are in Ile de Cite, we are going to check out La Sainte-Chapelle. This is apparently one of the most beautiful chapel interiors in existence. Tons of color in the lower chapel, but the upper chapel is the real treat and (pictured below) is filled with a ton of stained glass windows that are a sight to see. Entrance is 7.50€ ($9.90) or 4.80€ ($6.30) for people aged 18-25.

Also going to check out La Conciergerie while we are here. Entrance is 6.50€ ($8.60) or 4.50€ ($5.90) for people 18-25. A combined ticket with La Sainte-Chapelle apparently exists but I couldn't find more information about it (specifically, the price). If it is there, we will get it. For those that don't know, Conciergerie was originally built as a royal palace, but was later used as a prison during the French Revolution and as a place to torture people. Marie Antoinette's cell is here and is now a chapel. There are also a lot of exhibits/artifacts from the era here.

Afterwards we are heading over to Saint-Germain-des-Prés for some dinner at Café de Flore while having a discussion about existentialism.

After dinner we are going to head back to the Quartier Latin to go drinking at a bar before taking the night bus / taxi back to my friend's place.

Wed 7/25

Today is apparently museum hopping day. The first one we are visiting is Musee d'Orsay which opens at 9:30 AM. Entrance fee is 7.50€ ($10.35) or 5.50€ ($7.25) for people aged 18-25. We get there by taking the Line 10 to Sevres-Babylone then switching to the Line 12 for 2 stops to Solferino (travel time: 28 min).

After that, we are taking the Metro Line 12 from Solferino to Concorde then switching to Line 1 and continuing to the Hotel de Ville stop (travel time: 10min). We are here for the Centre Georges Pompidou to check out the modern art collection and library. Cost is 10€ ($13.20) or 8€ ($10.55) for people aged 18-25.

Afterwards head over to the neighborhood of Le Marais and if time permits check out the Musée Picasso which as the name leads you to believe, is the biggest collection of Picasso's works. Cost is 6.50€ ($8.55) or 4.50€ ($5.90) for people 18-25.

Grab dinner somewhere in Marais and hang out at Place des Vosges in the early evening. Check out Victor Hugo's house. Eventually go out drinking/clubbing in Place de la Bastille. Night bus / metro / taxi back to my friend's house.

Thu 7/26

We have a 14:00 flight out of Charles De Gaulle Airport on EasyJet bound for London. We are taking the RER B to the airport which costs 8.10€ ($10.65) and takes about 1:10 in travel time. We will probably be at the Metro station around 11:00 in the morning.

That's the end of our touring time in Paris. Any thoughts/comments on our plans? Things you think we should've skipped. Things that we missed? Good restaurants you may know around the areas we will be visiting? Looking forward to your feedback.

Hostel Cost: 0€ ($0) lol friendaments
Metro Cost: 27.10€ ($35.75) for him; 51.90€ ($68.40) for me; both including airport transportation
Museum/Cathedral/Attraction Cost: 55.50€ ($73.20) for him; 151.50€ ($199.75) for me including Disneyland Paris

Total Cost Per Person: 83€ ($109) for him; 203€ ($267) for me. Excludes food/drinks and flights.

ahnuld · #**100** 03-04-2007, 01:15 PM

dude, wtf, plz dont go to europe and have every hour planned. Just have a general idea of what you want to see in each city before you go.