Planning my honeymoon in France - need some advice!

Hi All!

We are based in India and are planning our honeymoon in France in beginning of August 2009, and would really appreciate some information! Hence posting a few queries (any tips would be highly appreciated!) :)

1. How is the weather in Paris in first-week-August? Is it a good time to visit?

2. While we intend to spend 7days in France, am not sure whether it makes sense to spend that entire time in Paris itself, or are there some other places we should include in our plan? (I know the Versailles Palace is a day-trip, so is Disneyland, but are there some other options we shouldn%26#39;t miss out on?)

3. I will be using the Tripadvisor forum to book a good hotel - however, wanted some suggestions on which area of Paris to zero in on - would the Montmartre area be good for a stay? Or is there someplace more central that we should focus on? (Infact, in case there are any specific hotels in the 3-star-range that you would like to recommend, that would be great!).

I know that%26#39;s a lot of queries above, but would really appreciate any suggestions/advice/travel-tips etc.

Thanks %26amp; regards,

Surjo1975.

Mumbai (India).

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Hiya Surjo1975,

My advice on your third question would be to avoid Montmartre as a base for your visit. This is partly - mainly - because it is so far from the centre of the city, it will take you at least 20-30 minutes to get to any of the major landmarks, really, from say Abbesses. Also, at night there are parts of Montmartre (around Pigalle, for example) that are quite seedy. Personally, for my own honeymoon, we stayed very central, right near Notre Dame in fact, and found this to be a great location. The Latin Quarter (5th) is lovely, and nearer to the Luxemborg Gardens (6th), too. I also like Montpernasse (14th %26amp; 15th), personally, but this is a somewhat %26#39;cheaper%26#39; option, so as it is your honeymoon I%26#39;d suggest going central.

Question two; as far as I understand it, August is usually the month when all the Parisians go on holiday themselves! But, the weather is pretty nice generally in the summer in France.

As to your first question, I think probably spending seven days in Paris alone will be plenty enough. As you say you can have a day at Versailles and/or Disneyland, plus there is so much to do in Paris (museums, landmarks, eating, etc.) However, if you feel that a week in one place would be boring, you could look at staying also in Nice on the Cote d%26#39;Azur, which has a lot of offer and amazing weather usually in August.

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Hi Riotstar,

Thanks a lot for the quick response - really appreciate it!

The tip about Not staying in Montmartre area is helpful - had I not known, I would probably have chosen to stay there. Yes - have heard about the Latin Quarter, so will do a bit of search on that.

Hadn%26#39;t thought of Cote d%26#39;Azur - so thats helpful too. Will possibly try fit in 2nights there - would 2nights be enough? Also, what are the travel options between Paris %26amp; Nice? I presume the TGV should be good enough - am I correct?

Thanks once again!

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you will have difficulty getting a hotel for August in Nice.. as mentioned, August is the most popular month for the French to vacation,, so all good places will be booked up, so I suggest you do not leave Paris.

You only have a total of five days in Paris anyways,, as you want to go to Versailles and Disney. You could also do a few more trips out of town,, Chartes is very popular ,, or maybe Reims? There is also the Loire Valley Chateau,, they are worth a night or two out of Paris,, there are serveral places you could center yourself and rent a car and tour the Chateaus ( perhaps Amboise). You may run into same problem with late booking for August, but, it will not be nearly as difficult as it is for southern France,, or any beach type spot.

I think it will be so easy to fill all 7 days in Paris and never even leave... a honeymoon i snot about rushing about too much anyways,, relaxing and enjoying the cafes .. a nice wander along a quiet street, those things are more romantic then carrying luggage through train stations and fighting crowds..

PS. I agree with not centering your stay around Montemarte,, its just not as central as other places. I love the Latin or St Germain arrondisssmonts,, although there are many other nice ones too!!!

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The 7th arrondissmont(sp?) is centrally locatedwith lots of things to do and good restaurants

- We usually stay at the Hotel Palais Bourbon at 49 rue de Bourgogne - near the Assemblies Nationale, Rodin Musee and the Invalides - phone: 011-33-1-47-05-29-26 - thry do have a web site also. It%26#39;s listed as a two star but we have always found it to be a great place to stay - recent improvements, good size rooms, private bathrooms etc - Price (including Breakfast) is about 115 euros

It%26#39;s not luxurious if that is what you want for a honeymoon, but it is a very comfortable hotel and fairly easy walking distance to most everything in Paris. two metro stations close by. The rooms are good size with tiled bathrooms. Rooms in the front have the long windows and are usually larger than other rooms.

I agree with others who advise staying in Paris as your base with Maybe a day trip - there is so much to see and do in Paris

jhgrady

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Hello again,

No worries, glad to help.

I think Montmartre is a great place to visit whilst in Paris (I love the view from the steps below the basilica) , but the Metro journey always puts me off staying there, I must admit!

As you say you could take the TGV to Nice or fly (although this is usually an expensive option as the taxes at Nice Airport are huge!). As joan1 says the Cote d%26#39;Azur will be very busy at this time of year, as it always is, so you might want to consider where you%26#39;ll be staying etc before travel plans. Nice would be the ideal base, but if it is booked out perhaps you could try somewhere off the coast? For example Vence or Tourrettes-sur-Loup.

Vence is well connected to the coast by bus (linge 400 at €1 per one way journey) and has lots to see and do and places to eat as well:

http://www.vence.fr/-Home-.html

T-sur-Loup is a stunningly beautiful hillside village:

http://www.tourrettessurloup.com/

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Hi Surjo, with 7 days it seems to make more sense to only stay in Paris - plenty to see and do in such a short time.

What I could suggest for a short trip outside Paris would be to spend 2 days / 1 night at the Mont St Michel. Definitely a unique experience.