Paris
The beating heart of France, Paris is a proud and beautiful city with a complex mix of the traditional next to the new. Walking through Paris is without doubt the best way to get to know its inner secrets and to become more familiar with its best-known and loved monuments. We offer two itineraries:
Classic Paris: you can visit all of the most famous sights including Notre Dame cathedral, the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower. We can also visit the galleries of the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay and the Sacre Coeur.
Hidden Paris: step off the beaten track to discover lesser-known corners. Some highlights include the Musée Marmottan and its breathtaking Monet collection, the bustling Mouffetard market, Père Lachaise cemetery, and the medieval art of the Musée de Cluny.
Detailed information
| Detailed itinerary |
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The following is a suggested programme, but your HF Holidays' leader may adjust it at their discretion, according to the wishes of the group or to fit into local opening times. There is clearly no obligation to join in any activity, and you should feel free to spend the time as you wish. Download a full itinerary above.
It’s difficult to do justice to such an exciting city in just five days, but there are some must-sees on everyone’s itinerary: The Arc de Triomphe at the head of the Avenue Champs Elysées, the Eiffel Tower and the unforgettable Louvre Gallery. A métro ride brings us to the Île de la Cité, where the great Gothic cathedral of Notre Dame rises above Paris’ oldest quarter. Here too you’ll find the notorious Conciergerie, where both Marie Antoinette and Robespierre were held prisoner during the revolutionary years, and the breathtaking Sainte Chapelle, built by Louis IX to house a fragment of the True Cross. Another highlight is the Musée d’Orsay followed by a stroll to the renowned Left Bank of the River Seine, with its galleries, gardens and museums. In the evenings dine in local restaurants to get a real flavour of the sights and smells of the French capital.
The following is a suggested programme, but your HF Holidays' leader may adjust it at their discretion, according to the wishes of the group or to fit into local opening times. There is clearly no obligation to join in any activity, and you should feel free to spend the time as you wish. Download a full itinerary above.
Perhaps you’ve seen the big sights, or you just want a different view of this beautiful capital. A Hidden Paris break will introduce you to a different city. Take in the atmosphere of the Latin Quarter, or discover the Mouffetard market in the Jardin des Plantes. In the eastern part of the city, wander around the iconic Père Lachaise cemetery, where the graves of Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf and Jim Morrison vie with those of composers, anarchists, film stars and generals. Another view of Paris is from the dizzying heights of the 209m (686ft) Montparnasse Tower, a lone skyscraper above the street cafés, bars and boulevards of the 14th Arondissement. It’s a very different prospect from the subterranean drama of the Paris Sewers Museum, or the labyrinthine Catacombs, which tell their own fascinating stories. With museums and galleries off the beaten tourist track, Hidden Paris is a fascinating blend of the familiar and the offbeat.
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| Dates and prices |
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Classic Paris
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| Tues 5 May 2009 |
4 |
£475 |
£349 |
| Tues 8 Sept 2009 |
4 |
£475 |
£349 |
Single room supplement: £32 per night (Xmas & New Year £28)
Hidden Paris
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| Mon 11 May 2009 |
4 |
£475 |
£349 |
| Mon 28 Sept 2009 |
4 |
£475 |
£349 |
Single room supplement: £32 per night (Xmas & New Year £28)
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| Travel to resort |
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Guests who have bought their holiday 'with rail' will travel to Paris by Eurostar via the Channel Tunnel. The onward taxi journey takes around 30mins depending on traffic.
Latest HF Holidays Travel Information - updated 25/10/2008 (provisional)
SNCF Eurostar (provisonal)
London St Pancras International - Paris Gare du Nord
Out 12:30 - 15:56
Return 16:13 - 17:34
Air France (provisonal)*
Manchester - Paris
Out 10:00 - 12:30
Return 16:05 - 16:35
*Manchester flight supplement: £100
Transfer from Charles de Gaulle airport - For Manchester flight guests you will need to take
the Metro from Charles de Gaulle Airport, allow approx €20 for a return journey (payable locally).
Airport Parking: To book secure airport parking throughout the UK visit Purple Parking or Holiday Extras to book on-line.
Airport Hotels: To book airport hotels throughout the UK visit Holiday Extras to book on-line.
Making Your Own Travel Arrangements
By Eurostar: For many travellers, especially those in the South of England, the Eurostar services from Waterloo or Ashford International to Paris Gare du Nord offer the quickest and easiest route to the French capital. Eurostar can be contacted on tel: 08705 186 186 or at their website: www.eurostar.com.
To reach the Hotel from the Gare du Nord: The public transport system in Paris is a fairly quick and reliable form of transport compared to the road network. If you choose to take a taxi, the journey takes approximately 40mins (depending on the traffic) and you should expect to pay around €16, plus a surcharge for baggage.
By public transport it takes approximately 30mins and costs around €1.50. On arrival at the Gare du Nord, turn left (escalators at far end) and take the orange line 5 to Place d'Italie, change here onto the pink line 7 (direction Chatelet/La Courneuve) and alight at the second stop 'Censier Daubenton'. Take the stairs up to street level and take the exit marked "Rue Censier". Turn right into rue Censier, past the Church of St Médard on right and up slight incline to main road (Claude Bernard). Cross over and veer right into rue Pascal. The hotel is on the right in 150m. A copy of the metro and RER maps can be found at www.paris.org/Metro .
By air to Paris Charles de Gaulle: Paris' Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport, 23km (14 miles) northeast of Paris, is the city's largest airport and is served by a number of direct scheduled and 'low cost' flights from the UK and the rest of the world. The airport has three terminals which are all connected by the free shuttle bus.
To reach the hotel from Charles de Gaulle Airport:
Flights from Manchester booked through HF Holidays arrive at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport in terminal one.
The quickest and easiest method of transport from the airport is the 'RER' high speed metro, which is cheap, clean and efficient. Take the RER line to 'Chatelet-les-Halles' and change here to the pink metro line 7 to 'Censier Daubenton'. The metro is located at the northern end of Chatelet-les-Halles (around 750m walk from the RER line). In contrast, the journey by road can take much longer as traffic is often at a standstill on paris' notorious motorway ring roads. Please allow approx €16 return for the transfers to and from hotel by public transport.
A taxi through www.cityhoppa.com will cost around £180 return, while a shuttle bus is about £32 per person return.
www.airfrance.com/uk flights from Heathrow, Manchester, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Birmingham and Southampton.
www.britishairways.com flights from Heathrow, Glasgow, Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester.
www.easyjet.com flights from Belfast, Glasgow, Liverpool, Luton and Newcastle.
www.bmibaby.com flights from East Midlands.
www.flybe.com flights from Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Manchester and Norwich.
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| Temperatures |
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| March |
4°C |
11°C |
| May |
9°C |
18°C |
| June |
12°C |
21°C |
| Sept |
12°C |
20°C |
| Dec |
2°C |
7°C |
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| What the holiday includes |
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- Return economy class air or rail (with flight / with rail).
- 4 nights' accommodation in double or twin-bedded en-suite rooms.
- Bed & Breakfast.
- Services of HF Holidays' leader.
- Detailed itineraries.
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