Returned on Wednesday from 8 days in our favourite city, staying in a studio on Rue du Bourg Tibourg. Very nice, comfortable studio near to the river and all that the Marais has to offer, plus only a few minutes walk from Ile St Louis and Ile de la Cite so the location was superb.
The weather gods were smiling kindly on us and we had sunshine every day and only a bit of rain on the last two evenings. Did lots of walking, sitting in cafes and parks and people watching. Visited the Tuileries, Jardin des Plantes, Parc Bercy, Parc au Buttes Chaumont and as usual I marvelled at how well kept and well used the parks are in Paris.
The only museums we did were the Muse Carnavalet and the Orangerie, where the two Monet rooms were brilliant - will definitely return to them.
However the very best day of the holiday was Sunday in the Tuileries. The Louvre had organised a weekend of music in the Tuileries - Fanfare au Tuileries as part of the Jours des Patrimoines events. We went on the Sunday and the park was packed with people enjoying the sunshine, watching and listening to the bands. There were marching bands with drums, brass and woodwind playing at intervals all afternoon and two static bands playing Gershwin and John Williams on one side of the gardens, and Stockhausen and other similar music on the other side. The atmosphere was great and we really enjoyed it.
The music was so different from the Techno Parade that we witnessed the day before - loud, thumping techno dance music being played from floats carrying huge sound systems - they really made the pavement vibrate!
This is the first time we did the trip by Eurostar instead of flying. We took the train from Manchester to Euston Station, London, then a bus to Waterloo for the Eurostar. It all worked really well and compared favourably pricewise to flying, although it did take longer and we shared the outward journey with several hundred Scottish football fans! When the new terminus opens at St Pancras in November it will be a lot easier for those of us travelling from the Midlands, North of England and Scotland to access Eurostar for travelling to Paris and beyond..
|||
Sounds like a great trip! Since we%26#39;ve been in the UK, we%26#39;ve gone both by Eurostar and plane and we prefer train if we can do it
|||
I think if I lived in the U.K. (or anywhere in Europe, for that matter), I would be in Paris every weekend! What bliss. Thanks for sharing.
|||
Thank you, Redqueen for sharing this! It sounds like you had a wonderful trip. I sent you a PM the other day, asking you a few more detailed questions regarding the Studio Marais, as I will be renting the very same apt the end of October. I am concerned slightly with the stairs leading up to it. I am only planning on bringing one small suitcase and a carry on, due to it as I will be alone and hauling it up to the apt myself. Could you also tell me, where the nearest grocery store is located so I can stock up with staples for my 10 day stay?? Boulangerie near by? Etc. Also, how would you compare your stay in the Marais studio to staying in the studio in the 6th that you rented last time? Which area do you prefer now that you have experienced both?
I do appreciate any information you can give me.
Thanks, Tre
|||
redqueen you were there at the same weekend my wife %26amp; I were visiting our favourite city. Techno Parade, wasn%26#39;t it loud? We both thought how well the young people were, even if all those who climbed up on top of the bus shelters were in possible danger of breaking %26amp; collapsing them with all their combined weight. We were well impressed with their behaviour and a credit to their country.
Regarding your trip down to Waterloo from Manchester, although it is all going to change in November, the 14th, I assume you did not know that you could by what is loosely called a Eurostar connection ticket (London International CIV, I think) for rail travel from your local railway station and through to Waterloo International. The benefits are that you are, unlike the UK conditions you are travelling on international conditions of travel. i.e. either train late and you miss the connection, the rail companies are obliged to put you on the next available train. The ticket does not restrict to a time so you travel at any time of day, peak or off peak and possibly a little cheaper than a standard open return but you will have to check that. And, for the duration that Waterloo International is still running; a return ticket ‘gate pass’ for travelling from in your case, Euston to Waterloo by the tube.
As I said this al changes in November and for you lucky ones to the north of London, especially Midland mainline %26amp; GNER customers, you will have seamless (especially those from the Midlands) connection at St Pancras for your Eurostar journey. There is a lot of coverage about St Pancras for obvious reasons, its been planned for many years and now it is here (from the pictures it does look good) it is something to be proud of. Along with all the pr %26amp; hype is talk about Eurostar doing possible deals with Virgin, Midland %26amp; GNER on ticketing and it is being suggested that when you buy a ticket for Eurostar you will find that you get a very cheap return ticket from Manchester to connect with it. This is something Eurostar are keen to promote as they need to prove that the cost of all this construction is justified and the increase in passenger numbers will prove it. Just think of us poor Eurostar customers in east Kent who are losing most of their services from Ashford in November and possibly all by the end of next year.
|||
Trechic, I%26#39;ve sent a detailed reply to your PM - I didn%26#39;t know you could send messages that way on TA - you learn something new....
I%26#39;m really not sure which area I like best. Both are lively with plenty of shops, cafes, etc. Both studios are a few minutes walk from the river. The studios are very similar as well. When I stayed in the 6th I enjoyed shopping for food on Rue de Buci. In the Marais Rue de Bretagne has lots of good food shops and is only a few minutes from Bourg Tibourg. I%26#39;ll just have to return to both and see if that helps me to decide!
Both times I found the batobus was fun for getting around - slow but very relaxing and there are enough stops to hop and off near the main museums and other sites.
|||
Leas cliff
Thanks for the information. We did investigate booking a through ticket from Manchester but couldn%26#39;t see how to do it. Because we booked as soon as tickets went on sale we got very cheap fares from Manchester to London. We built in more time than we needed to on the way down in case Virgin cancelled the train to London, but everything worked perfectly and we had time to get something to eat before boarding the Eurostar.
It will certainly be a lot easier for us once they start running from St Pancras although I can well understand that people in Kent are not happy that they will have a reduced service.
|||
-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-
This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.
To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html
We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.
Removed on: 1:23 am, September 10, 2009
No comments:
Post a Comment