France (1 Viewer)

[olchik]

France - I'm going there but it's so expansive! Any tips to make it cheaper?

 

[Sabbo]

I went around France for 2 weeks in 2005. Paris is quite expensive (even hostels) but I found all the smaller places much more rewarding.

Food: Supermarkets...probably the cheapest way. Baguettes are pretty cheap and when making a sandwich they can be quite filling

Accomodation: I just stayed in hostels. I had a "hostelling International" card so I got into places cheaper (HI Hostels) which there are quite a lot of around France.
The Lowest I paid I think was around 13 Euros (including breakfast) per night with the highest being around 20 Euros (excluding Paris). Most places were inbetween 13 and 20.

For transport I found the train the easiest since I had Eurorail pass.

Where do you plan on going?

 

[360flip]

with whats going on in france right now i wouldnt go there unless you like being beaten by cops and hosed everywhere! nice food thou!

 

[cro_angel]

I went there for 3 days this year.. we rarely ate out not only because it was expensive but it was hard to find people that spoke English in food places.. even in tourist hotspots. We found it was easier to like buy ham cheese and bread from the shop and make our own sandwiches..
With the metro tickets, buy the 10 tickets instead of one because you save a bit..
The louvre is free entry on the first Sunday of each month (we were lucky to visit on that day).

 

[olchik]

Where do you plan on going?

Thanks for advices! I'd like to go to Paris for 2-3 days and then to some small town!

 

[Sabbo]

Thanks for advices! I'd like to go to Paris for 2-3 days and then to some small town!

There's quite a lot of really nice small towns.

From Paris I went to Bayeaux which is on the west coast in Normandy. It's close to the D-Day Beaches where all the Allied landed in World War 2 so if you like history you might wanna check it out. Because of the significance you'll find quite a lot of tourists there.

Next I went south to Pontorson which is close to "Mont Saint-Michel"; quite impressive
http://members.optusnet.com.au/sabbo/Europe05/France/FranceMontSaintMichelle.jpg
Pontorson is pretty quiet. Didn't seem like it was heavily "touristed" apart from "Mont Saint-Michel"

I then went through La Rochelle and Bordeaux (didn't see much in Bordeaux since I only stayed a night there).

Next was Carcassonne. One of my favourite places of the trip.
http://members.optusnet.com.au/sabbo/Europe05/France/FranceCarcassonne.jpg

There is the 'new' city and the medieval one (see pic). The mad thing is that the hostel is INSIDE the medieval city. While it's quite packed during the day with tourists (I was there in high tourist season) it's great at night when everyone is gone and you can just stroll around the town.
http://members.optusnet.com.au/sabbo/Europe05/France/SunsetCarcassonne.JPG

Spent a night in Sete (along the Cote d'Azur) which seemed like a really nice "beach" town but since I had a cold I moved on otherwise I would have stayed a bit longer.

Next I went to Grenoble. The main thing there is probably the "Bastille" which overlooks the town.

View from the top: http://members.optusnet.com.au/sabbo/Europe05/France/FranceGrenoble.jpg

Next was Lyon. Seemed like a nice city but nothing really kept me there so I moved on again (gotta love the benefits of travelling alone).

Coming to an end I went to Chamonix which is the alps close to the swiss boarder (Mont Blanc region). If you like mountains you gotta check out this place.
http://members.optusnet.com.au/sabbo/Europe05/France/FranceChamonix2.jpg
They also had a music festival on in town when I was there which was pretty cool.

Before I moved on to Germany I stayed one night in Strasbourg but didn't see anything of the city so I can't really comment on it haha.

So if you're after some small towns i'd recommend Carcassonne, Sete, Pontorson or Chamonix

Hope I gave you some ideas

 

[jihoihgggbghmkl]

im going to france nexy year to be an au pair.. any tips about living in France.? r the people easy to talk to or they snobbish? also is there any sort of night life in paris??

 

[Sabbo]

From my experience if you try to speak a bit of french you shouldn't have a problem. I guess they see you're trying and therefore they'll be friendly in return.
I heard of a few people I met while travelling who didn't speak French that they encountered some problems with people being snobish.
In the end I think it depends who you talk to, i.e. young people would be more open than older ones.

Not sure about Paris nightlife but I'm pretty sure there would be a couple of places..the city is massive.

 

[euskadi_warrior]

make sure you identify yourself as an Australian and not as an American or an English... the French are kinder to us aussies.