Thank you for booking your place on our 3-day break to Paris, travelling on Eurostar directly to the heart of the City. Train times have been booked to maximise your time in this enchanting city and there will be so much to see and do that you won’t want to waste a second!

9th February 2019 - Day 1

05.55am: Meet for check in one hour prior to Eurostar journey time - Ashford Int. Station (Individual Eurostar

Tickets are not issued as your name will appear on our group booking. Please ensure you have provided names as per your passport. Passports are required for travel) 06.55am: Eurostar journey to Paris on your reserved seats In just 2 hours you will arrive at the Gare de Nord Station. Disembark and make your way with us to the nearby Hotel Le Rocroy, just a few minutes’ walk away. Bags can be left at the hotel and you can start to explore the city. Official check in time is any time after 2pm.

Accommodation is provided on a bed and breakfast basis and a buffet breakfast is available each morning in the breakfast room

10th February - Day 2 – Free time to explore Paris.

11th February - Day 3 - On our last day, check out of your room by 12 noon and bags can be left in the luggage room courtesy of Reception. You can plan for a full day of more sightseeing until the evening when you should meet back at the hotel to reclaim our luggage at 6.30pm. We will then make the short walk back to the Gare de Nord Station and board our train departing at 20.04pm returning to Ashford around 9pm adjusted to local time.

Suggestions of places to visit whilst you are in Paris: (please make sure when booking tickets, use ‘OFFICIAL’ websites)

LANDMARKS, MONUMENTS AND PLACES OF WORSHIP

Visit the famous Notre Dame Cathedral on the Left Bank. (Metro, St-Michel Notre Dame). You will find the Sacre Coeur (the White Basilica above) in Monmartre. (Metros, Abbesses, Anvers or Lamarck Caulaincourt)

Whilst there, do visit the Artists square and perhaps have your portrait drawn. Always confirm the price beforehand.

From the Arc de Triomphe walk the length of Paris’ most famous avenue, the Champs Elysee where it joins with the Place de la Concorde; from here walk through the Tuilleries (gardens) to the Louvre and perhaps visit the Orangerie where you can view Monet’s famous Waterlilies (combined tickets with Musée d'Orsay, see below)

ART IN PARIS

Paris is renowned for its arts and culture with one of the world’s finest collections housed in The Louvre where amongst its treasures and art you will find the famous Mona Lisa (image from the Louvre website). Visit the official website https://www.louvre.fr/en/ for further details and to avoid the queues, purchase tickets online at 17e each. (arrive 30 minutes before your time slot)

If its Impressionist Art that interests you then a visit to the Musée d'Orsay is a must. Housed in a former Railway Station, it houses the largest collection of impressionist

PARIS ON EUROSTAR

SATURDAY 9TH TO MONDAY 11TH FEBRUARY 2019

and post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world, by painters including Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin, and Van Gogh. Tickets are priced at 14e or 18e with a combined ticket to the Orangerie. For further information and tickets visit: https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/visit/welcome.html Note: Closed on Mondays

UNIQUE PARIS

For Parisian buildings with a modern twist; visit the Pompidou Centre (Metro, Rambuteau). Located in the Les Halles area (Metro, Châtelet-Les Halles) which provides a transport hub and shopping centre, mainly under-ground. You could also take the metro to the business district and visit the Grand Arch at La Défense (Metro; La Défense) Standing at the Arch, its plain to see Paris respects the ideals set by Baron Haussmann's renovation of Paris with sweeping vista’s down impressive boulevards

Whilst great views can be seen from the Montparnasse Tower, Paris wouldn’t be paris without the Eiffel Tower, this iconic landmark is a must visit if you havent done so before. Tickets can be purchased on the day (expect to queue) or online in advance and are valid for various stages/levels. The Lift to the second stage is 16.30e and to the top (with some steps right to the top) 25.5e pp https://www.toureiffel.paris/en/rates-opening-times

Les Invalides, a military museum and final resting place of Napoleon, whose body rests in five successive coffins, made of tin, mahogany, lead, lead again and ebony, and these are held within the sarcophagus positioned in the middle of the crypt under its golden Dome.

Les Invalides, one of the tallest landmarks in Paris (Metro, Les Invalides). Entry tickets are 12e and can be purchased in advance at http://www.musee-armee.fr/en/coming-to-the-museum/ticket-office.html

Père Lachaise Cemetery in the most visited Cemetery in the world with around 3.5m visitors annually. It is located in the 20th arrondissement on Blvd de Ménilmontant. (Metro, Philippe Auguste is next to the main entrance, the station named Père Lachaise, is 500 metres away near a side

entrance. Or you can use Gambetta station). Plans of the Cemetery can be purchased in the Café adjacent to the main gates for a couple of euros, or look online for a print version. This makes it easier to find the final resting places of Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf and so many other names of note including one of the most visited graves, that of Jim Morrison of ‘The Doors’ who died in Paris in 1971.

Another unique place to visit is the Paris Catacombs, an ossuary which hold the remains of 6 million people. Find out more at http://www.catacombes.paris.fr/en

GETTING AROUND

By Public Transport, Train and Metro

The Paris Metro offers one of the best services in the world, and an iconic reminder of a grand past with many unique entrances influenced by the Art Nouveau Style. Metro Maps are available in all stations, and it may be best to plan your needs in advance and either buy a ‘Carnet’ (book) of tickets for your stay in Paris, The Carnet, offers 10 tickets for around 14.90 and so are good if you are travelling with others for use in any combination 10 people I journey, 2 people 5 journeys etc. Individual tickets can be purchased, at 1.9e per journey or a one-day ticket can be purchased at 5.80e which gives unlimited journeys for that day using all methods of public transport. Familiarise yourself with metro lines which follow the direction of the end of the line, to plan routes and places where you wish to go. It will save time!

Further details: https://www.ratp.fr/en/titres-et-tarifs

By Boat

Seeing Paris from the River Seine is a great experience. Prices for a one hour tour with commentary cost 15e and there are a number of additional options including lunch and dinner cruises from 59e pp. The Bateaux Parisien boats start at the Quayside at the base of the Eiffel Tower. For further details and bookings visit: http://www.bateauxparisiens.com/en/cruise-tours.html

Why not check out a range of other options; Segway and bicycle tours, walking and guided tours…Paris offers it all!

We hope you have an enjoyable time in Paris!

Important advice. Please be aware pick-pockets operate in large cities so please make sure your belongings including money and passports are kept safe. When eating or drinking please make sure you check the Tariff at cafés and restaurants. Pricing is structured at different levels, whether you eat inside or outside and can vary considerably depending on where you are in the city.

Train times are actual but could be subject to change by the operator. Please make sure you have adequate insurance in place for any eventuality. In case of emergency on the day of

travel or during the break, please call 0777 3946828

www.realsocialising.co.uk 122 Foord Road, Folkestone, Kent CT19 5AB

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