Calling France (and hotel question)

[snowfire]

So I just called to make reservations in Lyon. Holy gawd, do they speak quickly. I was going to try to do it in French but I wussed out and did the "bonjour, parlez-vouz anglais?" Ugh.

Anyways, I'm trying to make reservations in Paris for the first few days of our trip. A couple cheap hotels are already full. Anyone have a good recommendation for cheap hotels in Paris? Also, someone told me that in France, you cannot put two people in a single room, you must book a double (which is much more expensive). Is this true? If it is, hostels would probably be cheaper for the two of us...

thanks again guys

[Lostinthetrees]

Oui. booking by is by person. Petite dejeuner included in price. TVA usually included in pricing, too. Ask for "une chambre avec un grand lit" (double/queen bed)if you enjoy sleeping together or "..deux lit" (single beds). I have never seen king size over here, but I never stay "luxe".

Pricing goes down if shower is in the hall and shared by all in the hall.
Pricing goes lower if the V.C. (toilet) is in the hallway, too.
Typically, all rooms have un lavabo (sink) in them.
Hostels offer the lowest pricing but lack privacy.
"Est-ce que vous avez un dortoir?" (dormitory-style arrangements typically 4 - 8 bunk beds in a room.)

Re: Paris. If your in during the holidays you may check at the Universities to see if some cheap student-type rooms are available.

If you want to locate near the major touristic sights along the Seine; Housing on the Left Bank (St Germain des Pres/Luxembourg/Pantheon) will be less expensive. A bit of a generalization, but...
Eating out can be less expensive here, too.

If you are into window shopping (faire du leche vitrine) locate around the Louvre/Madeleine/Opera/Haussmann. All de$igner and most major dept stores have a storefront in this area.

Check out Marais district. Interesting hip boutiques, good food, brasseries, wine bars, and reasonable prices. Picasso museum is in the Marais.

The Metro is excellenct - so if you can find something near any line you can easily get around. All transfers are included in ticket.

Tip: buy a "carnet" "Je voudrais acheter un carnet, SVP". Small book of ten tickets at reduced price.

Also, find a place to park car and don't move it if you can. Driving and finding parking is a challenging waste of your time. Bite the bullet, leave it a the Louvre underground parking or w/ your hotel. Garage parking is expensive, but reliable.

Never, ever leave anything that you cannot replace in your car...anywhere in France. Wallets, passports, documents, CD's, box of spare change lying on the dash, etc. It is an invitation.

In CH, generally, your possesions are much safer (Few Swiss what anything second-hand!). I have left my car doors unlocked by mistake w/ daypack visible and no one touches it.

litt

[snowfire]

Oui. booking by is by person. Petite dejeuner included in price. TVA usually included in pricing, too. Ask for "une chambre avec un grand lit" (double/queen bed)if you enjoy sleeping together or "..deux lit" (single beds). I have never seen king size over here, but I never stay "luxe".

Pricing goes down if shower is in the hall and shared by all in the hall.
Pricing goes lower if the V.C. (toilet) is in the hallway, too.
Typically, all rooms have un lavabo (sink) in them.
Hostels offer the lowest pricing but lack privacy.
"Est-ce que vous avez un dortoir?" (dormitory-style arrangements typically 4 - 8 bunk beds in a room.)

Re: Paris. If your in during the holidays you may check at the Universities to see if some cheap student-type rooms are available.

If you want to locate near the major touristic sights along the Seine; Housing on the Left Bank (St Germain des Pres/Luxembourg/Pantheon) will be less expensive. A bit of a generalization, but...
Eating out can be less expensive here, too.

If you are into window shopping (faire du leche vitrine) locate around the Louvre/Madeleine/Opera/Haussmann. All de$igner and most major dept stores have a storefront in this area.

Check out Marais district. Interesting hip boutiques, good food, brasseries, wine bars, and reasonable prices. Picasso museum is in the Marais.

The Metro is excellenct - so if you can find something near any line you can easily get around. All transfers are included in ticket.

Tip: buy a "carnet" "Je voudrais acheter un carnet, SVP". Small book of ten tickets at reduced price.

Also, find a place to park car and don't move it if you can. Driving and finding parking is a challenging waste of your time. Bite the bullet, leave it a the Louvre underground parking or w/ your hotel. Garage parking is expensive, but reliable.

Never, ever leave anything that you cannot replace in your car...anywhere in France. Wallets, passports, documents, CD's, box of spare change lying on the dash, etc. It is an invitation.

In CH, generally, your possesions are much safer (Few Swiss what anything second-hand!). I have left my car doors unlocked by mistake w/ daypack visible and no one touches it.

litt

Wow, thanks! The car thing won't be a problem, since we're picking our car up at Orly as we're leaving Paris, so we won't have to deal with parking in the city.

The Marais district is actually where I wanted to stay, but the hotel I called was booked. I'll probably try a few others-- just wanted to clarify about the single/double thing. Good to know that "single" doesn't mean one small bed, it means one person. Thanks.

I'm a little worried about getting our skis stolen out of the car if we stop for dejeuner or something- I've heard more than once about theft in France.

Is un grand lit more expensive than deux lit?

We are definitely not trying to stay luxe. We will squeeze into the tiniest bed possible if we can get it cheaply!

merci...


edit: and maps again? We need a good road map that will show where the ski areas are. I guess if we're going to ski we need to know how to get there. So far all I've found are piste-maps.