As some of you know my wife was diagvnosed with one of the "female" cancers last Nov. She has finished treatment and the prognosis looks good. She is going to celebrate by spending a week in Paris with her Mom. Neither have ever been. I am looking for traveling advice for them?
1) How much $$ (euros ) should they take?
2) Do they need a power inverter to charge phones, cameras etc
Anythingt else would be great. It is a charter group trip thru a local NBC affliate. Some meals included, all lodging and air fare included. Thank you

Having just sent my wife and two daughters (12 and 16) to Paris for week, returning last week, I can give some advice but so much of the answers depend on their spending habits and what they want to do while in Paris.

All told mine had or obtained about $E2000 with them, taking about $E500 from local bank before leaving to cover initial expenses, cab fare from CDG (approx $75/E50), etc. It sounds like your wife won't have to worry about paying cab fair into Paris, since she is on a group that will probably have transport from the airport. They spent about $E1500 in Euro cash (roughly $2200 US) while there, bringing $E500 back with them, more or less. But they didn't eat at as many better restaurants as I would have liked them to. Most of that was on food and transportation, they are pretty cheap shoppers (THANKFULLY!!!)and found the clothing prices too high. They also used credit cards where they could. They also carried back up traveler's checks which were for emergency use and were not needed.

Everyone's spending habits are different, but I'd budget on them having at least $500/day for both (a good meal with wine can easily be $100/person). They can get by with considerably less, it just depends on what and how they want to do things while there. If they plan on doing any serious shopping, eating at 5 star restaurants, etc then the sky's the limit. It's kind of like ammunition, too much is rarely a problem, too little can be a real problem.

Be aware that there are upcharges associated with credit cards use, usually 3 to 5% per transaction. Even so, that is cheaper than changing money. Check with your credit card company. While not completely necessary, I find it is a good habit to inform your credit card companies that there may be some Paris charges showing up. That helps prevent the fraud dept from shutting them down.

BE AWARE THAT OUR CREDIT CARDS ARE PRIMITIVE COMPARED TO THE EURO CREDIT CARDS AND SOME, BUT BY NO MEANS ALL, CC TERMINALS OVER THERE CAN NOT MAKE OURS WORK. EITHER CHECK AHEAD BEFORE SPENDING OR BE SURE THEY HAVE ENOUGH CASH TO COVER SUCH AN EVENTUALITY.

Best way to access money for your wife in Paris is by ATM if she/you is a depositor in a major bank. Since I am not, this was not an option for mine. Otherwise, I'd suggest she get some at CDG airport for initial expenses and then check the various bureau du change for the best rate.

We were lucky in that I had a friend of a friend in Paris who changed $ to E for us at a very attractive rate, about $1.42/Euro. This compared to the rate of $1.52/Euro from my local bank prior to leaving and was at least 5% better than they could have gotten anywhere else. Prior to their leaving, locally, I was told it would be $1.48 but with charges etc it worked out to be $1.52 for about $750 worth.

I really hope that their hotel is very close to a metro stop, it makes it much easier. They will do a LOT of walking. Buy metro tickets in carnets (packs of 10 or 25). It saves 1/2 Euro/ticket. Since going anywhere on the Metro for two will require 4 billets (tickets) (2 each way) that alone saves about $3 per trip. Don't be afraid of the metro, it is quite safe, at least until very late at night. If money is any issue at all, I would advise them not to take taxis unless the place they want to go is way off the beaten path.

Shopping (and almost everything else) in Paris is quite expensive, unless they are planning on buying fashion items, real or knock offs (which won't be cheap), I would advise them NOT to plan on buying more than souvenirs, etc.

They will need a converter to charge cameras, computers, etc, which is simply a plug in and is quite small. I don't have any way to picture it but the French one has two long round plugs, similar to our two prong arrangement but probably a bit wider apart. They are available in most airports and online.

I suppose you/they know this, but August is THE vacation month for Paris and many restaurants, boulangeries, pattiseries, etc shut down for most of, if not all of August. That doesn't mean they won't have a good time, but before going across town to that special restaurant, they should definitely have someone call to be sure it is open. I would not recommend going there in August, given a choice, but it is what it is.

Paris is quite safe, but they should divide their money and credit cards up, note the numbers in another location in case of theft, and use common and tactical sense while there.
As in any large city, there are beggars, there are crazy people on the streets, and there are thieves and pickpockets as well as various types of grifters. Pickpockets are the most likely source of problems and they should be aware of how to protect their purses. If they're wearing slacks or jeans, I'd suggest they put at least SOME, in not all, their money and credit cards in a front pocket where they can unobtrusively keep their hand on it in crowded places.

Paris is having an unusually cool and wet summer. Be sure they take sweaters. My 3 didn't find umbrellas to be necessary but I'd plan on the possibility of having them buy one or two or maybe taking one of the smaller fold up ones along.

There is a world of information on Paris available on web, be sure that what you are reading is fairly current.

Finally, they should learn a few words of French, and use them. Hello, thank you, the check, please, Mr. Mrs., Miss, I am sorry I don't speak French, Do you speak English?, Where are the toilets?, a beer please, are ones that are universally needed. Many locals, especially the younger ones, speak some or fluent English but they REALLY appreciate tourists taking the effort to try a few phrases in French. Parisans have the reputation of being rude, in my many trips there, and speaking for my wife and kids, that is not generally a problem and many Parisans are quite friendly and helpful, if you meet them halfway. Standing there and getting louder in English, when the other person doesn't understand it IS NOT meeting them halfway. If someone doesn't understand, or if yours don't understand, remember, it is FRANCE, and it is the visitors who need to make the extra effort required.

Again, and this is just me, if money is not really tight, I'd consider ditching some, if not all, of the included meals (breakfast is Ok but it is usually better in a cafe)and going out to restaurants, bistros, cafes, or brasseries that I would prefer. Most "planned" meals on trips like that are not up to my standards. YMMV. I, my wife, and oldest daughter think French coffee is superb, espresso is even better. If yours like weak coffee, then they may be in for a shock. Tea, in many varieties, is quite common.

Just as a price point, I booked this trip for wife and 2 daughters thru American Airlines, RT DFW-CDG-DFW, including hotel, it cost just over $1700/each, no ground transportation included, breakfast at hotel included. Similar trips can be had much cheaper from the E. coast area.

I would tell them to relax and enjoy it, don't feel driven to see everything....take their time, eat, drink, shop, and be merry. When they get tired, find a cafe, sit and enjoy the street sights while having a coffee, snack, beer, wine, or drink. I would say, for me, that the must sees, are N. Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Lourve and Musee d'Orsay if they're into museums (which can take anything from a couple of hours to a few weeks). If it's open, eat ice cream or a sorbet at Berthillon (some say the best ice cream in world, maybe not, but good for sure), which is very near ND (it may be closed in August). If they like cheeses, go to one of the better cheese shops. I could go on and on, but so much depends on their personal tastes. IIRC (check!) the Lourve is closed on Tues and the M'd'orsay is closed on Mon.

By law, restaurants are required to have a menu posted outside. Some have English translations, many don't. But it should give them an idea of costs and types of dishes. If they want to eat "name" or even very good restaurants, do so at lunch, much cheaper and easier to get into.

Dim Sum? Try Tricotin, 15 Av de Choisy, 13th.
Again, not totally sure it will be open in August but probably will be, those Chinese are harder workers than the French.

If I can be of anymore help, PM or ask in here.

Opps, cell phones.....I believe that ATT phones will work over there, check with them if you have ATT. We use Verizon, for most of their phones, the operating software is not compatible with Europe.....they "loaned" us a Euro compatible phone for $20 shipping fees. Don't know about Sprint. With their "save money (forgot what it's called)" plan, it cost us 99 cents per minute (either way, in or out), 50 cents to send text and 5 cents to get one. I'm a looong ways from being a phone expert,I don't even like cell phones, and there are probably other options but that was the most reasonable one I could find for such a short time overseas. I'm glad we had it, it helps my and probably your peace of mind to be able to check on their safety or you can use emails if they take a laptop or can go to an internet cafe. Paris is 7 hours ahead of US CDT, so, for example, 1 PM here is 8 PM there.

Tipping....all restaurants are "service compris" which means they add about 18% to bill to cover tips, bread (yes, some places charge for bread) etc. Normally, if the service was good and pleasant, you would leave 5 to 10% additional, but it is not completely necessary. It just depends on how nicely the meal and service went, as anywhere. Taxis don't really expect a tip, just round up fare to nearest Euro or maybe give a Euro extra.

Another thought, unless one of the pair is reasonably proficient in French, they should have a piece of paper with the name of the destination and its address written on it to give to taxi driver. Same on return, have a card from the hotel or write name and address down to give to taxi driver.

Great stuff. Thank you

De rien.

Chain, glad to hear of the positive progress. My advice, have fun.

I noticed my Cabelas Visa has a new international transfer rate of 1%. You may want to check it out.

That is a good idea. Plus who can't use Cabela's points.Thanks everyone.

quote:

Originally posted by strapman:
I noticed my Cabelas Visa has a new international transfer rate of 1%. You may want to check it out.

Great suggestion!

IF the credit card bank changes Euro/Dollars at the real inter-bank rate plus 1% on the card charges, then that is a really good deal. I wish I'd known about it before my 3 went over. I've got a Cabela's card but almost never use it.

My wife is leaving early October, we both are looking forward to it. She is doing great, it is a joy to get your wife back from a battle like she had. Thank you

Well......How was the trip?

Hope everything went well.....