Paris at Christmas time?

[LolaInLove]

DH and I are thinking about treating ourselves to a honeymoon over Christmas, since we never got to take one after we got married because of work. The girls will be with their father that week (and his wife is having a baby then too...grrrr) so we were talking last night and thought a Euro trip would be fun. Neither of us have ever been to Europe!

Anyone have any suggestions or input about this? Is it a bad time to go there? A great time? Any good (cheap-ish) hotel suggestions? Stuff/festivals, etc going on there during Christmas week?

I checked out plane tickets already and they aren't too bad. I think this would be a great way for us to shake off crappy 2011 and get my mind off of the other baby's birth (which doesn't bother me except that I want a baby so bad).

Thanks!

[nuthinbutpink]

Sounds like a great idea! It is expensive right now to go because of the exchange rates. I would try to find a good travel agent to help or start googling!

[ELP]

I think it would be an amazing time to go!!!

[zanacal]

It sounds very romantic :D I don't have any advice though I'm afraid.

[babydes56]

Sounds fab Lola! I must say Europe's very expensive compared to the US. Paris/Barcelona/Rome is what i'd suggest, great food & architecture. I hear only 3-5% of Americans have passports because they dont travel out of America. We europeans love to see the world & experience different cultures. It's eye opening & makes you humble. If i won the lottery i'd travel all over, oh just the thought makes me all warm inside

[LolaInLove]

Well, a couple that lived in France told me they can go back pretty cheaply, just the plane fare is the biggest expense, but she said that since Europeans love to travel so much, there are a lot of hotels that are very affordable and not gross. Do you agree with that, girls? I found airfare for only $750, which is a lot cheaper than I thought!

I feel like more Americans travel than that, but maybe it's just the higher income level folks, which I am not, LOL, but I know a lot with my job! I forgot about that passport thing....we don't have one and would likely need to do it soon I bet. There has got to be some lag time in getting it processed.

Thanks for the input! I just didn't know if the weather is horrid at that time, it's crazy packed, you know.....

[zanacal]

Well, I suspect the climate isn't that different to where I am in the south of England and the weather certainly won't be good - I expect it'll be cold and quite likely rainy at least some of the time, but I bet it'll be lovely and atmospheric with all the Christmas lights too!

[babydes56]

I dont totally agree with Paris being cheap or Europe, since the euro was introduced everything's gone up ten folds. I dont want to put you off at all but i also would like you know it's not cheap. England was really pricey to visit but now compared to France/Italy/Spain it certainly isnt. English people used to travel a lot in the last yrs because the £ was strong but now they just cant afford the holidays & are choosing to visit places like Turkey (they use lira) Bulgaria because eastern europe's still cheaper & they also visiting north Africa (egypt, tunisia, morrocco). We were in France for xmas last yr & visited Geneva, well well let me tell you that a round of drinks (2x glasses of wine, a shot of whisky & one of brandy) $71 swiss francs.. in England that would have been about £15-20 Friends of mine just came back from Rome, 2 ice creams 19 euros

Let me not put you off coming because that's not intention, would be great for you & DH to come this side. The other thing you could do is self catering & maybe go out for dinner to make it cheaper for yourself. Instead of booking a hotel you could look at B&B's also if you visited Rome you could eat pizza which wouldnt be expensive etc. Have a look at tripadvisor website it's great for advice on where to go & there's loads of reviews from people who have visited the places & pictures too.

[zanacal]

I also agree that it would likely be expensive but any of the major European cities would be - you pay more to be in Paris, Rome, London etc. than you would elsewhere in those countries.

[babydes56]

I too agree with you Zanacal, it all depends on where you want to visit & what you want to see/do. I'd imagine if someone wanted to visit England they'd go to London instead of Leeds

[DoulaMama]

I lived in Brussels for a year and a half and although Paris isn't as expensive, it's still pretty crazy when you convert the Euro to American or Canadian dollars. BUT.....it's so worth it!!!! Paris is incredible, take public transit wherever you go, go to the markets and get the majority of your food.... I love it there:) I'll log back on later...just about to head out....to get our new puppy!!!! You can also look into rentals by owner...another thought.
Chat with you later!

[nuthinbutpink]

I don't think it's fair to compare European travel within Western Europe to Americans traveling overseas. We don't have a rail/train to jump on and go here!

[LolaInLove]

Thanks for your input everyone! I know it wouldn't be SUPER cheap, and these suggestions are great! I'm still trying to see if we can afford it, but it would really be great. We have both been dying to go on a cool vacation!

[Amelie]

Christmas in Paris is beautiful. All these wonderful light decorations. We stayed once at the ibis hotel at Rue de commerce. The price was ok.