We need travel advice for Paris

We are in our early 60%26#39;s and are flying into Paris for a few days, never been there. We will be leasing a car and picking it up at the airport. After being in Paris, we will be driving down through France, Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain. Any travel advice would be helpful.(My husband was stationed in Germany in the 60%26#39;s, but I know things have changed considerably since then.) In particular, I am concerned about places to stay that are relatively inexpensive, but clean while in Paris, and also driving around. Are there B %26amp; B%26#39;s available? Also, I am a little ignorant here, but do a lot of people speak English there, or do I need to learn some French etc.?

Thanks, JLB

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We are in Paris right now and you don%26#39;t need to know French. It helps but there are a lot of people here that speak English. You don%26#39;t need to drive around Paris. It is easier to walk or take the metro. We are staying the Citadines Aparthotel near the Louvre. It is in a great central location and close to everything.

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Dear Brassgrandlake:

My best advice is do NOT pick up your car and drive it into Paris. Go to Paris, first, then pick up the car at the airport, or anywhere else you have easy access out of the city. Driving and worse yet, parking, would be a nightmare. No need for a car in the city center, as many tourist sights are within walking distance, and Paris is served by an excellent metro system.

Re speaking French, I have found it most helpful to learn a few words of French, if nothing else but to be polite, and show you respect the culture. Even if you learn to say nothing more than Bon Jour, Merci and Sil vous plaits (sp???) you will have made a start with showing the French that you care. I find it fun to learn a language (I just returned from Budapest, where the only words I managed were %26quot;thank you%26quot; and %26quot;good bye%26quot;, but these small gestures were very much appreciated by the locals.) The side benefit to learning a foreign language is that it is good excercise for the brain!

In order to find a hotel in your price range, you may want to make a search on this forum. You can put in the dollar figure you want to spend, and a list of the hotels in that price range will pop up. You can then read the reviews and make your choice.

Bonne chance and bon voyage. (Good luck and have a good journey.)

BT

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