Paris Blog

Loire castles

2009-07-06T06:22:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Those days were very busy. Many people booked tours in Mont Saint Michel, so I went there around three times this week. I think I am now unbeatable about its history! It is a very amazing place. So spiritual and so... Touristic^^

But last week was very sunny in Paris and it was very enjoyable for tourists, and particularly for this family coming from Qatar!! It was their first time in Paris and they told me : "David, it is almost as sunny as Doha here"!! I told them most of the year the weather is cloudy and rainy in Paris they did not believe me !! But indeed, last week was very sunny and hot !!

We started from Paris beginning by... A cup of coffee in their hotel ( wonderful one... hotel^^) As we do not have any limited time, we can organize it as we want at FRANCE TRAVEL TOUR. I like explaining tourists how we will spend the day. When we made the payment, which is 180 EUR per person, the man gave me 280 EUR : he thought the yellow bill is 100n EUR !! I told them about his mistake he told me he gave one yesterday in a restaurant, thinking it was 100 EUR!! Nooooooooo it's 200 !!! I will try to take his bill back after the tour, because many tourists are cheated this way!

Anyway, to make you discover Loire Castles, here are some pictures, hope they will make you dreaming about, former french kings^^ Enjoy !!

We visited Chateau de Chaumont, which is my favourite!! It looks like drawed by a cartoonist!

A wonderful view of the Loire Valley^^

Inside the Castle

Then we visited Chambord Castle

And Chenonceau Castle^^

Iphone for FRANCE TRAVEL TOUR guides

2009-06-16T05:37:00.001-07:00

Hello,

I was so happy today morning at my briefing!! Our boss decided to give us Iphones for working!!!! He says the Internet access will be unlimited, so he could reach us by mail.

There is also a lot of applications, such as around me, that finds any hotel, restaurant, petrol station.

I was a little bit tired with driving those days.
Today I was not on tour but stayed in Paris to promote FRANCE TRAVEL TOUR services, I handed out many leaflets in Tuileries garden and Opera area. It was a sunny day in Paris. I started at 7 am!!

Here is the website of my agency: http://france-travel-tour.com

Tomorrow I will be distributing my leaflets in Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport, hope to meet you then, and the 18th I will be in Loire castles !

Deauville

2009-06-11T08:59:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Last Saturday I went to Deauville for a Tour. We were 6 persons to discover the city and its amazing way of life : beach, shopping, gambling, sun, wonderful food, typical french-norman architecture, what a wonderful Tour to do when you come in France. And it's only around 2.30 hours from Paris!
Enjoy the pictures!

Deauville is around 200 km from Paris. By car we drove around 2 hours and a half to reach the city.

As soon as we arrived we parked the car and made a relaxing walking tour of the city, which is very small compared to Paris. Many shops are here for shopping addicts : Louis Vuitton and its special Deauville Edition bag, Hermes, Gucci, Prada, Dior.

We spent many many time in the shops, because the 3 ladies made a shopping spree in the streets of Deauville!

Just after walking we decided to stop at the casino Lucien Barriere, but before we had a lunch at the Ciro's Barrière, which is in front of the beach: we ate wonderful sea-food, facing the beach and a sunny day! How lucky we were! We left Paris at 10AM and it was raining!

After the lunch the group divided in 2 groups : 3 persons wanted to continue visiting Deauville, and 3 other persons wanted to lay down on the beach and take some colors, with the sun.

So we left the "sleepers" on the beach and went again discover the City : the architecture is amazing, it's not at all as in Paris...It's french-norman! We ate a wonderful norman ice cream, and left to Deauville Harbour to see the boats and take some pictures.

2 hours passed and we came back on the beach. We spent a good time, laughing and relaxing. That's the part of my job I prefer : when there are not tour-guide and not customers, as if we were some friends walking in the streets. Normally I don't eat with customers, because some times it's too expensive,

or I want to leave them alone, this time I was very pleased they insisted to keep me with them while they were having lunch.

I spent many years as a Tour-guide in bus tours agencies, and we were always very speed, I was always on a rush, with 80 persons to guide, and unfortunately I was not able to give my attention to everybody. Now I work for a smaller agency that makes private tours, it means I have maximum 7 persons. It is sooooooo more pleasant!! For both of us! I don't have any limited time when I am on Tour, and I love this kind of freedom, the customers likes it too... my agency manager tells me "stay with them until they want to come back".

After that we visited the Lucien Barriere Casino! Filming inside casinos is forbidden, so we spent a little time gambling in the slot machines.

It was around 7PM ( we left Paris at 9AM ) when some of my clients wanted to go to Honfleur, it's a lovely harbour 20km far from Deauville, but there was a little child with us and she was sooo tired they abandoned the idea. I suggested them to make a little stop and take some pictures, we stayed around 30 minutes and came back to Paris, many of them were sleeping during the road.

We stopped twice, to have a coffee and relaxing our legs and arrived in Paris around 10PM. I left them to their hotel in Opera. When I came back home I received a mail on my Iphone, it was them! They thank me for the tour they've done! This tour is one of my bests since I have been hired in this agency!

Anyway if you visit Paris, do not miss the occasion to vist Deauville! Maybe with me !!!

Gooood niighhhhhttttttt!

David

2009-06-03T02:29:00.000-07:00

Hello,

Today I am gonna speak about all the ways you have to come in Paris from the Airport.

1- Taxi

If you come from...11am to 4pm it will be the fastest way, because traffic jam is lower during this time. It is also the favourite mode of transportation of some of our vizitors! Indeed, you avoid to carry your bags through the train, and keep looking at your map once getting out of the subway to find your hotel. And, I am agree with some of tourists saying than french people is not so helpful with lost tourists, in opposition to American for example.

Cost of the cab is around 40-50 EUR, from Charles De Gaulle Airport to Paris. Add 2 EUR per luggage generally...

If you find yourself out of the Airport between 6 and 10AM, due to traffic your bill will be more expensive, maybe around 70 EUR

You will fastly notice that it's not very easy to find a taxi in Paris, so here is a useful number to call if you are lost : 01 41 27 66 99 ( from a foreign cell 00331.41.27.66.99 ). You can also ask the front office of your hotel to call a taxi for you. It is the number of the most important taxi company in Paris, called G7

From the Airport, going to Paris takes from 40 mn to 1.30 hours, sometimes more, when the traffic jam is heavy.

2-Roissy Bus.

To me the easiest way, better than taxi, to reach the City without leaving around a hundred box even before your arrival ! From the Airport you have many signposts that indicates where you can take it. The cost is 8.90 EUR, and it brings you direcly to Opera Station, which is one of the most central areas in Paris. To me it is the best way to reach Paris, once your luggages in the bus, no stairs, no long halls, you are seated in direction of the downtown. Around one hour of transportation. Departures every 15 minutes

3- Train

Our regional trains are called RER. From Roisy Charles de Gaulle Airport you just have to follow the board "Paris by Train", or taking a shuttle called ADP1. From Terminal 1 it's further so take the CDGVAL, this shuttle will bring you to the train station. The RER you have to take is RER B, and the price is around the same as Roissy Bus, 8.40 EUR. The main train station in Paris derveed by RER B are : Gare du Nord, Chatelet, Saint Michel, Port-Royal, Denfert-Rochereau. So if your hotel is close to those areas, prefer the RER.

To make Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport easier here is a useful link : here