Skidmore in Paris - Lifeline

Travel

Travel Agencies | Plane | Train | Rental Cars | Day Trips | Recommendations

You’re in Europe, so take advantage! Travel as much as possible, because there are so many great places to go and never enough time to see it all. Don’t forget, however, there are MANY things to do and see in France, so while you’re waiting for that Carte de Séjour, take full advantage of what France has to offer!

While you can do all your own research and planning for a trip, travel agencies are a great way to get ideas, package deals and a little help with booking. There are agencies all around Paris, but here are a few to get you started:

Accueil de la Jeunesse Française
119, rue St. Martin 75004
139, blvd. St. Michel 75005
(good deals on bus trips)

AlloStop
84, passage Brady 75010
(organized “hitch-hiking” service)

Club Alliance Voyage
99, blvd. Raspail 75006

CTS
20, rue Carmes 75005

Go Voyage
98bis, blvd. La Tour Maubourg 75007

Havas Voyages
ave de l’Opéra 75002
(a great place to plan Spring Break)

Nouvelles Frontières
74, rue de la Fédération 75015
116, blvd. St. Michel 75005
5, ave. de l’Opéra 75001

OTU Voyages
119, rue St. Martin 75004
(the official Student Identity Card travel agency; gives discounts on all forms of travel)

Parentheses
88, rue Lourmel 75015
(economic trips)

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Getting out of Paris is easy! Planes and trains are the most common way of travelling, but it is also possible to take a bus or rent a car.

By Plane
There are three main airports for Paris: Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Orly, and Beauvais.
Charles de Gaulle: This is the main airport in Paris and can be reached directly by RER B for about 8,70 euros. The RER may not be the easiest option, though, depending on where you live and the amount of luggage you have. A better idea may be to get a cab, or take the Roissybus. The Roissybus is 8,40 euros and can be picked up at rue Scribe, between the Opéra and the American Express Office.
Orly: This airport is used mainly for smaller companies, such as Easyjet, and for travel around Europe and to Africa. It can be reached by taking the RER B to Antony and changing to the Orlyval, or by Orlybus from Denfert Rochereau. Both will cost you about 8 Euros for a one-way ticket.
Beauvais: the “ghetto-port”! This airport is not really in the limits of Paris, but has become Paris’ third airport. It is located in the Oise (Dept. 60) about 1 hour from Paris and a pain to get to, but you can sometimes get great deals leaving from Beauvais airport. In order to get there, you take a bus from Porte Maillot, which is about 10 Euros each way. You should plan to be there at least 2.5 hours before your flight. This is the airport that Ryanair flights from.

Major Airline Telephone Numbers:
Air France 0 820 820 820
Alitalia 0 820 315 315 (69 blvd Haussmann)
American 0 810 872 872
Austrian 0 820 816 816
Continental 01 42 99 09 09
Delta 0 800 35 40 80
Iberia 0 820 075 075
Northwest 0 890 710 710
Swiss Air 0 820 04 05 06
Tower Air 01 55 04 80 80
Turkish Airlines 01 56 69 33 50
United 0 810 72 72 72
Airports:
Charles de Gaulle 01 48 62 12 12 / 01 48 62 22 80
Orly 01 49 75 52 52 / 01 49 75 15 15
Beauvais 0 892 68 20 66
Aéroports de Paris

Discount Airlines

It is always a good idea to search the internet to try to find the best deal possible. Some airlines that are popular and have good deals are:
Ryanair - Ryanair usually has really cheap flights (anywhere from 2-60 euros each way), but their flight times tend to be discouraging. They also fly out of Beauvais Airport, so remember to add an extra hour to hour-and-a-half to your travel time!
Easy Jet - Easy Jet flies out to CDG Terminal 9 (RER B to CDG 1, look for signs). Same idea as Ryanair – cheap ticket, but random flight times.
German Wings - Super cheap flights to Germany. Also flies from CDG T9.
Niki
Sky Europe - Based in Slovakia
Smart Wings - Czech
See other low cost airlines here.

You can also check out these websites for cheap fares:

Skyscanner.com
Travelocity.com
Orbitz.com
Promovacances.com
Vivacances.com
Kelkoo.com
Anyway.com
Nouvelles-frontieres.fr
Lastminute

By Train

To reserve tickets for the train, you can either go online to their website (for France, www.voyages-sncf.com) or go in person to any of the Gares Reservation guichets. Make note that with your student card, you get a 20% fare discount and if you reserve at least 3 weeks prior to your trip, you can take advantage of a Prem’s fare, which is 50% off the price.

For trains, take the métro directly to the Gare, look for the Grandes Lignes signs, punch your ticket at one of the orange machines, and hop aboard!

Train Contact Info
SNCF Information (for all stations) : 36 35 or 08 92 35 35 35
www.sncf.com

Eurorail

The Eurorail pass is a great option to buy if you know that you are going to be traveling a lot over your semester in Paris. It MUST be bought in the States (but you can always have your parents buy it and send it to you). There is a large range of Eurorail pass plans. A Youth Pass is for anyone under 26 and is the best deal for your money. You can choose from a Regular Pass or a Flexi-Pass, depending on whether you want to travel all at once or break up the trips over a longer period. The passes are available for all 17 countries that participate in the Pass program or for different combinations of them. If you plan to stay and travel Europe during Winter Break or Summer vacation, get a Eurorail pass. It is probably a bad idea to purchase a Eurorail pass if you are not CERTAIN that you will make use of it. Another possible down-side is that you can only reserve tickets for trains coming in or out of your home-station (Paris). That is to say, if you plan a multiple-leg journey, you will have to wait until you are in the respective country to reserve your seats. While it is not necessary to reserve a seat, it is usually a good idea during peak travel seasons.

For full year students, another option to keep in mind is the Inter-rail pass. You must be a resident of France for a certain length of time, but if you're doing a lot of travelling in one area of Europe, it may be better than the Eurorail pass.

Rental Cars
For most reputable rental car companies, you must be 21 to rent a car. If you are under 25, you must also take an additional insurance. Don’t forget, you should also be able to drive a stick-shift car, since automatic cars are rare in Europe. This is a good way to get to places that are not easily accessible by other transportation.

Rental Car Companies

Avis.fr
Budget.fr
Europcar.fr
Hertz.fr
Rentacar.fr
Sixt - This company rents a variety of cars, including Smart cars - one of the cheapest rental car optionns.

If you plan to drive in Europe, it is a good idea to get an international driver’s license, which you can obtain in person, or by writing from AAA for $10. Although your US driver’s license is acceptable, the International License is more widely recognized.

Make sure to map out your route via mapquest.com or mappy.fr before leaving and plan on enough money for tolls (péage) and gas. Also, it is a good idea to ask the rental car company for a manual of the country’s driving laws and brush up before you leave. Speed limits, rond points, etc. can be tricky.

By Bus
RATP bus information 01 43 46 14 14
Eurolines - long distance bus routes (often cheaper, though less comfortable, than trains)

Places Students Visited in 2003-2004

These are a few suggestions of where you can visit and possibly stay if you are looking for a hotel:

France (sorry, no hotel recommendations, please add if you have some)
Nice
Strasbourg
Toulouse
Bordeaux
Rouen
Amiens
Arles
Limoges
L’Ile de Ré
Rennes

Spain
Barcelona
Guest House St. Andreu
6 30 67 88 43
guesthouse@netemail.es
This was a great place to stay – cheap (20 euros/night), kitchen, and very friendly staff. It is a little bit outside the major areas of Barcelona, but the metro is just around the corner.

Madrid
Barberi Hostel
Metro: Chueca
It is about 12 euros per night. The staff is extremely friendly and there are a lot of backpackers and travellers from all over.

Olé International
You can find more information on this hostel at internationhosteling.com
Metro Pole
Grand Via
Great location and free internet access!

Italy
Florence
Ostello del Archi Rossi
Via Faenza, 94
055 29 08 04
Una Hotel Vittoria
This hotel is relatively expensive, but allrez.com has a great deal. This is a new hotel (about a year old) and is 4 stars!

Venice
Alba d’Oro Camping
About 12-20 euros a night and off the island of Venice, so you will need to take a bus to Venice, but it is very accessible. This is a great place to stay, especially in high-season. Beware of what you reserve though: it is very possible to end up in a tent if you don’t ask! There are campers and cabins to reserve. NB: They do not provide toilet paper in the bathrooms, so bring your own!

Rome
Hotel Giott Flabia
Via Flabia, near the termini
This hotel is about 60-80 euros per night for a double room. Not too bad if you split it with another person.

Yellow Hostel
Via Palestro, near the termini
23 Euros per night for a communal room and 27 euros each if you share a double with a friend.

Palazzo Alessandro
Via Vinccenze

England
London
Regent Palace Hotel
This hotel is right in Piccadilly Circus. It is a bit expensive, about 75 euros a night for a double, but close to a lot of places, so it was worth it.

Bath
The YHA hostel in Bath is the one of the best hostels that I've ever stayed at. Warning: it's at the top of a hill!

Greece
Corfu
The Pink Palace
This was a great place to stay, especially in high-season. Depending on what kind of room you want, it is about 20-25 euros a night. Tons of activities, really friendly! You’ll meet a lot of other backpackers and travellers; fun bar; disco at night!

Switzerland
Geneva
Bern
The Bern Backpackers Hostel is very good.

Czech Republic
Prague
While it's not perfect (there's no kitchen, it's a trek from town) The Boathouse is still quite good.

Croatia
Zagreb
Not only is the Ravnice Hostel very, very good (good beds, good atmosphere, good kitchen), it's the only good hostel in town. DON'T STAY AT THE OTHER ONE.
The consensus highlights of various trips to Croatia are Dubrovnik, Split, and various islands in between (Mljet, Korcula, Hvar).

Other places where students went and gave their thumbs up!
Germany: Berlin, Freiburg
Austria: Vienna
Belgium: Brussels, Brugges, Liége
Netherlands: Amsterdam
Sweden: Stockholm (if you go during the summer, make sure you book early to get one of the really great hostels)