What's the best way to see paris for $2? On a bike!…read more One of my Paris highlights were this bikes! Though they may look clunky and hideous, they are great way to get you anywhere. After a couple days of walking everywhere my legs were dying. As much as I wanted to see everything paris had to offer my legs were telling me NO! Good thing we decided to try these bikes out because they saved our legs and took us to places faster than our two feet ever would. The website makes renting these bikes simple enough. You register online and pay with card and create a PIN. An email is sent to you with user numbers, that you'll need to enter in the kiosk to get a bike and don't forget your pin. As long as you return the bike to a station within 30 minutes you're guaranteed a $2 paris excursion all on two wheels. Most of the station are available on most popular areas and around the corners in big intersections. You can always rent the bike from the kiosk if you don't have time to register online. When you return your bike make sure to see a green light appear on your stand. If not, you can go to the main kiosk and troubleshoot from there. My light went orange in one instance because I shoved it in the wrong angle and the kiosk released it, so I could retry sliding it in. It was fun biking around like a local because even the locals use them. It was super scary biking on crowded roads with cars, but compared to America, french drivers are totally aware of their surroundings. The insurance you have with these bikes are they are heavy and big enough to keep you stable and withstand a lot of beatings. The fenders on the bike also come in handy for those spontaneous mother nature drizzles.

Beware of this company! I am very familiar with bike shares and scooter shares of many varieties…read morefrom many brands across many cities around the world. This brand is the scariest! 1. They have bikes in unsafe riding condition all over the city! Do they inspect or repair ever? 2. Several of their bikes have dubious connections with the server - so you may not be able to start a ride. AND you might think you're parking a bike and ending a ride, but in fact it is just locked to the rack but still running. 3. If (or should I say when) the ride malfunctions there is NO METHOD of getting in touch with customer service for help. So not only will you get overcharged and have to fight to remove the charge after the fact, but you will also be locked out of using any other bikes. That means that, if you purchased a subscription service for an entire day, but a bike won't log out of your app after you lock it up, you will not be able to use your subscription again with a new bike that day (since the old bike is still running). 4. There is no way to reply to a conversation or see your conversation history with customer service - so, no matter how many times you talk to them (or try to report problematic bikes), there is never a record to reference to indicate the problem you are having, if it is an ongoing one (or you are trying to point out that you did try to contact them over a broken bike). 5. You can't view your GPS history of the rides, so you can't argue where you did or did not ride when the service inevitably charges you for a 29-day ride that you did not take. I attempted 8 rides with this company over 4 days and only got 5 to work - and of those 5, it took trying several bikes before one was functional. This is almost a 100% error track record. This company will deliver you a questionable product and then charge your credit card for errors that its own server makes. I recommend you use literally any other rideshare program for your own peace of mind.

Booked a stay last minute when i got in as my original hotel stay didnt pan out…read more What an amazing hotel! Found this place searching on Expedia. Clean, spacious and located not far from central sites. Walking distance to everything. The bathroom was spacious with a deep bathtub which was great. Toilet and bathroom were separate which was nice. Staff was so friendly! One late night i had drinks and chatted it up with one of the front desk staff, friendly gentleman! It is a distance from CDG but that's standard.

Booked a room for three: (queen bed and a twin roll away) -…read moreSpacious, comfortable sized rooms for Paris - Comfortable bed and bedding. - Clean and modern - Filtered water provided for free in glass bottles (not for you to take out of the room but much appreciated) Bathroom: - Impressive with both a small shower and a pretty big bathtub with hand spray. - nice sized sink - dry rack for clothes and a close up mirror. - Toilet is separate from the shower/bath area. - L'occitane products was a nice surprise! Shampoo and body wash are big bottles (not takeaways) to conserve on plastic. Conditioner and lotions provided in small bottles. Refreshing face towelettes also provided. - A/C was great to beat the summer heat Staff was courteous. Hotel's small bar closes at 11 p.m. Didn't try their breakfast but there's a great looking bagel place around the corner and a Pret a Manger super close as well. Location: Hotel is in a central location for touring the main sites and access to the Metro and bus station. Champs-Élysées is a super close. Transportation: Sunday evening: Took the express RER B3 from CDG to Chatelet les Halles station. Then transferred to Metro-1 (toward La Defense) to the Charles de Gaulle - Etoile. Short walk to the hotel from there. We didn't have a lot of luggage so it was perfect. Because it was an express on the RER, it took only 40-45 minutes to our final stop and 11.40 Euros (or so) per ticket. If the train was not an express, it would take approximately 1.5 hours. Took a cab to the airport from the area for 50 Euros. There's also a decent bus option, apparently.

From the owner: La salle des Banlieues Bleues Le festival Banlieues bleues est un rendez-vous incontournable pour…read moreles passionnés de musique. Organisé chaque année sur tout le département de la Seine-Saint-Denis par le conseil Géneral et des villes du 93, ce festival réunit divers courants musicaux et des artistes venus de différents pays. C'est l'occasion pour chacun de découvrir ou de rédécouvrir des artistes. Ce sont plus de 350 musiciens, 70 groupes et 40 concerts qui se déroulent dans 17 villes (Blanc-Mesnil, Bobigny, Pantin, Drancy, La Courneuve, Saint-Ouen, Stains ...). Cet événement débute à partir du mois de mars et s'étale sur un mois. Banlieues Bleues s'installent dans les anciens établissements de l'Usine Noirot et Lefaux à partir du 3 mars 2006 tout spécialement rénovés à cet effet. Cet espace est la 3ème salle au monde à être conçue pour accueillir spécialement la musique improvisée après New York et Amsterdam. Entouré de baies vitrées donnant sur un jardin de cerisiers, cette salle à

From the owner: Des salons tout au long de l'année Idéalement situé et desservi à l'ouest de Paris, l'Espace…read moreChamperret possède une superficie totale de 10 000 m2. Cet espace d'expositions, construit en 1987, accueille de nombreux salons tout au long de l'année (une soixantaine), de l'emploi à la gastronomie en passant par les salons professionnels. L'Espace Champerret peut recevoir plus de 70 stands.

So MANY steps This…read moremetro station was near the hotel. Very easy to use. But.......from the north from the hotel there is an uphill walk and a flight of stairs to get to the entrance. Inside the station there's four flights of stairs to get down to the platform. At the entrance there are kiosks to purchase tickets. These tickets are good for metro, bus and tram. The kiosk takes credit cards and cash. There offer several languages. If you are in the city for several days, I recommend the T+ ten pack. The pack makes each ticket $1.80. Actually all the Paris metro stations were clean and easy to use. Good signage for lines and directions. An electric board at the platform tells you how many minutes the next two trains are out. My last recommendations- try to avoid rush hours, and load the Paris RATP app. It's easy to use and was a great help finding the lines to take. Rode it alone without issues.

Handy. Loads little fun local joints about In The 18ème, surrounding this station. Fresh fruit,…read morelocal businesses, lots brasseries and bars with those quintessential small bistro tables! I do approve. Every time I think of this name, I think of Marius warning the people to galvanize because General Lamarck is ready! I can't help how my brain works. Just being in the moment in taking it all in, especially the terribly romantic hillside of Montmartre, boasting some of the best bakers and winners about!

The deepest station in all of Paris city, at approx 300 feet below the ground! Mmhmm…read more One of my favorite metro stations, primarily owing to the magic surrounding this station. Did you, dear reader, know that there was an actual abbey in this location during the Middle Ages? 300 feet below this station, there actually was. Gypsum (a soft stone) mines were ubiquitous back in the day. There existed a vast network of quarry tunnels, which, in time, did need to be filled by the city by high-pressured concrete. Needless, the mines closed in 1840's, The actual metro platform was built at bedrock, 285!! steps below Place des Abbesses (where the station is located).. yup! Each Art Nouveau stop was designed by architect Hector Guimard, and really define Paris as an art haven. The first metro opened in Paris in 1900!

The Métro station closest to the hill of Montmartre, it is very close to the Basilique du…read moreSacré-Cœur and the Église Saint-Jean-de-Montmartre. I wish I had read the wikipedia entry earlier, as I would have known that this is one the last remaining original Hector Guimard entrances. There is a lift ("elevator" in American) from the platform to the ticket concourse level and then a flight of stairs to street level. At 118 feet, it is apparently one of the deepest stations in Paris. If you're feeling healthy, consider taking the windy stairs and enjoy the murals of the area. I didn't know, so I missed it. *sad face* When you get to the surface, follow the tourists to the left along Rue Yvonne le Tac towards the base of Montmartre. The station is on Line 12, between Pigalle and Lamarch-Caulaincourt, in zone 1.

Review of station not metro in general…read more It's my most used during my stay in Paris as it's up the block from my hotel. When I say up I do mean like mountain climbing with 2 flight of stairs at the top. Once you get into the station, there's what feels a never ending spiral staircase to get to the platform. Down is not so bad but up can knock the wind out of you! There's an elevator if you want to skip the stairs. Clean. Seems to be on time in the mornings not so much at night. Could be construction...human error delays...don't know but it's the cheapest way to get around Paris.