Metro station in Paris

Map of Paris

Our holiday itinerary Paris and Rome

Holiday Itinerary Roberts Family  Dec 2014

Depart
JHB 15th Dec @ 20:15 on flight AF0995 - A Mc Dermott Trevor Roberts Kalvin Roberts
Arrive
CDG 16th Dec @ 06:05 A Mc Dermott Trevor Roberts Kalvin Roberts

Hotel Booking – 350euros
Hotel Paris Hotel Rome - flights
Citadines Place d’Italie Residence Medaglio d Oro 350euros
13th Arr transport 60euros
Place d’Italie
Paris
Phone +33143138500
Email italie@citadines.com
Booking Paid – Yes Confirmation Booking paid – yes confirmation
Booking no 718948775

Date
Time
Activity
16th Tues Dec

Buy carnet 13.70euros x3
Make your way to the hotel book in luggage train ticket zone 5, 16.10euros


Train from CDG get off and Gare du Nord – get onto line 5 get off at Place d’Italie


Get on line 7  Villejuif/Louis Arragon (train name)  get off at Kremlin-Bicetre - Visit Aunty Marilyn 80 ter ave de Fontainebleau -3km walk from hotel (optional)

Night
line 7 @ Palais Royale Louver change line 1 – George V (get off) Arc De Triomphe walk down

Night
Champs Elysees 2.3km walk to

Night
Place de la Concorde (line 12 crossover at Pasteur, line 7 get off at Pd Italie)

Night
Dinner in Paris



17th Wed Dec

Paris


Line 7 get off @ Palais Royale Louver -  Ru de Rivoli walk 400m to


13euros Museum du Louvre  walk 1.9km to


13euros Centre George Pompidou walk 1 km to


Saint Chapelle Centre walk 450m to


Walk 59m to 8.50euros Le Conciergerie

Late noon
Notre Dame Cathedral walk 3.6km back to hotel, have dinner along the way

Night
Dinner in Paris



18th Thur Dec

Paris


line 7 to Gare de L Est – cross to line 4 Chateau Rouge
Sacre Coeur walk 250m to


Montmartre  museum walk 950m to


Moulin Rouge walk 450m to

Late noon
Pigalle, take line 12 cross @ Pasteur onto line 6 off @ Place D Italie

Night
Dinner in hotel



19th Fri Dec

18euros Versailles (whole day) train 11.20euros train ticket


Return to hotel


Depending on time back might go into Paris dinner in Paris or Hotel



20th Sat Dec

Paris


Pantheon 1.9km walk from hotel


Walk 600m to 9euros Cluny National museum of Middle ages


Walk 1.3km to Luxenborg Gardens

Late noon
Walk 900m to Catacombs de Paris 10euros

Night
Walk 900m to Montparnasse Tower (Cmas Market)

Night
Walk 2.1km back to hotel dinner on route or in hotel



21st Sun Dec

Paris


River Seine boat cruise 15euros (not sure where we will get on or off) make our way to -

Late noon
Take line 6 get off at Bir Hakeim Walk to 650m Palais de Chaillot

Late noon
Walk to 650m Eiffel Tower 14.5euros

Night
Ice Skating (Kalvin)

Night
Walk around this area exploring

Night
Dinner in Paris



22nd Mon Dec

29euros Arras (whole day out)20euros train ticket or Chartres (whole day out)


Depending on time back might go into Paris dinner in Paris or Hotel



23rd Tue Dec

Take  line 6 @ Le Motte Pic change onto line 8 to Invalides 9euros get off @ invalides


Walk 1km to Museum d’Orsay


Walk 1.2km to St Germain 7euros


Walk 3.2km back to hotel (rest)

Night
Take line 5 get off at Bastille have dinner somewhere here walk around and explore



24th Wed Dec

Paris


11euros Chateau Fontainbleau (whole day out) train 8.75euros

Night
Dinner snails



25th Thu Dec

Paris


Day at leisure – Miracle Chapel walk around  and explore


Dinner ?? not sure of the plans



26th Dec

Arrive Rome (flight confirmed, booked and paid)


(hotel confirmed booked and paid)



27th Dec

Rome



28th Dec

Rome



29th Dec

Depart Rome for Paris (late flight)


Return to hotel


Dinner in hotel



30th Dec

Paris – Depart back to SA


Explore last minute out and about


Make our way back to CDG airport Zone 5 16.10euros


Arrive at CDG Airport


Depart
CDG Airport 30th Dec @ 23:30  on flight AF0990
Arrive
JHB 31th Dec @ 11:10

Sacre Coeur Paris

Sacré-Cœur
I enjoyed going to the Sacre Coeur, we went late afternoon. It is a majestic building with the most beautiful view of Paris.  The architectural style of this building is ancient Roman and is 83 m high.  The Sacré-Cœur  is the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris and was completed in 1912.  One does not pay to go into any church in Paris therefor there is no entry fee. There is lots of night life around this area including the Moulin Rouge and the Pigalle with lots of bistros to choose from.

Norte Dame

Norte Dame Cathedral
Notre-Dame, is a historic Catholic cathedral, construction stated in 1163 and was completed in 1345. The architecture style is French Gothic. There is no entrance fee as it is a church. Over Christmas there is a huge Christmas tree in the front of the Notre-Dame. The beautiful Rose window and 2 cathedral towers welcome you into the church.
Here are some interesting facts about The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris
1) Notre Dame is 130 meters long, 48 meters wide, 35 meters high. The rose windows have a diameter of 10 meters. The cathedrals pillars have a diameter of 5 meters.
2) Notre Dame is located on the Paris Island called Ile de la Cite, which concentrated the power attributes of France between the 4th and the 14th century.
3) The world famous cathedral is referred to as: Notre Dame de Paris ("Our Lady of Paris" in French), The Notre Dame Cathedral or sometimes just simple "Notre Dame".
4) If you want to visit Notre Dame via the Paris metro: Cite station on line 4. Saint Michel station on RER B and C lines.
5) The towers can be visited - April 1st to September 30th, 10am to 6.30pm (June to August, on Saturday, Sunday, 10am to 11pm) - October 1st to March 31st, 10am to 5.30pm. Last access is 45 mn before closure. Closed on January 1st, in May 1st, December 25th.
6) The twin towers go as high as 69 meters (387 steps). The south tower houses the 13 ton Emmanuel bell.
7) The best time to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral is early in the morning, between Tuesday and Friday.
8) Access to the cathedral is open and free of charge every day of the year, during the opening hours.

Versailles

Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles is a royal château. Situated on 7 ha and opened in 1682.One will have to plan your day to Versailles the train ticket cost us 11.20 Euro per person return. The entrance costs vary depending on the access you looking for it cost us 18 Euros per person.
I enjoyed the fact that there were many informal shopping areas that sold various tourist artifacts. Especially Marie-Antoinette, from pens to perfume.
You can explore the gardens by renting a golf cart, you have to produce your driver’s licence, this certainly cuts down on the walking.  We also had lunch at Versailles there is a nice canteen

Catacombs

The Catacomb’s in Paris costs 10Euros entry fee.
The Catacombs open at 10am to 8pm, however my advice is to get there early and the queues are rather long. Take note that the Catacombs are not open on Mondays and 1st May. Last admission is at 7pm. You can only buy your tickets on site only, so no online bookings available. There is a visitor numbers restriction of 200 people at any time. You may spend some time waiting in the queues so like I said get there early.  It is a 2 km walk and usually takes about 45 minutes. There are no toilets. Take note that you descend is 130 steps which is quiet easy however the 83 steps back up to street level can be quite a challenge and the steps are very narrow. It is a nice temperature: 14°C.Children under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult.

Rome pictures

More pictures of our sites in Rome.  Truly
a lovely holiday!

Rome Pompeii

I really enjoyed our visit to Pompeii.  This is a historian's dream. We walked around here for hours and I still think we did not see all of the sites. Pompeii was destroyed in 79 AD. There are still excavations on going today.

I would recommend this to travellers.

Rome Naples

We visited Naples on route to Pompeii

Naples is a beatiful costal city. We walked around and visited a ancient castle, however our time was limited and we were back on route to our next destination.

I felt like there was not much to do in Naples.

Rome Colosseum 2014

Rome is a beautiful city, filled with history, vibrant night life and lots of social friendly people.

In the 4 days we spent in Rome we went to see Colosseum.
The Colosseum stands on 2 ha of property.  Also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre.  Construction started in 72 and was completed in 80 AD.

One gets a 2 day pass to vist the Colosseum and grounds. You will most definitely need this time to appreciate everything you need to see.

When to start planning your next vacation

How long in advance does one plan their next break?  Be it a weekend bush get away or a 3 week vacation. What research is done prior to you choosing your next destination? Do you take into account the weather, if it’s a costal holiday would you be heading into typhoon season, or if it is a short break, how long is the trip and after a long day at work are you still able to drive and keep your family safe?

Do you check your vehicle? Before taking a long trip. Are your passports valid? Do you need a yellow fever certificate? Is it a malaria area and what medication do you need.

There are so many factors to consider and I’m going to help you plan your trips better with more insight and know how. Putting your next holiday into action could be as easy as one two three…..

Introduction

Traveling should always be a joyful time filled with excitement and many happy expectations. However sometimes one is  either let down by your travel agent, or have a misperception of what you felt you should have seen or experienced. Many times it can be daunting to travel alone or sometimes even over whelming to travel with small children. The planning involved before you take a vacation will set the atmosphere of the holiday. I have travelled with my children when they were babies and I have travel with them as young adults. I love planning our vacations, be it a trip away for a long weekend or an extended holiday. It does not matter if your idea of a holiday is camping under the night sky or spending it in a five star hotel. As long as it’s fun and your expectation is meat you will continue to have the travel bug!