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This
short cruise into Calais gave me enough
time to explore the various decks, have
a quick bite and get a panoramic view of
the French shores before disembarking.
After a quick and efficient immigration
clearance we boarded our coach heading
to Paris which would take us about 3 ½
hours to cover the 425 kms between
Calais and Paris. On arrival in Paris we
checked into the Hotel Opera Merific on
Avenue de Clichy for an early dinner in
order to get the 7.00 pm cruise on the
river Seine. This relaxed one and a half
hour cruise on the Bateaux Mouches
starts from Pont de l'Alma. As we coast along, a pre-recorded tape is played narrating the various sites along the Seine such as the Grande et Petite Palace, Place de la Concorde, Jardin des
Tuileries, Musee D'Orsay, Musee du
Louvre, Palais de Justice, Notre Dame, Hotel de Ville, La
Conciergerie, Replica of Statue de la Liberté and the Tour
Eiffel. We passed several luxury cruises which play live music and serve authentic French cuisine for a cover charge of 39 Euros per person inclusive of the cruise and you can enjoy cruise without dinner for 12
Euros. After our cruise we checked-in at the Holiday Inn Disneyland Resort which is a 45 minutes drive from Paris. |
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The following morning, day four of our tour, we departed for Euro Disney. The Disneyland Park is a must visit for all age groups and is the most popular amusement park in Europe. The entrance fee is 41 Euros. There are five zones spread over an area of 56 hectares covering 42 attractions. There is the Adventureland-where you adventure into a whole new world of excitement and let curiosity be your guide. At Discoveryland you experience the future as it was imagined by visionaries of the past and explore the vast outer reaches of your imagination. Fantasyland is a fairytale world where 'Once upon a time' is happening all around you.
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Sleeping Beauty Castle is a must see where you revisit your childhood fantasies in this timeless, enchanted castle. Frontierland lets you relive the legends of the old American West, including the great gold rush. Main Street ,USA takes you to an early 20th Century small American town.
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As we entered Main Street USA we collected the maps of the park and then chalked out our program keeping in mind the timings of the Entertainment Shows like The Legend of the Lion King or The Tarzan Encounter and the most awaited - The Wonderful World of Disney Parade. We continued towards Frontierland and planned to cover the most thrilling rides marked in the maps as 'frightening' in all the 4 lands. After every thrilling ride we would take a 10 minutes break before getting on to the next till are heads stopped spinning. In this way we covered all the daring rides before lunch time. The most thrilling ride was Space Mountain Mission 2 not recommended for the weak hearted. You are sent on an “explosive” mission to be a crew of Space Mountain Mission 2, the most ambitious space adventure ever.
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Vibrations rip through your entire body. The G force crushes you deep into your seat. Hurtling past a brightly coloured Nebula like a high speed, hard-curving Cannon ball, the mission space craft hits zero gravity. An eerie weightlessness takes effect. Only you can live to tell. We chose to have a good heavy meal at Café Hyperion amongst the wide array of restaurants at the complex.
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After a quick bite we walked through the park and chose to experience the slow rides for a change. Then we boarded the steam train from Discoveryland Station and departed on a grand circle tour of the Disneyland Park to disembark at Main Street and be on time to catch the Disney Parade which was scheduled at around 4 pm. We had enough time to shop for some Disney Merchandise and savour the Disney
Icecream.
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Finally we could hear the Disney Parade approaching. This parade takes place just once in a day, so make sure you don't miss it. Disney's unforgettable cartoons come to life before your very eyes making all your dreams come true as you relive the magic of the Great Disney Classics. After the parade it was time to return to the coach parking zone. On our way to the exit we saw some people selling only Eiffel Tower souvenirs. I approached the vendor and asked him the cost in English and to my surprise I heard him asking the rate to his counterpart in Hindi. He quoted 8 Euros for a metal Eiffel Tower, I started to bargain in Hindi and found it hard to believe I was an Indian and it helped me to get the souvenir for just 5 Euros. Bravo! I have never been so successful in bargaining in India!!
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On arriving at the parking, we couldn't trace the coach and were advised to take the free shuttle service running from Disneyland Park to Holiday Inn. We arrived at the Hotel at 6.30 pm and changed into our Formal outfits to witness the Lido Show the same night at 11.30pm. At 6.45 pm the coach departed for Paris, Rue de Clichy for an early dinner after which we were taken to Palais du Chaillot for a brief photo stop of the lighted Eiffel Tower. On our way to the Eiffel Tower, our Tour leader showed us the restaurant where Princess Diana had her last dinner with her boyfriend and the tunnel where her tragic accident took place.
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On Top
of the World
Soon we arrived at the base of the Eiffel Tower and the elevator took us to the First Level of the Tower and thereafter a smaller elevator took us to the third level which is right at the top of the tower. If you are going up the tower, you can get the most spectacular view from the third level where we spent about 15 minutes before continuing our descent. The Eiffel Tower is one of the world's most popular tourism icons and attracts 6 million visitors every year and over 200 million visitors have visited this tower till date. It was built on 13th March 1889 and is 324 metres high. From the top level you can see literally the whole of Paris and just recently they commenced illuminating Eiffel Tower from dusk till 2.00am in the morning. After being on top of the world, we headed to experience the night life of Paris and witness the Lido Show.
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Lido is the most recognized and popular name in the Night Show because it offers an evening which is not only entertaining but also stunning. Its amazing artists and performers who perform elegantly with the assistance of ear pleasing music, eye pleasing lightings, costumes and accompanied by a glass of Champagne, make it doubtlessly the World's Premier Night Show and that is why it is one of the most expensive, costing Rs 4000 per person for the two hour extravaganza. At 0130am after the show we took a walk along the famous promenade of
Champs-Elysees and took our coach to arrive at our hotel at 0245 hours. It was for sure one of our longest days of our tour. Ideally if you are exploring Paris on your own in a customized way, it is highly recommended to spend a minimum of 5 days to get the French flavour of the world's romantic capital.
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The following morning, immediately after breakfast we departed to see the famous Louvre Museum - the next most popular site after the Eiffel Tower and a must visit especially for the art lovers. The entrance is shaped like a glass Pyramid comprising of three entrances. This museum is well known for the world famous Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Along with the Mona Lisa you have fine works of art of renowned French, Italian and Greek artists. The Louvre is not just about paintings as it houses a wide variety of sculptures and antiquities too. The Louvre is so huge that it is said that only to explore the Denon Entrance & its environ it takes 2½ hours. After visiting the souvenir shop at the Louvre, the coach took us to Gare de Lyon (Lyon Station) to board the TGV to head toward Nice.
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The train left at 1350 hours and the train would reach Nice at 1915 hours after cruising at a speed of 300 km per hour. TGV is the French high-speed train and has earned the reputation as the world's fastest train. If you travel by coach from Paris to Nice and if you start on day 1 at 9 am after a night halt in between, you will reach Nice only late afternoon on the next day. Whereas the TGV
will help you reach in just 5 ½ hours instead. Also you have a great opportunity to experience the efficient and reliable European Rail System.
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A rail journey on the TGV was one of the high points of our stay in France. As you relax and sit back amidst the spacious ambience you can watch the ever changing scenery pass by. Food and drinks are on hand whenever you wish. TGV trains offer comfortable seating, stunning bars, catering services, luggage compartments and toilet facilities. All this combined with regular departures and ease of use makes for a very pleasant rail trip.
On reaching Nice we were looking forward to our next day on the French Riviera for which you will have to wait till the next edition of Opportunities Today…
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Cut
& Keep for Future - Tips for Paris & European Holiday |
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• Although most Parisians we encountered spoke English quite well, I think it is polite to ask (Parlez vous Anglais?) before rambling on in English. I think it is also polite to learn a few words in French so that you can say hello, goodbye, excuse me, etc. It's a real problem sometimes to explain what you need in the shop or in the street. It's better to speak bad French than to speak excellent English I'm sure. |
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• Please pack one Formal Outfit for the Lido Show in Paris as they are extremely strict about the dress code. |
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• Louvre Museum remains closed on Tuesday. |
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• Don't compromise when visiting the Eiffel Tower. It is recommended to go to the third level for the most spectacular view of Paris. |
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• Please ensure the tour you choose has a local guide in Paris to take you for the orientation tour of the city. Because it is one city which you would like to know in detail and would definitely be disappointed if you were just shown the world famous monuments from your coach. Or make sure that you have enough leisure time to tour the city yourself. |
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• Spend at least 5 days in Paris and explore the city on foot, by Metro, by coach and must include visits for first time visitors should be the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees and closeby the Disneypark as well as the Versailles Palace. |
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• To get full value of a French Holiday, it is advisable to include atleast 10 days in France with 5 days of Paris and two days each at two or three cities as per your interests. |
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• If you are opting for a European Tour, to get the real flavour always tour two or maximum three countries at a time rather than visiting 10 countries in 15 days. |
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For customized holiday to Europe and other exciting destinations contact COMPACT TRAVELS (www.compacttravels.com) and we will ensure that you can explore places like never before and experience a holiday of a life time. Call our consultants at +91(022)22828208 or 22812593 or email
compact@rbcsgroup.com
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...to be continued
Sanaya Dadachanji
Senior Tour Consultant, Compact Travels
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