Normandy & Paris in 2014

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Comments

  • Is anyone on the June 6th tour taking a sport coat for the evenings? Tauck says it is not required. My husband would really like to leave it at home and just take a dress shirt and tie.
  • edited June 2014
    Perk, Navigator and Linda, doesn't Tauck provide you with free tickets for Versailles? That's what it says on the tour details! The Palace is also less than a mile from your hotel and it is also likely that Tauck will provide you with a voucher or somethkng to get you there free as part of the tour. Thats the way they usually operate. I think it is unlikely they will provide any passes for the sites in Paris.
    Perk-- I thought you were only going to be arriving one day early. First, you will have jet lag, you will arrive at the equivalent of US time 2-10am (east coast time). Even if you fly business class, you are unlikely to get much sleep on the plane, it's about a 7 or 8 hour flight. By the time they serve you a meal and then wake you if you do fall asleep at least an hour before you are due to land, it is a challenge on your energy and body clock. Then your driver will have to navigate the terrible traffic of Paris to get to Versailles which is not in Paris, it's in the outskirts. Paris is a huge big city and for example the Louvres takes a very long day to do it justice and the lines are long if you don't go early in the day. If I am wrong about your arrival plans, I apologise, but the things you mention seem to be ambitious for the time you have before the tour starts.
  • Hi British. You must have read a post from someone else. I agree with you about the jet lag and that's the main reason we came a day early. I read that the hotel will provide passes and we will probably wait until the next day to use them. We are hoping that we can check into our hotel early and rest on the 5th then begin exploring the next morning.
  • edited June 2014
    Hi Perk, I was trying to answer three different people's questions in one email! When I saw you were asking about museum passes, I thought you were intent on going into Paris on the day you arrive. I just read page one of this thread and see that you have lots of advice from fellow travelers, even the length of train time into Paris which I could not remember. When we went to Versailles from a trip to Paris, we initially took the wrong train and had to backtrack.
    We spent about seven years visiting France and camping when our children were young from England. We would go for two plus weeks. A different part every trip, though we never made it to the south coast area. We always stayed at a particularly nice camp for a couple of days on the way back in the Loire Valley, we just loved visiting the chateaux. We spent alternate days doing things for the kids and things for us. I am not saying I would enjoy camping these days! But when it was the only way we could afford to travel it was wonderful and great for the children to mingle with children from other countries, the fact they all spoke different languages was no barrier. Of course, Paris is nowhere like the rest of France and I finally only got there a few years ago, my husband has been many times, we just had about 4 days to see some highlights after a trip to England to visit the inlaws. If only America gave it's subjects decent amounts of vacation time, Tauck would be a lot busier with us.
    Have a fabulous trip, Bon voyage!
  • Hello, Perk!
    Four of us will be taking this tour starting Sept. 14. We will arrive a day early in the am & hope to see part of the Versailles Palace on day of arrival & part on day of the Welcome Dinner. Since you should be home soon, I am hoping you will update how the tour tickets work at Versailles (what's covered? are they good for 2 days?) Also, what did you do re: pre-purchase of tickets in Paris for various attractions?
    Peg B
  • Hi Peg B,

    Hotel has the Tauck tickets for the Versailles Palace. That's all you need. You'll have plenty of time to see the palace. There wasn't a whole lot of free time in Paris. Tauck has a new tour next year for a week in Paris. That's more like it.

    All in all it was a great tour but pretty fast-paced because of all the sites visited. You'll have a good time.

    Perk
  • Thanks, Perk. Were you able to use the tickets from Tauck for two days? Did they cover all of the Palace & Gardens ( The Palace, Royal Apts., Gardens & Trianons & Marie Antoinette Hamlet)? Since we will be there on a Sat (by about 11:00) & a Sunday (Welcome dinner on Sun) the fountain shows will be on. Do you know if the tickets cover that? Also, when could you check in at the hotel in Versailles?

    What did you do with your free time in Paris? How did you schedule it?We are staying 1 extra day (wish we had made it one more!). We are considering the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower (going to the top, but not dinner) & Montmartre. Did you buy the Museum Pass? Any thoughts to pass on from your fellow tour mates as to what they did & their comments?

    Thanks

    Hope you are getting back to US time & the need for a "vacation from your vacation".

    Peg

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