My wife and I are making our first trip to Europe and would like to soak in the culture of both countries
We are arriving in Amestradam and then planning to drive to paris(Reasons:to save on the Eurorail fares to experience the countries outside of the touristy areas and for the adventure of navigating a new country on our own)
1.Is this a good idea?..financialy and practically?
2.Any suggestion on places where we can visit ,drivable from the center of Paris(we plan to stay near the Louvre)
Thank you
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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt; 1.Is this a good idea?..financialy and practically? %26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
IMO no, not from either point of view. You do NOT want a car in EITHER Paris or Amsterdam. (I assume you DO mean Amsterdam, right?) Driving in both cities is difficult for someone who does not know them. Parking in both is well-nigh impossible on a casual basis during the day and extremely expensive for secure overnight parking. You will find precious few hotels in central Paris or Amsterdam that have their own parking garages. Those that do will charge a lot for the privilege Both cities have extremely efficient, clean, safe and inexpensive public transport systems..
You will get from Amsterdam to Paris in considerably less time by Thalys high speed train than you will by car and probably at a considerably lower cost. Lowest RT fares are ~70€ IIRC. Fuel and toll charges would be at least double that at a guess and then you have to add on the cost of car rental and parking.
There are literally dozens of places raning from the very touristy but quite splendid (e.g. Versailles) to the very un-touristy but equally splendid that can be reached easily in an hour or less by train from either Amsterdam or Paris. If you have set aside significantly more than ten days for this trip you might wantt o rent a car in France for a few days to explore one of the regions away from the capital.
Check www.thalys.com for fares and timetables. This %26quot;how to%26#39; by MoirganB will help in terms of finding the lowest fares even though it relates primarily to the French rail system, SNCF: http://tinyurl.com/qpdef
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josephet - I don%26#39;t know about your transportation options, but I CAN say as much:
If you can indeed pronounce what you write (= the name of the dutch capitol) you are IMO a naturalborn dutch-speaker !!!
=o)
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%26quot;1.Is this a good idea?..financialy and practically?%26quot;
Not really, just to second what was already posted. The efficient train systems can get you to plenty of places %26quot;outside of touristy areas%26quot; if that%26#39;s your goal.
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I agree that this is a terrible idea -- Thalys is the way to go -- the area between Amsterdam and Paris is not particularly scenic -- you don%26#39;t want cars either end -- and you can easily visit the scenic environs of Paris on trains -- or even rent a car for a couple of days for the Loire or whatever
if there is a week between then a car makes sense but not for a day or two -- you don%26#39;t soak in much culture on the road --
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Cars are of no use, and are in fact nothing but a liability, in both Paris and Amsterdam. Both are highly pedestrianized, compact cities with amazing public transportation. Neither city has been designed to particularly accomodate vehicles and parking it would be a major problem and very expensive.
The countryside in between Paris and Amsterdam is really quite dull and in no way worth the cost and hassle of dealing with a car.
So, it is a bad idea, both economically and logistically. Anything you want to see from Paris you can see by train.
If you time buying your tickets on the Thalys right, you can get %26#39;Smylies%26#39; tickets for around 60E each.
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I regularly use AMS as my port of entry for Europe, and when I wish to go directly to Paris, I board a train right at Schipol, AMS airport, and I%26#39;m in downtown Paris as quickly as I would be had I flown. It%26#39;s a short trip, more scenic by train than by car, and you don%26#39;t have to park it, the train, I mean. And, you end up right in the centre of Paris. What could be better?
Give yourselves tha opportunity to really enjoy your trip by bagging the car option for your inter-city journey. I know that you think that the City must have the worst parking and driving conditions in the world, but you%26#39;re about to take back every complaint you ever had about it.
Bon voyage.
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Thank you guys for all the help. I must admit I am embarrassed about the typo!!
By the way what does IMO stand for?
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IMO = In My Opinion.
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tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k11338…
Here you go. And keep practicing your dutch !!
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