Paris Breaks

Let’s face it, the pound is never going to be worth nearly two euros ever again so we might as stop waiting for the impossible and start thinking about Paris breaks again. It’s not even as if the currency difference is the main cost, it’s the higher rate of inflation in the eurozone that we have to get used to, what with almost deflationary pressures in the UK.

So in 2010 I think a lot of people from London and the UK will start to realise that they aren’t really getting any better value for money by staying in rainy Britain, spending a fortune on uncomfortable rail journeys intercity when they could be travelling to Paris in style onboard the Eurostar in only 2 hours and 15 minutes.

To my mind, there’s nothing left to weigh up. Paris is always wonderful to visit, no matter what the time of year. What would you do in York in February? Or Devon in November?

The secret with short continental trips like Paris breaks is in finding the accommodation that matches your budget. To do that, you sometimes have to go off the main tourist track but not very far. Avoid the big package hotels and try to find a little pension in a side street, just round teh back from the main centres. That’s where the students and french travellers find digs often enough, and visitors to Paris can too. You just need to walk in and ask if they have a room. If necessary draw a picture.

Eating out can be done a lot more prudently than you might think too. Order the menu prix fixe in an old fashioned french style restaurant or go to a couscous house and just have the couscous merguez or poulet. That will set you up for the rest of the day.