Paris

[Mallowmarshmallow]

I'm looking for recommendations of things to do/places to stay in Paris.

My mum mentioned she wanted to go and she does a lot for us so I'd like to book her a trip.

Travel would be Eurostar from Dover.

Has anyone stayed somewhere nice and local?

What activities would you recommend? Preferably that I could book in advance...

Many thanks.

Eurostar doesn't go from Dover - do you mean Ashford International?

Bear in mind French rail workers are having regular strikes over the coming months (eg today!) so Eurostar services won't run on those days, which is probably increasing demand/prices for the days when they're not striking.

Does you mum have any particular interests, eg art, museums? Has she been to Paris before?

Firstly I’d make sure to buy a carnet or two of 10 tickets at the gare du Nord. Valid on buses and the metro. There’s a little tourist office booth in the train station, which will avoid you puzzling at the ticket machines in the actual metro station. Also, buy a Michelin Paris A to Z in any. Paris bookstore which lists the metro and bus routes.
If she just wants a general atmosphere of Paris, thinks of areas or quartiers eg montmartre, the left bank including boulevard st Germain, Norte dame, Luxembourg gardens, and maybe the Marais. A reasonably priced hotel near the Luxembourg gardens is hotel des mines, nothing fancy but clean and family run.
Re the rail strikes, check Eurostar website. Not sure they ( Eurostar) are always affected by French railways workers strikes.

Thanks both.

Ah yes, I did mean Ashford international.

Paris Tourism website (which I don't think is particularly informative - seems mostly keen on selling stuff):
en.parisinfo.com/discovering-paris/paris-for-the-first-time/paris-in-1-2-or-3-days/the-essentials/the-essentials

Paris public transport website (many pages in English):
www.ratp.fr/en/plans-lignes

Yes to buying a carnet of 10 paper tickets. You can pick up a little Metro map at a Metro ticket office.

I suggest choosing a hotel that's on a direct Metro line from Gare du Nord.

I quite like Rick Steves' website (his guidebook is good too):
www.ricksteves.com/europe/france/paris

We did a cooking class with this company and enjoyed it so much that we went back again for one of the baking classes (we made macarons and croissants). Classes generally last a couple of hours and are in English. They also do food tours.
lacuisineparis.com