Week Trip To France ?

Question

Hi, I'm planning on going to France on Tuesday til the Sunday. I arrive at Calais, was planning on spending half the day there before getting the train to Lille, staying in a hotel, maybe another half day there before moving on the Paris. Is there much to see and do in Calais and Lille? Worth spending a day looking around??

thanks

Answer 1

Calais old town is quite pleasant for a half day - you should be able to get a shuttle bus from the ferry port and the station is in the centre of town.

Lille is a nice city with lots of cobbled streets in the centre and good restaurants.  There is an underground train whuch runs from Lille Europe station into the centre.

Paris is like London - the attractions are too far apart to walk to them all.  However, the Metro (Underground) system is very efficient and cheap - single journeys anywhere cost €1.50 or you can buy books of 10 tickets for a discount.  The lines are numbered, rather than named, and instead of travelling "northbound" or "southbound" you travel in the direction of the station at the end of that line. So, for example, if you arrive in Paris at Gare du Nord from Lille you could take Line 4 in the direction of Porte d'Orleans and get off at Cite or Chatalet for Notre Dame.  From Chatalet, you could take Line 1 in the Direction of La Defence and get off at Concorde and walk up the Champs Elysee to the Arc de Triomphe.  Alternatively, stay on the train and get off at Charles de Gaulle Etoile for the Arc de Triomphe.  Also go to Trocadero on lines 6 and 9 for great views across the river of the Eiffel Tower.  Once you get the hang of it, it's dead easy.

Have a good trip.