Trip to France! 2011!!!!!!!!!! But I need some more info?
So me and my buds (We are gonna be 16, except for my pal who is gonna be 19 in 2011) Now we are going to go to france in 2011 and without parents just me and my two friends 16/ and 18 year old and we’re flying there unaccomponied but my friend is flying with us who is 19 and is gonna be with us at all times. NOW when we get there we have a place to stay! Saint Germaine on Saint Germaine street. Walking distance to notre dame. I have been there with my family in ’08 and I remember a fair ammount of. Now we are going to hang out with a bunch of pen pals I have met over the internet. About 6 of them :3 and I am wondering……. Can a tourist from the states be allowed to drink and smoke at 16 accomponied by a 19 year old? I heard in france it is diferent. So basically we’re going there for about a month and are gonna have a blast with my pen pals and are gonna go to resturants and drink, hang out in the Notre Dame park and smoke with them (I know for a fact that they all smoke because they have photos of them on the site with a cigarette sticking out of their mouths.) And we are not going just for drinking/smoking we are doing it to experiance the great scenery of Paris(Maybe Normandy if we can afford it!) and we still have along time ’till then but basically.. Do you think $1500 american dollars will get us anywhere (Per person.) and we’re gonna all three split a room at the Hotel. Now do you think we could do this? Or should we make our budget bigger? We are willing to get it bigger. We plan to be working mowing lawns, working for my friend who roofs houses and makes extensions etc… Now you think 2 years will get us enough money? We plan to work 6 days a week and 7 hours a day.
Suggested Reading:
On the Road Around Normandy, Brittany and the Loire: Driving Holidays in Northern France (Thomas Cook Touring Handbooks)Illustrated with clear city and regional maps plus graphical route information, this guide allows the holiday-maker to explore all of the popular sigh... Read More >
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Posted: July 23rd, 2010 under Normandy FAQ.
Comments: 2
Comments
Comment from vizsla1989
Time: July 23, 2010, 10:52 pm
If you book your plane tickets ahead of time, expect a minimum of $1,000 per person, on the cheapest airlines. That leaves, between the three of you, $1,500 dollars for the hotel, food, and souvenirs. Remember that Paris is an expensive city, and a hotel in the Latin Quarter does not tend to be cheap. I recommend that you look at the prices of plane tickets and the hotel you will be at, plus a possible train ticket to Normandy. Remember to factor in metro tickets if you plan to take the subway to different locations throughout Paris.
Eating in Paris can either be really expensive, or really cheap. Your best bet for cheap food is to hit the Monoprix or a Carrefour market, where you can get decently-priced meals. The downside is that you’re missing out on the experience of French cafés. Cafés can be expensive, and sometimes the cheapest way to get a full meal is to order a pre-determined menu. I’ve never seen one for cheaper than 15 euros, and usually they range from 20 to 30 euros at a normal restaurant (so, 25 to 40 dollars). Of course, food will be slightly cheaper in Normandy than in Paris.
Overall, I suggest a bigger budget, simply because a month’s worth of food will run you a lot if you’re not careful. Plus, you can always bring your extra money home, but you can’t create money if you were to run out while over there! Furthermore, if you’re going to be there in the summer, take advantage of the markets and eat OUTSIDE in the parks!
I suggest the Parc du Luxembourg. It, like your hotel, will be located in the Latin Quarter, and it’s positively gorgeous. I always eat in that park when the weather agrees.
Comment from zafir
Time: July 23, 2010, 11:19 pm
Apart from airfares, your biggest expense will be the hotel. And any hotel on the Boulevard Saint Germain will be expensive (BTW – there is no Hotel Saint Germain on this Boulevard). When you work out which hotel you want to book, check the prices first and find out if they can put you all in one room.
At 16 you can purchase and smoke cigarettes. Actually, you don’t know ‘for a fact’ that these kids smoke as anyone can put a smoke in their mouth just for a photo!
It’s legal to purchase beer and wine at 16. To purchase and drink spirits you need to be 18. Just be aware that being drunk in public in France is not acceptable.
As for money, if you’re staying there for a month you’ll need much more than $1500 – your accommodation alone will cost around $1800 per person based on a room at 150euros per night. And if you intend to go to France in 2011 you have only one year to save the money, not 2 years. You might work 6 days a week and 7 hours a day, but just how are you going to fit in school – you do go to school don’t you?
Don’t forget that you’ll need written permission from your parents to fly out of the US.
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