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Eating Experience Great Touristy Things to do Helpful Information Trips and Tours

The best boat trip on the Seine

I am always being asked about the plethora of different boat cruises on the Seine, starting with “Is a boat trip on the Seine a good thing to do if we only have a couple of days in Paris”?  “Are they a tourist trap”?  “Should we spend the money on dining or just take a guided tour”?

My reflex answer is “yes, definitely, no matter how short your trip, make space for a boat trip”.  You have a completely different perspective of Paris from the river;  the buildings are stunning and even more beautiful when lit in the evenings. The round trip can be relatively quick and you get to rest your, often very, weary, feet.

So many of the most important buildings were either built on the river or have unhindered views from it ; the Eiffel Tower, Invalides, the Musée d’Orsay, the Louvre and everything on the 2 islands – Notre Dame, the Conciergerie and Saint Chapelle, never mind that every single other building seems to have its own individual style and story to tell so that you could travel the Seine for months and still see something else you hadn’t seen before.

Yes, it is also a tourist trap but that doesn’t mean to say you are ripped off – there is enough competition to keep prices down and service efficient. In fact, if you can, take the trip twice, once during the day in the sunshine and again in the evening at dusk.

As there are so many different types of boat trip here are my thoughts :

For starters, there is the BatoBus, the watery equivalent of the Hop-on Hop-off bus.  Batobus_ParisThere are 1 or 2 day tickets for these boats that come every 20 minutes to any of the 9 stops. This is a great option if you think you are going to sightsee along the river and want to take in as much as possible.  It’s also quite a great option for children who may get tired easily because there is so much to distract them. However factor in it’s not a way to ‘see’ all of Paris, the metro is a lot quicker. It’s also the expensive and 20 minutes might be a long time to wait for the next boat if you ‘hop off’.

Then there are the cruises :

Vedettes du Pont Neuf offer a basic cruise all afternoon / evening from the Pont Neuf with commentary in French and English from a real guide. Bring a picnic!

Vedettes de Paris has a one way ticket and roundabout tickets from 10am – 6pm with audioguides or guides and the starting point is right in front of the Eiffel Tower.

The famous Bateaux Mouches and Bateaux Parisiens are much larger cruise boats so cheaper for their guided (taped) tours. However you could opt for food with the lunch, brunch or dinner menus.  Bateaux Parisien boats are smaller and the Bateaux Mouches have a dress code for dinner. Dinner is prepared fresh that day and you are accompanied by a small band on both so you can dance between the tables if you like.

I have not taken the lunch or brunch trips but have only heard good reviews from guests. I have taken the dinner trips on several occasions and the food is very good. With pricing for dinner starting at €90 per person, sharing with a couple of hundred other people, you can also ask me to give you a couple of dinner options before taking a night cruise.

However, my total favourite is Le Calife, a wooden converted barge.  Calife barge restaurant

You have to be careful not to miss the view when chatting or eating the delicious food at lunch or dinner time (in fact le Calife pre-covid was listed in the Top 20 restaurants in Paris on TripAdvisor). There is no guided commentary and no live music, it’s just an excellent meal eaten whilst floating by a gorgeous view at 3 price points depending on which of the 3 levels of the boat you choose (Terrace, Veranda or the Salon lounge) are all excellent just don’t want to book the ‘music lounge’ which is below deck.

Do tell me which one you preferred.

Please find more recommendations by reading my suggestions of the best restaurants minutes from 52 Clichy or  Best restaurants in Paris. I am sure they will make your trip to Paris very special.

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If you haven’t already considered visiting Paris and staying at 52 Clichy, take a look at my website or read some of my 300+ 5* reviews for the B&B or the 5* reviews for the Apartment.

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Events Parisian Chic Special Offers

What’s new ? My Luxury Getaways for Ladies

Finally, I have done what I have been talking about for years – I have created something that combines my two loves and lives ; having visitors staying with me at 52 Clichy and being able to offer colour and style advice.

Signature shoes
Signature shoes
Govt Minister wearing a hint of colour

I have always been fascinated by how the Parisian women dress. Their ‘look’ seems so casually thrown together but it isn’t.  They have spent generations honing their sense of style, understanding intuitively how to make the most of their natural assets.

After 20 years living here, and because I have trained with the leading Image Consultants, ColourMeBeautiful, I understand how Parisian women create their elegant styles and I would love to share this knowledge with you so I have designed 2 ‘Luxury Getaways’ for you.

What is included in Luxury Getaways ?   

Stay either 2 or 3 nights at 52 Clichy, my multi-awarded Bed & Breakfast accommodation and discover your perfect colours for your complexion, your amazing clothing styles and how to use accessories – the key to pulling together each outfit.

You can also learn how to create a capsule wardrobe of versatile, co-ordinated pieces – the core of any Parisian wardrobe.

Come shopping in designer boutiques and luxury stores with me as your personal guide, drink champagne and eat in authentic French restaurants.

Me, taken by the professional photographer
Me, taken by the professional photographer

To top this all off you will have a 2hr photoshoot with a professional photographer who will capture that certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ which will be the essence of your transformation – the creation of an elegant, co-ordinated, relaxed style that is entirely your own – your Signature Style.

Luxury Getaways are perfect for Mothers and Daughters, Sisters and Friends – I promise you it will be a lot of fun !

Want to know more ?

Find details, dates and pricing by clicking on http://bwonderful.com/luxury-getaways/

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Holidays News Special Offers

Paris photos please, for the Frommer’s Easy Guide to Paris 2017

52 Clichy balcony in Summer
Aperitifs whilst relaxing on the balcony

WOW, I will be in another Frommer’s guidebook, Frommer’s Easy Guide to Paris, to be published in October 2016. Did you know there was a need for so many different guidebooks for Paris ?!

This is what Amazon says about the current Easy Guide to Paris (2016), written by Margie Rynn : ” In 288 pages of dynamic, thoughtful prose, she guides the intelligent visitor to all the storied wonders of a glorious city, stressing her preferences for the best in every category. ”

The big deal for me is that they have asked me for PHOTOS !  Particularly photos with people in them !   I sent her squillions, including the obvious balcony photo, but not many with people in them.

However, I thought I would give you all the chance to relive happy memories, look at your holiday snaps and send me some gorgeous ones of you in my living room, in the apartment, on the balcony, having breakfast but perhaps not tucked up in bed ;-).  This will stop me scrabbling through my iphone on a Friday night !

Alternatively why not send some Parisian iconic scenes.  I know some of you are wonderful photographers, and I always need photos that set the scene so that all you wonderful guests come to visit I can share my vision of this beautiful city.

Just a reminder from my last email, next week I am increasing my prices for July onwards (I have some space in May but June is completely booked).  If you book before the end of May to visit Paris before the end of April 2017, then you can take advantage of my current prices.

This offer also applies to your friends if they mention they were referred by you or better still if they joined my mailing list at the bottom of my website homepage www.52Clichy.com! So do share this with them and have a look at my calendars below the slideshow of both the B&B and Apartment pages of my website.

This offer lasts only for the month of May and I can’t wait to hear from you.

Categories
Holidays News Special Offers

I am in the new Paris Day by Day Guide by Frommer’s

I received an email out of the blue a couple of days ago from a lady saying she was from Frommer’s.  Initially I thought it was a scam but I couldn’t quite think of their angle, so I googled the sender and lo and behold, Meghan Lamb really is the Photo Editor at Frommer’s, the biggest guidebook company.

I was already listed in the Paris Day by Day Guide by Frommer’s, written by Anna E Brooke for 2014.  There was a couple of lines in the half page attributed to B&B’s in Paris – OK, I was the only B&B identified in the book but it was still only a couple of lines.

But this is better, in the revised Paris Day by Day guide by Frommer’s (headline photo), published on 29th March, I am cited twice, and I am still the only B&B listed in the book.  Take a look at what they say below.

Also, if you are coming to Paris in the next couple of years, do get a copy, it is an excellent guide.

Frommers Paris Day By Day Guide 52 Clichy Listing page 149Frommers Paris Day By Day Guide Best Value Lodging

Since January the B&B and the apartment have both been ranked in the Top 10 properties in Paris by Trip Advisor and with this extra exposure I am expecting bookings to increase.

I am planning to increase my prices for July onwards (I have some space in May but June is completely booked) but I just wanted to give you the heads up because you are important to me.

If you were thinking of coming to Paris before April 2017, book before the end of May and take advantage of my current prices.

This offer also applies to your friends if they mention they were referred by you or better still if they got on my mailing list at the bottom of my website homepage www.52Clichy.com!

This offer lasts only for the month of May and I can’t wait to hear from you.

Come and stay at 52 Clichy. BOOK HERE.

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Want to hear what previous guests have said about 52 Clichy ?  CLICK HERE.

 

Categories
Eating Experience Helpful Information Holidays

How to choose the perfect teapot

The perfect teapot - Grosche Budapest
The perfect teapot – Grosche Budapest

If you stay with me at 52 Clichy almost everyone gets to see my ‘perfect teapot’, the Grosche ‘Budapest’.

Put the tea in the centre chamber, lower it into the water and wiggle it about a bit if you want to speed up the brewing process.

The real perfection for someone like me who doesn’t like strong tea is that when the water gets to the right colour you just lift the lever which raises the tea above water level so the tea stays your perfect strength and doesn’t stew.

On first introductions, practically every guest wants one or knows someone for whom this teapot would be perfect and for a while I had supplies I could sell to guests who had enough room in their suitcase on the return journey but, oh horror, the shop closed.

To the rescue came delightful guests from Australia who found a near-perfect solution but, drumroll, gorgeous English guests found the real thing!

Grosche Barcelona

So now, never fear, you too can have the perfect teapot, my ‘Budapest’ or, am I being disloyal here, maybe one that has a sleeker design, the Grosche ‘Barcelona’. In this design the glass doesn’t touch the table surface.  At $35 each, and cheaper on other sites, I might allow myself both!  If you can’t get hold of Grosche, alternatives there are a-many.

Oggi teapot

What about this one?  Does it resemble anything? At around $20 who wouldn’t plump for the  Oggi 6577 teapot  I’m not sure it isn’t a Grosche in sheep’s clothing? Or how about the €20 Rosenstein & Söhne branded version that is available is Europe.

There’s also a Scandanavian teapot design by Norm Architects and this one from the HappyLuckys website looks fun too.

My lime green teapot in my 52 Clichy Paris apartment

There are choices out there! But for the moment if you stay in the apartment you have to put up with my adorable green teapot (I love lime green). Do tell me which you prefer or what you use.

Maybe I don’t have the perfect teapot – although I think I do! In any case, come and stay at 52 Clichy and test mine out by clicking on the link and checking out my Availability.

If you haven’t already considered visiting Paris and staying with me, take a look at my website or read some of my zillion 5* reviews of the B&B or the Apartment from TripAdvisor and elsewhere.

Also do take a look at my suggestions of the best restaurants minutes from 52 Clichy or find out lots more information about French food and where and how to eat it in my blog page on  where and how to eat well in Paris.

If you’re getting ready to visit Paris you might also want to dive in with my in-depth Guide to Living Like a Local.

Hope you found this informative and I look forward to your comments.

A très bientôt,

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