Vive la France!

      One of the biggest draws Edinburgh Napier University has is its great location to allow for travel. There are so many wonderful surroundings countries to explore and so little time! One such city I am positive I will miss is Paris, France.

     There's probably no need to outline the immense attractions this city offers. Food, fashion, art, architecture and so much more. So, let's start planning.

Travel

• Fortunately, there are great airfares from Edinburgh to Paris. Booking a few weeks in advance can secure a ticket for around only $120 from AirFrance for a two way ticket to the city. This would take around 2 hours of direct in-flight time and probably around 4 hours all together. This is the best option as it opens up nearly a day that would be spent otherwise traveling.
• You'd think that taking a train might be cheaper, but from the research that I've done it clearly isn't. For starter, one would have to take multiple trains and after adding the fees together this would cost around twice as much as it would to book a flight. This method of transportation would also take a considerably longer amount of time, chipping into the already too short visit.

Accommodation

• There are four popular hostels that I looked into around Paris, all of which were priced similarly.
  • Yves Robert - $37.00
  • Le de'Artagnan - $24.07
  • Jules Ferry - $34.00
  • Cite des Sciences - $34.00
  All of these have decent reviews and would be acceptable places to stay. They are located within 30 minutes of the city. Many of these hostels include free breakfast. Unfortunately though, many of these hostels require that a member ship be purchased along with the desired nights to stay.
• Couch surfing is also a good, cheaper option if it is something that would interest you. There are few websites that can facilitate arrangements with accepting host houses for a range of different prices depending on proximity and needs.

Attractions

Paris is a beautiful city with almost countless attractions. Here are the some of the top ranked sites (Paristop100.com).

1. The Eiffel Tower
2. The Louvre
3. Arc de Triomphe
4. Notre Dame
5. Les Invalides
6. River Seine
7. Champs Elysees
8. Musee d'Orsay
9. Sainte-Chapelle
10. Les Catacombs

And you must be sure to indulge in the local french food!

And finally, when in Paris for more than a day and if you plan on visiting multiple sites you should consider a Paris Pass. These passes can be bought on different levels for various spans of days. They will grant access to many of the popular museums and other tourist sites while also allowing unlimited bus rides for days spanning the pass.