WJ Tested: Globus La France Motorcoach Tour Review Paris City Tour
WJ Tested: Globus La France Motorcoach Tour Review Paris City Tour
WJ Tested: Globus La France Motorcoach Tour Review Paris City Tour
Day 2:
Although our Globus La France tour was spending a second night at Pullman Paris Bercy Hotel, our morning still started early with a 6:20 a.m. wake-up call. On the agenda for today an included city tour of Paris was scheduled to depart at 8 a.m. So in order to be on time for the tour we made our way down to the included American breakfast buffet by 7 a.m. The breakfast buffet consisted of typical hot and cold fare – eggs, bacon, sausages, fresh fruit, pastries, breads, cold deli meats, cheeses, juices, coffee and tea.
Paris City Guide, Dominique
Globus Tour Director, Vic, was waiting at the motorcoach to introduce us to local Paris guide, Dominique – whom we discovered was excellent at her job and very knowledgeable of her home city. Each of us were supplied with the Quiet Vox system that we would use throughout the entire trip for most of the included excursions – this is such a great system and allows users to hear the guide, even from a distance.
Vic gave us a short briefing describing how our morning would unfold, explained that he would meet us at the Eiffel Tower, and gave further instructions to those going on the optional afternoon excursion to Chateau Versaille.
Viv and Jill Enjoy Splendid Views of Paris from the Eiffel Tower
In all the years we have been visiting Paris, this was the first time either of us had taken a guided tour, and we found it to be extremely informative. We spent the entire morning soaking up all the fascinating information that Dominique shared with our group.
Fun Facts:
- Paris has a population of 2 million people
- 10 million people living within the vicinity of the city
- Paris is home to 13 universities
- The Louvre is the biggest museum in the world
- The 23 meter (75 ft) high Egyptian obelisk that is located in the center of Place de la Concorde came from Luxor, Egypt
- The Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889 for the World Fair
- The Eiffel Tower was built using 7,000 tons of steel and was the highest structure in the world at the time it was built
Viv and Jill at Notre Dame in Paris with Globus
Between 8:20 a.m. and 9: 30 a.m. we spent time walking from the Saint-Germain neighborhood to Notre Dame, where we had a tour inside the cathedral. After rejoining the coach we drove along the River Seine to the Eiffel Tower. Once we returned to the coach we continued a narrated driving tour past many of the top attractions – Louvre, Opera, Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe, Trocadéro.
Globus La France Tour at Notre Dame in Paris
At 10:30 a.m. Vic joined our group and handed out tickets so we could skip the long line of tourists waiting to take the elevator up to the first level of the Eiffel Tower. At this point we were finished with our 2.5 hour guided tour, free to explore the tower at our own speed, and could purchase extra tickets to go to the top level if we wanted to.
Louvre Museum Paris
Travel Tips:
- Cafe de la Paix at the Grand Hotel is one of Paris’ top-notch restaurants – expensive but worth the money for a special treat
- Most shops are closed on Sunday in the city center
For those not going on the optional excursion to Versaille, Vic provided us with metro tickets to use to return to the hotel at our leisure.
Along the River Seine near the Latin Quarter
We spent the remainder of the day wandering through the city, along the Champs-Élysées, and visiting the Latin Quarter – where we spent a couple of hours in the Galway Irish Pub watching the Wimbledon men’s tennis finals.
An optional evening excursion was available to Montmartre and a cruise on the River Seine. As we had done these activities in past visits to Paris we used the metro tickets Vic provided and returned to the hotel around 7 p.m. We enjoyed a relaxing evening, and prepared for the following day when we would leave Paris and start to explore other regions of the country on our Globus La France tour.
If You Go:
Read More About WAVEJourney’s Globus La France Adventures:
| Overview | Paris Day 1 | Paris City Tour Day 2 | Normandy Day 3 | Normandy and Brittany Day 4 | Loire Day 5 | Loire Valley and Bordeaux Day 6 | Saint Emilion Day 7 | Biarritz and Lourdes Day 8 | Carcassonne and Nimes Day 9 | Pont du Gard and Avignon Day 10 | Monte Carlo Day 11 | Grasse to Grenoble Day 12 | Lyon to Dijon Day 13 | Dijon to Paris Day 14 |
