Schengen Visa to Visit Paris

  If you are planning a holiday to a country you have not visited, it is always good to acquire some useful information about your destination before you start packing. One of the most important things is to check whether or not you require a Schengen visa to travel around Europe.

There are a few tips that might be helpful to take into account if you are going to Paris.

1. Go by Eurostar not by airplane. Eurostar leaves from St Pancras train station which is in the centre of London, and quite handily takes you to the centre of Paris, so you don't need to spend 2 hours to get to your hotel from the terminal, also the same story on return. In many cases the price of the ticket is pretty much the same together for train and air plane.

  2. In my opinion it would be better getting a hotel close to the Eiffel Tower, because lots of sightseeing locations are situated within the walking distance. There are lots of hotels in this area and we stayed at a three star hotel and found it really good concerning service, size of the room and breakfast.

3. Have a tour of the Eiffel Tower on the first day – we went to every single level and explored it attentively, and even went downstairs using steps rather than lift – amazing adventure. You should certainly enjoy a panoramic view of Paris on each level where the lift stops and it gives a wonderful idea of the places you might go to while you are there, furthermore exciting views for taking images. We were amazed to observe how compact Paris is, and so you can in fact plan and do a lot within one day, as everything is actually close.

  4. Where to eat. Choose a hotel with a buffet breakfast – we found the food in the 3 star hotel pretty pleasant, and it was not the same menu all the time. I also enjoyed eating out in the Galleries Lafayette – there you can find a pretty good number of cafes, so you will either get yourself a meal or a coffee.
 
5. The language. It is certainly worth pursuing to refresh your knowledge of the French language, simply because it makes a serious difference on the manner you are perceived and treated by the French people. I only know very little French, but I learnt some phrases and often used them when I was talking to French people either in the ticket office, hotel reception, or restaurants.

6. If you need a Schengen visa to enter France, you should allow at least one month to get it done, because you have to obtain a Schengen visa before you leave for France.
 
Would like to discover more? Use this easy to follow Schengen visa guide to get a Schengen visa approved first time you submit your documents!