Tour Paris at a glance with Accord Tour
Tour “Paris at a glance”. Flight number 782. The ticket was purchased 6 weeks in advance. We got seats at the end of the bus, so if you want to sit closer to the driver, buy a tour in advance. The visa was issued in two weeks, the information list in two days. No one called from the travel agency - I had to control the release of documents on my own.
The first day. We were met at the station upon arrival in Lviv. Things can be handed over to the storage room - it's not expensive. We didn’t go on the tour “Only in Lviv... ”, because we arrived in Lviv already in the afternoon. At 20-00 group gathering at the station, at 20-30 - departure. It takes a long time to get to the border - taking into account the sanitary stop, we arrived at the border at 00-30. Right before the border, at the Okko gas station, the group leader offered to buy forints at the exchange office to visit the baths in Budapest, since in the morning there would be no time to look for an exchange office. The girl at the exchange office only sold banknotes of 10.000.
00 forints at a quite acceptable rate - 45 UAH. for 1000 forints. On the way back from Hungary, the bus will also call at this gas station and the remaining forints can be exchanged back for hryvnias at the rate of 42.00, unless of course you still have them.
Second day. Upon arrival at customs, our bus was fourth in line. Ukrainian customs passed in an hour, Hungarian - in 3 hours. At the Hungarian customs, the toilet is paid - 5 UAH. Having successfully overtaken a double-decker bus, our bus at dawn at 3-30 European time left in the direction of Budapest. We arrived in Budapest exactly at 8:00. We parked near the Heroes' Square. We went to the baths of Count Szechenyi - about 20 minutes at a fast pace. The cost of the baths is 3350 forints for the whole day. We only had an hour, since at 10.00 a sightseeing tour of Budapest began. You cannot re-enter with the same ticket. One hour is clearly not enough to visit the baths, so many stayed until the evening.
There are whirlpools in the bath, geysers and many more interesting things that we did not have time to see. So if you are not going to go on an excursion to the city of Szentendre, it is better to go to the baths after a sightseeing tour. I liked the sightseeing tour very much, the guide was excellent. At 13-30 we were dropped off at the Heroes' Square. Those who wished went to the city of Szentendre - and we went for a walk around the city in the hope of reaching the Church of St. Stephen along Andrá ssy Avenue. We only managed to get to the opera, so if you want to return to the center and see the parliament, it’s better to take the bus. Drivers speak English - but the fare is 400 forints per person one way.
Second day. Continuation.
Returning to the Heroes' Square, we went to the park across the bridge. On the left is a very beautiful building of the agricultural museum that looks like a medieval castle. From the inside, this building is very beautiful.
Also there is Anonymus - a kind of statue of a monk.
At 17-30 departure from Budapest and transfer to Sopron to Lover hotel. We arrived at the hotel at 23:00. Don't forget to bring food from home for your first dinner.
Breakfast at 7:00, departure at 8:00. As it turned out later, this is a standard schedule. The hotel itself is quite nice, rooms with a balcony to the forest. There is even an ORT channel on TV. The hotel has a free swimming pool - big enough, sauna. Breakfast - buffet. Everything is quite tasty, no baking. How to provide yourself with food for lunch and dinner, I think you can guess for yourself. In all the hotels where we stayed, no one was searched when leaving breakfast.
At 14:00 we arrived in Regensburg. Beautiful medieval city, excellent guide, magnificent cathedral. Having been there, you can really understand why this city is included in the UNESCO list. They gave very little free time - 45 minutes. Be sure to see the inside of the cathedral. There is a supermarket near the cathedral.
At 16-00 transfer to Hockenheim. We arrived at the Ramada Hotel at 23:00. The rooms are small, no balcony.
Day four. What really surprised me was the breakfast. He was just luxurious. Pastry, fruit, cheese. You could even take a whole pineapple - but how to eat it. The hotel is located in the city center. In the morning we managed to walk a little around the city - you need to move away from the hotel directly perpendicular to the exit. To do this, the building in front must be bypassed on the left or right, passing through the shopping center along the passage.
Departure according to the standard schedule. A narrow road runs through a beautiful forest, intertwined with railway tracks. On the left you can see the railway station "Frankenstein pfalz". Not far from this place is Frankinstein's castle. Then, after passport control at the border, we entered the territory of France. Toilets during the tour were mostly free. Arrived in Paris at 4:00 pm.
We stopped near the "Hotel de Ville" while waiting for a guide for a bus tour. There were two stops during the bus tour. The last one overlooks the Eiffel Tower. The bus tour continued until 18:00.
Day four. Continuation.
Upon arrival at the Eiffel Tower, I advise you to immediately get your bearings in order to calculate the time for standing in line under the tower, since free time is limited - until 21-30, that is, only 3.5 hours. If the queue is a huge letter “P” running along the sides of the tower, as it was with us, then I advise you to immediately get in line - since you have to stand in it for at least two hours. The brave ones decided to cut the time and go up to the second level on foot instead of using the elevator, which does reduce the time of queuing, but requires much more effort. We, trusting the leader of the group, Peter, went for a ride on the Seine, not suspecting that this was a waste of time and money.
The cost of skiing is 11 € when buying a ticket at the pier - it makes no sense to buy from Accord for 15 €. The boat departs every hour. After standing in line for half an hour, at 18-30 we set sail. Alas, nothing particularly struck. Those bridges and buildings that we sailed - the Louvre and so on, we basically already saw during the bus tour. Poplars alone grow along the Seine. Notre Dame Cathedral can not be seen well from a boat. They will tell in seven languages in turn - it will not be possible to find out much information. Unless the hand gets tired of holding the uncomfortable and heavy tube of the audio guide. As a result, having lost 1.5 hours, we ended up in a line under the Eiffel Tower, which by this time had also increased. Having stood for two hours at 21-30, it became clear that we would not be in time for the allotted time for the departure of the bus, but not only we, but 5 more people from our group. The head of the group said that it was as if they were to blame - we want a lot.
It is clear, of course, what the Accord tour wants from tourists - to sell them additional excursions at a higher price. Alas, it's not a secret. But the fact that visiting the Eiffel Tower in Paris is a very big desire - of course, was news. But we were not taken aback - almost everyone who was standing decided to get up. This, of course, delayed the departure of the bus by about an hour. The cost of climbing to the top of the tower is 13.4 €. Since there are different types of tickets for the tower, it is necessary to say which tickets you need and in what quantity. To do this, you need to know how to say it either in French or in English. The fact that more than two people went to the top of the tower, in fact, saved the situation from the worst - we could be abandoned at the Eiffel Tower and we would have to get to the hotel ourselves.
The fact is that the leader of the group can leave tourists, as it were, in the interests of the whole group, if it is one person or a couple traveling together. But more than two people - no. To insure yourself in advance, study the information sheet in which hotel in Paris you will be staying and how to get to it. Walk on Google's virtual maps from the metro to the hotel. Be on the alert - if the leader, as if just in case, reports that you can get, suppose, the excursion field to the meeting point of the group by metro - this is a hint that no one will be waiting for you. Upon returning to the bus, a real scandal awaited us. The leader of the group began to accuse us of the fact that, you see, we do not know how to plan time. But it's interesting how we can plan everything, being in a foreign city for the first time.
We might as well be blamed for why we came to Paris at all - to watch it from the bus window? We got to the hotel in the suburbs of Paris Saint Maurice "Appart City" at 23-30.
Day five. Continuation.
Finally, once in the room, it became clear that the adventure continues - there is no light in the hallway and the toilet in the room. In the first hour of the night, we went down to the reception to ask in English to fix the light or change the room. The answer is that there are no free rooms, but they will fix it tomorrow after 12-00. This is despite the fact that we have to check out at 10-00. This option, of course, did not suit us. After persistent persuasion and threats, the receptionist with a screwdriver, stepladder, light bulb went to our room to repair the light.
A curious incident occurred in the morning. Tourists from our group mistakenly got on the elevator to the basement, from where the elevator was no longer called. Without thinking twice, they pressed the fire alarm button.
As a result, the guests of the hotel, namely the Negroes and the Chinese, began to wander around the hotel with an uncomprehending look. Since the hotel is designed specifically for them, then, alas, it is not necessary to count on a high quality of service there.
Having arrived a little earlier than the scheduled time for breakfast, at 9-00 an unpleasant picture appeared before our eyes - tables littered with paper debris and crumbs. But there is no food - yogurts, croissants are almost taken apart. And, in general, nothing more was expected ...
Those who arrived on time got nothing at all. There is no one to ask - there is no staff at all. A fifteen-minute sit-down hunger "strike" did not lead to anything. Desperate, they went to finish their supplies. Only the most persistent smiled luck - after 20 minutes they carried out some more food.
At 10-00 we went to the center of Paris for a tour of Montmartre. Those who canceled this tour in advance were dropped off not far from the Louvre and told to wait at the equestrian statue of Louis at 12-30.
Some went to Montmartre to go shopping, but did not go on a tour. And really, why pay 25 €? We climbed at a fast pace to the cathedral on the hill - it was hard for the elderly. There is nothing to see inside the Sacre Coeur Cathedral itself.
We walked around the square, looked at the mill, the monument to Dalida. Perhaps for those who are well versed in the life of Toulouse - Lautrec will be interesting, but not. Although the guide told really a lot. Unless to take a walk - but for this money it will be a little expensive. At 12:00 we boarded the bus at the Moulin Rouge.
Almost left a woman there who went shopping. The bus had already left without her. But she, having shown sprint qualities, ran to catch up with the bus at the crossroads. Then we went to the supermarket in the opera area. There we were given an hour of free time. The supermarket is really not expensive - you can buy a bottle of wine for up to 5 €.
For comparison, in supermarkets on the highway it is cheaper than 10 € not to buy. After wandering around the supermarket for an hour, at 13-00 we went to the Louvre. The cost of the tour is 35 €. We arrived at the Louvre at 13:30 to the displeasure of the members of our group, who had to wait an hour for us in the infernal hell of the Louvre courtyard. It is difficult to describe how hot it is there - surrounded on all sides by a windless yard. The only shadow is from the monument to Louis, but you need to be able to take a seat there. Fountains of the Louvre do not save from heat and stuffiness. Approaching the entrance to the glass pyramid, the guide said that she did not have headphones and we would go to the Louvre in a different way. Running through the hell we went to another entrance towards the Richelieu wing - it really got hot. Having gone down to another entrance and finally received the coveted headphones, the tour of the Louvre began at 14:00. The guide showed the three main women of the Louvre - Venus, Nike, Mona Lisa. The tour was quite informative.
Da Vinci's paintings were especially striking. After an hour of the tour, it began to be felt that the museum was quite hot. There are air conditioners only in the hall with Mona Lisa. It is quite difficult to examine this dark picture under two armored glasses from a distance of two meters. It is better to consider a reproduction in advance, so that it would be more interesting to watch live. This, in fact, also applies to other paintings, in particular "The Raft of the Medusa". Since many paintings have darkened with age, they look more interesting on reproductions ...At 16-00, the tour of the Louvre ended. As for the collection of the museum and its interiors, as a royal palace, the Louvre, in my opinion, is not very impressive, especially when compared with other royal palaces - museums. Is it possible to consider it as just an art gallery, and then it is designed for a sufficiently prepared visitor.
Climbing the escalator to the exit of the pyramid, we again found ourselves in the heat. Pushing the Koreans out of the shadow of the Louis statue, we waited another hour for the bus. The absence of trees and greenery as such in Paris is truly surprising. Maybe it's the hotter climate. It was especially pitiful to look at the locals trying to wait for the bus at a bus stop without any shade not far from the monument to Louis in the Place du Louvre.
At 17:00 we boarded the bus, hungry and exhausted by the heat. This is where our acquaintance with Paris ended. Alas, only disappointment remained - so to speak, "disappointment - at first sight. " Indeed, after such long journeys, you can comprehend the meaning of the phrase "See Paris - and die ... " in your own way. May die of fatigue or frustration, or both.
We arrived at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Karls Ruhe at 00-00.
The information sheet indicated a hotel in Hockenheim, in which we had already been. But the hotel where we arrived turned out to be even better. Even at such a late time, I was pleased with the spacious, one might even say, beautiful room. The only thing that alerted me a little was the announcement on TV in German about pay channels. There was a similar announcement at the Ramada Hotel. Since it was not possible to translate it reliably, we did not turn on the TV so as not to run into paying for TV channels, since they are paid separately upon viewing. From the brochure, I learned that the hotel has a free pool and sauna.
At 6:00 we went to breakfast. Everything was pretty tasty. Perhaps it was not as luxurious breakfast as in "Ramada", but acceptable enough. There was even pastries - one might say mediocre. After breakfast I went to the pool.
In the basement floor of the hotel building there is a large hexagonal pool in a spacious room with windows.
At 9:00 we boarded the bus and set off towards Munich. The mood of tourists in our bus became, let's say, not the most upbeat - fatigue from long journeys began to tell. To cheer us up, they played films about Empress Sisi. Having approached Munich from the north, we were able to admire the Alliance Arena stadium. Then we drove around Munich on the ring road from north to south. A few hours later we came close to the Alps. The weather was good and the views of the snow-capped peaks really made everyone happy. There was some excitement on the bus. The views of the Alps in the area of Lake Chiemsee were especially impressive. The height of the adjacent mountains here is 2 thousand meters.
At 16-00 we arrived in Salzburg and went on a sightseeing tour, which lasted about an hour.
The guide in Salzburg spoke in detail and interestingly about the city, as well as other guides in the cities we have already visited. Particularly impressive was the baroque cathedral.
At 18-00 we got on the bus and went to the local supermarket. There we bought a variety of alcoholic drinks - schnapps, liqueurs. Suddenly, the weather turned bad, pouring down a wall of rain. We ate and ran to the bus.
At 23:00 we arrived at the Lover Hotel in Sopron, where we had already been. If you calculate the total time spent on the move during this day, you get about 12 hours.
At 7-00 we went to the pool, which is located in the basement of the hotel. The pool is big enough. Of course, it is not as beautiful as in Radisson Blu, but we enjoyed swimming in it.
At 8-00 we boarded the bus and left in the direction of Vienna. On the way, another unpleasant surprise awaited us from the organizers of the tour.
The leader of the group said that the excursion "Shine and decline of the great empire" to the treasury will not take place without giving a reason. Probably, due to the general fatigue that had accumulated during our trip, no one began to resent. But really why - by the end of the trip, we got the impression that the main purpose of our trip, given the time spent on them, was bus travel. So to speak - moving around Europe for the sake of moving. Fortunately, the leader noticed that if someone really wants to, he can visit the treasury on his own. The reason for the cancellation of the excursion to the treasury was probably that many tourists decided to go shopping and there were not enough people who wanted to. By the end of the tour, there was a clear tendency to turn the tour from an excursion tour into a shopping tour, since many tourists did not even go on free sightseeing tours.
In view of the large number of such tourists in our group, there was an ambiguous impression about the organization of our tour in general due to a certain bias towards shopping. Thus, we can talk about the unreliable description of the tour on the site as an excursion. What is the point of describing possible excursions if you cannot get on them with a guarantee. With a guarantee you can only get to the supermarket. Looking ahead, I note the following - one woman from our group in a store in Vienna was pulled out of her wallet.
At 10:00 we arrived in Vienna. At Maria Theresa Square, we disembarked from the bus and went on an excursion to the Hofburg. The tour lasted about two hours. We did not go inside the palace. Throughout the tour, we listened attentively to the guide, as he promised to tell where the cherished treasury "Schatzkammer", so beautifully described on the site, is located.
Near the Swiss gate, the guide said that the treasury was there. We carefully memorized the further way and after the end of the excursion we easily found the treasury. In principle, you can navigate by special stands with the Hofburg plan, which are located on each square of the palace. We were given only an hour of free time. Having reached the treasury in 10 minutes, we purchased entrance tickets for 12 € and a Russian audio guide for 4 €. The seller warned us in English that the Russian audio guide only contains a description of fifteen exhibits. Having risen to the museum on the second floor, we could not figure out how to use the audio guide. The numbers of the exhibits in Russian did not correspond to those located near the exhibits, as they were intended for the English audio guide.
The situation is similar in the treasuries of the former USSR.
Barely having time to reach the Albertina, where the bus was waiting for us, at 13-00 we went on an excursion to the Belvedere and Schö nbrunn. We did not enter the Belvedere. It was overcast, gloomy weather. Perhaps that is why these palaces outwardly did not make any impression.
A tour of the interiors of the Schö nbrunn Palace also did not particularly impress, rather amused. It was curious to watch the visitors of the museum, who, through a large magnifying glass in a picture measuring two by two meters, tried to examine the small figure of a seated Mozart.
We did not walk around the Schö nbrunn park, we did not see any source, since we did not have time for this. In general, you should not particularly trust the description of these palaces on the site. This is advertising, so to speak. Not the fact that all this can be seen during the tour. At best, from the driver's window of the bus, since the sights are located on both sides of the bus.
If you sit all the time on one side of the bus, you will not see what is on the other. This also applies to the description of Vienna's sights on the site, and the description of Regensburg. At 15-30 the tour ended, and we went to the center of Vienna.
At 16-00 we returned to Maria Theresa Square. For about half an hour they waited for a woman who unsuccessfully tried to find her wallet. Thanks to this unplanned pause, we had at least a little time to take pictures and take a walk. In general, in all the cities of Europe where we were, there was an acute shortage of free time, with the exception of Budapest. At least another hour in each city, it would feel like some respite to give the opportunity to walk freely, even perhaps at the expense of shopping and even sleep ....And because of the intense pace of the tour, there was some tension, as if we were traveling with the official delegation...
Safely boarding the bus, we set off on our way back to Ukraine.
On the way back, we took another look at the Budapest Parliament in the light of the setting sun. Customs passed quickly - an hour Hungarian, an hour Ukrainian. Some tourists got on the train in Chop, which allowed them to reduce the bus journey to Ukraine by 4 hours. At 8-00 we were already in Lviv.
In general, the impressions of the tour were quite contradictory. More negative than positive. Considering that, taking into account all the planned excursions, the cost of the tour and visa, the expenses amounted to 1060 € for two, perhaps there are more interesting and enjoyable tours for that kind of money. For example, tours departing from the city, for example from Kharkov. Or finally, a visit to the royal palaces in the expanses of the former USSR.
In any case, our trip to Paris is not even a business trip - it's more like a "Paris at any cost" tour. And it's not just about money, but rather about the effort spent.
It suddenly turned out that our total expenses on this “economy” tour, so to speak, turned out to be even more than we spent on a not quite economy beach tour with exotic coral fish in a four-star hotel with breakfast, dinner. The general high cost of Europe is felt in everything. For example, the cost of a cake in a roadside cafe is 4 €. So, if you go on this tour not to the "last", then perhaps this is an acceptable option for fulfilling your "dream" - visiting Paris. . .
