As an update to my post a couple weeks ago on Sending Stuff Home, Uni Baggage has offered Paris Weekender readers 10% off your first order.
Just use discount ode PARIS10 when checking out.
Uni Baggage specializes in shipping baggage worldwide. Here is more information on shipping to/from France.
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Do you have any other shipping services to recommend or other creative solutions to avoiding airline baggage fees and hassles?
Complete France magazine recently shared an article on 9 Great things to do in Paris in summer and you haven’t missed any of them yet–there’s still time!
Paris Plages is running longer than ever this summer, with more activities than ever.
I’m also a big fan of the Open-Air Cinema at La Villette.
Most Parisians take off in August, but for some, it’s the best month to visit! Fewer crowds, free street parking, and it’s usually picnic weather!
You went to Paris. And you bought too many clothes, gifts for people back home, maybe wine? It’s happened to the best of us. With airlines charging more and more and more often for checked luggage, it’s nice to know there are some alternatives.
Send My Bag allows you to send your luggage ahead for not much more than the price of the extra luggage fee at the airport. You don’t have to box up your belongings–they can deliver the suitcase sporting equipment or a number of other formats. Prices and delivery times vary but to give you a sense, you could send a suitcase, box, bag of golf clubs, skis, or a bike up to 33 pounds from the Marais to Manhattan in 1-2 business days for US$128. The hitch is there’s a fairly wide pick-up and delivery window so it works best to/from locations with a concierge. I have a friend who used Send My Bag and speaks very highly of the service.
There’s also Chronopost from the French post office. You can send a large box to anywhere in the world of up to 5KG for 46 EUR or an XL box of up to 7KG for 56 EUR. Note that you have to use their boxes. Delivery time is usually 8 days max.
Even when it’s a bit pricier, sending your bag or extra purchases along ahead can save a lot of hassle! Please let me know if you’ve had good experiences with other shipping companies!
Annabel Simms has published a new book to help us discover some lesser known secrets just outside Paris, Half An Hour from Paris.
Annabel has a good understanding of what visitors need in terms of the practical aids. She includes a map of the Paris region as well as metro maps in the front of the book. She gives journey times from various Paris train stations. She notes the best days to visit each town (often the market days). And she includes a map of each of the twenty little known places. Annabel also gives practical information for getting around Île-de-France and she includes a glossary of useful terms.
I tried out many of Annabel’s suggestions from her earlier book, An Hour from Paris. See my write-up of one of these excursions from the first book here. I’m looking forward to more explorations thirty minutes from Paris!
Every native English speaker gets confused by the tu versus vous, the informal versus formal or plural, distinction. This chart has been going around for years, but in case you haven’t seen it, it’s worth a repost. It’s hilarious and yet quite accurate. Credit goes to Alexis Buisson.
