Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [284]
The resort’s seven own American-themed hotels (central booking 01 60 30 60 30) and a handful of others are linked by free shuttle bus to the parks. Rates vary hugely, peaking in July and August and around Christmas; on Friday and Saturday nights and during holiday periods April to October; and on Saturday night mid-February to March. The cheapest rates are Sunday to Thursday January to mid-February, mid-May to June, September, and November to mid-December.
Advertised rates are for a minimum of two, three or four nights and supplementary nights can be added – rates include park admission. Lucky hotel guests are often entitled on designated days to two ‘Magic hours’ in Disneyland Park when the park is closed to regular punters. Consider Disney’s Hotel New York for Big Apple 1930s Art Deco, its Newport Bay Club for a nautical theme, Hotel Cheyenne for Hollywood, and Santa Fe for some deep southwest. Otherwise, try the prince or the pauper of the sleeping scene:
Disneyland Hôtel (d 2-night/3-day package per adult €483-720; ) The flagship of Disneyland Resort Paris accommodation, this 496-room Victorian palace stares in all its majesty at Sleeping Beauty’s 43m-tall castle.
Disney’s Davy Crockett Ranch (d 2-night/3-day package per adult €242-361) As ‘relaxing’ as you’re gonna’ get at Disney, this trapper’s village is not bad. Imagine 535 log cabins planted in a 57 hectare-large wood with limited self-catering facilities (fridge, microwave). Cabins sleep up to six.
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PARC ASTÉRIX
Just beyond Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport, this seasonal theme park splits into seven ‘zany zones’, the Gaulish Village, the Roman Empire, Ancient Greece and so on. Rides are numerous, invariably hair-raising and as much a hit with kids as the various shows, spectacles and devilishly Gaullist pranks throughout the day.
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INFORMATION
Parc Astérix ( 08 26 30 10 40; www.parcasterix.com, in French; adult/3-11yr/under 3yr €37/27/free, parking €7; 10am-6pm early Apr, 10am-7pm Jun-Aug, 10am-7pm Wed, Sat & Sun Sep–early Oct) Tickets including admission and all transport to/from the park (adult/3-11yr €41.60/27) are available at most RER and SNCF stations in central Paris.
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TRANSPORT: PARC ASTÉRIX
Distance from Paris 36km
Direction Northeast
Travel time 50 to 60 minutes by shuttle, RER train and bus
Car Route A1, Parc Astérix, exit between exit Nos 7 and 8
Shuttle The park operates a daily navette (shuttle; 01 48 62 38 33; adult/3-11yr return €19/13) departing from outside the Louvre (metro Palais Royal) at 8.45am and from Parc Astérix at 6.30pm.
RER train & bus Line B3 from Châtelet or Gare du Nord to Aéroport Roissy Charles de Gaulle 1 train station, then take the Courriers Île-de-France shuttle bus ( 01 48 62 38 33; adult/3-11yr return €6.90/5), departing from the bus station, platform 3, every half-hour between 9.30am and 6.30pm (7pm from the park).
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REIMS
This city of 202,600 people some 144km northeast of Paris has two claims to fame. It is by far the largest and most attractive of the major champagne-producing centres, affording travellers a smorgasbord of things to see and do as well dining and accommodation options. At the same time, as the so-called Coronation City, Reims – pronounced something like ‘rance’ – is the place where, over the course of a millennium (816 to 1825), some 34 sovereigns – among them 25 kings – began their reigns as Christian rulers.
The focal point of these pompous occasions was Cathédrale Notre Dame (www.cathedrale-reims.com, in French; place du Cardinal Luçon; 7.30am-7.30pm, closed to visitors Sun morning), a Gothic edifice begun in 1211 – on a site occupied by churches