I would like to believe that going to Paris is every woman’s dream. In my case, I cannot remember the exact details of how or when I started daydreaming about this place. All I know was when I was doing my bucket list for the first time, Paris was definitely included, but little did I know that on the year when I celebrated my 30th birthday will be the same year for my Paris dream to come true. Paris is always a good idea.

Paris is always a good idea.

– Audrey Hepburn, Sabrina

Yes, I am that girl with the Eiffel tower wallpapers in my closet and on my phone. That, London and New York and a lot more.  So when the opportunity came knocking at my door, YES was the only answer. I am humbled by the opportunity to visit and stay in France for almost 2 weeks, thanks to my husband and his awesome work. 🙂

With less than 6 weeks of preparation such as securing the visa, booking flights and hotels, completing the winter clothing needed and doing research about the country, I think we did a great job and we got everything covered. I will give you a glimpse of our travel details as we go on.

To start with, one should be aware if you are required to apply for a visa or not.  In case you are like us who need to secure a Schengen visa, here are some of the basic things that you need to know:

SCHENGEN VISA

A Schengen visa allows the visa holder to travel any or all of the 26 European countries included in the Schengen Area Member States:

• Austria
• Belgium
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Liechtenstein

Who needs a Schengen Visa?

If you hold a passport from any of the countries listed below which are non-members of the Schengen Area, then it is a must that you apply for a Schengen Visa.

Afghanistan	Guinea	Peru
Algeria	Guinea-Bissau	Philippines
Angola	Guyana	Qatar
Armenia	Haiti	Russia
Azerbaijan	India	Rwanda
Bahrain	Indonesia	Samoa
Bangladesh	Iran	Sao Tome And Principe
Belarus	Iraq	Saudi Arabia
Belize	Jamaica	Senegal
Benin	Jordan	Sierra Leone
Bhutan	Kazakhstan	Solomon Islands
Bolivia	Kenya	Somalia
Botswana	Kiribati	South Africa
Burkina Faso	Kuwait	Sri Lanka
Burma/Myanmar	Kyrgyzstan	St Lucia
Burundi	Laos	St Vincent & The Grenadines
Cambodia	Lebanon	Sudan
Cameroon	Lesotho	Suriname
Cape Verde	Liberia	Swaziland
Central African Republic	Libya	Syria
Chad	Madagascar	Tajikistan
China	Malawi	Tanzania
Colombia	Maldives	Thailand
Comoros	Mali	Timor-Leste
Congo	Marshall Islands	Togo
Cote D’ivoire	Mauritania	Tonga
Cuba	Micronesia	Trinidad and Tobago
Dem. Rep. Of Congo	Moldova	Tunisia
Djibouti	Mongolia	Turkey
Dominica	Morocco	Turkmenistan
Dominican Republic	Mozambique	Tuvalu
Ecuador	Namibia	Uganda
Egypt	Nauru	Ukraine
Equatorial Guinea	Nepal	United Arab Emirates
Eritrea	Niger	Uzbekistan
Ethiopia	Nigeria	Vanuatu
Fiji	North Korea	Vietnam
Gabon	Northern Mariana’s	Yemen
Gambia	Oman	Zambia
Georgia	Pakistan	Zimbabwe
Ghana	Palau	Kosova
Grenada	Papua New Guinea

Source: www.schengenvisainfo.com

Take note, however, that you can’t just apply for a visa in ANY Schengen country. If you’re traveling to more than one country, the rule is: your visa application should be lodged at the embassy/consulate of the country that constitutes the MAIN destination of your trip…

The excerpt above was from a travel blog named smalltowngirlsmidnighttrains.com that I came across with while searching for details on Schengen visa, you may click here for more details on Schengen visa in her blog. 🙂

It is worth to highlight that along with  your visa application and other documents, you must also include:

• your travel itinerary
• confirmed plane ticket/s and hotel reservation/s and
• a travel insurance of at least worth of €30,000.

The waiting time for the visa approval normally takes 5 working days and up.  Some may take as long as 3 weeks or even more.  Fortunately, we received ours after 5 days. 🙂

AIRLINES

We were originally looking at Emirates as we were very satisfied with their service when we traveled to London.  But due to a big difference with the fare rates, we opt to get Singapore Airlines with the 13-hour, non-stop flight.  Overall, the quality of service was highly commendable, but we came to an agreement that, if in the future, we will be travelling for more than 10 hours, a non-stop flight should be considered last.

CURRENCY

• France is using the Euro.
• It comes in the form of notes and coins.
  • the denominations for coins are €2, €1, 50c, 20c, 10c, 5c, 2c, and 1c
  • the denominations for notes are  €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200 and €500.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• It is better/preferred if you bring the smaller bills with you.
• For security reasons, you may want to just bring a small amount of money in your wallet/purse (probably around 30-40 euros).
  • Our biggest denomination during our travel was 50 euros. In cases, that you may need to withdraw from their ATM, the machine gives you the choice to have a mix of smaller bills (20s and 50s, etc.).

Click here to see my review for Hotel Antin Saint Georges, Paris. 🙂

Sources:
www.schengenvisainfo.com
www.schengenvisa.cc/