City Guide

Before you start your search for the lowest airfare, you may want to consider booking your flight as part of a travel package. Package tours are not the same thing as escorted tours. Package tours are simply a way to buy the airfare, accommodations, and other elements of your trip (such as car rentals, airport transfers, and sometimes even activities) at the same time and often at discounted prices -- kind of like one-stop shopping. Packages are sold in bulk to tour operators -- who resell them to the public at a cost that usually undercuts standard rates.

One good source of package deals is the airlines themselves. Most major airlines offer air/land packages, including American Airlines Vacations (tel. 800/321-2121; www.aavacations.com), Delta Vacations (tel. 800/221-6666; www.deltavacations.com), and Continental Airlines Vacations (tel. 800/301-3800; www.covacations.com). Several big online travel agencies -- Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Site59, and Lastminute.com -- also do a brisk business in packages. If you're unsure about the pedigree of a smaller packager, check with the Better Business Bureau in the city where the company is based, or go online at www.bbb.org. If a packager won't tell you where it's based, don't fly with it.

The French Experience, 370 Lexington Ave., Room 511, New York, NY 10017 (tel. 800/283-7262 or 212/986-3800; fax 212/986-3808; www.frenchexperience.com), offers inexpensive tickets to Paris on most scheduled airlines and arranges tours and stays in various types and categories of country inns, hotels, private châteaux, and B&Bs. In addition, it takes reservations for about 38 small hotels in Paris and arranges short-term apartment rentals in the city or farmhouse rentals in the countryside, and offers all-inclusive packages in Paris and prearranged package tours of various regions of France. Tours can be adapted to suit individual needs.

Escorted General Interest Tours

The two largest tour operators conducting escorted tours of France and Europe are Globus/Cosmos (tel. 800/276-1241; www.globusandcosmos.com) and Trafalgar (tel. 800/854-0103; www.trafalgartours.com). Both companies have first-class tours that run about $100 a day and budget tours for even less. The differences are mainly in hotel location and the number of activities. There's little difference in the companies' services, so choose your tour based on the itinerary and preferred date of departure. Brochures are available at travel agencies, and all tours must be booked through travel agents.

Finding a Specialty Package -- What about special-interest tours? For a city as diverse and popular as Paris, there are only a few specialty tours.

One outfit that coordinates hotel stays with major musical events, usually within at least one (and often both) of the city's opera houses, is Dailey-Thorp Travel, P.O. Box 670, Big Horn, WY 82833 (tel. 800/998-4677 or 307/673-1555; fax 307/674-7474; www.daileythorp.com). Stays in Paris last between 3 and 7 days and, in many cases, are tied in with opera performances in other cities (usually London, Berlin, or Milan) as well. Expect accommodations in deluxe hotels such as the Grand, the Louvre, or the Scribe, and a staff that has made arrangements for all the nuts and bolts of your arrival in, and artistic exposure to, Paris.

Die-hard tennis fans set their calendars by the events that transpire each year in Paris's Roland-Garros stadium at the French Open. If you're unsure about how to match the dates of your visit with tennis tournaments that will be watched around the world, consider the California-based company that specializes in this issue: Advantage Tennis Tours, 33 White Sail Drive, Suite 100, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 (tel. 800/341-8687; www.advantagetennistours.com).

Packages usually include either 5 or 6 nights of hotel accommodations in Paris, 2 or 3 days on Center Court, the organizational skills of a bilingual hostess, and a chance to meet and mingle with tennis fans of many different nationalities during at least one catered lunch. There will even be an opportunity to grab a racquet and play some tennis on your own, in between bouts of sightseeing. Rates, per person, without airfare, begin at $2,875, double occupancy, depending on your choice of hotel and the duration of your visit.

City Guide

Paris France Tourism: Escorted & Package Tours

Escorted & Package Tours

Paris Travel & Vacation Deals

Paris Travel Deals