(This is a continued series from Travel Freely Member Adam’s 70 Days on Points and Miles around the world. Read his introduction here and see links to more posts at the bottom.)
We are off and running on our 70-day trip around the world on points and miles! Our first stop was France for 10 days! We landed in Paris before going to Lyon. Here’s a breakdown of the trip so far and how we’ve used points along the way.
But how did we get to France?
United offers standard 30,000 point tickets to many big cities in Europe. This was a great option for us coming from Cleveland, OH. We transferred 30,000 Chase points each to United for the bookings and paid $5 in taxes.
As you may know, there are many ways to get to Europe for less than 30,000 points — but many of those methods require more flexibility. Since our plans were quite rigid on either end (I only have 73 days off of medical school), we weren’t necessarily able to find the absolute most efficient point usages for each redemption.
Points Life Lesson: Flexibility is Key!
6 Days in Paris
In Paris, we stayed with a close friend who has a business flat with an attached apartment. It was in a lovely quiet neighborhood where Dakota and I had the best meal of our lives (so far) at Le Petit Marché. Duck with banana/plantain figs.
We hit several highlights during our stay while traveling affordably by Metro/buses to get everywhere!
Our favorite memories:
- We had a picnic lunch under the Eiffel Tower.
- Took the train over to Versailles and rode bikes around the Palace and gardens.
- Enjoyed a river cruise down the Seine.
- Ate lots of macarons. Lots and lots of macarons.
Pro Tip: The Navigo Semaine Pass is a super efficient way to pay for public transport (for many itineraries). It is about 23 euros for a whole calendar week (Monday to Sunday) of free public
transport to *any zone* of Paris. If you’ve ever been to the city – you know this is super important if you have to go back and forth from the airport or want to visit Versailles.
After six days in Paris, we took a train to Lyon for only $20 – which we used Capital One miles to reimburse ourselves! An easy way to use our points to cover a travel expense.
In Lyon, we split our four nights between our family friends’ home in the countryside in St. Just St. Rambert (yes that is all one name) and their family home in Lyon. Their home in Lyon is a lovely renovation of an old church – which adds a great unique feel.
Some highlights of Lyon included the food (Lyon is a renowned region for gastronomy), the free zoo, countryside castles, and walking through Old Lyon.
Staying with friends made this 10-day itinerary super affordable, and local tips make life a lot easier. With points, our transport from Cleveland to Paris to Lyon only cost $5 total… not bad, right!?
Be sure to stay tuned for more posts coming your way soon from Spain! Mallorca and Barcelona are up next!!
More from Adam’s 70 Days on Points and Miles:
