tips for paris

[Scarpozzi]

Originally posted by: freesia39
actually i'll be in paris starting the... 23rd but i leave for london on wednesday.

i need tips! i'll be heading out to paris and i need some quick info besides the usual tourist spots.

the big one:
do i need an english tour of the louvre or can i wander on my own?
The louvre is HUGE. You can spend a whole day in here...buy a book before you go and you'll see signs throughout it that point to the main works of art. You can't miss the Mona Lisa....there's always a line to see it.
notre dame - by tour or wander on my own?

You can see it on your own. There are usually a few hundred people touring it regularly... Just be careful...there are many pickpockets here. Always look for young girls walking together...they tend to be the worst for this. Protect your valuables by having your hands in your front pockets holding your money, etc... They are very experienced.

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: Fern

Originally posted by: freesia39
actually i'll be in paris starting the... 23rd but i leave for london on wednesday.

i need tips! i'll be heading out to paris and i need some quick info besides the usual tourist spots.

the big one:
do i need an english tour of the louvre or can i wander on my own?

notre dame - by tour or wander on my own?

I lived in Paris for about 7 years. Visited there frequently before that.

Excellent and comprehensive advice ensued.

Enjoy,

Fern

:wine: for Fern.

/thread.

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: Perknose

Originally posted by: Fern

Originally posted by: freesia39
actually i'll be in paris starting the... 23rd but i leave for london on wednesday.

i need tips! i'll be heading out to paris and i need some quick info besides the usual tourist spots.

the big one:
do i need an english tour of the louvre or can i wander on my own?

notre dame - by tour or wander on my own?

I lived in Paris for about 7 years. Visited there frequently before that.

Excellent and comprehensive advice ensued.

Enjoy,

Fern

:wine: for Fern.

/thread.

Thank You! :wine: (I'd usually do a :beer: but wine does seem more appropriate for a thread on Paris)

Fern

 

[shopbruin]

Originally posted by: Aquaman

Originally posted by: freesia39
anyways, i was typing this earlier before i was interrupted with dinner being finished.

i do know basic french - nothing four years in high school and another two quarters in college couldn't cure. i can read street signs, and understand what you're saying if you speak REALLY slowly. i'm hoping i can get by.

my itinerary:
the tourist musts of eiffel tower, arc de triomphe, notre dame.

one morning will be spent at pere lachaise cemetary, and even if i only see two grave sites, it will be jim morrison and oscar wilde.

versailles is another morning, which is my one thing i'm putting my foot down on, because i REALLY want to see it.

i'm probably going to wind up doing the louvre on wednesday nite, since my tourbook says it's open til 945pm.

i have the lonely planet paris book, but we also have the rick steves book for london, and it's a LOT better. i think we're going to go out and get the rick steves one for paris also as a companion.

what on earth can i use as a money belt?! i'm just a small little asian chick, and the friend i'm going with is also a small asian chick. i was just going to hold my money in my pocket, along with a credit card and my ID. i don't want to have to carry my passport everywhere. and i don't want a money belt showing in my pics.

just curious...... why do you like rick steves books?

Cheers,
Aquaman

his london book gave a lot more tips of where to go, what to do, how to avoid lines, etc. the lonely planet book i was just looking for the names of the things i wanted to see. like the rick steves book talks about hamleys in london, the biggest toy store. after reading that i went "I HAVE TO GO." nothing like that in my loney planet one.


EDIT: where can i get the money belt? how do i get the money out of it if it's under my shirt? i might as well have a credit card sticking out of my bra, it seems more convenient.

 

[WildHorse]

Here's some helpful background on France, updated July 2006:
France where people are real nice away from the city

To help with your London visit, ditto for UK, as of May 2006:
merry olde England

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: freesia39
EDIT: where can i get the money belt? how do i get the money out of it if it's under my shirt? i might as well have a credit card sticking out of my bra, it seems more convenient.

Hmmmm, maybe just a sleek metal, credit-card sized money clip, wherein you could secure a couple of cc's and some cash, and which you might be able to clip to the inside of your pants/skirt/flimsy burlap burnoose?

In these matters, as in many, Google is your friend.

Edit:Perhaps one of these, putting your cash in one of the cc slots and using the clip to tuck it inside yer trousers, aaar, where it would be difficult for a pickpocket (they have them in parts of Paris, for real) to get at.

 

[WelshBloke]

Originally posted by: Homerboy

Originally posted by: hoorah

Originally posted by: Fern


The museum across the river is better IMHO. I forget the name now, its an old train station and has the Van Goghh paintings. I like the stuff from that era better (pointilists, etc).


Fern

Musee D'Orsay.

yes WAY cooler thatn Louvre (which was just on our checklist) The Louve is impressive in its own right, but its just COUNTLESS halls of Renaissance art work. (*discalimer I'm no art-buff).

Another vote for the Musee D'Orsay. Give the polar bear a pat from me

 

[UTmtnbiker]

I just got back from Paris three days ago. I enjoyed it, although I enjoyed Amsterdam even more.

First...it's okay to be a tourist. Hit the sights you want to see. Now's a perfect time as there's absolutely no crowds. These "oh so cool" elitest travellers who turn their noses at anything slightly touristy are just as tragically hip as those who sit in smokey coffeeshops dissing the latest trends all the while watching the world go by contributing nothing other than their cynicism and how they haven't been caught up in it.

Definately do cafes, do bars, do hang out and enjoy the city. But if you want to go the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Sacre Coeur, Orsay, Moulin Rouge, by all means do it. That is just as much of the Paris experience as sitting the Latin Quarter or Montmartre drinking espresso, eating a pastry, and killing an afternoon.

Also...we found Parisiens to be just as pleasant as you treated them. We speak NO French other than "merci" and "bonjour". Just try talking to them in French, even if sounding things out phonetically. We found that any attempt made with a smile and an effort were returned.

Okay, </rant>. We stayed on the Champs Elyeese, didn't love it. Thought it was too crowded but the location can't be beat, right off George V. Now....the metro system is great. Buy either a carnet of tickets (10 tickets for 11 euros) or a carte orange if you're schedule works out well with it (works from I believe Sunday to Saturday and you'll need a passport photo). We just bought carnets (car-nays) as we arrived on a Tuesday and would be leaving on a Monday. We got everywhere on the metro. Even took the RER back to CDG to catch our flight. We took the Air France bus in to town when we arrived.

My tips:

The view of the Eiffel tower from Trocadero is to kill for and makes for great pics, especially at night.
If you're going to London via Eurostar, you'll be going out of Gare du Nord. Watch out for pickpockets there. Once sidled up to us while we were waiting for our Thalys train to Amsterdam (and they blew up abandoned luggage while we were there - very cool)
Decide what you want to see at the Louvre and do that first. That place is huge. We hit all the highlights (Mona Lisa, Venus De Milo) and we still spent an entire day there.
Walk up and down the Seine. It was beautiful and then relax with a coffee or whatever your drink of choice is at a cafe.
Beer is expensive there. I didn't find less than an 8 euro pint anywhere I went.

Have fun and don't be intimdated by what many here are saying. My wife was very nervous also as she had never been out of N. America. I've been fortunate in being able to travel to Europe many times without speaking any European languages other than English (I'm Chinese American and actually got a of Chinese tourists asking me questions both in Paris and Amsterdam) and have always been treated nicely. IT'S ALL ABOUT YOUR ATTITUDE.

Fill us in when you get back.

EDIT: We got the DK Eyewitness Travel books. Enjoyed them very much as they break everything out in to neighborhoods and then suggest walking tours of each neighborhood. We did 3 or 4 of these and found them as a good way to hit the touristy areas while also seeing a lot of back streets and enjoying some of the local ambiance.

EDIT #2: Noticed you mentioned Versailles. Right now, Versailles is under major renovations. We didn't go for that reason alone, but I heard that much of it is either inaccessible or covered behind scaffolding. YMMV however.

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: Fern
Thank You! :wine: (I'd usually do a :beer: but wine does seem more appropriate for a thread on Paris)

Fern

Man, the smell of those (then 80 centime!) baguettes baking from the many small boulangerie at six in the morning, and the unfailing, high-pitched, sing-song greeting from behind the counter, "Bon matin, monsieur! Comment allez-vous, monsieur!?!" :laugh: :thumbsup:

And freesia39, Fern's advice (ALL of it excellent) extends to just grabbing some fresh bread and good cheese (you'll find none other) and maybe some fruit for an impromptu al fresco lunch outdoors -- also trusting the house wine at smaller, out of the way restaurants -- the food and the wine will not only both be top notch, it will be quite reasonable, too, and the service won't suck.

You'll have more of a chance to have a genuine Parisien experience. Plus, DO use whatever level of French you have, they will absolutely appreciate it, and you will have an agreeable quality of experience light-years ahead of the fat-assed, loud 'n lazy American tourists, who only set up a dynamic wherein they get there own worst negative stereotypes of the snooty, unhelpful Frenchman confirmed (not that impossbly snooty French don't exist as well, though).

The heart of any city lies off it's beaten paths.

On va! :laugh:

 

[Aquaman]

freesia39

Check out REI for the money belt. I personally like the neck wallet.

and looking at the store locations....... they have one in San Jose.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[50cent1228]

i would say if you don't rent a car and you don't go on the l'open tour bus ride taxis is where your money will be spent...taxi rides are expensive i would say you should stay at a central piont close to the eeifel tower...boulevard de grenelle is a place which is really close to everything thats where i stayed when i went and i was very convinient for me...also shopping is also expensive b/c its paris, and becaus they use euros..and i would also recomend changing your money while your in the us b/c in paris they will give you less.

 

[50cent1228]

oh ya and if youv never been there before french people stink

 

[50cent1228]

and also i saw that your r going there from london..don't take the eurostar train..those pictures they show of the coaches, even 1st class doesn't look that good at all ..and the view that they tell you is soo good...well you gonna go in a dark tunnel for about 30 mins so there is not much or a view. and your ears keep on popping while in the tunnel its annoying...

 

[potato28]

Originally posted by: wyvrn

Originally posted by: Pacemaker
If you are American tell them you are from Canada. They will hate you less that way.

The Parisians were pretty nice to me when I went this summer. I only spent a weekend, but people were easy to talk to (that knew English).

Start talking to the ones that only know a little english... they get snappy quick.

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: potato28
Start talking to the ones that only know a little english... they get snappy quick.

^^^^^ Perfect example of an arrogant, asshole Ami! :disgust: :roll:

 

[shopbruin]

update of updates:

i am staying on boulevard de grenelle at the relais paris eiffel de cambronne. it was a pretty good deal for the location! i looked it up on the map, it's a short walk to the eiffel tower, and there are two metro stops nearby. reviews have been the same - nice, clean, small bathroom, great location.

i added the musee d'orsay to my itinerary because i saw they opened until 945 on thursday nite, which was the one nite i didn't have much planned out, so that just fell into place. i'm going to the louvre wednesday nite, since they're open late that night.

i am taking the eurostar, and i didn't realize that the fares kept going up! argh! we spent 142 each on our tickets.

while i will be walking up and down the champs elysees, i also read in the rick steves book to walk the rue cler. "parisian living at it's finest." the book says it picks up again as everyone gets off of work to buy their groceries for dinner, so that's when we'll be walking it.

i'm going to the moulin rouge on monday night at 11pm, and i think i'm going to be taking a taxi home from it, since i think it gets out right when the metro closes. i think that's the only taxi i'll wind up taking, unless we give up and take a taxi to the airport when we leave instead of trying to lug all our luggage onto the metro.

i will not be giving money to any gypsies, and keeping my money in my front pocket. i forgot to look for a small, slender wallet that will fit in my front pockets when i was at target earlier today.

i still need to make a photocopy of my passport and my credit cards, and write down the numbers to call them collect should they get stolen/lost. and i read also to perhaps call my bank to let them know i'll be travelling overseas so that they don't freeze my account.

how long does it take to get the degaulle by metro? the closest metro stops to my hotel are cambronne or la motte-picquet-grenelle.

 

[UTmtnbiker]

You can't take the metro from CDG in to Paris (or vice versa). You'll need to take the RER, from which you can then transfer on to the metro. That being said, it took us about an hour from the George V stop to Chatalet, where we transferred (and bought tickets) for the RER B line to CDG.

EDIT: Took the liberty of looking up where you're staying. If you'd like to take the metro/RER from your hotel to CDG, it looks like you could get on at the number 6 line at Cambrone heading towards Nation (remember that the Paris metro direction is dictated by the end stops, so in this case at Cambrone, you should have the option of heading towards Nation or Charles De Gaulle Etoile and then get off and transfer at Denfert Rochereau and get on the RER B there straight to CDG.