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Paris!

BF and I are leaving Monday for our first-ever vacation together, to celebrate the end of his bar exams. Anybody been to Paris and have traveller wisdom to share?

Re: Paris!

  • babybchbumbabybchbum member
    1000 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
  • edited December 2011
    I was there in Paris and London this past summer. The best trip I have ever been on. I would get the Visitor Metro Pass because it is a very easy and cheap way to get around. I would also try to take the bike tour through Paris. It is a good way to see a lot of things like The Louvre and The Eiffel Tour. Enjoy the food also. Make sure you get a crepe with Nutella. The best!!!!

    Have fun, I am going back in April and can't wait!!!
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  • zaneopalzaneopal member
    500 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Make sure you have a whole day to do the Louvre. It's a lot bigger than most people think.
  • edited December 2011
    I've say skip the Louvre and go to L'Orgere (?) where all the Monet paintings are, then go to the Piccasso museum.  Personally I get overwhelmed by large, crowded museums even though I love art, and we ended up spending an entire day in the Piccasso museum, it was just so cool to see the evolution of his art!


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  • yellowroseFRAyellowroseFRA member
    100 Comments Third Anniversary
    edited December 2011
    Thanks for the advice, y'all!
    bakes- Nutella is the food of the gods, and I have been looking forward to the crepes since we first planned the trip!

    zaneopal & mango - I hope we get a chance to visit both the Louvre and Musee d"orsay with the monets, but we'll only be there 4 days, so we'll see. The Picasso museum would be awesome, but BF is very not into modernism, I'll have to see if I can work on him.
  • edited December 2011
    I went last May.  It rained the whole time, but it was a lot of fun anyway.

    I was only there for 4 days and I managed to go to both museums. The Musee d'orsay is smaller than you think, so it won't take all day.  Definitely try to go to Versailles, it was my favorite.  So interesting.  Don't buy anything from the guys in the courtyard though.  They're crooks.  Also, if someone approaches you saying he wants to give you a gift of a free bracelet, say no, not matter how much they persist.  After they tie the bracelets on you, he'll charge you an outrageous amount for it.  Scams.

    I was a little disappointed with the Eiffel Tower, because I went during the day, but at night, when it's all lit up, it's really incredible.
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  • yellowroseFRAyellowroseFRA member
    100 Comments Third Anniversary
    edited December 2011
    thanks for the warning! I have read that Paris has a big problem with pickpocketing etc so we are going to try not to have anything too valuable on us.
  • hh581842hh581842 member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I love France!!! I've been several times and lived there for a while. ahh i love France so much and i'm so jealous of you!!

    LIke PP said, I would take a day and go to Versailles! Such an experience!  and a lot of tourists miss this one.  They have recorded tours there that you can carry around and listen to, and I would def recommend doing that.  You will get so much more out of it.  It's an all day trip though so plan for that.  

    There are so many things to do, but if this is your first time and you'll only be there for 4 days, i'm gonna recommend all the super touristy stuff that you will be sad about if you don't do.

    Go up the Eiffel Tower.  You really don't need to go all the way to the top, the view isn't that different. If you can only go once, go at night.  But try to go once in the day time and once at night.  One night, if you have time, I would also recommend watching the Tour d'Eiffel sparkle (every hour on the hour) from the Palais de Chaillot, across the Seine River from the Tour. 

    Go to Montmartre, have an artist draw a picture of the two of you, and then go inside (and/or climb to the top) of Le Sacre Coeur.  watch out for pickpockets here!

    Spend (At least!) half a day at the Louvre, or if you really don't have time, find all your favorite paintings that you are dying to see and go see them and get out.  Let me just tell you, the Mona Lisa will disappoint lol.  Just be prepared for that.  and the crowd lol.  Then, if you have time, check out L'Orangerie (Monet) and Musee D'Orsay.

    One night, take a dinner river cruise on the Seine River.  It will be very romantic, and definitely worth the cost :)  taking a ferry on the Seine during the day is a cool way to sightsee as well. 

    Start at the Jardin des Tuilleries and the Obelisk, and walk along the Champs Elysees, and end up at the Arc de Triomphe. Maybe stop and get lunch on your walk. My friend got extremely excited when we passed the Louis Vuitton flagship store here lol.  Prob more excited than anything else. So if you are a shopper, you can do that too lol. 

    One night, go check out Moulin Rouge and take pics of the red windmill.  Be careful though, this is still a shady district.  

    Go see Notre Dame and walk around inside. 

    Now some important advice:  The French are a proud people and they love their language and culture, and esp in Paris where there are so many tourists, the French are constantly bombarded by people who do not respect the French culture as they do (as in any tourist city).  However, the French in general do not respond well to this disrespect and many Frenchies will be rude to said tourists.  I NEVER had a french person be rude to me, but it was because i showed them respect and made an effort to speak French.  The French have a saying: there's Paris, and then there's the rest of France. lol The parisians are not a representation of all French pple, but they do get the most tourists in the country.  One way to avoid people being rude to you, is always start a conversation in French, not English. Don't just assume they all speak English.  Learn the key phrases: Excusez moi (ex-koos-eh mwah), Parlez vous Englais (parl-eh vooz on-glay), Merci Boucoup (mare-see bow-koo), Je voudrais (juh Voo-dray with a soft j)--means "I would like" for ordering food and the like.  Most people will just start speaking English to you after this point, but they respect the fact that you try.  If you go up to a person and speak to them in English, they may very well say (in English) "I don't speak English". lol.  Also, when you walk into a shop or restaurant, always look for the store owner or host and say bonjour (bone-joor with a hardly pronounced n and r), and au revoir (oh ruh-vwah) when you leave.  They find it rude not to. 

    Also, there are lots of pickpockets and thieves in Europe in general, so make sure to never ever ever put a bag down and turn your back on it, or wear a back pack on your back in a crowd (take it off and hold it in front), or put your purse down on the ground without first wrapping it around your foot or your chair leg.  Also never have cash or a camera or anything else of value in your pockets.  Consider investing in a money belt. Be wary around people who look like gypsies (no offense to them, but gypsies were always the ones who stole my stuff :( I'm serious, totally not kidding.  i never had problems in France but in Spain i had 3 bags stolen from me in different ways. And in each situation I was less than half a foot from my bag.  I mean, if you're not touching your purse, be scared. LOL. Europeans think very differently than Americans when it comes to personal belongings and they can pick us silly Americans out of a crowd.  Also, in case of theft, make copies of all your travel documents and leave them in your bag in the hotel.  consider leaving an emergency credit card in the luggage at the hotel in case your main source of money is stolen. 

    ok, I've written a book. If you have any questions message me! I could go on and on and on and........
  • lodonnell616lodonnell616 member
    Fourth Anniversary 100 Comments Name Dropper
    edited December 2011
    Paris is brilliant! Have a great time.

    If you are at all a Sex and the City fan, I highly recommend the restaurant Kong, its the restaurant from the last episode where Carrie meets Petrovsky's ex-wife for lunch.  Food is great, though somewhat expensive and save room for the Mille Feuille for dessert, its AMAZING.

    Another resto recommendation is George on the top floor of the Centre Pompidou, it has a great view of the Eiffel Tower at night.

    Top tip for sightseeing is Versailles (if the weather is nice)...
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  • edited December 2011
    - Montemarte. It's a gorgeous area with lots of little shops, cafes, artists painting, etc. Great for people watching. There's a pizza joint in there (I know, sounds silly) that makes amazing ham & cheese pizza, and there's a little cafe in the main square where all the painters are that my EBF and I used to stop in to for wine and soup.

    - Sacre Couer. It's at the top of the hilll in Montemarte and it's absolutely gorgeous. Prettier than Notre Dame, if you ask me. You get a view of the entire downtown Paris area from the church itself. Just watch for pickpocketers.

    - If you hit the Louvre, skip around. Be sure to hit the Eygptian artifacts, the sculptures, and the Mona Lisa.

    - Make a point to go downtown to see the Eiffel Tower at night. For the first 5-10 minutes of each hour, they have lights that sparkle all over the tower, it's gorgeous.

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  • edited December 2011

    Wow, reading hh's post makes me want to go! I have a mental list of places I want to see before I die. According to BF, it's 3 miles long (he might be right), and Paris is definitely on it!

    I'm sure you'll have an AMAZING trip, and be sure to tell us all about it when you get back!

    He pretty much had me at "hello".
    -- PS I agree with whatever Jeana said --
  • hh581842hh581842 member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    haha I'm glad AnneAndJJ!!!!!! You totally should!!!!  I love France so much!!! And Paris is a "don't miss" location in the world, IMO.  So much history and I love the culture. :) GOOOO!!! and then tell me about it so I can live vicariously through you!! :)
  • hh581842hh581842 member
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Oh and all the fountains should be on this time of year!!!! YAYYYY!!!!!! The first couple times I visited was winter and the fountains were off, and then I came in summer and WOW!! what a difference!! :) 

    Have so much fun!!
  • madanoelmadanoel member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Go to Berthillon - best ice cream ever! Went last September and we ended up there 3 times.  Its sold throughout Paris, but the one at Il Saint-Louis was the best. We would get the rasberry- rose ice cream and sit near the river. it was Perfect!  The one thing we regret the most is not eating enough pastries - so eat up!  And Versailles was amazing - my favorte place.  Loved Paris and cant wait to go back - Have fun!
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