Paris

[ErinH]

Who's been?

My wife and I are going with my folks sometime next year. Dates are being worked out. We're doing a 2 week vacation, going through Germany and spending 3 nights in Paris. I've been to Germany 3 times, but never to Paris. My wife's been researching like crazy, and we spent the weekend looking over spots. I do know we're going to Disney Paris.

Our time is limited, but are there any must sees that you guys recommend?

 

[10010011]

Three days is short for Paris. My wife and I spent ten days there a couple years ago and did not have time to see everything.

I would say besides the Eiffel Tower you should see Sacra Coeur and The Louvre, and Notre Domme. I am sure your wife will love the shopping the Champs Elysées at night.

If you are into it while you are up in Montmartre (where Sacra Coeur is) check out the Salvador Dalí museum.

 

[jostenmeat]

Hmmm. I lived in Paris for a couple of monts, and in France for a couple of years. Unfortunately, Im not the biggest fan of Paris.

Beware the dog-poop. Seriously. When getting an espresso, make sure to YELL out good day one cafe please, and when you're done, YELL out thank you very much and au revoir.

Montmartre is a nice view I suppose (think Amelie, but not quite that pretty, ok?). But the 18th district is not very exciting. The 16th is the richest area. I think being central would be best on short time. You don't want to have your strongest memory being crammed with funky smells in the metro. If you ar central, you can walk a lot. Bring good shoes for it. I also recommend a map like this, but that's an old version. They should be very affordable and found at any major bookstore there I imagine. The maps you pick up for free at hotels are missin waaaay too much.

The cemetaries are kinda cool. There's pere lachaise (sp?) and montparnasse. Well, the first is much better with Chopin, Jim morrissey replete with cigarette butt offerings, Oscar Wilde with his balls knocked off. Lesser known musical greats like Fournier, Robert Casadesus (whose wife I saw crying over his grave). wow this is morbid. My favorite grave was Alekhine's at montparnasse, even if he was an unlikable nazi sympathizer. One of the great chess greats. Whatever, cemetaries are not really worth going out of your way for I suppose.

If you want to see what eating in the most crammed conditions are, check out Chez Papa. I would go there when I needed something closer to american sized portions on a student type budget. Its sardine packed though.

The most beautiful things about France that I ever saw were the Alps and Bretagne. The latter is always rainy, but on a non-rainy day its somewhat surreal. There are no words for the Alps, that's coming from someone who's seen a fair share of national parks in the US. However, it takes times, perhaps a lot of driving, and best would be to know someone lucky enough to live in that area. Otherwise, unforgettable.

If I think of something, I'll let you know. Have fun planning!

 

[aberkowitz]

I personally agree with Josten- I love France but I personally despise Paris. That said, it's definitely worth a visit at least once.

If you have time for only 1 museum experience then I say skip the Louvre and go to Musee D'Orsay. It's not even close how much better of an experience D'Orsay is. The Mona Lisa is highly overrated and you can barely see the painting behind the 47 layers of protective glass and the hordes of tourists.

The Eiffel Tower is nice, but go early in the morning so you don't have to deal with lines. It's NOT worth 2 hours of waiting.

Your one "must go" trip is out to Versailles. I have seen castles all over Europe (Belgium, Germany, Austria, UK), but Versailles is still the most beautiful that I've ever seen. The gardens will blow you away- I could spend hours just walking them.

Is Euro Disney really that high of a priority? I've personally heard nothing but bad things, and in my personal opinion I think it's silly to travel all the way to Europe to go to a Disney-style property when you can have the same experience on both coasts of the US- and probably much cheaper here too!

Having just come back from Italy less than 1 month ago, you need to be prepared that things will be expensive. The exchange rate is very rough right now, so many services and entry fees (e.g. taxis, museums, Disney) are going to seem ridiculously priced in some cases. I would recommend planning ahead for activities that you can do for free, or at least for the best bang for the buck. I'm no penny-pincher when I travel, in fact I like to pay extra for luxury, but when they're charging you $25 per person for access to a museum or a church where you may spend 2 hours at the most it really makes you think twice.

1 final point, be aware that the flying requirements around liquids have made duty free shopping more of a challenge. If you are connecting in the US on your way home (e.g. Paris to NYC to your home city), any liquor/wine that you purchase in a duty free shop will have to be packed in your checked luggage on your domestic flight to your final destination. You can run the risk of covering your clothes with red wine !! On that note, there's almost zero advantage to buying duty free these days on the Continent due to exchange rates. Any tax arbitrage is totally eaten away by the weak dollar.

 

[jamie2112]

I have been to Paris at least 20 times in the last 14 years and Parisiens are hated by all French people and all of europe. It is a very pretty city but the people suck! Sorry but to be blunt thats how they are. And they hate Americans as well........The south of France is much nicer.....just my opinion

 

[mike c]

-try to catch the da vinci code louvre tour ... (we weren't able to catch it because we took the standard tour)
-the eiffel tower is nicer from the outside than the inside ... (up top, it's like being rats in a cage) ... crappy food inside is ultra expensive.
-i agree the versailles gardens are great ...
-notre dame was pretty boring, but its a place tourists have to go to ONCE and of course have pictures to prove that you were there ...

 

[rnatalli]

Go to Italy instead

I think people have mentioned the common things to see in Paris and they're definitely worth a visit at least once.

 

[Dan]

My one Paris trip was the opposite of what I expected (rude and snotty). The people were helpful and friendly (a cute wife helps) especially when she tried out her high school French. They appreciated the effort. I speak no French but can read a menu OK. Dress well. 300 pound Americans in sweat suits asking directions to McDonalds get treated as they deserve. Dress decently, ask politely and it's fine. I agree about skipping the Louvre and going to d' Orsee instead. Mona Lisa is highly overrated unlike say the David in Florence or the Sistine chapel which are better than expected. Versailles is not to be missed. Same for Notre Dame. Wandering the beautiful resdiential areas on foot is great.

Funny Paris story: We went to a Michelin one star restaurant one night. My wife tried to make a reservation but she panicked on the phone and could only ask if anyone spoke English. This was greeted with a curt "No". She managed to get the reservation made. We were jet lagged so we came earlier (7pm) than any European and were the only ones in the place so we were obviously the ugly Americans. However we didn't give up, ordered intelligently, picked out an apprpriate wine which pleased the Sommelier. Towards the end they began to lighten up, the chef came out to say hello and of course everyone in the palce spoke excellent English.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

If I were going to Paris, my #1 destination would be the Georges Pompidou modern art center, followed by the Louvre.
Don't expect to see many Parisians at Disney Paris, I have heard that they shun it!

 

[ErinH]

We are Disney nuts. I actually didn't care to go mainly due to the expense but my wife is very persistent.

The Louvre is on her list, too.

Versailles is not, so we might look into that.

Eiffel Tower is a must, obviously.



As for the rest of the trip:
We're hoping the exchange rate starts tipping in our favor before we go. I've been to Germany 3 times, my mom has been at least 14 in as many years. She goes once a year. No idea why... she just loves it. *shrugs*
So, I'm not too worried about Germany at all. I'm pumped to hit Neuschwanstein again. My wife hasn't been there, so I'm thrilled to take her there. Munich is on the list. The Alps is on there. A few others. We're skipping Berlin as I've never cared much for it. Rhotenberg is a must for Christmas items, lol.

Should be a fun trip. I personally don't care to go to Paris at all but it's my wife's dream so I'm just wanting to get it over with (is that mean?).

I think we're going to England in 2011. Then back to Maui in 2012.

 

[aberkowitz]

I personally don't care to go to Paris at all but it's my wife's dream so I'm just wanting to get it over with (is that mean?).

I've always found it fascinating how many women have the "dream" of going to Paris who then end up being incredibly disappointed by it... I think it's a symptom of watching too many old movies !!

Paris of 2008 is not the romantic and culture beacon that housed expats like Hemmingway, Stein, and Pound in the 20s and 30s, or even the student friendly artsy community of the 60s. It is a dirty, overtly racist, over commercialized place (really a shell of what it used to be) that still happens to be the home of some of the greatest art and food in the world. As long as you don't go in with grand expectations of being blown away, you'll have a great time.

One other recommendation- if you can afford it, go out to a starred Michelin restaurant, particularly a 2 or 3 star if possible. There are very few of these that exist in the world, and having been to a couple 2 star restaurants in NYC- I can vouch for the fact that they are worth every penny.

 

[ErinH]

Guess I need to learn French, huh?

From what I'm being told the French don't like people who try to speak English, but they do help those out who at least try to speak French.

 

[aberkowitz]

Guess I need to learn French, huh?

From what I'm being told the French don't like people who try to speak English, but they do help those out who at least try to speak French.

The key is to know a few important phrases and not act like a stupid tourist. This is more important in Paris than in any other city I've been in- either in the US or around the world. Also- buy a tourguide (a good one like Fodors or Frommers) that will explain certain restaurant customs (e.g. tipping and water on the table). The service you receive is immensely different if you follow their customs as opposed to what we're used to here in the US.

 

[mazersteven]

I have nothing but great things to say about Paris and the people of Paris.

Here is a thread from Sound and Vision. I made a few recommendation in the thread. Hope the information is useful.

http://forums.soundandvisionmag.com/audiovideo/board/message?board.id=37&message.id=96345&query.id=12832#M96345

 

[jostenmeat]

Erin,

a clarification about avoiding the metro. Yeah, its affordable, and will get you where you need to go. Its just that most of the routes are underground. You get to see nothing in between destinations. Even among Parisians do they try to get a place more centrally so that they can walk to wherever they need to go. Its a totally different experience walking around compared to taking the metro. I know this seems extremely obvious, but I wanted to clarify just in case.

Museums, I've been to nearly all of them. My favorite part of the Louvre is the Egyptian area with the cool caskets that held mummies, etc. I will also recommend the modest museums dedicated to Monet and Rodin. Of course, you can take a drive outside of Paris to see Monet's old residence, where IIRC they still pick up all of the foliage by hand?! And if you ever make it to Amsterdam... that's where my favorite museums lie, on Museumstraat where the Van Gogh, Stadelijk, and Rijks all are. Not sure on spelling there!! lol

For a creepier experience in Paris, you can go down into the catacombs and see more piled up human skulls and femurs than you can imagine. I believe off the Denfert-Rocherau RER perhaps.

Yeah, trying to speak a bit of french is the right thing to do. Its not about not speaking English; I've seen people from other lands speaking some crazy Eastern european language, fully expecting the poor ticket booth operator to understand. If I was working a stand in the US, I'd be annoyed if some random person started making demands in German for instance...

This is making me miss Europe a bit. I haven't been back since summer of '02.

-jostenmeat