Looking at taking the Mrs in Oct for our 25th Wed Ani. Never been so if anyone has been any places to stay or avoid, areas to avoid, except for the normal anything worth visiting? Ta
The problem is that there are an awful lot of French people in Paris and they walk around as if they own the place
I recommend Brasserie Le Suffren near the eiffel tower. if you have a main dinner of the trip i'd say look for more expensive/better. but this place is great for a casual bite.
I went with that bitchthatifuckinghate now, we staying in École Militaire area. From there it is a very short walk to Eiffel Tower, or to the River Seine, which many of the things are located on. Things that I would NOT recommend doing: - Using the metro system: It's full of pick pockets, crowded, very hot and you will get agitated - Don't bother with the Montparnasse tower, views are better saved for the Eiffel Tower - Don't Spend All Day at the Louvre or Musée d'Orsay (they are soooo big, you'll waste your time in there) Things that I WOULD recommend doing: - Get the river boat around the area, as many of the things are on it, they stop right by the entrance and it's nicer to travel around Paris on. It's a little bit more expensive, but you will see the Statue of Liberty on the trip. Get the bus too, as you see some decent places - Go to the Latin quarter to eat dinner (as it's reasonable priced). A lot of places you don't get a feel for how expensive it is until you sit down and say "HOW MUCH?" after looking at the menu - Eiffel Tower at night; I done it as the sun was setting, and it was amazing view. Pre-book going up as to avoid the queues - Walk up Montmartre to Sacré-Cœur, you pass some amazing antiques shops, art places where you can get caricatures done - Get a padlock of a 'love message' and lock it to Ponte des Artes bridge (albeit I heard the railings collapsed because it got too heavy) - Louvre and Musée d'Orsay (but not too long) a couple of hours tops in each - Marché aux Fleurs (it's a flower market and open all days) but it's quite good - Art market stalls (along the River Siene near Notre Dame); I brought some very good unique art work there for decent price - Notre Dame, you can go in for free, but it costs to go to the top. Sacré-Cœur is free to climb to the top so would do it there - Arc de Triomphe and walk the Champs-Élysées doing some window shopping - Royal Gardens walk around All I got to say, is I hope that you have your walking boots ready. It does seem like that there is a lot to do, but a lot is located around each other. If you do in one day, the river boat, you'd probably cover about six of them. When you walk up Montmartre to Sacré-Cœur you'd end up going past Moulin Rouge and a couple of other places. The only thing I didn't quite like was the Parisians were quite rude. Metro system if you do go on it, it's incredibly easy to navigate. SNFC is the overland, but runs through the centre too (usually grey colour). Metro lines are from A to G (with numbers denoting their final destination).
It's also one of those cities that you can do as much or as little as you want. In total I've been there three times, and I enjoyed just walking around finding those little places (because I've done all the main tourist attractions). There's tonnes of churches, I stumbled across Saint-Sulpice (one from Da Vinci code), when wandering the Luxembourg quarter, on the way to Les Invalides (where Napoleon is buried). The Palace of Versailles is quite a distance outside of Paris from what I can remember; I was six when I saw the Hall of Mirrors, and at the time, thought it was s***, but then what six year old thinks that art and architecture is good, over their Sega Game Gear and Sonic The Hedgehog.
Avoid Calais, and don't not travel over there in a large lorry. You might come back with some new friends.
Montmartre is the only place in Paris I would recommend. Find a nice bar and spend all your days there
I worked in Paris on two occasions once for 8 years and most recently, in 2010, for a year. I would use the Metro to get around (and also the RER) for trips within the peripherique (the Paris ring road). There are pick pockets but no more than you get on the tube or when palace or Milwall turn up at the Valley. If you remember to take care then it is alright. The carnet tickets work well if you are over for a short period and will also work on the buses and trams. The catacombs at Denfert Rochereau are worth a trip if you like the macabre, as is a trip out to St Denis to see the Basillica where they have the heart of the last king on display - (a couple of kilometres from the centre). Do go to the Musee de l'orangerie in the jardins des Tuileries and see the Monet water lilies since they are far better than the Louvre. The tour de Montparnasse is worth a visit and considerably cheaper than the metal monstrosity (Victor Hugo was right - the best view in Paris is from the restaurant in the Eifel tower since you cant see it from there). Les Invalides (the old military hospital and now a museum) is worth a visit as is the Rodin museum nearby. There are numerous good places to eat and to stay but the central areas around the Opera and Champs Elysee can be extortionate. If you like interesting cuisine Safran which is a restaurant in Montrouge has excellent Persian food. I stay in hotels just outside the peripherique (the Paris Sud near Porte d'Orleans or the Novotel at the Stade de France are quite well priced but if you want central and are interested in unusual the Hotel de Fleurie just off the Boulevard St Germain is and interesting hotel if you like Tromp l'oeil. The restaurants at the Stade de France are mostly modern but one does have its own brewery and another, le 3eme mi temps in avenue Jules Rimet, is very friendly but booked when their is an event on at the Stade. The Parisians are much more polite if you try to speak their language and they will mostly respond in English since they recognise that you are trying. If you start speaking in English then they will ignore you as we do with foreigners in London. If you don't speak the language take a phrase book and try - if you do and are a little rusty try anyway. France outside of Paris is much more friendly but the same goes for every capital city in the world since as the business centre people do not believe the have the time to be friendly.
You haven’t said how you’re travelling. If by car and planning to stay in a banlieue (suburb) and metro in, be careful where you park. I parked in a station car-park and didn’t realise it was near an HLM – the massive complexes full of African immigrants. Needless to say, car was broken into. If train into Gare Du Nord look out for the characters listed below. Parisiens have a reputation for being rude, don’t take it personally. If you’re in a store they are trained to ignore you and carry on talking amongst themselves. Don’t wait for them to finish, they won’t, just say “Bonjour Madame” and they will stop and attend to you as if nothing has happened. Similarly if you walk into a small store say Bonjour everyone will respond similarly and you’ll be onside. Watch out for aggressive street sellers around the Eiffel Tour and some other sites (usually African), aggressive beggars (usually Roma), aggressive waiters (usually French) but they can be brought onside by saying Bonjour Monseuir when they rock up to your table. Try to speak a little French, they appreciate you trying and will usually respond in English. Don’t try and they can’t understand a word of English and will ignore you. Also, beware of pick-pockets at tourist sites and on the metro, also the distraction method where someone will spill something on you and try to help you but are really helping themselves. I hope I don’t sound too negative but nothing spoils a break more than a bad experience, better to be aware now, if it happens it won’t be such a shock.
yes... exactly how we ended up with loic nego, that goalie (cant be bothered to look up his name) from hungary, the other one - Yohann Thuram
a cab from gare du nord should cost you 20eur, do not take the tourist rates of about 40-60eur. tell them that you know it costs less. 20 will get you to the tower.
I've never had a bad experience in Paris. I can only do a bit of schoolboy French (Bonjour, C'est combien? Deux bier si vous plait!) and generally, trying to speak French goes down well. Apart from that, Paris is a lovely city, but with everything a big city has these days. Try and be polite and enjoy the place. (I'm off to Eurodisney at the start of october, and I'll try to squeeze in a day in the city whilst there). Recommend a boat on the Seine, and a large brandy after seeing the Mona Lisa through the crowds. You can organise trips to Versailles or even the Loire castles if you are restless, but really, there's enough to just strolling the streets. Have a great time.
All booked now, just need to pre book the E Tower Booking.com have a deal with the river trip as well, and you don't have to do the river the same day its any time pass.. Hotel very close to the E Tower and 200 yards from the nearest Metro so all good. She will be over the moon, want to tell her now as its weird at her place of work 4 people are celebrating 25 years, she come home saying this one is doing this that one is going here, and we are doing nothing LOL, so she thinks
