Anybody got any tips, hints, or reminiscences that might help someone going to Paris for the first time?

Question

Just for a weekend.

Answer 1

You must see Eiffel Tower, Arc De Trio mph, Notre Dam.  Do all the tourist things - there a reason why - they really are worth a good look.! Take a river trip along the Seine & eat much apple tart and the stuff your self with a crepe or two!

Enjoy , speak some French but be prepared as they will anser you faster than the tapes! Need to get Paris Vister's card - they let you fill in your date from when it starts so if you can be creative you can change the date to get more out of pass!

Answer 2

Don't bother with the Moulin Rouge (if you can only afford to see the outside at least (!), no way could i afford to watch a show there) it was a big disappointment, in the grotty s*x shop area, a tiny windmill and that was that. Also, be preared for some Parisians to be rather unfriendly (certainly in my experience it was the most unfriendly place i have ever visited), especially if you can't speak French very well. But don't let it ruin your holiday, there's so many amazing things to do! Visiting Sacre Coeur just before sunset was great, everyone just hangs around on the big hill it's on, chilling and playing music. Then you can go out for dinner and drinks in Monmartre. If you plan ahead for your trip you can fit so much stuff in, i know you can't see all of Paris in one weekend but you can give it a good try! I would love to go back

Answer 3

keep wallets and purses out of sight - never in a back pocket or outside pocket of backpack - especially on the metro'''' never carry all your money in the same place - likewise passports tickets - pickpockets on some metro lines.

Answer 4

Visit all sights if you can - Montmatre is beautiful. Le sacre coeur and le grande arch is great.

Don't eat in cafe's in Champs elysees very very very expensive. Watch out some cafes have different prices depending on where you sit. Outside is most expensive, then downstairs and upstairs is cheapest. (well it was in the few cafes we went in!)

Don't drive is very very good advice - it's mayhem!

Have a fantastic time!

Answer 5

enjoy! amazing place!

weekend? not long enough!

dysney land???? go get yourself some real history!

Answer 6

wow have fun i wish ii can go there

Answer 7

I would make full use of the metro system, try and pick the sites you want to see ,e.g the louvre will take you a full day just to get around never mind take it all in,I would personally suggest monmatre and sacre coeur

Answer 8

if its winter and snowing;  dont eat yellow snow!

Answer 9

STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...

Right, now that I've got your attention after skimming past all of those other answers, let me give you a few tips which WILL let you get the best out of this city which both my partner and I return to time and time again.

1) Decide how much you want to use the Metro system:

Do you want to do lots of walking; take the metro everywhere?

A 'Carnet' (book of 10 single journeys) is a good money saving option if you're only going to use the metro every now and again however a 'Paris Visite' pass (Travelcard) is much better value if you plan to travel for more than 4 journeys per day. You also get a handy little booklet with the pass that gives you discounts to restaurants and attractions i.e. River Cruise.

2) How long are you there for??

If you are only there for a short time I would recommend you take the tour bus (L'open Tour). There are two companys running open top bus tours in Paris but 'L'open Tour' is supported by the city's transport system and is by far the best. This can be pricey mind you!! Approx £20 for a couple of days but you get to see EVERYTHING and hear about everything by listening to the headphones provided. It's also hop-on hop-off so you can get around at the same time.

If budget is an issue then take bus route 69. This route passes many of the major sites in the city and you'll only need a single ticket (or use of your paris visite pass). Although this doesn't give you live commentry along your route, you definately get a feel for the city and hopefully will inspire you to come back again.

3) What are you planning to eat?

TOP TIP... Stay away from the main tourist routes!!!

You've come to discover PARIS, not the local shopping centre with waitors that have funny accents. Explore the side streets; see where your nose takes you and mark my words, you'll come across a lovely little family run restaurant who are GAGGING to feed you up and pump you full of wine. They'll charge a damned sight less than you'd pay for a place that gives you a view of the Eifel Tower (take a picture of it with you and place it on the table) and the 'Formules' (set menus) give you excellent value for money.

I'm not going to give you any particular links because there are so many out there that tell you anyway. Just trust what I have said and you'll have an incredible time.

Oh and if you get a chance to use some French then do so, but, it's Paris, they KNOW you're foreign, so just put on a smile, say 'Merci' once and a while and they'll be happy!

Good luck!!!!!

:)

Answer 10

Be very careful on the metro..they have some of the best pickpockets in the world, don't think you are too alert to be robbed, they wait for tourists to leave their hotels and follow them onto the metro, sometimes an innocent looking family around you may be a team of pickpockets. The railway stations collect hundreds of wallets with driving licences still in them, the thieves are after cash and cards only. The Paris police are brilliant ,they will automatically put you in touch with a stolen card centre.  Just be warned and enjoy your trip.  The main metro line 1 to the  eiffel tower is the prime target area, but check it out.  Be prepared for a long queue at the eiffel tower, you will see asians pushing their way to the front of the queue, be patient have a good time.

Answer 11

Don't wear a short skirt during the winter months.

I went to Paris for a romantic weekend away in April a few years back. On the first night we arrived we went out for a meal, and I noticed that everyone was staring at me. I was wearing a skirt just above the knee with boots, nothing too tarty!!

But evereyone was looking at me, but I just thought I was being paranoid.

The next night the same thing happened and I started to get really upset, one women even nudged her husband to take a look. So I asked these young girls what it was all about and they said that nobody in Paris wears skirts in the Winter.

Must be just us Brits then!!! Still think it is rude to point and stare. Other than that we had a good time, didn't think the nightlife was that good though.

Answer 12

We found a boat trip at night on the Seine with dinner included was absolutely marvellous for a Saturday night. Good atmosphere, lovely food and wine, plenty of room and entertainment.

Another night we went to the Moulin Rouge but found this to be a bit tacky, with all the tables huddled together and no elbow room.  Food was mass-produced and tasted like it.

Answer 13

Learn a few words of French, such as when asking for directions or buying a metro ticket (get a weekend metro pass), ordering food etc. I read the Davinci Code before I went and it was Ace trying to find all the places as described in the book, (and seeing that there were a few embelishments printed). You can also go on a Davinci Code tours on bike or segway.

Take comfortable shoes because you'll walk for miles and do ALL the sites, you'll only regret it if you don't.

The Metro is brilliant for getting around and you've got to do the Eiffel Towerf at night!

I could go on and on but I wont!

Enjoy yourself!!!

Answer 14

Get a travel card, details here.  http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:2Ecs...

What you see is up to you, but you should not miss the cathedral of Notre Dame, the basilica of Sacré Coeur in Montmatre, the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.  Visit the Louvre on Sunday, when it's free.  Otherwise, use your travel card to travel on the buses and look at everything around you, feasting your eyes.  As Hemingway said, "Paris is a movable feast".  

Bon voyage!

Answer 15

Driving about yourself is suicide.  Also, you'll need to know French obviously.

Answer 16

Paris is a fantastic city and there so much to do. Take an evening cruise along the Seine, you can book your table near the Tower. Oh, and take plenty of cash!! Enjoy.

Answer 17

Buy a "Carnet", pronounced car-nay for travel on the metro (Paris Underground). You'll get 10 tickets (10 journeys), for about 11 euros, real cheap!

Answer 18

Try to coincide your trip with the first weekend of the month. Apparently, many muzeums or attraction are free on that day.

Dunno if it is still the same now

Answer 19

In response to the idea of going to the Louvre on Sundays: Museums in Paris are only free on the first sunday of each month, and not all museums participate  in this scheme. However the Louvre is free if you go on any friday evening - it is open late. Its very quiet then so you won't have to queue to see the mona lisa etc.

Answer 20

Bring plenty of money and very few morals

Answer 21

it can be a lovely city. I think it's good to go with a significant other or a group.

Answer 22

Make sure you wear comfy footwear when you go shopping- that champs Elysees is soo looong whether window shopping or having a shopping spree ( guess that depends on the size of yr wallet) it's soo great!

Have a Lil breakdown of the exchange rate- so you know if you really ARE getting a good bargain

Get a travelcard for the metro- and download the map and track your journey from the airport to where you're staying-so you will know what to look out for

Get a phrase book and actually learn how to say those important phrases properly- otherwise you could be subject to rude looks

Find a supermarket to save £'s and if buying booze better to get it there than in duty free

Oh and have a great time- Don't forget the Eiffel Tower,and yep the queue to get to the top may be loong- but sooo worth it- AMAZING!!

Answer 23

the french people are rude/unhappy.and hid your money under the soap.the french dont go near it.[french bath]

Answer 24

It's full of French people and they are very Gallic.

Answer 25

Strongly reccomend Hoilday Inn Xpress, Porte La Valette. Metro station outside, McDonalds 50mtrs, good italian restaurant if you leave hotel, turn left and first street on left, about 200mtrs on right.

Hotel also got fully secure undergorund parking if you are driving.

Don't try to see too much, Monmartre/Sacre Coeur good, then walk full length Champs Elysee, both side, and watch life go by!!

Answer 26

1. Use the Metro and RER services as much as possible - they are relatively clean, very efficient and ludicrously cheap. Get a Carnet (book of 10 tickets) or Carte Visite (day/week pass) from any Metro or RER station.

TIP: RER suburban trains are much faster but stop less frequently. If you need to get across town in a hurry, RER is the way to go.

2. Eating: take the time to walk 10 or more minutes from any tourist destination to find where proper French people are eating. The food will be (a) cheaper or same price and (b) infinitely better. (eg: Near Eiffel Tower/Pl. Concorde: walk 10 minutes from Place de la Concorde to Pl. Mexico for "Le Kiosque", which I recommend).

There is, however, one place that's both a tourist destination AND still the regular hangout of locals - Cafe Les Deux Moulins, as seen on screen in breakout movie hit Amelie. It's a real, working cafe, the regulars from the meat market across the street are still there along with Japanese tourists and curious film buffs, and nothing's changed except an added special on the menu (giant and delicious Creme Brulee). They used to have the autographed gnome from the movie as a thank-you, but someone nicked it. Find it at 15 rue Lepic, nearest Metro is "Blanche". It's also a good gateway to:

3. Montmartre - tourist heaven and the best place to view Paris from above. You'll need to dodge rabid packs of street artists, but do go - especially to the Church of the Sacred Heart. If you want to stay in the area, look up Timhotel Monmartre on the net. It's tiny (even by Euro standards, REALLY REALLY tiny) but great to wake up to.

4. If you have a full day to spare, don't miss the Palace of Versailles. Forget Buck House, forget Hearst Castle, forget P. Diddy's pad - you have never seen anywhere as ludicrously indulgent as this place. For example - most people just buy a wench or milkmaid's outfit for... ahem... "playtime". Marie-Antoinette had an entire REPLICA VILLAGE to keep things in character. And - to be honest - that's the gem of the tour. Walt Disney would have killed to get something that surreally beautiful on screen...

But beyond the sheer awe-inspiring largesse, there is true beauty to be found here as well. Definitely go if you can, but bear in mind it will take a full day to itself.

5. TOURIST TRAP WARNING:

Moulin Rouge:  A grindingly dull girlie show of the kind Vegas stopped doing decades ago, worse food than you'd find on British Rail in the bad old days and a feeling of desperation and terminal nostalgia. And if you didn't feel you got mugged enough at the ticket office, be aware that the Pigalle area can get very dangerous after around 10pm.

6: GOOD TO KNOW:

Wrap up warm when going up the Eiffel Tower this time of year - queues for both entry and each level's lifts are lengthy, and due to an accident of geography there's not much between you and the North Pole. Certainly feels like it.

If you want a good place to hang out French-style on a warm day, grab a picnic find the park next to the Boulevard St-Michel. Stunningly beautiful, and filled with the gentle hum of young dreamers.

Answer 27

Plan your weekend and what are the most important things that you would like to see,take your camera and take in all the sights and record them for the future.Ive been twice and still dont think ive seen everything that i wanted to, there never seemed enough time! Enjoy!

Answer 28

As others have said, the Metro (underground) is a fantastic way of getting around. To use it, look on the map for the stop you are heading for, and then note the station at the end of that particular line - Chateau de Vincennes, for example. Then, find the way to the platform by following signs that say "Direction Chateau de Vincennes". Some of the stations (especially Chatelet) are huge, and you seem to have to walk for miles.

I wouldn't spend too much time on the Champs Elysees, apart from visiting  the Arc de Triomphe.

Museums are sometimes closed on Mondays or Tuesdays; they are often cheaper, or free, on Sundays, so expect crowds.

The Green Michelin Guide to Paris is a good guidebook, as is the Time Out Guide to Paris.

A smile and a cheery "Bonjour M'sieu/Madame" to waiters and shop assistants is usually appreciated.

Service is usually "compris" - included - but it's customary to leave any minor coins which arrive with your change in cafes/restaurants.

Answer 29

Paris is a great city, but like any other, beware of the beggars.

Mainly Eastern European and North African, they will pester you for money. They are not averse to using small children as a tool to show how hungry / destitute they are, but in reality they are doing very nicely on the proceeds of the gullible. Ignore them and have a great weekend.

Answer 30

Stay in St Germain. Its a beautiful area with great bars, and winding streets - truely parisian! Dont bother with the Champe Des Elysees, not much there. The Louvre is worth a quick visit - but you are definitly best staying in St Germain, I am going back there with my girlfriend next month. Also - catch the eurostar, much easier than flying! Enjoy!!