Going to paris, please need lots of tips and advice HELP?

Question

Are french people wierd to tourists?

Should i learn french?

Where are some great places to go?

How much time would you reckon to go for?

Thanks guys, best answer will get ten points!

Answer 1

The French are generally indifferent to tourists.

Yes, you should learn French although you'll do perfectly well even if you don't.

Any good guide book will list all the famous sights.

A trip of at least ten days is best.

Answer 2

Buy the Eyewitness tourbook for Paris. It gives a great overview of the city and details on the sights. Depending how deluxe you want to be. I suggest staying in a cheap clean hotel near a metro station. I stayed in a hotel across the street from the Gare du Nord. The room was tiny. but the beds were comfortable. and I was near a bakery wine store and two good restaurants. It was called like Hotel du Nord I think...or like Hotel Gare du nord. It would be good if you learned a few vital phrases in french but, if you stay near most of the tourist areas you should be fine. Almost every restaurant waiter that I dealt with spoke english. It would also be good if you knew your numbers so when you pay for stuff. I was there for four days and it was fantastic. Versailles and the gardens there are a must if you are there in th summer!

Glad to be of help!

Answer 3

I have always heard that the French would be rude to tourists, particularly Americans. But when I was in Paris, I only met maybe one or two people who were rude. A couple were rather indifferent, but most were generally very warm and friendly.

Learning basic French would definitely be helpful, but if you're in the big touristy areas you'll do just fine only knowing English. Many restaurants have English menus, and many will speak to you in English. Of course, you should say "Merci" and "Excusez-moi" to be polite.

I was there for 10 days, and it was very long...but very short, at the same time. I was very homesick, so the last few days after we'd seen the "main" things were very difficult on me as I just wanted to get home. But at the same time, I wish I'd stayed longer and just wandered and experienced more.

I loved the Louvre, definitely go to that. The Eiffel Tower, of course...oh, and go to the Catacombs if you can. I wanted to, but they were closed and I was so mad about that. Sacre Couer is amazing, too. Ride the metro, I just found that so much fun. Walk down by the Seine, definitely. At the end of the Garden des Tuilieries there is an amazing place to get crepes, definitely get one there!

Answer 4

I found you might need a bit of French under your belt....I took it for around a year at school and this was useful.....although people still spoke in words I had no idea about at times! So just smile and nod and move on......

I spent 5 nights in Paris and found that a good length of time to see the main sites....but there is still quite a bit to see and do.

Places I liked were Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle ( stained glass is wow!), the Louvre....boy is that big!, Eiffel tower...hey its corny but you gotta say you went up it...Arc de Triomphe ( great views), Sacre Couer ( again great views), Pare Lechaise cemetary....its really interesting with lots of famous people buried there like Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Chopin....free entry from memory but you can buy a map at the entrances.

Versailles was worth a look....its actually quite empty inside. I went on a half day tour ( eg viator) and our tour leader was great at telling us the background and I got a lot more out of it than my sister who went and thought...what the hey?....but its pretty ginormous.

There are lots of parks and museums ( you can get a museum pass if you want to go to a few and it can save waiting in long queues especially for the Louvre..you just go into the pre paid one...if you have bought your ticket already... I remember you could buy them from lots of places around the city).

Get a good book and look in it beforehand to see whats there. There is a LOT to see and do and its worth getting your head around it and go in with open eyes.