Travel
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Help me plan Paris
I did a quick scan of the past few pages and didn't see a complete Paris recommendation, so here goes. We have 5 days to spend there in mid-November, arriving morning on day 1 and leaving morning of day 6. We're thinking of doing one or two day trips to Versailles and maybe Disneyland Paris but mostly exploring Paris.
What recommendations do you have for me? Hotels? Restaurants? Other day trips that are not to miss? Anything else??
Re: Help me plan Paris
Ditto skipping Disney.
What do you guys like to do? I have a BA in Art History so I will go to museums until my feet are numb, but that isn't for everyone. If you do like museums, buy a museum pass. You get to skip the lines and that can be a lifesaver.
The Louvre is open on Monday (when most other museums are closed) and the Musee D'Orsay is open on Tuesday when the Louvre is closed. Don't even try to go to the Musee D'Orsay on Tuesday...it is ridiculously packed. But do go to the D'Orsay -- wait until 2 pm after the morning crowds die down -- because it is a great space with beautiful paintings (Monet, Van Gogh, Manet)
If being cooped up in a museum isn't your thing, try the Rodin Museum. Many of the pieces are set in the gardens around the building, so it isn't like your typical museum. I also like the Orangerie. Small museum with two amazing rooms of Monet paintings -- totally worth a look.
The Eiffel Tower is really beautiful - even better than pictures convey. Be sure to be watching it at the top of the hour starting at 9pm when they light it up with flashing lights. The sparkling effect is gorgeous and so romantic.
Notre Dame is ok. Saint Chapelle is better.
This article suggests some great places in St. Germain:
http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/insiders-guide-to-paris
Another rec for the museum pass. You may just need the 3 day one, but it's so convenient to have and for us there were neat smaller places we checked out that we probably would have skipped if we didn't have it.
I'd encourage you to not overschedule yourselves. A lot of the charm of Paris is just wandering around and hanging out. I took my third trip there last year when my husband got a last minute opportunity to go to a conference, and since we'd already seen a lot of the big sights on our first two trips we weren't sure what we were going to do with ourselves. But I ended up really falling in the love with it that time. I have blog posts about two of my trips if you like to take a look: Amsterdam and Paris, Paris and the Loire Valley.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.
Mark Twain
My Travel Blog
Realized that I forgot to mention the Christmas Markets in Paris.
These are wonderful and depending on your dates, you might just get to catch them. The one I have visited in the past is the one on the Champs-Elysees and is very fun. It is also a great way to get presents for your family that no one else can duplicate! Plus the hot wine and snack food is terrific.
http://en.parisinfo.com/shows-exhibitions-paris/christmas-in-paris/christmas-markets/
If you go at night, there is a very cute Santa in a Sleigh thing that happens.
I also wanted to tell you not to be worried about communicating. My high school French allows me to read signs and newspapers well enough and many places have things in English. Plus, in most tourist areas, people speak English. Smile, say Bonjour and Merci when appropriate and you will find most Parisians to be very nice.
Bring layers for the cold. I found gloves and a good scarf to be essential during a trip last December and they take up very little room in your suitcase.
And my big piece of foreign travel advice: Carry the card from your hotel with you at all times. Then, if you have to get a cab, just hand the card to the driver and they can get you where you need to go. That way you aren't worrying that your bad pronunciation will cause you to run up a big cab fare.
Forgot to add: You can buy the Museum Pass at the airport. You can buy it for a certain number of days - 2, 4 or 6 days. The passes don't start until you put your name and start date on the back. One big plus for these passes? If you need a restroom, just duck into a museum.
Oh, and the Musee D'Orsay? Skip the stupid long line on the river side. Go around to the other side and go in entrance C. With your pass, you can usually just slip right on in.
Be prepared to go through metal detectors at the Musee D'Orsay and Saint Chapelle.
And if you want a fabulous view, climb the towers of Notre Dame. That is where everyone gets those pictures of Paris with the gargoyles!
Final thing (can you tell I love Paris?)
Musee Rodin just started these late nights on Wednesdays. They light up the gardens and I can only imagine how beautiful it would be to stroll though them on a chilly winter night!
So, my husband & I actually just went in June for part of our honeymoon (we went to the Cotswolds in England, London, Paris & Munich). We used Airbnb and rented someone's flat. It was adorable, literally two blocks from the Sacre Coeur Basilica and a block or two from the Metro, and we spent $95 a night. It was also a bit small and up a few flights of stairs (that's what it's like living in Paris!), but it was fantastic to be able to cook our own breakfasts. If you'd like, I can PM you the link to the place we stayed!
If you check out other places on Airbnb, definitely make sure you go through the reviews--I've heard odd things, but we stayed in Airbnb places in London & Paris and they were both great experiences.