| Vacation in Paris Monuments and museums If you visit Paris, then you will not doubt want to see some of the museums, some of the churches adn other landmarks. You could spend your entire stay just visiting the Louvre museum. The corresponding subway station is interestingly decorated. You do not want to miss the "Champs-Elysees", a large avenue that extends from the "Place de la Concorde" with its obelisque and its fountains to the "Arc-de_Triomphe". You could have probelms on the 14th of July where there is a large military parade and numerous people watching it. The Eiffel tower is also quite interesting especially if the weather is clear. You can make wonderful pictures of Paris seen with a bird's eye view. You can take a tour of Paris on boats on the Seine river during the day. In the evening, they also have diner-cruises (on les "bateaux mouches"-litteraly fly boats), you can see all of the monuments lit up. Very romantic!! Public transportation in Paris is an interesting experience. The subway does not suffer from traffic jams like busses. Be careful, there are pickpockets near the main train stations. Your wallet should not be in your backpack... There is a sophisticated magnetic ticket system with gates that open to let only one person through. To go through with a suitcase, you must push the suitcase in front of you. If you are pulling it in back of you, you will go through and your suitcase will get squeezed by the mechanism.... |
 Eiffel Tower in Paris, France |
| Cabs To travel inside Paris, there
are cabs(taxis).
You cannot simply wave at them even though this can sometimes
work. They are legally obliged to pick you up at some special
stations that are normally very frequent. Hotels will order cabs
for you. If you are 3 or 4 persons using them does not cost much
more
that the subway and they are more comfortable of course. If you
go outside Paris, the rates shoot up fantastically. Hotels in Paris can be quite expensive and it is a challenge to find what corresponds to your needs. There are many sites that offer hotels in Paris at all rates. There are very few bed and breakfast places (B&B) but there are some. You can also find discount hotel sites for Paris. Beware, many sites pretend to give discount rates on rooms when in fact they just offer no discount whatsoever. You'll need to work very hardto find the best for your money. Last minute bookings are often quite interesting. It means however that you cannot book until 2 or three weeks before the intended stay. Takes guts! One of the sites I use to get hotel rooms is www.ratestogo.com. A nice feature of this site is the fact that you can visualize prices in the currency of your choice. Like with any internet reservation, it is sound practice to check by phone that the reservation went through. You can also find sites to rent furnished apartments in hte heart of Paris on a daily or weekly basis, see for example citadines apart hotels. These are quite convenient when a group of people are travelling. Some of these are equipped with a kitchen and you would then be able to fix simple meals which is sometimes a welcome rest from restaurant food. Restaurants and "bistros" are all over Paris. Prices vary enormously from one place to another, so does the quality of the food. Normally, the "menus" are displayed outside the restaurant with prices and often an approximate English translation. Drinks with the meal can be quite expensive, possibly outrageous. While they often will try to sell you a whole bottleof wine, many places now offer wine by the glass ("vin au verre", pronounce vin o ver). You do not get automatically a glass of water. If you ask for water, they will offer you a choice of bottled mineral water fro which you get charged. You may be able to get tap water sometimes (ask for "une carafe d'eau"pronounce uenkaraf d'o), cool but no ice. Tips in restaurants, hotels are always included in the price by law. There are restaurant chains like Bistro Romain, Chez Clément, Hippopotamus with all inclusive menus. You will find many of them disseminated in town. You can look them up on internet to see what they offer or where they are located. While not the most original places, they provide pleasant places to go to when you are tired of experimenting. They also have the advantage of being open late at night, like until 3 or 4 am. Markets Be sure you visit some of the open markets. You will see food stuff that you've never seen before. One of these markets is located "rue Mouffetard". It is on every morning (10am-1pm) and afternoon (4-7pm) except Sundays and Mondays. It is not the only one of course and there are many other open air markets. The mood is quite interesting. There is also a flower market ("marché aux fleurs"). Theatres and shows Near the church of "la Madeleine", there is a kiosk, where you can get in the morning tickets for shows on the same evening. While it helps for some theater shows if you understand French, many shows are geared towards the tourist, are mostly visual and can be attended by anyone. Around the church, there are luxury shops where outrageously expensive food is available (look at the price of caviar in the "caviar shop"!!) Shopping You can really find lots of places to shop. From departments stores to luxury shops and jewelry. Paris by night You can find tours with traditional night activities including diner at the Eiffel tower restuarant, cabaret shows, scenic cruises on the Seine river. Beware, a bottle of champagne in some places could bust you credit card... |
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