<p>Although I still can’t believe it, we are going to Paris for a week to visit my study-abroad twin. We’ve never been to Europe and although it seems totally reckless to go in this economy, we’re doing it! We found a great budget hotel,we have miles … and the euro is looking better and better. Okay, enough rationalizing!</p>
<p>What are the must sees in Paris? Any great restaurants to recommend? Should we overnight anywhere near Paris or just stay put and enjoy the city? Are there better times/days to get to certain museums?</p>
<p>Tell me everything I should know about spending a week in this wonderful city on somewhat of a budget.</p>
<p>Paris is easy on a budget!. We just got back in Aug. Sounds like you have the hotel. Here are a couple recommendations.</p>
<p>1) Do not take a taxi from the airport to your hotel unless you have more than 2. You can take the train and then the subway. Get a 7 day pass Sun - Sat (you will need a passport size picture…they are not picky about the picture). You could even resize a face picture off your computer and print it out. </p>
<p>2) Food is very expensive. We lived on a lot of crepes and Pizza.</p>
<p>3) Museum pass is a must…if you are seeting a lot of museum.</p>
<p>4) The people are very friendly IF you learn a few phases.</p>
<p>From the Ch. de Gaulle airport, you can take the commuter train (RER) straight into central Paris (Gare du Nord metro station). The train is fitted to accommodate luggage; it’s really very convenient. I should also warn that hotel rooms are tiny. Pack light, otherwise there won’t be room for you and your suitcases.</p>
<p>Museums: The Louvre, of course; the Musee d’Orsay (a converted train station), the Centre Pompidou; there are many other small museums throughout Paris such as the small Musee Picasso (his personal collection).
Visit Notre-Dame, walk around the Ile de la Cite, ile St-Louis, stop by some of the best ice-cream and chocolate shops; visit Fauchon. Window-shop in the rue St-Honore and peek into the haute couture shops.
Visit one of the flea-markets (there are several in the suburbs, accessible by metro or RER). Some are great for clothes (that’s where my niece used to buy hers) and some for antiques.
Walk along the Seine; go to the Latin Quarters. If you visit the Centre Pompidou, walk around the Marais. When I was a child, this was a slum (Marais means marsh) but since it was gentrified, it’s become one of the most expensive areas in Paris. Meanwhile, the Champs-Elysees has long been tawdry with cheap shops. The Arc de Triomphe is still wonderful to see at night when it is lighted.
Go to Montmartre (have you seen the movie Amelie? Watch it before you go, then visit the area). Go to the Sacre-Coeur. Only tourists and folks with young kids go to the Eiffel tower, but the view is pretty spectacular from the top.</p>
<p>If you have a whole week, you might want to take a trip to Versailles or to the Loire valley and tour a chateau or two. I went with my H a long time ago, and along the road were mounds of Golden Delicious apples that had been dumped as a protest against too cheap prices (not as wonderful as when cantaloupes were dumped as protest against cheap imports from Spain ten years earlier!).
Food is expensive in France. I prefer to eat in bistros. Enjoy. I’ll probably be going in March, but for a hectic work-related few days.</p>
<p>Fat Tire Bicycle Tour to Versailles (they also have tours that stay in the city)
Dinner on Rue Princesse, a charming street which has several intimate, non-touristy, moderately priced restaurants, recommended by a Parisian
Picasso Museum (smaller than the other famous museums)
Concert at Saint-Chapelle
Cemetery where Jim Morrison (and others) are buried (just beautiful)
Visit to St Germain des Pres church and neighborhood, where I had lived as a student in 1976</p>
<p>If you need a break from museums and sight seeing, make your way to Cafe De Flore on the Boulevard de St. Germaine on a sunny afternoon - great place to sip an espresso, read Hemingway/Sartre, or people watch.</p>
<p>In Paris on our honeymoon, hub & I took a bus tour of Paris at the beginning of our 6 day trip. That’s a great way to get an overview of the city, plus some historical/cultural context. We now do that in all cities we visit–really a great, informative way to start.</p>
<p>Montmarte is wonderful to see (outdoor artists, cafes, Basilica of the Sacr</p>
<p>Yes, you can take the train into the city. Hold on tight to your belongings because experienced thieves and pickpocket know that jet lagged riders can be easy pickings.</p>
<p>If you’re at all into modern art, go to the Pompideu museum. One of my favorite places in Paris, including the lively environs (including cafes, affordable boutiques) around there (where I had the pleasure of living a few summers ago). </p>
<p>Wonderful way to see and learn about Paris is through Paris Walks tours, which are conducted in English by excellent story tellers. Tours are fascinating, inexpensive, and easy to walk. I’ve taken at least 6 of them. Also took them with my son, who was then in h.s., and also enjoyed them.
[Paris</a> Walks Home](<a href=“http://www.paris-walks.com/]Paris”>http://www.paris-walks.com/)</p>
<p>Get a couple of Rick Steves books. The one on Paris should also have information on day trips. Another one is called Mona Winks. It covers the best art museums and strategies for attacking them. If you are finding the big art museums to be overwhelming, consider the smaller ones dedicated to a single person such as Picasso or Rodin. It is nice to walk away having a real feel for one life.</p>
<p>Another guide book series that we like to carry is Top Ten, probably put out by Eyewitness. It will have things like top ten museums, top ten neighborhoods to walk in, top ten day trips, top ten churches, top ten things to do with kids, top ten parks, etc.</p>
<p>Find a big book store and spend time looking at all the choices. I usually travel with two or three because no one book gives me everything. The big bookstores too have great map selections. I like the smaller laminated ones that have the public transportation routes on one side, as well the public transportation superimposed onto the streets on the other side . With maps too we often buy more than one. By the end of the week you may find you want to split up for a morning and I always feel better if we each have a map.</p>
<p>If the weather is nice you may want to rest for a couple hours in a nice garden like the Luxemburg Garden. You can buy a snack and sit in chairs that available. The people watching is fun. There there is a HUGE fountain where children can rent big toy boats and long poles for pushing them. We were highly entertained.</p>
<p>Paris is very walkable. Make sure you have comfy shoes.</p>
<p>You can take the RER from Charles de Gaulle to St. Michel and walk, about 5/6 blocks, to the hotel. But if I remember correctly, there are many staircases to get out of the RER station onto the street.</p>
<p>Look up the Rodin Museum near Invalides. Small, not crowded, with many Rodin scuptures. A nice outdoor garden too.</p>
<p>You’ve had all the good advice you need, so I’ll just add that the weather is not too cold at the moment, but definitely rainy, so bring raincoats rather than fleecy jackets.
Hope you fall in love with the most beautiful city in the world (yes, I’m biased).</p>
<p>"<br>
PARIS, France (AP) – The city of light has an unfortunate blight: the locals’ reputation for rudeness. That’s why a group of friendly Parisians have banded together to show complete strangers around their Paris, the one not found in travel books – for free.</p>
<p>Christian Ragil of France, left, guides Ju Young Gam of South Korea, as they tour the Trocadero plaza near the Eiffel Tower.</p>
<p>And forget stereotypes of the francais-only French. The Paris Greeters are happy to speak English, or nine other languages of your choosing.</p>
<p>These local volunteers are not certified tour guides, but regular folks eager to show off delicacies at their favorite boulangerie, or point out a tranquil park perfect for watching autumn shades fill in the famous skyline.</p>
<p>“I’ve always heard my American friends say things like, 'Paris is wonderful – except for the Parisians,”’ says volunteer Christian Ragil. “And I always wanted to do something about it.” When he retired, he decided to join th Greeters, which has grown since its inception a year ago into 120 volunteers who have guided 1,100 visitors.</p>
<p>I highly recommend getting out of the city and seeing some small towns. The countryside of France is a different world than Paris. I much prefer it.</p>
<p>Last time we went to Paris we went on a guided walk that we enjoyed very much. If I were to go again i would do more. They are not too expensive and you get to see and learn a little more about the areas of the walks from the guides than you would on your own. The one we did was Monmartre and it started near Blanche metro station and went up towards Monmartre through a cemetary (sounds morbid but actually very interesting) and up through winding hilly streets till we got to Monmartre. We booked it through Expedia.</p>
<p>Slightly more pricey but a lot of fun - we did 2 fat tyre bicycle trips. The one to Versailles was fun. Took the bikes on the train to Versailles. Biked to a wonderful market there where we bought food for a picnic lunch. Then toured Versailles by bike, The other was a night time Segway tour of Paris. It was a blast. Didn’t go into any places but toured round and saw a lot of places and the guide had a lot of suggestions about places we might find interesting.</p>
<p>The French are NOT rude as long as you try a few phrases – s’il vous plait, bonjour, merci, de rien, etc.<br>
An excellent way to keep down costs is to focus on eating breakfast and dinner and to buy cheese, bread, fruit and perhaps meat or yogurt at a little local food stand (all over the place) for your lunch. Or a little nibble or sandwich at a boulangerie / patisserie (bakery / pastry shop).
It’s really a walking city, and the Metro is very easy to use.
Enjoy!</p>
<p>I would say take a Bateau Mouche (a boat trip down the Seine)… it’s a great way to see the city and some of the most famous sights (Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, etc) on your first jet-lagged day. Gives you a lay of the land. You can also enjoy the gorgeous bridges and the barges moored on each side of the river.</p>
<p>Visit Sacre Coeur for a beautiful view of the whole city.</p>
<p>Cheap and delicious: L’as de Felafel in the 3rd arr (on Rue des Rosiers.) Not far from Centre Pompidou.</p>
<p>I think the small museums are best and besides the Picasso & the Rodin (both excellent) I recommend the Carnevalet, the Jaquemart Andree, the Cluny, & Musee Nisim Comondo. Also, the Quai D’Orsay is fantastic.</p>
<p>Cheap and fun is to get a quiche or ‘un sandwich’ or a baguette and some cheeses, and have lunch or dinner in a public place to people watch. There are so many pretty ones: Parc Monceau, The Place des Vosges, the Trocadero, the Luxembourg Gardens, Les Arenes de Lutece are a few scenic spots to “pique-nique.”</p>
<p>For an authentic Parisian moment hit the Salon de The, ‘Angelina’ on rue de Rivoli (easy walk from the Louvre). Very cool old-fashioned tea/hot cocoa place with decadent desserts. French people actually patronize this place. It’s out of a time warp.</p>
<p>“Velib” looks really fun but it’s new so I haven’t tried it… you can rent bikes at kiosks with a credit card deposit and then return them elsewhere in the city at another kiosk…</p>
<p>I would agree with everything in the posts above. There are many things to do and the Parisians are nice. It’s only one in twenty that fit the “rude Parisian” stereotype. Unfortunately that is the one guy (or gal) that people remember when they get home.
Just remember that Paris has been open for business for two thousand years. Imagine seeing all of New York in one week or even your own home town.
It can be too much.
Pace yourself. Do a little of everything. It could take a week to tour the Louvre. Don’t try to see it all in a day. The boat trips and restaurants are a good way to force yourself to relax. By the way there are 30,000 restaurants in Paris, so don’t overdo that either.</p>
<p>vballmom: My daughter loved the Catacombs … it’s on our list!</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions. The trip down the Siene sounds terrific as do the museums. I’m looking into the guided walks which seem to have great reviews. Keep the ideas coming …</p>