Going to Paris!

[Mendeh]

I just found out yesterday that my girlfriends' parents are donating airmiles to us for her birthday, so we can go to Paris! How marvellous is that? :D

She's been to the really touristy stuff, and I've never been at all, and so I was wondering if any more seasoned, experienced travellers :oldman: here might give us some hints on what to see, where to go, and where and what to eat... you know, things that we might not pick up in a guidebook.

So far, we've got the Eiffel Tower, Arc du Triomphe, Louvre, Artist's Quarter, Notre Dame Cathedral, um... and that's about it. I'm wikipediating like nobody's business, but I'd really appreciate any tips.

We're going Monday to Thursday, arriving mid-afternoon and leaving early evening, and looking to spend about £200/$400 each, not including the hotel. It'd be really nice to eat out of an evening or two. I've found out about museum passes and carnets for the Metro, and got a vague idea that one should picnic lunch... any other hints?

[One for Sorrow]

I have no hints or tips for you, as the only Paris I've been to is the one out in the Las Vegas desert, but I am happy and excited for you! Take some pics for us if you can.

Oh, and: :envy:

[viscousmemories]

I've only been to Paris once and for less than 24 hours, so couldn't really tell ya. It's a beautiful city, though (of course). Have fun!

[ceptimus]

Don't organise your itinerary so much that it doesn't allow time for wondering around and stumbling upon interesting stuff. Last time I was in Paris I went up the Eifel tower and looked around Notre Dame, but the part I most enjoyed was looking around inside a pet shop and eating at a small corner cafe away from the most touristy areas.

[ChuckF]

We're going Monday to Thursday, arriving mid-afternoon and leaving early evening, and looking to spend about £200/$400 each, not including the hotel. It'd be really nice to eat out of an evening or two. I've found out about museum passes and carnets for the Metro, and got a vague idea that one should picnic lunch... any other hints?
:woohoo:
A little metro advice: never buy the Paris Visite card. It's just to sucker tourists. Carnets aren't always the way to go either, especially if you're going to be using the metro a lot. You can get a Carte Mobilis for zones 1-2 or 1-3 (this will let you go as far as La Défense, which I think is a really cool place btw). That's unlimited travel for a day for something like 5-6 euros. The prices have probably changed since I last bought one. But if you're going to be doing a lot on foot, carnets can be simpler.

Alternatively you could get a Carte Orange (specify that you want the coupon hebdomadaire) for zones 1-2. They are valid for a week of unlimited travel and cost either 16 or 22 euros, I forget. You have to get a little photo at one of the photo booths that are everywhere in the metro and RER.

If you want to go out to Versailles on the RER , it's probably better to buy a single ticket - 1.40 euro each way, last time I bought one. The same goes for any of the suburbs. It's not worth getting a Mobilis for zones 4 and 5 unless you're going to be doing a lot of suburban travel. BTW, if you decide to do Versailles, you want to take the RER C5 to Versailles Rive Gauche, and not the C7 or C8 to Versalles Chantiers. It's not a big deal if you do, it's just a longer walk.

Re: picnic lunching. It's fun, but won't it be quite cold? There are umpteen bazillian great cafés and restaurants. I have a few favorites in the 14th around the Place Denfert (metro: Denfert Rocherau on the 4 or the 6).

Re: stuff to see. I got a little practice with whirlwind itinerary planning when my mom came to visit. This is what we did in 4 days, in approximate order:

Day 1:
The Louvre
The Eiffel Tower and surrounding gardens
The Catacombs

Day 2:
Notre Dame Cathedral
Versailles Palace

Day 3:
Chartres Cathedral

Day 4:
Père Lachaise Cemetery (yes, we finally found Jim Morrison)
Sacre Coeur Basilica
Picasso Museum
Arc de Triomphe/Champs Elysées
We managed to hit some high points while maintaining a fairly leisurely pace.

[Mendeh]

Good point, ceptimus!

Thank you so much ChuckF, all that golden information has gone down in my notebook. (Except for the Jim Morrison bit.) :thankyou:

[Pinecone]

Everything I know about Paris I learned from 'Ratatouilli' (the Disney Movie) but if that restaurant exists you definitely should go there! Have Fun!!

[ChuckF]

BTW, are you flying into CDG or Orly?

Damn you Mendeh! This thread has made me crave my favorite French cuisine: a pierrade de boeuf, a sauce-based Savoyard speciality in which one cooks one's own beef cutlets on a hot stone.

:homdrool:

[Stormlight]

BTW, are you flying into CDG or Orly?

Damn you Mendeh! This thread has made me crave my favorite French cuisine: a pierrade de boeuf, a sauce-based Savoyard speciality in which one cooks one's own beef cutlets on a hot stone.

:homdrool:

That's what we had for dinner tonight. :pleased:
Carry on.

[ChuckF]

:glare:

* ChuckF angrily eats his burrito.

[ceptimus]

...speciality in which one cooks one's own beef cutlets on a hot stone.
Shouldn't this be in the Sexuality forum?

Never heard them called beef cutlets before...
:beavis:

[Hugo Holbling]

When you visit Notre Dame, avoid the crowds and an underwhelming experience inside by instead trying the museum underneath street level, the Crypt Archéologique de Parvis de Notre Dame. In the evening you can go to Montmartre and listen to the nuns sing at Sacré Coeur before wandering down the steps near the funicular to find the best little restaurant in the city, where the set menu is inexplicably cheap but the food is amazing. You'll know if you have the right place: low ceilings, wooden benches and a tiny kitchen beside the open fireplace.

[freemonkey]

* freemonkey is envious again

but still hoping you have an awesome time there.

[Mendeh]

Wow, thanks everyone! It's all going down in my notebook. Singing nuns, eh? Sounds like a must to me. Hugo, I'm going to have to try that restaurant.

We're going to/from CDG, ChuckF.

[D. Scarlatti]

In the evening you can go to Montmartre and listen to the nuns sing at Sacré Coeur before wandering down the steps near the funicular to find the best little restaurant in the city, where the set menu is inexplicably cheap but the food is amazing. You'll know if you have the right place: low ceilings, wooden benches and a tiny kitchen beside the open fireplace.

Is that a fondue place, by any chance? The one I'm thinking of has benches that the run the lengths of the narrow room, and you literally have to climb over the tables to get to them. The entire menu consisted of two fondues, one meat and the other cheese, and they serve red wine in baby bottles, complete with rubber nipples. What a riot.

Have a great time, Mendeh. Paris is the best.

[Hugo Holbling]

Is that a fondue place, by any chance? The one I'm thinking of has benches that the run the lengths of the narrow room, and you literally have to climb over the tables to get to them.

I know the place you're thinking of but this one is different. I wish i could remember the street name (i think it's on the Rue Gabrielle just before it meets the Rue Chappe) but there's a small café next door to it, pretty much opposite the steps going back up. The set menu included the best soupe à l'oignon gratinée i've ever tasted.

I've always preferred Swiss fondues, btw. :yup:

[ITSOZAZ]

have fun! :)

[Mendeh]

I think we're going to have to try both of them!

Wow, I can't wait to go, so excited! :squee: