Going to Paris soon, any advice?

[MrFun]

Originally posted by The Pioneer


Well, I've been too france a few times and each time it was a dissapointment. The french are just rude. Last year I was in Normandy with my wife and we toured Normandy. Surprise, surprise yu could not find one at any restaurant in Caen that would speak english, they did not have menus in english and besides the food being crappy it was expensive too. We wnet to an italian restaurant were pasta was excellent and we also ate Pizza Hut pizza just to be on the safe side . Besides that the hotel was also expensive and we only had trouble because the receptionist did not speak english well. I also met up with some english at some of the invasion beaches and they had similar experiences, upon which my wife said why did the allies even liberate them. It seems they do not appreciate it much these days.

On the other side the landscape was phenomenal, the history rich and the drive very interesting. I will visit the beaches again, maybe on an anniversary or something but for the moment I had enough of them.


So long....

PS: Couple weeks ago I heard that they officially banned the word email from all gov't documents!! Now they have their own word that has to be used. This is so typical frech that it makes me puke.

What is this nonsense of people in their own country speaking their native language!?

[Konquest02]

Originally posted by Kaak

1) rent a car or a motorcycle one day and drive into normandy a bit. Beautiful countryside, great food, and tons of quiant little villages.

2) visit mont st michelle. It is a fair distance from paris, but it is one of the most amazing things i think I have ever seen. ask around and try to find out when the tide is going to be in and plan your trip around that

Mont St-Michel is one of the greatest sights in France. Is closer to Paris than Normandy Beaches.

4) don't worry about making a fool out of yourself trying to speak french. Almost everyone in paris speaks english, but most will refuse or give you misinformation if you don't atleast try to use french. The key is don't *expect* them to speak english.

Amen to that!

5) Tips are already figured into the check (l'addition ) at restraunts

But it is generally well seen to add a little, just to round up the sum. If it costs 14,50Euros, well leave 15!

6) eat at a crepery. sooooo good. I think the dinner "crepes" are called gallettes.

And I must add paninis. Buy them in bakeries, they are just great.

7) don't be scared of steak tartar.

Or Andouillettes...

8) If you need a guide, feel free to drop me a pm. I would be more than happy to lend my services

ditto!

[Kaak]

Oh!! About the money. I would take 10-20 euros for use when i got off the plane to get to paris. Other than that, just take a few travelers checks, and use a credit or debit card for everything else. Money changers will rape you, but if you use a card, you will always get the best rate.

[monolith94]

What's a quide?

[Kaak]

where do you see quide?!

[Richelieu]

Pretend you're Canadian.

[monolith94]

What?? What?? I swear to god you had spelt it guide just a second before... Oi...

I was out uprooting maple saplings and sawing trees down and pulling out pricker bushes from my grandparents backyard this morning and I'm so tired...

[Kaak]

Originally posted by monolith94
What?? What?? I swear to god you had spelt it guide just a second before... Oi...

I was out uprooting maple saplings and sawing trees down and pulling out pricker bushes from my grandparents backyard this morning and I'm so tired...

I did spell it guide

[Brundlefly]

Konquest & Kaak your advice is very helpful..

Can I take any public transportation out to Normandy & Mont St. Michelle, or must I rent a car (and purchase some insurance for that car)?

[Spiffor]

Re: Going to Paris soon, any advice?

Originally posted by Feephi
Hi. Three weeks from now, I will take my first trip to Europe. I am staying in Paris for one week.

Welcome ! Paris is right next to my hometown. I never visited it as a tourist (and I think you can take Kaak's and Konquest's advice for that) but I'll try to help you as a native

I've rented a flat in Le Marais area of the city

Good choice. This, with the nearby Quartier Latin is the best place in the city IMHO. Great nightlife, so many bars, cultural and trendy place. The one you should be in ! However, this is indeed the gay quarter of Paris, so don't be surprised if men try to seduce you if you ever wander around without your gf. There are many gay shops there, which are clearly indicated with rainbow flags.

Hopefully it will not be too hot there.

It has been extremely hot in Paris recently, but it has just calmed down today. September is a good period to spend one's vacations in France, since the Spetember weather was sunny yet mild last years.
However, if it's hot, there will be quite a few problems : pollution will be on the rise and people will be more nervous than usual. Make sure to store much water in your fridge (whether tap water or bottle water) and drink often if the weather is hot.
There is also a chance of rain in September. Paris' rain aren't thunderstorms, but bring (or buy) an umbrella or a good coat.

I don't speak any French.

Like others have said, that's a bad thing. You should try to know a few French words, if only to begin conversation with other people. "Bonjour, excusez moi, pouvez vous m'aider ?" (Hello, excuse me, could you help me ?) is a must. No matter if your accent is horrendous; At the contrary, the worse your accent, the cuter your attempts to speak French, and the most sympathetic the people will be.
At the contrary, if you begin your conversations in English, thus excepting your counterpart to speak English, you'll have a rough disappointment. We Frenchmen tend to hate the people who correspond to the "arrogant American" stereotype, but we just love the Americans who aren't arrogant and who try to understand us.
However, many people do not speak English, or speak it badly. Be prepared to 'guess' what your counterparts will tell you. You could also try your luck with younger people, who generally speak English a bit better than the older ones.

Should I change $US into Euro or Francs?

Euros. Francs aren't used since Feb. 2002 anymore (just like all national currencies in the EU, except in the UK, Sweden and Denmark). If someone tries to change you Francs, he's trying to rip you off.
There is very little chance you get Francs in your daily transactions, though, as they have practically disappeared. However, most people still think in Francs. If you ask for a 'normal price' to a passerby, he'll most likely reply in Francs first.

Before or after I get there?

Can't help you on this one.

Should I avoid taxi?

If you have much luggage, take the taxi from the airport to your flat, and from your flat to the airport, and NOT ONCE MORE. Taxi is expensive, and the traffic within Paris sucks, making it even more expensive (and quite slow).
For most of your moves, you can use your feet. Le Marais is in the middle of Paris, and is less than 30 minutes away from almost any tourist attraction, by feet.
For longer fares (or if you don't want to walk), you would prefer the subway. It's quick, it's unexpensive, and there are many subways, often. However, avoid it between 07:00-10:00 and 16:00-20:00 if possible. Those are the time the people go to or come back from work.
They don't function during the night, but Le Marais has all the nightlife you need anyway

You can buy weekly cards at subway stations. Here's a small lesson about Paris subway (skip it if you want) :
Paris is a relatively small capitol (2 millions inhab.) surrounded by a huge suburbia (7 millions inhab, very integrated, to the point you won't distinguish the suburbia with the capitol). All tourist attractions, and about everything of interest in Paris are located in the city itself.
The mass transit system has several fare zones, which are concentric cirles around the capitol. Zone 1 (also called "section urbaine") allows the use of every bus / subway / express sub within Paris. Zones 2-7 are only useful to go to the suburbs.
There are 2 kinds of subway. The ordinary subway (Métro) lies in Paris and in the very close suburbs. You can access all of the Métro with a Zone 1 ticket. The express subway (RER) is used by the natives to travel between the suburbs and Paris, but it is also useful to quickly switch places within Paris. The Zone 1 ticket allows you to only use the RER within Paris. When climbing into a RER, make sure your destination is in Zone 1 as well.

If you arrive at Monday, you should buy two "Carte Orange" for the week within Zone 1. You pay once, and you don't have to pay any fare anymore for the rest of the week (keep the ticket though, you'll need it at each fare). It's not very expensive. If you arrive later in the week you should ask to the tourist information for cheap ways to often use the subway.

People have suggested you rent a car. That's a good idea if you want to see the countryside. But if you intend to stay in Paris, don't. The traffic is difficult, and the Parisians drive like **** (driving is something that you Americans should teach us ).

I will see all of the tourist attractions, but I would appreciate any advice on lesser known sights to see.

Something that is not very well known is the roof of the department store Samaritaine. It's located right next to the Seine river, is easily accessible from the store, and gives you a terrific view over Paris. I never went there myself, but a friend of mine used to go there every lunchtime, and spoke highly about it.

Any advice at all on how to enjoy my Paris stay and save $ would be appreciated. Thanks.

Avoid tourists' restaurants and tourists' business as much as possible. They rip off the tourists badly and serve them crap. Try to go to typical restaurants if possible. You can easily find good restaurants for less than 15€ per person.

I highly suggest you to buy the Routard guide for Paris (I linked to the English speaking version on Amazon US). The collection has a great reputation, and I just had a very positive experience with it (for Corsica). A worth buy !

If you have any question, any specifics, or if you want a few adresses to eat or to enjoy Paris, don't hesitate to ask I always love to help foreigners enjoying my country

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Feephi
Konquest & Kaak your advice is very helpful..

Can I take any public transportation out to Normandy & Mont St. Michelle, or must I rent a car (and purchase some insurance for that car)?

There are trains from Paris to Mont Saint Michel (beware the spelling!). You can look for trains here.
The rail system is very good at the national level, but regional trains (like the one linking Caen to Mont Saint Michel) vary from region to region. For examples, the ones in Normandy are among the worst I've ever seen

With the TGV, you can spend a day in some distant city from Paris if you can afford it.

For example, Lille is 1 hour away from Paris, and the crazy Braderie de Lille will take place 6 & 7 September (however, the trains will likely be full if you don't take your tickets early). I strongly advise to go there if you want to see a whole city going crazy. When I went there last year, I could see hundreds of thousands people outside, people smoking pot right in front of the cops, people dancing between piles of trash and piles of eaten mussels, guys showing their ass if someone in the street paid 1 €, etc.

If you don't have strict plans for your 2nd and 3rd week in Europe, I strongly suggest for you to go to Corsica (I just spent 1 week there with my gf - best vacation ever). It isn't like France at all except for the language, and you'll see such a great nature in such a small place that you'll wonder why you never went there sooner The Mont Saint Michel is pretty lame compared to anything I've seen in Corsica.

[alva]

But if you intend to stay in Paris, don't. The traffic is difficult, and the Parisians drive like ****

True on both accounts .

French don't give a rat's a** about bumps and dents on their cars which leads to a completely different way thinking and driving
-
I live about 400KM/250Miles from Paris, but each time we went there, we went by coach or train and used the metro.
The metro is excellent btw, it takes a few days getting used too but after that is very fast and convenient.

[Spiffor]

BTW, Alva, did you ever go to the Braderie de Lille ? I'm curious to know other people's impressions about it.

[alva]

Nope, I did go too Lille during christmas and that was very nice ( I think it was a week before and we were returning from a short round-trip trough Bretagne&Normandie and stopped to get something to eat. Well we did stay for the night )

So I suppose that should good too.

[Brundlefly]

Earlier, there were some posts in this thread putting down France. I just wanted to post this excerpt from the website of US Embassy in France for those people:

"France is America's oldest ally. France and the United States have been linked for more than two centuries by diplomatic and military alliances and a rich complex of cultural, intellectual and economic ties. The seminal ideas of the Eighteenth-Century "philosophes" profoundly influenced America's Founding Fathers, and the American victory in the Revolutionary War would have been inconceivable without French participation, as would have been the liberation of France without the American troops who stormed the Normandy beaches in 1944.

The United States is France's most important source of investment. According to U.S. Department of Commerce figures, as of 1996 the U.S. had 34 billion dollars invested in France. The U.S. is also the largest destination for French investment, with 49 billion U.S. dollars invested in the U.S. economy. Bilateral trade in goods and services between the U.S. and France is currently running at around 45 billion U.S. dollars per year. Franco-American trade is remarkable for its symmetry, as 9 of the top 15 exports are the same each way.

Tourism is another important link between our two countries. Each year roughly 2 million Americans come to France as tourists, and America tops the polls of places French people want to visit."