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Paris.

Annabella and Vito’s Guide to Paris

PICT0178_1Paris is one of our favorite cities, and it is a place to visited time and again.  Always approach Paris as though this will certainly not be your final visit.  If it’s your first time, hit the highlights but since you cannot see it all even if you live there for many years, don’t even try.

There are countless guide books covering Paris.  If you’re only visiting Paris, get a more comprehensive guide covering the city (rather than all of France), and it will also include day trips.  We recommend Lonely Planet and Time Out (both of which have good maps).  Rick Steves is a good guide for a first timer, but like all of his books the maps are terrible and the book is not comprehensive so you’ll need another.

  • Get a Paris Museum Pass – Do NOT be tricked into buying one of the overpriced, bogus passes sold online to foolish American naives.  Once in Paris, the pass is available at the airport (CDG – Charles de Gaulle) and also at all participating museums.  We recommend purchasing it at one of the smaller museums and making that your 1st stop so that you do not spend time waiting in line at the more popular museums.  You can purchase for 2, 4, or 6 days (in 2009 priced 32, 48, and 64 Euros, respectively).  Visiting just 2 museums a day will pay for the pass.  You will bypass lines/queues at most museums, and you will be free to come and go and you please whenever the museums are open.  Need to use a restroom, rest your feet a while, or just duck in from the rain?  Enter any of the member museums even if just for a short while!  If you’re staying in Paris 3 or 5 days, buy the 2 or 4 day pass and strategically plan
    Rose Window at the Cathedral of Notre Dame

    Rose Window at the Cathedral of Notre Dame

    your non-pass day for visiting other sites or shopping, etc.  Visit the Pass website for more information  http://www.parismuseumpass.com

  • Public Transportation in Paris is excellent.  We recommend finding a hotel near one of the RER stations with a connection to CDG airport.  There is an AirFrance bus that takes you to different stops, but it is more expensive and slower than the RER.  There are pass systems for the Metro and buses, but since Paris is a walking city and you should be exploring it on foot as much as possible, you’re best off purchasing single use tickets (if you are staying for a full week then the Navigo Decouverte weekly pass might be worth the fee of about Euro 17, plus an initial fee of €5 – you can save the card for future visits).   A single ticket costs €1.60, but you can purchase a “carnet” of 10 tickets for Euro €11.40 at the ticket window of any Métro station or from vending machines near the turnstiles.  If you’re traveling with someone, you can simply share a carnet.  You must punch/validate your ticket as you enter the Metro/bus, and it is then valid for 90 minutes
  • Hoard your coins and small bills – The French HATE to make change!  No matter where you go or what you buy, if you’re paying cash they’d really like you to
    Trying to pay with a 50 Euro note.

    Trying to pay with a 50 Euro note.

    have exact change.  What makes this such a challenge is the fact that banks don’t deal with cash (you can get cash from an ATM, but inside the bank they won’t break down your bills).  Supposedly you can try to get change in a post office, but good luck with the line.  So we cautiously guard our Euro coins, especially when traveling in more change-friendly countries.  We’ve never had any trouble getting money from ATMs or using credit cards in most places in Europe, and Paris is no exception.  We always end trips to Europe with at least €100 leftover so we’ll have it for our next trip and not have cash stress upon arrival.

  • France by Train — If you are going onwards from Paris by train, it is easy to book your tickets in advance on the SNCF website with your credit card and print them out on your home printer.  Be aware that using the French only version of the site willl give you deals and options that are not available on the English pages.  If you do not speak French, try to find someone to help you with your purchase since you will find significant savings and occasional upgrades by using the French pages.  Trip insurance is only a couple of Euros so might be worthwhile, especially if traveling onwards shortly after arrival.
    TGV

    TGV

  • Hotels – You should not be spending very much time in a hotel, so find an inexpensive, clean hotel in a central location.  Our favorite hotel in Paris is the Michelet Odeon, in the heart of the Left Bank and an easy walk from the RER Luxembourg station and also from Odeon Metro Station (on the Boul. St. Germain).  The rooms and bathrooms are tiny, but very clean and comfortable, and for €110 for a double room en suite in the center of Paris, we’d love to know if you’ve found a better value.  Place de l’Odeon has very little traffic, so the rooms are quiet.  Breakfast is not included, but there are many cafes nearby.  The nearby Jardins de Luxembourg are a perfect picnic spot, too.

    A typical Left Bank eatery with al fresco seating.

    A typical Left Bank eatery with al fresco seating.

  • The Left Bank — If you are staying at our recommended hotel or anywhere in the vicinity of the St. Germain de Pres, Mabillon, or Odeon Metro Stations, we recommend strolling the Rue de Buci for food and drinks.  There are many small shops, bakeries, and cafes where you can get breakfast or a snack.  We are also very keen on the churches of Saint Sulpice (popularized in The Da Vinci Code) and St. Germain de Pres.
  • American in Paris — Foodie David Lebovitz has a terrific foodie-centric website http://www.davidlebovitz.com/ that has great tips for eating in Paris (and other places).  We’ve never taken his chocolate tour, but we have visited many of the places he recommends.
  • Chocolate — the ultimate treat is the hot chocolate at Angelina, the perfect rest spot after time in the Louvre at 226 Rue Rivoli.  It might seem a bit cuckoo to spend $10ish on a hot chocolate, but it’s really extraordinary, and so thick that they bring you water to wash it down.  Well worth the cost.DSCF0793
  • Food – With a weak dollar making meals a bit more expensive than home, we try to make picnic lunches many days.  Paris has a great number of small shops and markets, making it easy to pick up good bread, cheese, fruit, and other items.  We actually quite like Chinese and other Asian takeout (which they’ll heat up for you enabling you to scurry along and picnic at a nearby park).  We like the market streets of Rue Cler (favored by Rick Steves, and therefore a bit overrun by Americans, but convenient to Les Invalides area) and Rue Mouffetard.

    Cafe au lait and a croissant at Paul (a small chain with an outlet on the Rue de Buci, near Odeon Metro)

    Cafe au lait and a croissant at Paul (a small chain with an outlet on the Rue de Buci, near Odeon Metro)

  • Laduree — The cookie that made Vito say “Pow!”  They make macarons in a great variety of flavors, our favorite being the Caramel Sel de Beurre.  Several locations around the city. http://www.laduree.fr/

    Prix Fixe menus often give you a selection for each course from a few choices, and sometimes for a few Euros you can upgrade to a better dish. You can choose 2 or 3 courses.

    Prix Fixe menus often give you a selection for each course from a few choices, and sometimes for a few Euros you can upgrade to a better dish. You can choose 2 or 3 courses.

  • Prix Fixe menus – While the tourist menu is best avoided in most European cities, it is often a good value and a good meal in Paris.  Restaurants will advertise their menu of the day on a sandwich board or stand outside their establishment.  Parisians like to dine al fresco, even in winter, so it is easy to eat outdoors (even in winter, thanks to heat lamps).  Before France mercifully banned smoking in 2008 this used to be the only way to tolerate a meal, but now it’s just nice to sit outdoors.
  • The Bateaux Mouches — the boats that glide up and down the Seine may at first seem like a tourist trap to be avoided, but they are a relaxing way to view many of the major sites of Paris.  You’ll go past Notre Dame Cathedral and enjoy an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower.  The trip lasts a little over an hour is a good opportunity to rest after hours of walking and to orientate yourself with the city.  €10 is a little high, but it can be romantic and fun.

    • Rodin Museum - The Kiss

    Rodin Museum - The Kiss

  • Some of our favorite museusms and sites –  The Musee Rodin (museum and gardens); the Musee D’Orsay (Impressionist treasures in a marvelous old train station – the rooms of Art Nouveau furniture are our favorites); the Musee Cluny (the Medieval museum, reminiscent of NYC’s Cloisters, with a lovely garden and a special treat if you’re lucky enough to visit when live music is being played – a terrific tapestry collection; the Musee Carnavalet (museum of the history of Paris), the Picasso Museum
  • Right next to the Louvre is the marvelous Tuileries, with its fountains, benches, happy families, piqueniquers, and, of course, a crepe stand!
  • The Louvre – overwhelmingly fantastic and huge.  The lines can be unbearable, even with the Museum Pass.  We recommend finding the Porte des Lions entrance to bypass all the waiting (you can use or purchase or pass here).  If you must see the Pyramid at the main entrance you can visit it later from the inside. http://www.louvre.fr/llv/pratique/venir.jsp?bmLocale=en
    The line/queue to get into the Louvre, main entrance, on a free Sunday.

    The line/queue to get into the Louvre, main entrance, on a free Sunday.

    Louvre entrance at the Porte des Lions, same time as aboe.

    Louvre entrance at the Porte des Lions, same time as aboe.

  • St. Denis – in the northern suburbs of Paris, just about 6 miles from the city center, is the neighborhood of Saint Denis, highlighted by the Basilica which is the burial place of French royalty (and the perhaps heart of the poor little Dauphin??).  It is easily accessible by Metro or RER.  This is a little off the beaten path, but highly recommended (especially for those re-visiting Paris).  There’s also the Musee Bouilhet-Christofle, which contains beautiful objects of silver, including many Art Deco and Art Nouveau items (check on opening times because they are limited http://www.placesinfrance.com/musee_bouilhet-christofle_museum.html).  Also visit the Musée D’Art Et D’Histoire, located in a former convent (the nuns’ cells are still intact) and featuring exhibits on daily life in medieval St-Denis and on the convent’s most famous resident, Mme Louise (daughter of Louis XV who left her princess life to become a Carmelite nun)  http://www.musee-saint-denis.fr.

  • A Paris Metro sign -- we bought an engraving of one of these signs at the Montparnasse Art Market.

    A Paris Metro sign -- we bought an engraving of one of these signs at the Montparnasse Art Market.

    Sunday Art Market Montparnasse — Every Sunday, from about 11:00 AM. Boulevard Edgar Quinet, Paris 14. Métro: Edgar Quinet or Montparnasse.  A small street market filled with affordable art (some good, some wacky).  We bought a lovely etching of the Paris Metro sign and some hand painted silk cards. Before or after the market you can visit the cemetery, which is just down the block.

  • Cemeteries of Paris – Recommended Reading:  “Permanent Parisians.”  Paris has beautiful cemeteries with notable monumental architecture, and some famous residents.   Of course the most famous is Pere Lachaise, home of the grossly overrated grave of Jim Morrison, but a worthwhile visit regardless of its most famous occupant.  The cemetery of Montparnasse is also a great place to visit, and a lot more central and easy to get to.  We stayed once at Le Meridien Montparnasse, and we enjoyed staring out the window at a panoramic view of the cemetery (if you stay there, request a room with a cemetery view ; the Air France bus from CDG stops at the Gare Montparnasse train station across the street)
  • Day Trip to Normandy?? – Do NOT do it!  Many friends have asked us if this is worthwhile.  Normandy is wonderful – the landing beaches/cemeteries are emotional, and the Mont St. Michel is one of the most beautiful places in the world!  Remember, you’re going to come back to France some day.   It will take you about 4 hours each way to get to the area.  Do not fry yourself and waste 8 hours just traveling, giving yourself just a few short hours in Normandy and depriving yourself of a day in Paris.   Save this for an overnight trip, and hopefully a longer visit to Normandy, Brittany, and the Loire Valley (see our 2004 trip report).

    Don't shortchange Normandy by trying to see it in a day trip from Paris. Make this a visit of its own for at least a few days.

    Don't shortchange Normandy by trying to see it in a day trip from Paris. Make this a visit of its own for at least a few days.