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Kaak
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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.
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Richelieu
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Gatineau
Dec 2001
time: 00:30
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Pretend you're Canadian.
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Spiffor
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CPA - Evil Clone brigade
Nov 2001
time: 06:30
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quote:
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 
quote:
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Before or after I get there? |
Can't help you on this one.
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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 ).
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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.
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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 
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Spiffor
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CPA - Evil Clone brigade
Nov 2001
time: 06:30
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quote:
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.
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Spiffor
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CPA - Evil Clone brigade
Nov 2001
time: 06:30
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Some extra advice:
- Avoid to carry too much cash. There is a risk that you get robbed, so make sure not to lose your entire budget in the process. I don't want to make you paranoid (I have never been robbed in Paris ever), but you can't completely rule that out. Make sure it doesn't have too many consequences if **** happens.
- In the Eiffel tower, climb with the stairs rather than with the elevator. It is much easier than it sounds (heck, even I made it  ), it is cheaper, and you won't have to wait two hours in a line full of impatient tourists.
- There is some possibility that the subways are on strike. Know the French words for "strike" : Grčve and its PC equivalent: Mouvement social. In general, one or only a few subway lines are on strike at a time. Try to read the information screens in the subway stations.
- In general, don't look like a tourist. Prefer plain clothes if possible (T-shirts and Shirts, Jeans and trousers are perfectly acceptable). Shorts and hawaiian shirts are to be avoided if possible. You can even buy clothes in Le Marais, since it's one of the trendiest quarters of Paris.
- Avoid to speak English with your gf too loudly, especially in areas with few tourists. Loud Americans English-speakers correspond to the stereotype of the assholish American tourist. Don't hesitate to speak English with your gf though, as soon are it can't be deemed obnoxious. Parisians hear foreign languages every day, so they won't be shocked any.
- Know where is the American embassy / consulate, and know how to go there quickly. If you have any problems, it'll be a relief to be helped by people used to them, who speak a perfect English.
- Don't hesitate to go to the Tourist Information ("Office du Tourisme") if you have any question. They're a public service whose aim is to give all the information a tourist needs. They speak a satisfying English, and should give you all the ordinary info a tourist needs.
- One of the very ordinary sights of the Parisian daylife is the café terraces that are full (on sunny days). Don't hesitate to go on a terrace to enjoy a fresh drink. Prefer smaller cafés, however, since big cafés are more touristic, and are generally more expensive and soulless. You'll find throngs of these smaller cafés in the small street of Le Marais or Quartier Latin.
- Some French indeed are rude. Many are indifferent. Don't let the rudeness of some ruin your vacation, and simply dismiss them as ordinary *******s. French people, especially Parisians, are generally colder than Americans, but don't consider this distance as rudeness or dislike. It's just the way things are. (Then again, things are quite different in Le Marais).
- I have never seen a 24/7 supermarket. You can buy your goods in general between 08:00 and 20:00 (some open up to 22:00). Supermarkets in Paris are quite small, and the big ones are found in the suburbs, so don't be surprised if you can't find your favourite peanut butter . If you miss the closing time, there are plenty of "Arabs of the Corner": Small food shops that open very late (up to 23:00 or 02:00) which are owned by Arab shopkeepers. They're more expensive, but they can really help sometimes.
- About food: French food is the sum of very many regional foods. There is nearly no "French food" to speak of, but you can talk about "Breton Food", "Alsacian food" etc. You can find many decent regional restaurants in tha capitol. I don't know all of them, but here is a list of a few restaurants that I enjoyed.
- Chez Papa. Good food from the Southwest part of France. I suggest to try the Cassoulet (~15€), which is really symbolic of this region's cuisine.
- L'Avant Goűt. I didn't come back there in years (my father is annoyed with the owner), but my last impression was that of a good restaurant with imaginative cuisine, and an excellent price-quality ratio.
They have been noticed by some NY newspaper, and they got a surge of American clients after that, so they're clearly used to American tourists. It's better to book your table in advance though, since the restaurant is small and often full.
- You can buy fine food and wines at Les Papilles (held by friends of my father, and indirectly of mine). You can find some pretty good wines for about 9€. Just don't be lured by champagne's prestige, and follow the suggestions. If you like red wine, I suggest you to buy a Léon Barral
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Spiffor
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CPA - Evil Clone brigade
Nov 2001
time: 06:30
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Some little extra advice:
- You can go to the movies in Paris. Most foreign movies are subtitled in the theatres, so you'll understand any English-speaking flick. You can buy the cheap weekly "L'Officiel des Spectacles" or "Pariscope", which will list every movie airing in Paris. The acronyms for subtitled versions are VO, VOST or VOSTF. Avoid the VF acronym, since those are movies in French version.
- If you are interested in learning French after your travel, you'll find tons of DVDs of English/American movies with French subtitles and English or French audio. I'm less sure about English subtitles though. The major culture stores in Paris are Virgin (on the Champs-Elysées) or the FNAC (pretty much everywhere, but there's a big FNAC right next to Le Marais, in the big Forum des Halles
- Beware the dog crap. Things have become way better than they used to be, and big avenues are now nearly 100% clean. However, in smaller streets, dog crap can still be a major pain in the ass. My own method to avoid it is to systematically watch my step when I walk. I look up only when I don't move.
- If you ever went to Disneyland in the US, there is no need to go there in Paris. Disneyland Paris is about the same as its American counterparts, and even slightly less impressive.
- There are American-like fast foods in Paris. The market is cornered by McDonalds and a Belgian equivalent called Quick (qualities are similar IIUC). You'd have no trouble finding either of them. Obviously, I'd hate you if you ever went to fast-foods during your trip in Paris
- Still about food. You can find a good introduction to French cuisine in the street "Rue du Pot de Fer" (Métro station: Monge- you'll have to walk a bit). I just went there yesterday, and all the "French Restaurants" had their menu translated in English. I was surprised by the fact the food was well cooked, despite these restaurants being touristic
- Lastly about food: many Parisian students eat greek sandwiches (Gyros), which are quite similar to kebobs. If you don't know what to eat for lunch, you may want to taste this aspect of the Parisian life. There are Greek Sandwiches pretty much everywhere, but you'll find the most impressive concentration of them in the Rue de la Huchette (Métro station: Saint Michel, but it's about 15 minutes at feet from Le Marais)
- There aren't many Americans living in Paris, and I don't know any of them. However, after a google-search, it seems the American community mostly hangs out in the Montparnasse area. OTOH, you'll have little trouble finding American tourists in the touristic places
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