Night Travel
by fishandchips
Paris is a nice place to wander about at night with the city having its monuments lit up to the best effect. The saying "all cities look the same at night" is true of paris in the main however there are a few exceptions. An example is the Eiffel Tower that gets lit up every hour after dark for 10 minutes or so and looks great.
A very exciting place to be when this happens is the lookout at Troccadero or from a boat on the Seine as I am in the photo in 1999 (220 days before Y2K).
The 8th Arrondissement
by Lady_Mystique
Back on the Right Bank, the 8th offers... the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, often described as the most beautiful avenue in the world and the symbolic centre of France.
There are magnificent views along the axis from the Arc du Carrousel by the Louvre in the 1st through the Arc du Triomphe at the juncture of 8th, 16th, and 17th, to the Grande Arche de la Defense west of the Peripherique.
The main branch of the Paris Tourist Bureau is here, near the Arc du Triomphe.
Other attractions in the 8th include the Grand and Petit Palais, the Place de la Concorde, La Madeleine, an abundance of haute couture houses, and the lovely Parc Monceau on the northwestern edge.
Neighborhoods include Etoile, Monceau, Faubourg Honore, and L'Europe (also in the 9th).
The Old Man Game
by basbed23
The French love their Boule. On many occasions I have come across old men playing Boule. Boule is a lot like lawn bowling. There is a small ball and each player has three chances to throw his larger, heavier ball towards the smaller in order to score points. The player who gets his "boule" the closest scores the point. I'm still having a difficult time understanding this simple game.
Pack, then take half of it out
by parismumsie
Let me start by saying that I am notorious for packing way more than I ever need. That said, I made a real effort to take only what would fit in my one and only suitcase. My daughter says you might have to pay extra if your bag weighs too much. I can't verify that, but my French wasn't good enough to argue with a French ticket agent. We traveled in March and we knew the weather would be in the 40's most of the time. I really think you could take 2 pairs of black slacks (washable if possible), and a few tops or sweaters and do fine. I stuck to black, but took more than I needed. If it's cold, who knows what's under that coat. I threw if a few pashminas (my daughter swears I took a dozen!) to add some zip to my somber wardrobe. We noticed that most of the Parisian women had scarves all wrapped in different ways. I felt tres chic!! My daughter took a short black peajacket and I took a black raincoat with a zip- in lining and used it. We forgot gloves. A mistake. For the first time in my life I didn't take a dozen pairs of shoes. Whatever you take ,they better be comfortable. We found black shoes with rubber soles were perfect and weren't too sporty so we got by with 2 pairs of shoes for the whole trip. Don't forget a small, collapsible umbrella! I understand that in order to bring prescription drugs into France it should be in the original pill bottle. I took one set in my tote and another set in my suitcase to be on the safe side. My camera had a rechargable battery , and I just bought a disposable one as a back up. I think some cameras don't use anything but rechargable ones. In that case, spring for an adapter. If you have a digital make sure you take a backup memory card. You will want to take a zillion pictures in Paris. I am sure they can be purchased there but wouldn't want to have to try and find the right kind. You might consider a smaller fold up type tote in case you have lovely items you buy that you can't squeeze into your suitcase. Also, I always try and take some zip type plastic bags for dirty clothes, and anything that might spill. If you forget something who cares! You're in Paris. Won't it be fun to shop for a replacement!
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Tomb of Jean-Baptiste Languet de Gergy
Palais-Royal
Arc de Triomphe
Door of 29 Avenue Rapp
