Eiffel tower and Seine
by chancay
ok, there´s no chance not to climb up the Eiffel tower. You have to do this, because of the tower itself and as well because of the good view you have from above. Night boat tour on the Seine is very beautiful. It´s very touristical, too much people, nevertheless you have great impressions of Notre Dame, Eiffel tower and several bridges with beautiful illumination.
Why You Should Not Take Day-Trips From Paris
by hquittner
Paris is so full of things to see, that day-trips waste your time. There are only 2 sights near Paris worthy of a day trip: Versailles and Chartres. While there are commercial very long day trips to Mont-St.-Michel or the Loire, it would be better to plan to come to France again and see them as part of a real trip to France, especially by car. Outside of Paris, driving is easy. There are some places very near Paris that are really French , but it is best to spend the night in them. 100 miles (150 km) up and back consumes 2-4 hours of a sightseeing day. The way to minimize the loss of time is to make such a visit as the intermediate stop on your way somewhere else. Unfortuntely there are many sights around Paris worthy of a visit, so you have to visit Paris a great number of times OR you can do as we usually do. Avoid Paris completely. Arrive at Orly or de Gaule and get into a rented car. Plan to visit immediately a close-by place (Ecouen, Rambouillet, Fontainebleau, etc), also choose a small inn nearby to bed down at when fatigue (jet-lag) hits (look up the Logis de France or if you are upscale Chateauxhotels.fr). Do this on the last day/night as well. We have stayed at Senlis(Fontaine-Chaalis 5 km east), Moret-sur-Loing, Recloses (in Fontainbleau forest), Chartres, and others. We would do more but are now too old. It is another way to enjoy France. Incidentally, each of these places have available meals that are delightful and easily affordable with no hassle about getting a table.
Bassin de l'Arsenal, Canal-St-Martin, Batignolles
by Norali
September 2004: Bassin de l'Arsenal, Canal-Saint-Martin and Les Batignolles - Some days in Paris but without La Seine, La Tour Eiffel & Champs Elysées
With my parents, we decided on a Friday in early September to spend some days in Paris. So, with our confo for room reservations, we headed to Paris on following Monday. No reservation for our Thalys tickets, just bought our tickets at Brussels Midi station 10 minutes before departure. We were lucky enough to have the last seats.. Were they really the last seats? We were already on the OVERBOOKING mode. Well, at least this is what I understood while looking at our tickets. Here I was, with my parents in the city where they had lived for some years while studying. Still, when I asked to visit some places as Bassin de L'Arsenal & Canal Saint-Martin and Batignolles areas, they knew where those villages were but they hadn't actually browsed those areas. That's Paris: very big and made of many villages.
In Paris, villages exist but one has to fetch for them. We took the decision to skip known places, exception of a little street that looks on Bassin de l'Arsenal. It is Rue de la Cerisaie. Ah! also, our hotel was also on rue Alésia (14th), in an area I know I was used to since I stayed there for a month and a half in 1984.
[To know more of my visit in September 2004, check the BLUE tips in the **Off the beaten path** category. From there, you would be forwarded to other categories tips] It is Rue de la Cerisaie.
In 1985, my parents, my two sisters and I had stayed in an apartment there during our holidays. As strange as it may sound, the month and a half I lived in Rue de la Cerisaie, I saw only once a boat passing by. In fact, I lived very close to the Bassin but hadn't seen the other end of the Bassin. I didn't know then that Le Bassin was a marina. We even have a picture with us three kids pausing along the fence of the Bassin... but still ignoring about the marina. Oh! I know why. It's because, then, we used to rush into other places and hence skip "our" immediate neighbourhood. It took me a Geo Magazine report on it to "know" about a marina, called Bassin de l'Arsenal in Paris.
OK.. enough said... shame on me ! Hey! I was a teen at that time. Unaware of things. Still, wandering in Rue de la cerisaie made me reminisce some of "sights" of my Paris.
[Tips referring to my visit in early September 2004 are written in blue, whilst the tips in red are part of the "Souvenirs Souvenirs" series.]
I found people in Paris to be...
by katiejt
I found people in Paris to be very friendly and helpful, not how many people i know would describe them....I think this may have something to do with the fact that we all tried to speak French - none of us were very good, and often the replies came back in English, but I think then locals appreciate it if you at least try to speak their language.
Fly your body
by jakenl
Ever wanted to skydive, but too afraid to step out the door? Now you can fly your body through the air without these fears. A vertical windtunnel, capable of supporting up to four people at a time, is operating in the north of Paris. Feel the brute force of 200 kmph wind and fly together with an instructor in the tunnel. All you need, like overall, headgear etc, is provided. Make sure you bring good sport shoes.