Museums and Monuments Pass
by roamer61
A very good idea when in Paris for a few days is to purchase the Museums and Monuments Pass. Available in muliple day increments, this pass gets the holder into most of the museums and monuments in and around the city. It also enables you to bypass the queues at the larger more famous museums, such as the Louvre and the Musee de Orsay. The pass can be purchased in advance online, through a tour operator or upon arrival at the Paris Office of Tourism. In either case, it is highly recommended. especially if you plan on visiting a number of museums.
Like night and day
by kiwi78
I highly recommend saving seeing one of the landmarks to do at night - you get a whole different view of the town at night. We decided to see the Arc de Triomphe on our first night in town and were glad we did that. I also loved Notre Dame - my favourite cathedral that I visited in Europe (and there is no shortage of them!). The food. Oh the food.....hmmmm
Crazy and excited drivers
by Norali
I know.. I would have copy-pasted it from any other VT pages here (so to speak, I don't copy-paste anyway).. but yes, I noticed Parisians are crazy drivers.
Not necessarily in the way they drive, rather in the way they behave while being stuck in traffic jams. I came from a country where very few people respected circulation codes and the rights of pedestrians. Compared to what I knew, Parisians were OK regarding that.
Still, I noticed they used to moan a lot. Traffic jams were the occasions to see that. They don't hoot that much... but I noticed, so many times, guys who were stuck in traffic jam who insulted the other drivers.
"Connard !", "Enc*lé !", those were familiar to my poor ears. Usually, no elegant women to do that. Instead, I saw them moaning in their cars and gesticulating with hands... That is a fond memory.. in a sense that in Madagascar, people who are stuck in traffic jams use horns a lot... I would rather say "too much".
I was on holidays, not involved in any logicstics and timing concerns. I just enjoyed seeing every streets, listening the adults discussing, shopping... Time didn't have any hold on me.
The French in Paris
by BruinKristin
When in France, try to act as French as possible for the best service and interaction with French people.
A little effort with speaking French and a nice smile will get you far. The French don't find American accents as cute as others abroad do : )
you were so right about these shoes...
by Zanee
Shoes ! I really can't emphasise enough the importance of comfortable shoes . I don't mean ones that you can walk happily around the shops in for a few hours- though I don't think anything can really prepare you for how much walking you will potentially be doing. I took a pair of tried and tested flat, leather ballet-type pumps. In every day life they are like a second skin - after 14 hours of sight-seeing I don't think the Inquisition could have devised a more excruciating torture devise! Five weeks later I still bear the blood blister on my heel . However the strappy, heeled sandals which I took for evenings were actually wonderfully comfortable for the next four days.
Sign in with Facebook
Pont des Arts, Paris
Palais de Tokyo
Invalides cour avec canons.
Chapelle de la Sorbonne, Paris, France 2009
