Paris What to Pack

Luggage and bags: If you plan on buying some of the amazing cheeses of France home with you, you much bring some sort of airtight container of really good quality ziplock bags..like more than one or two. The odor of these cheeses can really permeate through whatever packing the shop gives you and you don't want to ruin the mood if you are on a romantic trip!

Luggage and bags: i brought a large suitcase (with wheels) and a medium duffel bag as carry on for a ten day trip

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: shoes... i was fine with cute sandals for short trips shopping or out to dinner, but when we were hardcore, i wore some cute european style tennis shoes. comfort is key, but style is the keychain :)
for clothing at the end of june.. i would reccommend capris, longs skirts, blouses, and sweaters to layer with. it did get very chilly!

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: most hotels we stayed at did not provide wash cloths or loofahs (or shower curtains!!ahh!!) so bring one of those. of course, all the other essentials. i also brought tide sink detergent which comes in little packs. it was perfect for washing my white jacket!

Photo Equipment: digital camera. 2 memory cards ( 1 gig & a 256 mb). plus two disposables for backup.

Luggage and bags: Keep it simple. European cars are small and large american bags are hard to fit in the taxis. You will be charged for extra large or heavy bags. You don't need nearly the amount of stuff you think you do.

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Don't worry about what you wear, anything goes in Paris, except some small details. No baggy jeans worn by any of the youth, American women wear far too much makeup and jewelry and spend too much time on their hair.

Make sure you wear confortable shoes, not white sneakers, but if that is all you have better to be confortable, perhaps shorts if it is really hot. I am 46 and wore shorts and nice shirts and felt at ease.

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Band Aids for foot blisters, epson salts to soak your feet at night. Lots of Walking in Paris. Go to the pharmacies in Paris, they are very helpful and knowledgeable, most have english speaking staff members, but you can find all you need, also go to the markets if you need tooth paste or other sundry needs.

Luggage and bags: It is much better if your luggage has wheel but definitely I would suggest packing light. It is not fun dragging your luggage along the cobble stone street.

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Definitely a comfortable walking shoe. Paris is great for walking around and sight seeing. If you don't have a nice comfortable shoe walking on the cobble stone street, your feet maybe suffering at the end of the day.

Photo Equipment: A great digital camera with a lot of storage space. There are scenic point everywhere.

Luggage and bags: I prefer to travel light so only 1 soft bag

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: You will be doing a large amount of walking so a good pair of shoes is essential. I prefer outdoor shoes (eg Merrell) that I can dress up or down unlike sneakers/tennis shoes that can't. I like to travel light so pack items such as convertable pants that double as shorts & longs for day time/night time plans.

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Just the normal stuff here with the addition of some liquid hand cleaner.

Photo Equipment: I never go anywhere without my small digital camera. Paris has a huge amount to see and take snaps so make sure you are familiar with your gear. My camera has a rechargeable battery which means I have to bring a powerpoint adapter - don't forget yours as a flat battery is fairly limiting.

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Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: I suggest ditching the t-shirt for something w/ buttons. Add a little bit of style when travelling, especially in Europe. When will you be back? You want your future grandkids to see you stylin' back in the day... Or when you're showing your new girlfriend/boyfriend your photos from Europe you don't want to look like a dweeb in a t-shirt.

Miscellaneous: Bring a prop to photograph on your trip! Act like a model or a rock star. (just don't trash your hotel room)

I brought a purse a friend designed with me to Paris. I promised her I'd take photos of it in and around Paris for her marketing purposes. I had one day in Paris with friends from Berlin before we all split up. I got some amazing photos and memories from that one day because of the purse and the goal of modelling it in Paris. My friends got into the game and kept suggesting photos. It made taking photos feel less like a touristy thing and more like a game. We had fun with the photos and the results are better photos than what we might normally have taken. That translates into some great documentation of a great time. I highly suggest it!!

Miscellaneous: Books:

I would guess that more books have been written on Paris than on any other city. As well as being a hugely popular tourist destination, many writers from France and especially from abroad have settled here or lived in the city at some point.

My favourite books about Paris/set in Paris are:

Shakespeare and Co. by Sylvia Beach
Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik
The Lost Generation by Noel Riley Fitch
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
Memoirs of Montparnasse by John Glassco
Paris: A Literary Companion by Ian Littlewood
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

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Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: My observations on what people were wearing:
real honest-to-god cowboy boots or fashion-statement boots a la Robert Altman’s film Ready to Wear (Pret-a-Porter). Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get any photos of the cowboy boots - pity. As always, you can find boots of all kind during the winter months worn by Parisians. This is what some of the cool suede boots looked like this winter.

Again, enjoy the "fashion photos"!

Photos: February 2006