Am fortunate girls flying me to Paris May 20th for 4 days. Won%26#39;t know hotel until @2 days before %26amp; I am supposed to plan siteseeing. Q. Can you help me find a %26quot;printable%26quot; map of city sites/layout, also 1 of metro/bus routes in english. Should I prepurchase ticket %26amp; would 3 areas normally be adequate unless we are staying by airport? Should I prepurchase tickets to Louvre %26amp; where do prepurchasers enter? Can you give me website for Seine night cruise (best to prepurchase too?) %26amp; are taxis easily available to hail after? How do you get to Palace of Versaille? How would we prepurchase tickets for this %26amp; garden water show? Where would be good Left Bank area to stroll %26amp; maybe purchase art? What is good area for mid priced french restuarants? So little time and can%26#39;t even find a map yet that I can print and see city layout %26amp; plan. Many Thanks. Overwhelmed.
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In www.ratp.fr you can print the metro map. There is a version in pdf format.
For the Chateau de Versailles, try http://www.chateauversailles.fr/en/
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So many question in a single post !!!
As a start :
- Here is the métro/RER map:
www.ratp.info/orienter/cv/carteparis.php
- Paris maps and aerial views on Paris.fr
…paris.fr/carto/mapping
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I suggest you buy, or go to the library and get, tour books. They will help you very quickly with all your questions, and they will help you decide what you want to spend your time on. We are particularly fond of The Unofficial Guide to Paris, but we always consult Frommers (which has a great map), Rick Steves, and Fromers. There are a multitude of them. You can also purchase used copies on www.ebay.com and www.amazon.com (they usually go for between $1.00 and $3.00).
You%26#39;ll get good answers here, but a guide book will help you plan what really appeals to you and give you specific things to ask for more information about on the forum.
For restaurants, I recommend you purchase and take with you the Zygat guide to Paris restaurants. It%26#39;s about $10.00. You%26#39;ll find you can look restaurants up by price, by location, by cuisine, by ambience, etc.
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Opps! Fordors
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The tourist information website is http://en.parisinfo.com/
You can pick up free maps in just about every hotel in Paris, or use google maps, mappy.fr or paris.org/Maps/MM/ before you get there
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Merci Beaucoup for your quick replies %26amp; links. I immediately went to library (why didn%26#39;t I think of that!)and am able to now start piecing this together.
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Hi -
First - Stop. Take a deep breath........and exhale.
Now, just go to your nearest Chapters and get a decent guide book for Paris - one that has a day trips section so you have information on Versailles. It will answer all your questions, and you%26#39;ll be able to study the information at your leisure, so to speak.
Tell your girls that you don%26#39;t want to be demanding, but you don%26#39;t want to stay by the airport because you%26#39;ll have to spend too much time going back and forth to the city. I don%26#39;t think they%26#39;ll choose a place out there anyway, but it doesn%26#39;t hurt to ask.
Two zones covers the Metro. For four days I would be surprised if you used two carnets - 2 x 10 - tickets for Metro and bus - Add another carnet for each additional person in the group. I think they cost about €12 each now. I had some left over from a prior trip so I didn%26#39;t buy any last month.
It%26#39;s generally easier to walk in Paris for the most part - and much more fun, but the Metro comes in handy when you want to go from one side to the other - take a bus back though, so you can see the city. Always get off the bus to investigate if you see something that looks interesting. You%26#39;ll never be able to find it again, and as my mother used to tell me, busses are like men, there%26#39;ll be another one along in a few minutes.
There are good affordable restaurants of all sorts of French food - it varies by originating district - food from Normandy is distinctly different from that of Provence or Brittany - in all areas of the city. Do not panic. You will not starve, nor will you bust your budget accidentally. All restaurants, cafes, brasseries, bistrots and any other purveyor of food must post their bills of fare with prices outside the establishment. A cheque of biblical proportions will not sneak up on you, you%26#39;ll know the prices going in.
I post this regularly, and it%26#39;s important. What we call the menu, the French call %26quot;la carte%26quot;, and what we call the daily specials, they call %26quot;le menu%26quot; or sometimes %26quot;la formule%26quot;, which is a fixed price meal, generally with two or three choices for each of two or three courses. On occasion le menu may include four courses or even a glass of wine. The prices can range from as little as €10 for lunch to as much as €35 or even more - I don%26#39;t inhabit those places, I%26#39;m much too frugal for that. If I spend €35 for dinner, it includes a carafe of house wine and desert, and would be for my special night out in Paris.
Le menu is not food that was going bad in the fridge of the restaurant as some folks%26#39; %26quot;friends%26quot; have told them. Every chef hits the commercial market early in the morning, and whatever looks good and is very abundant on that shopping trip will appear on le menu simply because abundant usually translates to affordable. You%26#39;ll always be eating the freshest of the fresh. Produce, for instance, is that is picked today, is trucked into Paris overnight, which is why it looks so good in the street markets.
There is no reason to drink bottled water in Paris except that you can%26#39;t stand the flavour of what comes out of the faucet. I don%26#39;t mind it so I never order bottled water in a restaurant. The water in Paris is very hard, and some folks just don%26#39;t like it. If you%26#39;re one of them, order a large bottle of water. It will be cheaper than two small ones, and if you have any left over, you take it back to your hotel with you and avoid using the dreaded minibar.
Drink the house wine. No place anywhere in France could last with a bad one. For your hotel, get a bottle from the supermarket - you won%26#39;t believe how low the prices are - when you%26#39;re buying your snacks and large bottles of water. Get one or two small ones, and refill from the large ones.
Ask about the wines, you probably won%26#39;t recognize any of the labels, but for €5 or so you can buy something very drinkable.
Don%26#39;t order Coca Cola or imported booze in a restaurant, or brasserie, or wherever. The prices will kill your budget. The universal travel rule applies - drink the local plonk - house wine and local beer - the stuff on tap if there is one.
If you can%26#39;t live without your Oban single malt or what ever, buy some at the duty free in Pearson before you leave, if the airline will allow you to take in on board with your carry on. Check this out before you go to the airport because if it will be confiscated, you%26#39;ll need to buy minis or something at your local liquor store and pack them in your checked bag. If you%26#39;re travelling alone and will have only carry on, you%26#39;ll just have to do without.
BTW, check your airline%26#39;s web site for the current rules on what you can carry on the airplane. They%26#39;re very strict about applying the rules, so make sure you know what%26#39;s current and comply. While you%26#39;re at it, check their requirements for check in times. If you don%26#39;t comply, they don%26#39;t have to allow you to board.
There is a three tiered price structure for beverages in Paris. The lowest is for drinking at the bar, the next higher for inside tables, and the highest for outside tables. The rates are based on probable occupation of the real estate. You%26#39;ll stay a shorter time at the bar, a longer time at an inside table, and the longest time on the priciest real estate of all, the outdoor table. Basically, you pay rent, and if the view is spectacular or the people watching superior, you%26#39;re renting that as well. You can check the prices on the list posted in the bar, usually above the area where the servers pick up their drink orders. If it looks too costly, smile and leave to find a place that is friendlier to your budget. Don%26#39;t worry about doing this, it%26#39;s a normal thing.
I%26#39;ve never pre-purchased tickets for the Louvre, although I do usually buy a museum pass. I generally use the lower level entry, and I never have to wait in line. As a rule, I go to the Louvre in the afternoon after the bus tours have gone on their way. I see only small sections of the museum at a time, and I may go every afternoon that I%26#39;m in town, usually a half hour before the last entry time. The Louvre is gigantic and can %26quot;art you out%26quot; if you%26#39;re not careful.
I don%26#39;t understand why you would want maps in English - all the street signs and bus stop signs will be in French. I particularly like StreetWise Paris because it%26#39;s folded for your pocket, and is laminated so you can mark it with a dry marker to highlight your targets for a particular day, and wipe it off and do the same for the following one,
Another map, actually it%26#39;s a map set I like is The Knopf City Map guides. They publish them for a number of cities, Paris among them. These are books that consist of a set of maps, each for a different segment of the city with notations about museums, shops, galleries, restaurants, bars, etc. They are easy to use, and the annotation information is in English.
A map book that is highly favoured here on the forum is Paris par Arrondissement. I don%26#39;t have it, although I always mean to get it. It just slips my mind when I%26#39;m there. I think you may be able to buy it at a news kiosk, and most probably at CDG, if the kiosks there are open when you arrive.
I always use les Bateaux Mouches when I want to cruise the Seine. I%26#39;ve never pre-booked or prepurchased tickets, because I don%26#39;t take the dinner cruises. There are too many cafes serving good food to settle for dinner on a river cruise. Because they%26#39;re subject to change, I stop in to the ticket booth to double check on departure times, and I might buy my ticket then if it seems advisable.
Check online for the Versailles tickets, you may be able to buy them at the Chateau web site. I had trouble getting the page to load, and I just haven%26#39;t gone back to it, as I didn%26#39;t intend to visit there on my last trip.
Everywhere in Paris is a good area to stroll. You can purchase art in a number of places, near Sacre Coeur is one that comes to mind. Do a search here on the forum using the search box at the top left corner of this page. There are threads on this subject every week - sometimes several times a week. I just haven%26#39;t read them lately.
Go to Google Earth for maps.
And breathe.
Bonne chance et bon voyage.
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Wow...I%26#39;m printing this and taking it with me. Thank you from all of us.
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