Planning a trip to Paris?

What should I do? Planning a trip to Paris!?

• Hello, my friend and I are planning on going to Paris for about 6 nights in September. We have a list of places to visit and airline/hotel estimates. I guess the question that is ...show more

• Answer:

  Well, how much money you should bring depends on what all you want to do. Grab a guidebook or pull a chair up and surf the 'net and see how much certain things will cost. I will recommend ordering Euros before you depart. The exchange booths are horrible. The last time we went, we could not find a decent exchange booth at all. Order enough Euros to get you through 1-2 days (let's just say, $200), and then rely on using a debit/check card and hitting up the ATM once you arrive in Paris. Although, if you do decide to go with your debit/check card, make sure you alert your bank that you're traveling overseas or they can put a freeze on your account. Also, most vendors don't like to accept foreign credit cards for anything less than 15 Euros. I'm not familiar with the Renaissance Vendome Paris, but it looks quite nice. The metro stop is the Tuileries Metro, which is a hop, skip and a jump from the Louvre museum. You could just walk to the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay. The Rue de Rivoli is right there and has a ton of souvenir shops. Best place to buy your souvenirs. Another great place is near Notre-Dame Cathedral. Those two areas have the best souvenir shopping. Also, near Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Cafe Quasimodo is really good and really inexpensive. Whereever you go, you'll encounter tourists. But, a sort of off-the-beaten-path park to explore is Parc des Buttes Chaumont. It's very pretty, but so are all of the gardens in Paris. Catching a performance at the Opera Garnier is a lot of fun, too. Esp when you can get box seats for the event. Luckily, all restaurants/bistros/etc have their menus posted outside the establishment. That way, you can decided if you want to go in or not. The best cafes are the ones you just happen to stumble upon. The Maya, which is located in the Republique area, is wonderful. Nestled in the midst of Montmartre is La Bonne Franquette. It is located directly across the street from the infamous Le Consulat. We went to La Bonne Franquette on a Saturday night and they had interesting entertainment. Watch out for the amorous accordian player. The food court at the Louvre is actually pretty nice, as well. Be sure to hit up the stellar crepe stand. There are many wonderful restaurants in Paris...Fouquets on Champs-Elysees, the restaurant at the Eiffel Tower. You can also dine at the Moulin Rouge before you catch a show. If you check out Cityrama, they offer several tours where you can let them do the dirty work by making reservations and escorting you there. Some offer a nocturnal tour. You can also get an introductory busy tour of Paris with Cityrama. Their offices are located on Rue de Rivoli. Exchange some Euros before traveling overseas.It will make things run much smoother. I know Bank of America will do this for you. The best option for traveling the city is via the Metro. Get a Carte Orange. You can get the Carte Orange at a major Metro ticket booth. You'll need a passport size photo for it though. Otherwise, you can get a carnet of metro tickets. It's about 12 Euros. Check out Barnes and Noble and look at all the Paris maps they have. It all depends on what works best for you. You can get a free Metro map from the metro station and the hotel. They hotel should have Paris maps as well. Check out Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door. The man is a travel guru. His Paris book is top notch. Also, on his web site, you can download the tours (Paris, Musee d'Orsay, Versailles, etc) and various walks to your iPod, therefore reducing your bulk. The Buddha Bar is pretty groovy!