27 good value tips in Paris
Jan 9th, 2004, 08:34 PM
#21
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The Atkins Museum in Kansas City is an excellent museum . . . small but very good.
Actually, Kansas City is my favorite American City except for San Francisco. KC is MUCH less expensive than SF too.
Given the choice, though, I'll take Paris, BTW, the Louvre has explanatory pages in many galleries in several languages.
Actually, Kansas City is my favorite American City except for San Francisco. KC is MUCH less expensive than SF too.
Given the choice, though, I'll take Paris, BTW, the Louvre has explanatory pages in many galleries in several languages.
Jan 30th, 2004, 02:00 PM
#22
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I was surprised to see so many responses to my post and thought I should post a reply to the comments.
(to: Sue_xx_yy, vacation03, airo2x, chatnoir, Elainee, subcon, Christina, Wendy)
thanks for the appreciation!
(to: Michelle_NYC, adrienne, )
Louvre as a UN Monument
The World Heritage list is maintained by UNESCO and contains monuments and sites all around the world. It is a dynamic list and entities are added or removed periodically. For example a 1998 news release at their website http://unesco.org removed two entities from the list.
"Kyoto, (Japan), December 1 - UNESCO's World Heritage Committee today announced it removed the Old City of Dubrovnik (Croatia) and the Wieliczka Salt Mines (Poland) from its List of World Heritage in Danger due to the success of measures undertaken for their restoration and preservation."
The 2003 list does not contain the Louvre, but if someone has access to previous lists we can see if it was in an earlier list as I originally thought (several years ago). The Notre Dame and the banks of the Seine are included in this year's list.
(to: Patrick, Margie, HowardR, )
Nelson-Atkins Museum (Kansas City)
Here is an article by Business Week columnist, Thane Peterson "...the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, which has a marvelous permanent collection that includes everything from works by Claude Monet and Georgia O'Keefe to native American art to one of the nation's finest collections of Chinese artifacts."
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/...02064_7496.htm
http://www.nelson-atkins.org/
http://www.nelson-atkins.org/collect...n/european.htm
Even the gardens at the KC museum are beautiful, interspersed with sculptures by Henry Moore and Rodin's Thinker gazing down (the shrewd businessman! he made 27 of them).
(to: HowardR)
The "poignant sculpture" I was referring to was "Maturity" by Camille Claudel, Rodin's mistress.
(to: Patrick, Margie, HowardR)
Balzac IMHO, was disgustingly silly and vulgar because it depicts the honorable gentleman with a large you-know-what through his pants when he is aroused. A schoolboy's joke perhaps, but hardly in good taste, let alone good art.
(to: Elaine, StCirq, jody, Christina)
Signs only in french at the Louvre
As far as I know, in most (if not all) non-English speaking countries, in a museum or other monument where there are international visitors, the signs are bi or trilingual. For example in India, each sign is first in the National language (Hindi), next in the State language (say, Kannada) and finally in English. This is a simple courtesy and consideration to those who are paying visitors.
(to SalB)
The cards covered very few exhibits.
Umbrella
This was purchased at Caen, Normandy - not in Paris. It sits sadly at home, unused as it is rather flimsy.
(to: Elaine)
Deportation Memorial
You're right, my mistake. It is not the Holocaust Memorial.
(to: absolutkz)
Chauvinism
Refer to a dictionary before you correct others harshly and find out who indeed is ignorant.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=chauvinism
(to: StCirq)
Etap
My spelling was correct. It is not Etape. see http://www.etaphotel.com/etaphotel/index.html
(to: Sue_xx_yy, vacation03, airo2x, chatnoir, Elainee, subcon, Christina, Wendy)
thanks for the appreciation!
(to: Michelle_NYC, adrienne, )
Louvre as a UN Monument
The World Heritage list is maintained by UNESCO and contains monuments and sites all around the world. It is a dynamic list and entities are added or removed periodically. For example a 1998 news release at their website http://unesco.org removed two entities from the list.
"Kyoto, (Japan), December 1 - UNESCO's World Heritage Committee today announced it removed the Old City of Dubrovnik (Croatia) and the Wieliczka Salt Mines (Poland) from its List of World Heritage in Danger due to the success of measures undertaken for their restoration and preservation."
The 2003 list does not contain the Louvre, but if someone has access to previous lists we can see if it was in an earlier list as I originally thought (several years ago). The Notre Dame and the banks of the Seine are included in this year's list.
(to: Patrick, Margie, HowardR, )
Nelson-Atkins Museum (Kansas City)
Here is an article by Business Week columnist, Thane Peterson "...the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, which has a marvelous permanent collection that includes everything from works by Claude Monet and Georgia O'Keefe to native American art to one of the nation's finest collections of Chinese artifacts."
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/...02064_7496.htm
http://www.nelson-atkins.org/
http://www.nelson-atkins.org/collect...n/european.htm
Even the gardens at the KC museum are beautiful, interspersed with sculptures by Henry Moore and Rodin's Thinker gazing down (the shrewd businessman! he made 27 of them).
(to: HowardR)
The "poignant sculpture" I was referring to was "Maturity" by Camille Claudel, Rodin's mistress.
(to: Patrick, Margie, HowardR)
Balzac IMHO, was disgustingly silly and vulgar because it depicts the honorable gentleman with a large you-know-what through his pants when he is aroused. A schoolboy's joke perhaps, but hardly in good taste, let alone good art.
(to: Elaine, StCirq, jody, Christina)
Signs only in french at the Louvre
As far as I know, in most (if not all) non-English speaking countries, in a museum or other monument where there are international visitors, the signs are bi or trilingual. For example in India, each sign is first in the National language (Hindi), next in the State language (say, Kannada) and finally in English. This is a simple courtesy and consideration to those who are paying visitors.
(to SalB)
The cards covered very few exhibits.
Umbrella
This was purchased at Caen, Normandy - not in Paris. It sits sadly at home, unused as it is rather flimsy.
(to: Elaine)
Deportation Memorial
You're right, my mistake. It is not the Holocaust Memorial.
(to: absolutkz)
Chauvinism
Refer to a dictionary before you correct others harshly and find out who indeed is ignorant.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=chauvinism
(to: StCirq)
Etap
My spelling was correct. It is not Etape. see http://www.etaphotel.com/etaphotel/index.html
Jan 30th, 2004, 02:11 PM
#23
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Value tip #28
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Take one of the week-long package trips from gotoday or Europe Express or whatever. While booking it, ask them to extend the return date. This way you can travel on your own to other places in France and then come back to Paris on the last day to catch the plane back home. However, dont let the package tour people make travel/hotel arrangements for your extended stay. They will typically charge much higher rates piecemeal.
-------------
Take one of the week-long package trips from gotoday or Europe Express or whatever. While booking it, ask them to extend the return date. This way you can travel on your own to other places in France and then come back to Paris on the last day to catch the plane back home. However, dont let the package tour people make travel/hotel arrangements for your extended stay. They will typically charge much higher rates piecemeal.
Jan 30th, 2004, 03:03 PM
#24
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Apologies. Several people didn't know about the Nelson-Atkins Gallery in KC and I was trying to emphasize it was a very nice gallery.
The Louvre does have a much larger collection than the Nelson-Atkins and I didn't notice their signs being in French.
The Louvre does post the name of the picture and the artist beside each one and as someone above pointed out, that needs no translation.
The Louvre does have a much larger collection than the Nelson-Atkins and I didn't notice their signs being in French.
The Louvre does post the name of the picture and the artist beside each one and as someone above pointed out, that needs no translation.
Jan 30th, 2004, 04:46 PM
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Hi Anil,
Thanks for replying to my question on the Louvre as a UN monument. I had originally thought you might have meant it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site but since it is not I then thought there was a different meaning. You are correct that the Banks of the Seine is a WHS and although the Louvre is situated on the Seine banks, it is not on the WHS list by itself.
The Notre Dame on the list is not the Notre Dame de Paris located on the Ile de la Cite in Paris. Rather it is the Notre Dame Cathedral in Reims.
For anyone interested in the complete World Heritage List and an explanation of what it involves, here's the URL:
http://whc.unesco.org/nwhc/pages/doc/mainf3.htm
Thanks for replying to my question on the Louvre as a UN monument. I had originally thought you might have meant it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site but since it is not I then thought there was a different meaning. You are correct that the Banks of the Seine is a WHS and although the Louvre is situated on the Seine banks, it is not on the WHS list by itself.
The Notre Dame on the list is not the Notre Dame de Paris located on the Ile de la Cite in Paris. Rather it is the Notre Dame Cathedral in Reims.
For anyone interested in the complete World Heritage List and an explanation of what it involves, here's the URL:
http://whc.unesco.org/nwhc/pages/doc/mainf3.htm
Jan 30th, 2004, 05:19 PM
#26
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There are some good tips here.
Like others, I take issue about the French only signs at The Louvre. How many signs in the US are in French? Perhaps in Vermont near the Quebec border but otherwise not.
Not all credit card companies charge that fee. Check with your credit card companies before you go. Use the cards that do not add the extra "conversion fee". We have all learned this the hard way.
On guidebooks--and I don't care which ones you use--do not bring them at all. I xerox pages from them that are relevant to what I want to do on my trip, leaving the guidebooks at home. Then, when I use the pages in connection with a site and no longer need them, I toss them. It does make your luggage way less.
Because I always leave umbrellas somewhere, I take one that is on its way out (you know the one with a broken spoke or two). If you lose it, you won't care. The last time I had a running joke with the owner (or manager) at the Brasserie Ecole Militaire about how many people left umbrellas every day. When I was about to leave, I presented him with my old broken down collapsible umbrella as a souvenir. I had eaten there a few times during my stay because--horrors!--I was staying off the rue Cler in a studio apartment.
A word on the rue Cler: I do not regard it as anything I would put on my "must see" list, but the market street was convenient when I needed something (food, soap powder for the washer, etc.).
Since I am a relatively casual traveler, I try to bring mostly inexpensive clothing. I remember accidentally leaving a jacket on a train when I arrived in Paris. It was a $13 jacket I had picked up in a Marshall's or a similar emporium. I didn't worry about it. Similarly with jewelry, if I bring it at all, I bring a few costume jewelry pieces and that is it. Why worry about losing expensive items when you are moving around?
Nothing I bring requires dry cleaning, by the way, as European dry cleaning is expensive and--heck--you don't want to worry about that while you are touring.
On purchases: If you see something you really want, buy it. Waiting and thinking you will buy it later probably means you won't be able to find it later. On the other hand, do not over do the purchases. They weigh down your luggage and many things can be found back home (albeit at a price).
Like others, I take issue about the French only signs at The Louvre. How many signs in the US are in French? Perhaps in Vermont near the Quebec border but otherwise not.
Not all credit card companies charge that fee. Check with your credit card companies before you go. Use the cards that do not add the extra "conversion fee". We have all learned this the hard way.
On guidebooks--and I don't care which ones you use--do not bring them at all. I xerox pages from them that are relevant to what I want to do on my trip, leaving the guidebooks at home. Then, when I use the pages in connection with a site and no longer need them, I toss them. It does make your luggage way less.
Because I always leave umbrellas somewhere, I take one that is on its way out (you know the one with a broken spoke or two). If you lose it, you won't care. The last time I had a running joke with the owner (or manager) at the Brasserie Ecole Militaire about how many people left umbrellas every day. When I was about to leave, I presented him with my old broken down collapsible umbrella as a souvenir. I had eaten there a few times during my stay because--horrors!--I was staying off the rue Cler in a studio apartment.
A word on the rue Cler: I do not regard it as anything I would put on my "must see" list, but the market street was convenient when I needed something (food, soap powder for the washer, etc.).
Since I am a relatively casual traveler, I try to bring mostly inexpensive clothing. I remember accidentally leaving a jacket on a train when I arrived in Paris. It was a $13 jacket I had picked up in a Marshall's or a similar emporium. I didn't worry about it. Similarly with jewelry, if I bring it at all, I bring a few costume jewelry pieces and that is it. Why worry about losing expensive items when you are moving around?
Nothing I bring requires dry cleaning, by the way, as European dry cleaning is expensive and--heck--you don't want to worry about that while you are touring.
On purchases: If you see something you really want, buy it. Waiting and thinking you will buy it later probably means you won't be able to find it later. On the other hand, do not over do the purchases. They weigh down your luggage and many things can be found back home (albeit at a price).
Feb 3rd, 2004, 05:53 AM
#27
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How many people in the world speak English compare to French speaking population ?
IMO it is silly to complain about US museums not having French translation.
There is no translation in Polish or Greek nor in Bulgarian ...
IMO it is silly to complain about US museums not having French translation.
There is no translation in Polish or Greek nor in Bulgarian ...
Feb 3rd, 2004, 08:51 AM
#28
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If you're looking for Louvre exhibits with English captions, there is--or was, when we were there--a case of Egyptian artifacts in something like chronological order, with excellent descriptions and historical comment.
Feb 3rd, 2004, 09:58 AM
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FWIW, the Nat'l Gallery of Art in Wash. DC has (room by room) information on all of the art works printed in at least 8 different languages. The audio tours, of course, are also available in many languages.
Feb 3rd, 2004, 10:26 AM
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I'll disagree with the first statement"France is more expensive than America". France is the bargain destianation of the world, even with the weak dollar. Yes, use ATM's for cash (not your credit card). Use your credit card for purchases.
The rue Cler is a charming market street where you will see Parisians shopping for their daily needs.
The rue Cler is a charming market street where you will see Parisians shopping for their daily needs.
Feb 3rd, 2004, 10:38 AM
#31
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I personally take exception to #'s 3, 6, 8, 13, 16 & 19. One of the worst things about the US is the plethora of Wal-Marts, CostCos, etc. but your post reads like an add for them. I would be interested to know how many times you have visited before as well as how long you were in Paris this trip.??
Feb 3rd, 2004, 10:41 AM
#32
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Good-value tip: the Louvre, and some other museums, offer a reduced entrance fee beginning in the late afternoon. You still have time to see a great deal on the evenings that the museums are open late.
Feb 4th, 2004, 05:06 PM
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Here's a tip that could save you a headache later ... if you do use a credit card, be sure to take your receipt (or if you don't want to keep it, destroy it). Many establishments still print the ENTIRE account number on the slip which makes it easy for someone to steal your number (from one who knows the hard way).
Jun 18th, 2008, 09:23 AM
#34
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When we went, it was in May 2003. The Iraq war had just begun and there was plenty of Franco-American friction and anger. Now, of course, it is all water under the [Pont Noeuf!] bridge. Those of us who supported the war, now oppose it - and many in France now support the American view. The French President is referred to by his countrymen as "Sarkozy l' Americaine".
Jun 18th, 2008, 10:02 AM
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There are still people who support the war, so you can't say everyone who supported it now opposes it.
Some of us never supported it in the first place EVER, and that includes me. Anyone who knew the history of US and Britain in that part of the world, and the Bush presidency and their cheerleaders knew it was bogus all along. Even those who thought maybe the whole WMD stuff was true (I always knew he was lying) didn't all talk about trying to convert others and talk about the "righteousness of our cause". How chauvinistic.
Some of us never supported it in the first place EVER, and that includes me. Anyone who knew the history of US and Britain in that part of the world, and the Bush presidency and their cheerleaders knew it was bogus all along. Even those who thought maybe the whole WMD stuff was true (I always knew he was lying) didn't all talk about trying to convert others and talk about the "righteousness of our cause". How chauvinistic.
Jun 18th, 2008, 10:03 AM
#36
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I was there in '03 also, and I just returned last week from my umpteenth trip to Paris. It turns out the majority of the French were right in '03, and now the majority of Americans have come around to that position. If only we could take back the Freedom Fries and pouring good Bordeaux into the sewers in front of the French Embassy in NYC. What a waste of energy-and good wine!
BTW, Anil, I find a lot of your tips useful for the Paris beginner. Also, you wouldn't believe the exchange rate now if you think it was bad in '03! We rented an apartment-still much cheaper than a hotel-and patronized the open air markets and local shops. I live in a big city here in the US so I didn't find Paris food prices to be any more expensive that at home.
BTW, Anil, I find a lot of your tips useful for the Paris beginner. Also, you wouldn't believe the exchange rate now if you think it was bad in '03! We rented an apartment-still much cheaper than a hotel-and patronized the open air markets and local shops. I live in a big city here in the US so I didn't find Paris food prices to be any more expensive that at home.
Jun 18th, 2008, 10:27 AM
#38
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How shocking that none of you picked up on the blantant baloney disguised at facts.
English IS an offical languauge in India,, duh, remember India was a British Colony, , so of course english is no signs. Don't be cheap and rent a audio guide in english.
You seem to lack actual knowledge of world history.
Secondly, not every American agrees with you regarding the justness of your cause( whatever baloney that means) .. why do you insist on presenting stuff as facts.. they are only your opinions, and mighty mean and narrow minded some of them are.
PS Wearing your t shirt is not impressive, its in your face, and frankly they are not attractive at all, I would never wear my flag on my back to sweat in, have you no respect for the American flag,, is it clothing ?, is it a decoration, ? No, its not.
You had some good tips but you messed them up with strong zenophobic comments and statements, and you obviously have NOT travelled much at all.
English IS an offical languauge in India,, duh, remember India was a British Colony, , so of course english is no signs. Don't be cheap and rent a audio guide in english.
You seem to lack actual knowledge of world history.
Secondly, not every American agrees with you regarding the justness of your cause( whatever baloney that means) .. why do you insist on presenting stuff as facts.. they are only your opinions, and mighty mean and narrow minded some of them are.
PS Wearing your t shirt is not impressive, its in your face, and frankly they are not attractive at all, I would never wear my flag on my back to sweat in, have you no respect for the American flag,, is it clothing ?, is it a decoration, ? No, its not.
You had some good tips but you messed them up with strong zenophobic comments and statements, and you obviously have NOT travelled much at all.
Jun 21st, 2008, 01:17 PM
#39
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bozama:
English is not an official language in
India. Hindi is the only National and official language. English is used unofficially. That is why whenever the Prime Minister or President addresses the nation, it is always in Hindi - never in English. There are 18 official regional languages in their respective states.
Also, by zenophobic did you mean xenophobic?
English is not an official language in
India. Hindi is the only National and official language. English is used unofficially. That is why whenever the Prime Minister or President addresses the nation, it is always in Hindi - never in English. There are 18 official regional languages in their respective states.
Also, by zenophobic did you mean xenophobic?
Jun 21st, 2008, 11:40 PM
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English is still an offical language in India. Look it up. Although it was meant to be phased out 15 yrs after 1950s first langauge act ,, too many protests. Act amended. English is still an associate offical language, spoken by as much as 70% of population, and is in fact THE offical language of the Indian Supreme Court. Look it up.
