namtrag

I just got back from a trip to France with my son. Here are a few ramblings from my experiences:

1. Clothing-a lot of people on here are worried that they will wear the wrong things to Europe. Don't worry! In France at least, I saw every type of clothing being worn. Even the French people, especially the younger ones, were wearing shorts, tank tops, tennis shoes, etc.

2. Heat-again, don't worry too much. When w were in Nimes and Montpellier, it was around 90 degrees. But no hunidity, and the breezes actually felt cool. In the shade, it was extremely comfortable, and even in the sun, I barely sweated. The hotels we stayed in had great air conditioning, we actually got cold at night. This may not be typical weather, so veterans of travelling over there may want to respond, but at least when we were there, it was very comfortable at 90 degrees.

3. Paris in August-don't go if you can avoid it. There were more foreigners than Parisians (it seemed), and it was very crowded. The Eiffel Tower had a one hour wait to buy tickets to enter, and once you entered and got to the 2nd level, there was another 1-1.5 hour wait to ride to the very top. Versailles had a 3 hour wait to get into the building, and once you were inside, there was hardly room to move.

4. Lyon-we visited a friend in Lyon for two days, and I would recommend this city. Not crowded, and has s lot of great restaurants, and a few good tourist areas. And the people are friendlier.

francophile03

Other than the crowds in August, I'd still suggest going. After all, it is Paris.

namtrag

Francophile, I agree, if you have time for the crowds. But if you only have a couple of days, you will spend much of your time waiting in line. But, like you said, it is Paris, so if August is the only time you can go, then by all means, go.

Nina66

namtrag ... the lines are always long in Paris, April, May, June, July, Aug., Sept. Oct.,
especially at the Tour Eiffel. What you described is very normal for Paris.


Thanks for sharing your trip with us. Did you 'discover' any wonderful restaurants sights, etc.. in Paris or Lyon? Lucky you to have friends in Lyon - a wonderfuly city - the second largest in France.

Nina

mpprh

Hi

Languedoc heat is more bearable because the humidity is low.

Also, each year there are warm spells over 100F and people are able to cope. We had 100F last week.

A pic at my house from 2003 :

http://www.the-languedoc-page.com/ph...-photo-024.htm

There is always a lot of publicity when London or Paris have a few warm days, particularly from tourists. Both can be very humid.

Peter

Bigal

Namtrag.....the biggest surprise I got from your posting was when you said the people in Lyon are more friendly than those in Paris.

The surprise was not in what you said but that certain posters here haven't pounced on you for casting aspersions on the ability of the Pariseans to be friendly. ;-)

Gretchen

Any reason not to think the lines for the Eiffel Tower are that long in June and July? The wait for the steps in October was an hour the last time we were thee.

namtrag

Another thing to mention: no problem with our carryons. They didn't bat an eye. I had heard they were pretty strict. We carried on convertibles from e-bags.com, and there were many people who carried on much larger bags than we did.

Also, people were very helpful to us, especially when my son asked them in French. They would respond back in rapid fire French, and if my son didn't understand, they would try again a little slower, or else switch to English.

Also, they do not automatically know you are from America, at least not with me. I am fairly fat, and wore shorts and polo shorts everywhere, and I was constantly asked directions in French, and had to reply Je ne parle pas Francais.

Our friend in Lyon, who had never heard my son speak French, said my son needs to live there for a little while. He explained that my son spoke the words with exactly the right pronunciation, but just didn't talk fast enough. Plus he needs to live there in order to learn the idioms. He said that if my son were to live there for a short while, he would sound like he was from France. That made me feel proud of my son

Annellaw

December is wonderful in Paris. Was there last year in both May and December and loved it both times, but December was amazing. The weather was crisp, and it snowed lightly a few times, which made it even more romantic. Very few queues, unlike in June, and far fewer tourists. Also, the food markets with all the Xmas poultry displays, oysters etc, were very different from our earlier visit. People were in a very festive mood, and there are lots of speciality Xmas markets. We even received a lovely gift from the staff of our Hotel. Would spend every Xmas there if I could.

bilboburgler

I guess the difference between what the french wear and the rest of us is they also have elan. I have a problwm with my gaydar when I visit Italy or France as the men actually know the right colours and styles to go together. So if in doubt ask right people.

Dukey

Bilbo: The only "elan" you should be worried about is whether or not they demonstrate it when taking their clothes OFF.