First trip to Paris and Europe
 

My husband and I are traveling to Paris for the for time next week. Any suggestions for essentials we must know and must sees?

Did you use any of the suggestions in your previous posts?

~Liz

Investigate Navigo transit pass

and Museum Pass - are you interested in museums? Or just the main ones to say you have seen them - like Orsay and Louvre.

What are your interests - your question is too general.

Consider day trips to the real France - like to Chartres or Reims (Champagne tours and tastings!)

day trip to Versailles - just 40 minute so via RER/mtero trains right to near palace entrance.

Need more info - how old are you - looking for night life - like to walk - like markets or parks or is shopping your bag?

Is this the forth time when you say 'for the for' time doe that mean 4th time?

I think the top 'must sees' are:

Eiffel Tower - you can see if from anywhere in Paris of course but go up it

Louvre and Orsay museums - right by each other

Notre-Dame Cathedral

Latin Quarter - restaurant ghetto

Champs-Elysees - may disappoint but at least you can say you walked up and down it

Tuileries Gardens by Louvre

Montmartre

Boat ride on Seine - day but i prefer night when bridges and facades of things like Orsay, Louvre and Notre-Dame are floodlit

To find all your posts, click on your screen name

here is the other thread http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...g-to-paris.cfm

(if you do want additional advice/info, it is usually best to top the earlier thread instead of starting a new one -- unless of course it is a different issue. AND it would help if you answered the questions you were asked on that thread -- otherwise we have no idea what sorts of info to provide)

Well, not sure exactly what you are looking for but...

Use the Bus in Paris--easy to use and you will learn your way around the city while you ride. You can use the same tickets you use for the Metro (which is also easy to use). Buy a carnet at a tabac or Metro station and hold on to the ticket in The Metro until you exit the station.

Get euros from ATM...Bank Populaire ATMs tend to give smaller bills. 50 euro bills you often get from ATMs can be hard to use for small purchases.

Group your site seeing by arrondissement to avoid criss crossing all over Paris. Make sure you check the days and hours of operation before you plan your itinerary....don't plan to Louvre for Tuesday....it's closed.

Don't bother with the big bottle of water the restaurants often place on the table...just get tap water.

You don't need to tip servers the way we do in the US. If the service was good, just leave a few euros.

Greet shop personnel when you enter and say thanks and goodbye when you leave. Learn to say hello, please, thank you and goodbye in French. Be polite and have a great time.

Thank you for the info . We just got here last night and trying to familiarize ourselves with the city. We definitely plan on seeing the main attractions but would also like yo get out of the city and see the country. Champagne tours and tastings seem right up our alley. We also like shopping so wouldn't mind getting some of that in. We are here until Sunday and just want to make the most of out time. Do you recommend picking a district a day and exploring it? We are staying in the st Germaine district. We love good food, wine and would love to explore the culture.

You didn't do any advance planning? Amazing, but if I were you I'd hie myself over to Gibert-Jeune in the 5ème and pick up a guidebook or two and stop by a news kiosk and get a copy of Pariscope to see what's going on this week.If you want to get out of the city to anywhere farther than where the RER goes, you'll pay top price for train tickets. The discounted ones were available 3 months ago.