If I'm going to go as myself, limping is altogether possible, if not required, by the end of the day.

Kerouac, did you note the part about booking "that charming hotel in the center of town" rather than staying in "an obscure part of town"?

Pal, I am about as ignorant of computers as one can be and still be sentient, but even I know what a sticky is.>

http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/stickies/

for any other Luddite out there!

Miss Prism, I laughed at your comment. My 7th grade teacher taught us, "Chickens lay (eggs); people don't!!"

I saw that website posted on Facebook last night, cigalechanta. I found some pretty useful information in it.

I would say the worst behaved tourists in NYC after Americans are French speaking people. My ear is not good enough to know the difference from someone who is Québécois as opposed to someone from France. So I will just lump them together. But if someone is going to push in line, walk on the wrong side of the sidewalk with no concern about others, and demand attention in a store there is a good chance they will have a French accent.

Funny, Imdonehere - I always assumed they were from New Jersey...can't understand their accent, either.

A number of people have been saying the same thing on Tripadvisor for years, but there are lots of people who don't WANT to hear it. After all, they need an excuse to buy a whole new wardrobe so they can "blend in" in Paris.

Every time I've said in one of the Italy forums that there's no need at all to "dress up" for a trip to Italy, I get shot down by an American who says it's "respectful" to dress elegantly in Italy, and that they were treated so much better (than whom?) because they were careful not to wear trainers or t-shirts. In my opinion, the only people who notice how they're dressed are the pickpockets.

Funny, Imdonehere - I always assumed they were from New Jersey...can't understand their accent, either.


It is very common to confuse a Jersey accent and French accent because many of them take the Hollande Tunnel into New Yawk.

We just got back from two weeks in Paris. Even though it was my 9th trip, I pretty much followed all 5 recommendations. The shoes I took were well worn in and very comfortable and my feet still hurt at the end of each day. The shoe issue is a biggie.

Thanks for the http://www.eurocheapo.com/paris/ site. Great tips. I wear my jack wolfskin stuff so they think I am German.. I just don't worry about it anymore seeing all the different types of people in Paris.

When I cross the Channel, I dress like a respectable, clean, tidy little old lady. That's the way I dress every time I leave the house.
Why anyone should want to slouch around Paris looking like an unmade bed is a mystery

Why anyone should want to slouch around Paris looking like an unmade bed is a mystery


Form over substance, it reflects the type of place that I can afford to stay.

Just returned from Paris and walked around in black sneakers that were comfy and don't think anyone even cared less what I had on my feet. I went for comfort this time and it sure made life easier.
Seems Paris is a lot more relaxed as far as clothes go. We felt comfortable as tourists probably because we did not try to act like locals.
A local approached my husband to ask for directions.....funny.

I think all one has to do is to take a look at the passenger shaming website to know that the glamour of travel no longer exists for many, so wear what you will. Personally, I would no sooner wear athletic shoes or gym clothes to New York, Chicago, LA or Atlanta, where I often travel for work and live. Why on Earth would I do so while traveling in an elegant city, the home of art, food, architecture and wine, such as Paris? It takes no more effort to pull on a pair of black slacks, a blouse and sweater than a pair of athletic pants and jacket.

sneakers are now common in Paris but not with athelic wear on the street. Dress is so no longer has rules but never did,
the press made that up. The fashinistas, you see in the press and wear those ultra high heels (when I was a kid, we called them **** me shoes) are not the average French womam.

>looking like an unmade bed<

I think this is standard uniform for some people regardless of their whereabouts.

"It takes no more effort to pull on a pair of black slacks, a blouse and sweater than a pair of athletic pants and jacket."

I don't wear athletic wear except when doing athletic activities, but I know that it's not the ease of putting them on that leads people to wear athletic pants and tops. It's the ease of throwing them in the washing machine afterwards and not having to iron them or have them dry cleaned.

<Why anyone should want to slouch around Paris looking like an unmade bed is a mystery>
< It takes no more effort to pull on a pair of black slacks, a blouse and sweater than a pair of athletic pants and jacket.>

So much for Be Yourself, eh? (Some) travelers worry about what to wear in Paris because people who are NOT Parisians lecture and scold them half to death on the subject of (imagined) proper attire.

I think it is all about the image you want to project. No one is telling you that the admission ticket to Paris is to look like a Parisian. One would just feel more Parisian if one is dressed, maybe not necessarily like a Parisian, but a bit more dressed up than what one would wear to a mall in Minnesota.

On a similar note, here is an interesting article on the BBC website today: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29122510.

Not anything earth-shattering or new, but in the same vein.