HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM PARIS!!!!!
Jan 1st, 2004 | 05:47 AM
#6
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 35,166
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Mes souhaits les plus chaleureux de bonheur, santé et prospérité pour le Nouvel An!
So, I'd love to hear what all these folks in Paris finally ended up doing on New Year's Eve. Maybe they could post on this thread, I think that would be useful for people searching in the future. I'm curious what they ended up doing, where they ate or whatever and what they paid, if they had a reservation or thought you could find a place without one, etc. I especially wonder what happened to the ones looking for budget places.
So, I'd love to hear what all these folks in Paris finally ended up doing on New Year's Eve. Maybe they could post on this thread, I think that would be useful for people searching in the future. I'm curious what they ended up doing, where they ate or whatever and what they paid, if they had a reservation or thought you could find a place without one, etc. I especially wonder what happened to the ones looking for budget places.
. Paris and New Years seem so right together! Judy
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Jan 2nd, 2004 | 11:01 AM
#8
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,026
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Christina, just a couple of things to mention on New Year's Eve in Paris.
On the bright side: the metro was free starting sometime in the afternoon, a lucky Air France attendent was the recipient of our extra metro tickets. The RER was also free until noonish on NY Day which a very nice Parisian pointed out to us when we were headed back to CDG. Museums and stores were open, a few closing slightly early. We did a lovely (but cold) Paris Walk of Montmartre in the morning, had a tasty lunch of fondue and onion soup and spent the afternoon at the Musee Carnavalet.
On the not so bright side: starting at dinner even the mediocre restaurants in the Latin Quarter starting raising their prices, some under the pretense of a price fixed menu, many just blatantly covering over their regular prices with paper doubling the price. The doner kebab vendors and crepe makers didn't increase their prices and had many people, including us, as willing patrons. Most of the restaurants doing the price gouging seemed to have plenty of available tables.
On the "you told me so but I didn't believe you" side: Champs Elysses was literally a sea of people, from Concorde all the way down to the Arc de Triomphe. There were inexplicable lines for Quick Burger (one of the very few places open along the Champs Elysses) along with huge quantities of waste from them littering the street. There was no countdown at New Year's, no fireworks and the noise level increased only ever so slightly at midnight, so imperceptible that I didn't even realize that midnight had hit until I looked at my watch. The wait to get back on the metro wasn't bad but the crowds pushing and shoving weren't so pleasant and provided a few "I'm going to die being trampled in the Paris metro" moments.
The period between Christmas and New Year's is very very busy in Paris, the museum pass was excellent and worth the money if only to skip the hour+ line at the Musee d'Orsay.
On the bright side: the metro was free starting sometime in the afternoon, a lucky Air France attendent was the recipient of our extra metro tickets. The RER was also free until noonish on NY Day which a very nice Parisian pointed out to us when we were headed back to CDG. Museums and stores were open, a few closing slightly early. We did a lovely (but cold) Paris Walk of Montmartre in the morning, had a tasty lunch of fondue and onion soup and spent the afternoon at the Musee Carnavalet.
On the not so bright side: starting at dinner even the mediocre restaurants in the Latin Quarter starting raising their prices, some under the pretense of a price fixed menu, many just blatantly covering over their regular prices with paper doubling the price. The doner kebab vendors and crepe makers didn't increase their prices and had many people, including us, as willing patrons. Most of the restaurants doing the price gouging seemed to have plenty of available tables.
On the "you told me so but I didn't believe you" side: Champs Elysses was literally a sea of people, from Concorde all the way down to the Arc de Triomphe. There were inexplicable lines for Quick Burger (one of the very few places open along the Champs Elysses) along with huge quantities of waste from them littering the street. There was no countdown at New Year's, no fireworks and the noise level increased only ever so slightly at midnight, so imperceptible that I didn't even realize that midnight had hit until I looked at my watch. The wait to get back on the metro wasn't bad but the crowds pushing and shoving weren't so pleasant and provided a few "I'm going to die being trampled in the Paris metro" moments.
The period between Christmas and New Year's is very very busy in Paris, the museum pass was excellent and worth the money if only to skip the hour+ line at the Musee d'Orsay.
Jan 2nd, 2004 | 01:55 PM
#9
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 429
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We had a great time in Paris on New Year's Eve. Both 12/30 and 12/31 were beautiful days and we spent most of them exploring new sections of the city and browsing the shops, etc. Most of the "sales" had started and most everything was open (some closing early on New Year's Eve). The food stores (especially the food halls in Galeries Lafayette and the stores on Place de la Madeleine) were jammed with holiday shoppers buying goodies.
For dinner on New Year's Eve, we had a confirmed reservation at Michel Rostang, a 2 Star Michelin restaurant. A beautiful restaurant with very attentive staff, etc., they offered a special degustation menu for New Year's Eve. The menu was seven courses (eight if you count two desserts). Most of the fixed menus that evening were of luxurious ingredients (white truffles, black truffles, lobster, foie gras, caviar, etc.)
At midnight, all of the restaurant stood up and kissed and hugged and the staff came around with personal wishes and gave the ladies a red rose wrapped in a shiny fabric tied with ribbon.
We left the restaurant around 1:00am and walked over to the Arc d'Triumphe. There was still a large crowd, but you could easily walk down the Champs d'Elysees which was closed to vehicles, etc. There was a ton of broken glass all over the street and many people were still carrying around bottles of champagne. We walked the entire length to Place de la Concorde and the only thing you needed to be careful of was people kicking the broken glass. For a major city, the celebration appeared very calm, partially due to the large police presence.
For dinner on New Year's Eve, we had a confirmed reservation at Michel Rostang, a 2 Star Michelin restaurant. A beautiful restaurant with very attentive staff, etc., they offered a special degustation menu for New Year's Eve. The menu was seven courses (eight if you count two desserts). Most of the fixed menus that evening were of luxurious ingredients (white truffles, black truffles, lobster, foie gras, caviar, etc.)
At midnight, all of the restaurant stood up and kissed and hugged and the staff came around with personal wishes and gave the ladies a red rose wrapped in a shiny fabric tied with ribbon.
We left the restaurant around 1:00am and walked over to the Arc d'Triumphe. There was still a large crowd, but you could easily walk down the Champs d'Elysees which was closed to vehicles, etc. There was a ton of broken glass all over the street and many people were still carrying around bottles of champagne. We walked the entire length to Place de la Concorde and the only thing you needed to be careful of was people kicking the broken glass. For a major city, the celebration appeared very calm, partially due to the large police presence.
