Colleen

Although still a bit jet lagged, we had a great time in France. I speak the language pretty well, but travelled with my husband, brother and sister-in-law. None had been to France before, so we opted to stay in fairly central places so we could see the major monuments that one can't return from France without seeing. In Paris, we stayed at the Clarion St James and had a lovely little room overlooking the quiet courtyard. The location was good, right across from the Tuilleries and close to the Louvre--although too much on the "touristy" side. The staff and concierge was very friendly and helpful. The shopping was great just behind by the Place de Vandome. As far as food, we ate mostly locally, as we were so tired after walking all day every day. The best meal we had was up the street at the (sp?) Carré des Fuilleants. 5 waiters at our table, the best red wine I've ever tasted and the food was out of this world. We ate there for lunch, and the place was filled with business men in suites. Very formal and pricey, but worth the experience. We had a few dinners at a restaurant in a small plaza just behind us called Nomads. The food was really great, and the service, friendly. The other highlights were: the Orsay museum--wow, I'm an art major, so to be able to see all the impressionist painters there was quite an experience (damn near a religeous one!) The Moulin Rouge--it was OK…the Lautrec reference was the reason I went, but the show was definately on the cheesy side, and in search of a cab back to the hotel we quickly found ourselves in porn-shop hell. <BR> <BR>Overall, I was surprised at the smog in Paris. I didn't remember it that way--walking down the streets was choking, but glorious nonetheless, very much the romance capital of the world. <BR> <BR>We stayed in the Meridien Hotel in Nice--a very nice hotel--our room had a full ocean view with a balcony on the 7th floor (be sure, if you're a non-smoker to get the 7th, as the 6th has a weeny, 2-foot balcony--ours had a table, chairs and lounge-chairs), where we had room service breakfast almost every morning. The street below (Promenade des Anglais) was a main thoroghfare, and VERY noisy. But the view was lovely, and worth the noise. We would go back in a minute, it was a great place with a TON of shopping, a farmer's market every morning in the old town, and close to many places--Cannes, Monaco, ect. We took day trips to Eze and the Fragonard Perfumery next door--(VERY Lovely little village) and the Musee Oceanographique in Monaco, toured the palace, saw the changing of the guard at noon, and down to Monte Carlo to see the big Casino. We had great luck with cabs in Nice. They were very nice about touring us around, waiting for us while we toured the different sites, and offering a LOT of information about what we were seeing, the history, stopping at vista points so we could take photos, etc…I'm so glad we didn't rent a car on this trip!--Much more hassel than it's worth. <BR> <BR>Such a verbose message, but thanks to everyone at this site who offered such generous help and insite--it made our trip better! <BR> <BR>C.

chuck

Colleen <BR> <BR>Thanks for your trip report! We just got back from a week in Paris (5/27 through 6/3) too. We didn't notice any smog at all. Was your bad atmospheric experience limited to a particular area? <BR> <BR>I heard the Musee D'Orsay was great--thanks for the confirmation. We chickened out on the big museums this trip, but we did find a great little Museum called the Marmotan (if my memory and spelling is correct), founded by Claude Monet's son or grandson I believe. Anyway, no crowds, lots of Monet's and other impressionists' work in an up-close-and-personal setting.

Ess

Colleen, it sounds wonderful! We were in France last week, too. We had such wonderful weather, we were driving around. I really hated to leave. I'll bet the weather in Nice was glorious. You guys posting your Paris reviews make me want to go back as soon as possible. My mother and I are talking about a girls week in Paris - we're thinking about it for this fall. I gave her the recent issues of Bon Appetit and Gourmet that feature Paris, now she's all eager to go. Bon weekend!

cristina

I went to the Marrmotan too, and if you love Monet thats the place to go! I also was really impressed with the Rodin museum, the gardens are lovely!

Lisa

Colleen, thank you for posting your trip report. I don't think you were verbose at all. I find it so interesting to get other people's opinions and tips.