Montmartre - 2 questions please
Sep 26th, 2005, 08:14 PM
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Montmartre - 2 questions please
Does anyone have a link to a walk around the area or can you offer advice on where to go after the Basilica for the most atmospheric part of the area please. Any suggestion on how to spend time in the area welcome.
My notes say that The Sacré Coeur opens at 7am and closes at 10pm and The Dome and Crypte open at 9am and close at 5:30pm. We are early rises - has anyone gone there around 8am and if so would they recommend the early start there?
thanks again
My notes say that The Sacré Coeur opens at 7am and closes at 10pm and The Dome and Crypte open at 9am and close at 5:30pm. We are early rises - has anyone gone there around 8am and if so would they recommend the early start there?
thanks again
Sep 26th, 2005, 09:04 PM
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Cosmo, The church is beautiful but the square behind the church is full of artists and tourists shops. That is what brings me back. Most of the artists start showing up when the tourists start showing up, they're no dummies.
Sep 26th, 2005, 09:14 PM
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Cosmo - I have never gone to Sacre Coeur that early. I don't think there will be much happening in Place du Tetre (artists painting etc. ) and the whole atmosphere will be different I should imagine.
But if you hang about and have a coffee, go down and see the vineyard -
(the wine festival is on from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th Oct. and they expecting 45,000 people) - you can then take the Le Petit Train Montmartre for a ride around they area and either get off at the Moulin Rouge or come back to Pace du Tetre.
But if you hang about and have a coffee, go down and see the vineyard -
(the wine festival is on from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th Oct. and they expecting 45,000 people) - you can then take the Le Petit Train Montmartre for a ride around they area and either get off at the Moulin Rouge or come back to Pace du Tetre.
Sep 26th, 2005, 11:32 PM
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Hi,
I'll try and describe my favourite walk through Montmartre. I used to live in the neighbourhood and this is a walk I would often go on with friends or on my own.
The walk will make more sense if you have a map to hand - there's an OK map of Montmartre here: http://www.ecosse-montmartre.com/ecosse-lieu.html
Start at metro Abbesses (NB if you get the metro, make sure you take the lift up to street level unless you enjoy climbing hundreds of stairs), and walk along rue Yvonne le Tac/rue Tardieu until you reach the gardens in front of the Sacre Coeur. The carousel used in the film Amélie is here.
Take the funicular (1 metro ticket) or walk up the slope to the basilica (it's easier if you zig-zag up the side route as the slope is more gradual).
Once you've visited the Sacré Coeur, take a right across the esplanade, and walk along rue Azaïs. Follow the road round to the right and you reach Place du Tertre. This is where the "artists" hang out. Not my favourite part of Montmartre (too many people!), but it can be a lot of fun looking at the paintings and caricatures. Be warned - the cafés on the square are very expensive.
Leave the place via rue du Mont Cenis (north side), and then turn right onto rue du Chevalier. This takes you back behind the Sacré Couer building - you get some great views of the basilica, but minus most of the tourists and touts.
Walk a little way further down rue Chevalier and then enter the Parc de la Turlure on the left. This is a lovely little park with alcoved seats, climbing plants, a waterfall fountain and, in summer, lots of fragrant lavander. Walk right through the garden and down the steps at the end.
Take a left onto rue St Vincent. When you reach the crossroads with rue des Saules you will see, on one corner, Au Lapin Agile, the oldest cabaret in Paris. Turn left up rue des Saules. On your left you can see the vineyard of Montmartre.
Continue up the rue des Saules until you reach place JB Clément. Turn right and walk down Rue Lepic. You will see the Moulin de la Galette on your right (featured in the Renoir painting of the same name although it's been rebuilt since then).
Continue down rue Lepic as it snakes round and down, joining onto onto rue des Abbesses. Walk along rue des Abbesses (lots of nice food shops, bakeries cafés, etc. here) and you'll arrive back at Place des Abbesses, where the metro station is.
If you are a fan of the film Amélie, the café where she worked - les Deux Moulins - is a bit further down rue Lepic towards place Blanche. If you are an art fan, the Bateau Lavoir is just at the top of Rue Ravignan (a short walk up from rue des Abbesses), where Picasso, Modigliani and Max Jacob, among others, had their studio.
Hope you enjoy Montmartre
I'll try and describe my favourite walk through Montmartre. I used to live in the neighbourhood and this is a walk I would often go on with friends or on my own.
The walk will make more sense if you have a map to hand - there's an OK map of Montmartre here: http://www.ecosse-montmartre.com/ecosse-lieu.html
Start at metro Abbesses (NB if you get the metro, make sure you take the lift up to street level unless you enjoy climbing hundreds of stairs), and walk along rue Yvonne le Tac/rue Tardieu until you reach the gardens in front of the Sacre Coeur. The carousel used in the film Amélie is here.
Take the funicular (1 metro ticket) or walk up the slope to the basilica (it's easier if you zig-zag up the side route as the slope is more gradual).
Once you've visited the Sacré Coeur, take a right across the esplanade, and walk along rue Azaïs. Follow the road round to the right and you reach Place du Tertre. This is where the "artists" hang out. Not my favourite part of Montmartre (too many people!), but it can be a lot of fun looking at the paintings and caricatures. Be warned - the cafés on the square are very expensive.
Leave the place via rue du Mont Cenis (north side), and then turn right onto rue du Chevalier. This takes you back behind the Sacré Couer building - you get some great views of the basilica, but minus most of the tourists and touts.
Walk a little way further down rue Chevalier and then enter the Parc de la Turlure on the left. This is a lovely little park with alcoved seats, climbing plants, a waterfall fountain and, in summer, lots of fragrant lavander. Walk right through the garden and down the steps at the end.
Take a left onto rue St Vincent. When you reach the crossroads with rue des Saules you will see, on one corner, Au Lapin Agile, the oldest cabaret in Paris. Turn left up rue des Saules. On your left you can see the vineyard of Montmartre.
Continue up the rue des Saules until you reach place JB Clément. Turn right and walk down Rue Lepic. You will see the Moulin de la Galette on your right (featured in the Renoir painting of the same name although it's been rebuilt since then).
Continue down rue Lepic as it snakes round and down, joining onto onto rue des Abbesses. Walk along rue des Abbesses (lots of nice food shops, bakeries cafés, etc. here) and you'll arrive back at Place des Abbesses, where the metro station is.
If you are a fan of the film Amélie, the café where she worked - les Deux Moulins - is a bit further down rue Lepic towards place Blanche. If you are an art fan, the Bateau Lavoir is just at the top of Rue Ravignan (a short walk up from rue des Abbesses), where Picasso, Modigliani and Max Jacob, among others, had their studio.
Hope you enjoy Montmartre
Sep 27th, 2005, 01:12 AM
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thanks aisleSeat (love the name)and tod - good point about the artists and the atmosphere (or lack of with too early a start - maybe it'd work if we do Sacre Coeur and Dome first?- Im sure the artists/sellers would be there by 9.30am waiting for us?? hee hee
hanl - thank you! - thats fabulous - Ive spent hours on the net this afternoon trying to put the walk together and now yours is here and it sounds perfect. Ill go print the map out to go with your notes.
Can you please give me an idea of how long it would take to walk it without stopping just so I get an idea of distance/area please?
What do you think of an early start?
If weve checked out Sacre Coeur and be ready at the dome at 9am Im guessing the place would be pretty busy by the time we resurfaced.
Also where Moulin Rouge? close by? - I have to get the photo shoot for my mum who went to a show there 45 years ago.
Thanks to you all again
hanl - thank you! - thats fabulous - Ive spent hours on the net this afternoon trying to put the walk together and now yours is here and it sounds perfect. Ill go print the map out to go with your notes.
Can you please give me an idea of how long it would take to walk it without stopping just so I get an idea of distance/area please?
What do you think of an early start?
If weve checked out Sacre Coeur and be ready at the dome at 9am Im guessing the place would be pretty busy by the time we resurfaced.
Also where Moulin Rouge? close by? - I have to get the photo shoot for my mum who went to a show there 45 years ago.
Thanks to you all again
Sep 27th, 2005, 01:34 AM
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Hanl I had to post again to say thanks - just printed off the map and the walk notes and Im really impressed! - Just said to my husband how amazing everyone on Fodors is - It makes such a difference to a holiday. The previous notes I made this arvo would have had us wandering aimlessly and becoming exhausted trying to ensure we dont miss the nice areas that people refer to.
Because of your kindness and wonderful notes we can now go there enjoy the area and leave content that we saw what we could and probably in 1/2 the time and maybe still some fuel left in the tank to tackle another site or area - bonus! thank you again!
Gayle
Because of your kindness and wonderful notes we can now go there enjoy the area and leave content that we saw what we could and probably in 1/2 the time and maybe still some fuel left in the tank to tackle another site or area - bonus! thank you again!
Gayle
Sep 27th, 2005, 03:16 AM
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The Musee de Montmarte , at 18 rue Cortot , behind sacre Coeur, is hardly ever mentioned here , but the collections, gaden and house are charming. The house was home to several artists, Renoir and Dufy among them. I don't have the opening times available but they should be easy to find by googling.
Sep 27th, 2005, 04:11 AM
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The Michelin Green Guide to Paris has a very good walk which we did last year. We took in lunch and a drink later, finished up at the cemetery, & were probably there for about 6 hours, 11-5. We didn't go in to Sacre Coeur as it was a Sunday and I'd been before anyway.
Sep 27th, 2005, 04:33 AM
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Hanl....since you lived in the neighbourhood before might I ask what the approach would be like if you arrive at Metro Lamarck Caulaincourt in behind the Sacre Coeur area? The trick would be to hit the elevations with stairs.
Sorry to butt in on your question Cosmo.
Sorry to butt in on your question Cosmo.
Sep 27th, 2005, 04:41 AM
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The Eyewitness Guide to Paris has a very good, detailed walk of Montmartre. Why spend hours on the internet when the research has already been done? It's a great guidebook and well worth the investment for all sorts of reasons besides just the walk of Montmartre.
Sep 27th, 2005, 04:47 AM
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We had a most enjoyable lunch at a restaurant on the little square down behind Sacre Coeur. The restaurant was l' ete en Pente Douce, 18 rue Muller. We really didn't know how to find it, but we just kept going down some narrow stairs that kind of wound off to the left (as you come down from Sacre Coeur) and stumbled upon it.
Sep 27th, 2005, 06:51 AM
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Cosmo, glad to be of help
To answer your question, I think the walk probably takes about an hour, but it depends on whether you stop off in different places, take pictures, etc. Some people can spend an hour wandering round the Place du Tertre alone (not me though!).
I often used to take a book and sit and read/sketch in the park behind the Sacré Coeur, so I'm not sure I've ever really done the walk without stopping. It's not really that great a distance, but there are quite a few steps and slopes, as Montmartre is, by definition, pretty hilly.
Moulin Rouge is at the foot of rue Lepic, on place Blanche. (NB if you are shockable, be warned that this is where the more seedy shops/cinemas are - on the stretch of Boulevard de Clichy that runs from place Blanche to place Pigalle. It's not dangerous or anything, but it's not everyone's cup of tea either!!)
I think it would be quite nice to walk round Montmartre early in the day. I rather like the neighbourhood early in the morning, as it starts to wake up. There are various boulangeries and cafés open on rue des Abbesses/rue Lepic from about 7.30 a.m. onwards, in case you need to stop for coffee/croissants
(My boyfriend (now husband) used to live on rue des Abbesses - sometimes, before work, we'd have an early breakfast in one of the cafés and watch the neighbourhood waking up, the market stalls being set out...)
Goldwynn, if you are coming from Lamarck Caulaincourt metro the most direct way is to take the path/stairway that joins rue des Saules with Rue Caulaincourt.
By the way, as the other posters have mentioned, there are plenty of great guide books (the Timeout book of Paris Walks comes to mind) that have similar walks with all the historical info, maps and everything included. "My" route round Montmartre is just something that came about from my own wanderings round the area, so I thought why not share it! Also, one thing that some guide books forget to mention is the view from *behind* the Sacré Coeur and the pretty little park there.
To answer your question, I think the walk probably takes about an hour, but it depends on whether you stop off in different places, take pictures, etc. Some people can spend an hour wandering round the Place du Tertre alone (not me though!).
I often used to take a book and sit and read/sketch in the park behind the Sacré Coeur, so I'm not sure I've ever really done the walk without stopping. It's not really that great a distance, but there are quite a few steps and slopes, as Montmartre is, by definition, pretty hilly.
Moulin Rouge is at the foot of rue Lepic, on place Blanche. (NB if you are shockable, be warned that this is where the more seedy shops/cinemas are - on the stretch of Boulevard de Clichy that runs from place Blanche to place Pigalle. It's not dangerous or anything, but it's not everyone's cup of tea either!!)
I think it would be quite nice to walk round Montmartre early in the day. I rather like the neighbourhood early in the morning, as it starts to wake up. There are various boulangeries and cafés open on rue des Abbesses/rue Lepic from about 7.30 a.m. onwards, in case you need to stop for coffee/croissants
(My boyfriend (now husband) used to live on rue des Abbesses - sometimes, before work, we'd have an early breakfast in one of the cafés and watch the neighbourhood waking up, the market stalls being set out...)
Goldwynn, if you are coming from Lamarck Caulaincourt metro the most direct way is to take the path/stairway that joins rue des Saules with Rue Caulaincourt.
By the way, as the other posters have mentioned, there are plenty of great guide books (the Timeout book of Paris Walks comes to mind) that have similar walks with all the historical info, maps and everything included. "My" route round Montmartre is just something that came about from my own wanderings round the area, so I thought why not share it! Also, one thing that some guide books forget to mention is the view from *behind* the Sacré Coeur and the pretty little park there.
Sep 27th, 2005, 06:53 AM
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Here is one to try:
START POINT: METRO STOP ANVERS (LINE TWO)
HALLE ST-PIERRE (ST. PETER'S MARKET HALL). 2 rue Ronsard. M: Anvers.
Elegant iron and glass 19C market hall at the foot of Sacre-Coeur. Café, bookstore and Museum of Native Art.
SACRE-COEUR. (Sacred Heart Church). M: Angers or Abbesses. Open: 0700-2200. Free. 3E for Dome and Crypt. Great city views from here. Romanesque and Byzantine architecture. Golden mosaics inside. Took over forty years to build.
NOTE: Skip the Dome and Crypt.
LEAVE CHURCH, TURN RIGHT AND FOLLOW TREE-LINED STREET. AT RUE ST-ELEUTHERE, TURN RIGHT AND WALK UP TO
ST.PIERRE-DE-MONTMARTRE. 2 rue du Mont-Cenis. 0800-1930. Oldest church in area.
PLACE DU TERTE. M: Abbesses. little square in the heart of Montmartre where many artists gather to sell paintings and draw pictures of tourists visiting just as they have done for more than 100 years.
LA MERE CATHERINE RESTAURANT. Favorite of Cossasks in 1814 during Russian occupation.
PLACE DU CALVAIRE, just off Place du Terte, smallest square in Paris with great city views
NORTHERN SLOPES OF LA BUTTE (THE MOUND)
FOLLOW RUE NEVINS TO RUE DES SAULES, THEN TURN RIGHT AND WALK DOWNHILL.
NOTE: View the dome of Sacre-Coeur rising above the rooftops just after the Café Consulat.
TURN RIGHT AT (MAISON ROSE RESTAURANT) UP RUE CORTOT FOR
MUSEE DE MONTMARTE. 12 rue Cortot. M: Lamarck-Caulaincourt. Tue-Sun 1100-1800.
Nice neighborhood museum set up in the oldest house on the Butte.
RETURN TO RUE DES SAULES AND WALK DOWNHILL PAST THE MAISON ROSE TO
MONTMARTRE'S VINEYARD. Rue des Saules.
CONTINUE DOWNHILL TO
AU LAPIN AGILE (1860). 26 rue des Saules. Oldest surviving nightspot in Montmartre.
CIMETIERE ST-VINCENT: Entry on rue Lucien-Gaulard via rue St-Vincent, behind Lapin Agile.
WESTERN SLOPES OF LA BUTTE
RETURN TO RUE DES SAULES AND WALK UP HILL TO THE CREST NEAR THE BAKERY
WALK DOWNHILL. HUG BUILDINGS ON THE LEFT. TURN RIGHT ON RUE RAVIGNAN FOR
Bateau-Lavior (Boar Wash house). Picasso's studio.
WALK DOWNHILL ONE SHORT BLOCK, TURN LEFT ON RUE D'ORCHAMPS AND JUST BEYOND THE INTERSECTION WITH RUE LEPIC FIND
MOULIN DE LA GALETTE. Only two windmills remain in an area once dotted with them. Originally used to crush stones and grapes. Site of a once famous outdoor dance hall. Renoir?s Bal du Moulin de la Galette shows it in it?s heyday.
CONTINUE PAST THE MAIN ENTRY OF MOULIN DE LA GALETTE DOWN RUE LEPIC TO NUMBER 54 TO FIND
VAN GOGH'S HOUSE (1886-1888).
WALK BACK EAST TO THE INTERSECTION WITH RUE THOLOZE AND TURN RIGHT DOWNHILL ON THOLOZE
NOTE: Studio 28 at number 10 was the first cinema built for experimental films
CONTINUE DOWN THOLZE TO RUE DES ABBESSES AND TURN LEFT TOWARDS THE
PLACE DES ABBESSES. Picturesque, slightly countrified square.
NOTE: Le Sancerre. 35 rue des Abbesses. Raucous café with music & view of Abbesses street scene.
ST-JEAN L'EVANGELISTE (1904). First concrete building in Paris. Has Art Nouveau curves. Bricks were added to soothe offended city officials.
FROM THE SQUARE TAKE RUE YVONNE-LE-TAC OFF TO THE RIGHT
CHAPELL DU MARTYRE at number 9 is where St-Denis was beheaded. Open daily 1500- 1800.
END THE WALK AT THE ABBESSES METRO STATION.
NOTE: Entrance to the station is a curving mass of delicate iron and one of the two remaining Art Nouveau entrance canopies left in Paris.
FOLLOW-ON EXPLORATION OPTIONS:
To visit Cimetiere de Montmarte (end of ave Rachel off bd de Clichy), take metro to Blanche. Leafy refuge is moving and evocative. Resting place of Degas, Greuze and Fragonard.
To combine with St-Denis Cathedral, take Metro to place de Clincy and transfer to line 13
START POINT: METRO STOP ANVERS (LINE TWO)
HALLE ST-PIERRE (ST. PETER'S MARKET HALL). 2 rue Ronsard. M: Anvers.
Elegant iron and glass 19C market hall at the foot of Sacre-Coeur. Café, bookstore and Museum of Native Art.
SACRE-COEUR. (Sacred Heart Church). M: Angers or Abbesses. Open: 0700-2200. Free. 3E for Dome and Crypt. Great city views from here. Romanesque and Byzantine architecture. Golden mosaics inside. Took over forty years to build.
NOTE: Skip the Dome and Crypt.
LEAVE CHURCH, TURN RIGHT AND FOLLOW TREE-LINED STREET. AT RUE ST-ELEUTHERE, TURN RIGHT AND WALK UP TO
ST.PIERRE-DE-MONTMARTRE. 2 rue du Mont-Cenis. 0800-1930. Oldest church in area.
PLACE DU TERTE. M: Abbesses. little square in the heart of Montmartre where many artists gather to sell paintings and draw pictures of tourists visiting just as they have done for more than 100 years.
LA MERE CATHERINE RESTAURANT. Favorite of Cossasks in 1814 during Russian occupation.
PLACE DU CALVAIRE, just off Place du Terte, smallest square in Paris with great city views
NORTHERN SLOPES OF LA BUTTE (THE MOUND)
FOLLOW RUE NEVINS TO RUE DES SAULES, THEN TURN RIGHT AND WALK DOWNHILL.
NOTE: View the dome of Sacre-Coeur rising above the rooftops just after the Café Consulat.
TURN RIGHT AT (MAISON ROSE RESTAURANT) UP RUE CORTOT FOR
MUSEE DE MONTMARTE. 12 rue Cortot. M: Lamarck-Caulaincourt. Tue-Sun 1100-1800.
Nice neighborhood museum set up in the oldest house on the Butte.
RETURN TO RUE DES SAULES AND WALK DOWNHILL PAST THE MAISON ROSE TO
MONTMARTRE'S VINEYARD. Rue des Saules.
CONTINUE DOWNHILL TO
AU LAPIN AGILE (1860). 26 rue des Saules. Oldest surviving nightspot in Montmartre.
CIMETIERE ST-VINCENT: Entry on rue Lucien-Gaulard via rue St-Vincent, behind Lapin Agile.
WESTERN SLOPES OF LA BUTTE
RETURN TO RUE DES SAULES AND WALK UP HILL TO THE CREST NEAR THE BAKERY
WALK DOWNHILL. HUG BUILDINGS ON THE LEFT. TURN RIGHT ON RUE RAVIGNAN FOR
Bateau-Lavior (Boar Wash house). Picasso's studio.
WALK DOWNHILL ONE SHORT BLOCK, TURN LEFT ON RUE D'ORCHAMPS AND JUST BEYOND THE INTERSECTION WITH RUE LEPIC FIND
MOULIN DE LA GALETTE. Only two windmills remain in an area once dotted with them. Originally used to crush stones and grapes. Site of a once famous outdoor dance hall. Renoir?s Bal du Moulin de la Galette shows it in it?s heyday.
CONTINUE PAST THE MAIN ENTRY OF MOULIN DE LA GALETTE DOWN RUE LEPIC TO NUMBER 54 TO FIND
VAN GOGH'S HOUSE (1886-1888).
WALK BACK EAST TO THE INTERSECTION WITH RUE THOLOZE AND TURN RIGHT DOWNHILL ON THOLOZE
NOTE: Studio 28 at number 10 was the first cinema built for experimental films
CONTINUE DOWN THOLZE TO RUE DES ABBESSES AND TURN LEFT TOWARDS THE
PLACE DES ABBESSES. Picturesque, slightly countrified square.
NOTE: Le Sancerre. 35 rue des Abbesses. Raucous café with music & view of Abbesses street scene.
ST-JEAN L'EVANGELISTE (1904). First concrete building in Paris. Has Art Nouveau curves. Bricks were added to soothe offended city officials.
FROM THE SQUARE TAKE RUE YVONNE-LE-TAC OFF TO THE RIGHT
CHAPELL DU MARTYRE at number 9 is where St-Denis was beheaded. Open daily 1500- 1800.
END THE WALK AT THE ABBESSES METRO STATION.
NOTE: Entrance to the station is a curving mass of delicate iron and one of the two remaining Art Nouveau entrance canopies left in Paris.
FOLLOW-ON EXPLORATION OPTIONS:
To visit Cimetiere de Montmarte (end of ave Rachel off bd de Clichy), take metro to Blanche. Leafy refuge is moving and evocative. Resting place of Degas, Greuze and Fragonard.
To combine with St-Denis Cathedral, take Metro to place de Clincy and transfer to line 13
Sep 27th, 2005, 07:26 AM
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St.Cirq - I too have the Eyewitness Guide to Paris and would never leave home without it. It's torn, it's worn and full of scribbled notes and printed out advice from fellow Fodotites. I love it to bits. Although I fly into Paris on Friday morning I am still adding info to my old tatty book at this late hour!(always use it next trip)
Sep 27th, 2005, 01:05 PM
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I concur with the other posters regarding EYEWITNESS GUIDE TO PARIS. Had a difficult time deciding which of my zillions of guidebooks to take earlier this month, but Eyewitness won out. Yes, very good map and walking tour of Montmartre (the Butte), just about my favorite place in all of Paris.
Just don't do as we did and go on Sunday....NOT a good idea, unless you just love wall-to-wall people. You literally had to ELBOW your way thru the Place du Tertre. Once away from all that, it wasn't too bad. I could've spent an entire day wandering around all the wonderful little streets. Particularly loved La Maison Rose and Le Lapin Agile. Was disappointed we didn't have enough time to go thru the Montmartre Museum, just up the street from Le Lapin Agile. The vineyard is on the same street.
Next trip, I'd like to arrive well before 9, on a weekday, to get a little "alone" time.
Rick Steves' PARIS 2005 also has a very good walking tour of the area, easy to follow. Another REALLY good one is in Frommer's MEMORABLE WALKS OF PARIS.
Just don't do as we did and go on Sunday....NOT a good idea, unless you just love wall-to-wall people. You literally had to ELBOW your way thru the Place du Tertre. Once away from all that, it wasn't too bad. I could've spent an entire day wandering around all the wonderful little streets. Particularly loved La Maison Rose and Le Lapin Agile. Was disappointed we didn't have enough time to go thru the Montmartre Museum, just up the street from Le Lapin Agile. The vineyard is on the same street.
Next trip, I'd like to arrive well before 9, on a weekday, to get a little "alone" time.
Rick Steves' PARIS 2005 also has a very good walking tour of the area, easy to follow. Another REALLY good one is in Frommer's MEMORABLE WALKS OF PARIS.
Sep 27th, 2005, 01:54 PM
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Thank you again everyone - fantastic info - I really appreciate it. I taken all the additional info and added it to my trusty list to keep an eye open for the places referred to.
In reply to the advice on buying guidebooks. I find that every book has something fantastic but none of them have the lot and because I am a "compulsive planner" what I do is get all the latest editions of many guidebooks from the library and just take the excerts of what I want. I then search for specifics myself on the net - and often someone will give me an answer which "nails it" better than most of the guide books (like hanl) did for me yesterday. (By the way hanl - we intend to walk it slow with stops but just wanted to get my head around the area - thanks)
The result is I have my own personalised guide book. (then I take one generic one like Fodors to cover unexpected places I come across and need info on)
I found that although its exhausting pre holiday dealing with "this obsessive problem" heehehe - the result is a very relaxing holiday where I just coast thru most days without using much brain power -as long as I dont loose my notes!(which has happened in the remotest part of our trip in China... major bummer hee hee)
This compulsive planner now has this covered with my handy hard cover AND.. my pocketpc with backup notes which I leave in our hotel for emergencies...
sorry for rattling but must add here the best find of all for this trip is the METRO PC software - free that I have on the PC - its amazing. I think Ill go put its on post up. I know there has been a Palm Pilot thread but this softwared lately but Metro deserves one on its own.
thanks again
In reply to the advice on buying guidebooks. I find that every book has something fantastic but none of them have the lot and because I am a "compulsive planner" what I do is get all the latest editions of many guidebooks from the library and just take the excerts of what I want. I then search for specifics myself on the net - and often someone will give me an answer which "nails it" better than most of the guide books (like hanl) did for me yesterday. (By the way hanl - we intend to walk it slow with stops but just wanted to get my head around the area - thanks)
The result is I have my own personalised guide book. (then I take one generic one like Fodors to cover unexpected places I come across and need info on)
I found that although its exhausting pre holiday dealing with "this obsessive problem" heehehe - the result is a very relaxing holiday where I just coast thru most days without using much brain power -as long as I dont loose my notes!(which has happened in the remotest part of our trip in China... major bummer hee hee)
This compulsive planner now has this covered with my handy hard cover AND.. my pocketpc with backup notes which I leave in our hotel for emergencies...
sorry for rattling but must add here the best find of all for this trip is the METRO PC software - free that I have on the PC - its amazing. I think Ill go put its on post up. I know there has been a Palm Pilot thread but this softwared lately but Metro deserves one on its own.
thanks again
Sep 27th, 2005, 01:57 PM
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Cosmo, I think you have probably received enough info on the walks but thought I would add a "comfort stop" note: The public toilets just a level or two down from the SC are excellent. I hate using PTs and was hesitant but when you gotta go etc. They were really clean and roomy. Just thought you may be interested!!
