Here’s my Paris trip report.

We did the following in the five days we had in Paris.


Day 1 (off the plane)

Eiffel Tower

Day 2
Louvre
Notre Dame

Day 3
Versailles
Moulin Rouge show

Day 4
Pere Lachaise Cemetery
Depart for Slovakia (will do separate trip report on Slovakia)

Day 5 (returning from Slovakia for our flight home)
Musee D’Orsay
Paris Catacombs

Instead of reviewing the attractions, I want to focus a bit more on trip logistics and things that I wish I had known or considered more seriously prior to my trip.

1.Transportation.

We did a shuttle and paid Paris Shuttle 76 Euros to pick us up and drop us off at Charles De Gaulle.

After our experience, I do not recommend using a shuttle service. They often run late, and, in our case, Paris Shuttle messed up our transportation to Orly for our departure to Slovakia and they did not show up to take us to CDG for our departure.

Let me repeat that. They did not show up to take us to CDG for our departure.

I called them to confirm our pickup shortly after 8am that morning. They confirmed the address and the pick up time and then never showed.

When we called them when they were late, we were advised the van had broken down. Okay, fine. Sh*t happens and I usually get more than my fair share. No biggie. What infuriated me was that Paris Shuttle did not bother to try and call us at the hotel and let us know there was a problem. They also made no effort to arrange for another shuttle to come and get us, I know they certainly have more than one shuttle at their disposal. We were on our own and Paris Shuttle didn’t seem to care about the problems they caused us.

We had a horrible time getting a taxi as our hotel was on a side street. In the end, we were an hour late leaving for CDG and there was some question as to whether or not we would make our flight at all.

I was (and still am) absolutely furious with Paris Shuttle. To not even call us... it was just so irresponsible. And this was a company that some of my guidebooks recommended!

My experience, I think, highlights one of the weaknesses inherent in shuttle services. You prepay and just trust that they have the organizational infrastructure to follow through. Supposedly, Paris Shuttle is going to give us a refund, but I’m not holding my breath.

I would’ve loved to use the metro, but the metros in Europe are never built for luggage and Paris is no exception. The turnstyles are narrow and there are a ton of steps, it would’ve been just too much dragging of heavy objects through tight spaces for me.

Taxis are more expensive, but easier to come by than a shuttle. In the future, I’ll just suck it up and pay for the taxi. No more fooling around calling to confirm before every flight that I still need a ride and trusting that some stranger is going to care whether or not I make my flights.

I’m surprised that hotels located in the same districts haven’t pooled their funds to run courtesy shuttles--that would be such a practical solution and much easier than the options now available.

2.Lodging

Our trip was sort of last minute. We had about 8 weeks before our departure to plan it, which turned out to not be enough advance notice.

I tried and tried and tried to get a reservation at the cute little B&Bs all the guidebooks recommend, but they were all sold out.

So, we ended up at various Holiday Inns around Paris. Could I get any more National Lampoon’s European Vacation? I kept waiting for Chevy Chase to pop up.

But actually, I liked staying at the Holiday Inns in Paris. The rooms were really nice, ranging from your generic hotel chain room to art nouveau/belle époque decor. The Holiday Inn at 10 La Place de la Republique was excellent for tourists. The concierge was really helpful and the rooms, while basic, were quiet and comfortable. And it’s right in front of the metro stop. Super convenient location that way.

The Holiday Inn in the Opera district was a beautiful building full of art nouveau/belle époque decor, but it also had no insulation and was way off the main drag. Our nickname for it was ‘the hotel where you don’t sleep until the loudest guest does’. The noise levels were really bad. Super bad. As beautiful as the hotel was, I wouldn’t recommend anyone stay there. You could hear conversations word for word in your room, the only thing that kept them private was my meager French vocabulary, otherwise I would’ve known exactly what everyone was saying (and they say Americans are loud!). And they had these conversations until two or three in the morning along with lots of heavy floor thumping. Then there was the night where disco music blared into our second floor room from the basement bar. It was really bad.

But I digress. My point is, if you can’t get a room in any of the cool places the guidebooks list, try the chains. Ibis is an inexpensive chain with basic rooms that my European friend uses whenever she’s in Paris. And there’s always the Holiday Inn. Oh and Sofitel too.

3.What to wear

This is sometimes a topic of interest and I thought I’d share my observations on it.

I tried really really hard to pack dressier clothes for our trip, conscious that European style is very different from US style. But is was so cold that I didn’t get to wear anything but my long jeans and a sweater. Every picture I have of me in Paris, I’m wearing the same d*mn outfit.

I also had white tennis shoes, which are a dead giveaway.

For women, if you want to blend in, the current look is non-white tennis shoes and jeans with a tailored blazer (can be any fabric from leather, to corduroy, to denim). It’s a nice look that’s easy, but sophisticated at the same time. Get one or two blazers and plain v-neck t-shirts to wear underneath and you’ll be all set. (Don’t ask me what you should wear in the heat of summer, I have no clue on that one.)

No one really gave me a hard time with my white tennis shoes, but I did get several dirty looks from people who, I inferred, didn’t like Americans and had decided to make me pay for it. The white shoes were a beacon that blared ‘American on board’.

My husband blended in better. He wore jeans with a dress shirt everyday and had a pair of brown leather tennis shoes that looked very European.

In general, avoid shorts, capris, T-shirts with print, white tennis shoes, and fanny packs (especially on men).

Yes, you can wear whatever you want and you won’t be arrested or lynched, but I was sensitive to how badly I stuck out and I was getting a bit paranoid with what I perceived to be anti-American stares (and I swear I spoke quietly and behaved very well, my only giveaway was those white shoes and my navy sweater which I think just looked too American). Even my husband noticed the death glares and I kept asking him what I was doing wrong (he’s European) and he said I was fine.

To clarify, no one was mean or rude (beyond the evil stares). The Parisians are saints to put up with the tourists like they do. It must be really awful during tourist season to live in Paris--I don’t think I could do it. The Parisians were at least courteous, if not downright friendly to us. The people who really behaved badly were the tourists. They cut in line, elbowed other people out of the way to get a better vantage point for looking at sites, and were just obnoxious in general. On several occasions sightseeing became a full contact sport for us, it was exhausting.

4.Notes on sites.

The Louvre demands that you leave a passport or credit card with them in order to rent an audioguide. My concern with this was, they file the passports and credit cards in an open little box right next to the cash register that is in full view and anyone could sidle up and steal your documents. Really poor security.

Secondly, I thought the audioguide sucked. Not everything is on it, some of the major works didn’t have any information on audioguide.

I really enjoyed Napoleon's apartments at the Louvre. Not only were they fairly devoid of tourists, they were a neat look into daily life in Napoleon's time.

And the crown jewels at the Louvre are beautiful.

Don’t eat at the cafes in the Louvre---bad food. Skip it. Save your money. There is a mall and food court below the Louvre, eat there.

The Musee D’Orsay is lovely. Two notes...

They have a nice restaurant, so don’t hesitate to eat there. The restaurant is right by the Impressionist exhibit too.

There are up and down escalators, the up are on one side of the building and the down on the other side. I couldn’t figure out why they would only have down escalators when it was so much harder to climb up six stories than to go down. Well, duh, the up escalators were on the other side of the building! I was not the only one who missed this, there were a lot of people huffing and puffing on the stairs with us.

Try to see other wings beyond the Monet, Manet, and their ilk. The art nouveau section is cool, I enjoyed Toulouse-Latrec’s work, and discovered several new Degas works that I loved (althought I think technically both those guys are impressionists).

Get the Museum Pass. I did not because it was expensive compared to the entrance fees at the places we planned to visit. I made a mistake by only taking into account money, because the Museum Pass grants time efficiency along with its fee. You’ve essentially got a prepaid ticket and go straight to the head of the line.

Overall, the lines were okay in Paris. Getting in was fine, the crowds once you were inside were bad, but the actual ticket buying lines were fine. Except for the Musee D’Orsay. The day we wanted to visit, the lines were crazy. My husband and I split up and I stood in the advance ticket line while the hubs stayed in the line for entrance that day. Whoever finished first was to come and get the other.

My line had maybe 20 people in it, I thought for sure I’d be in and out. An hour later, I was still waiting. Finally I got through, bought advance tickets and rescued my husband from his line (he’d actually moved faster than me, but his line had several hundred people in so he was still far from the entrance).

This was when I realized how handy the Museum Pass was. Don’t look just at the money, but the time too when determining whether or not you want to buy the pass. If lines are bad, being able to just go to the entrance and avoid the ticket booth will be invaluable.

Versailles is about 20-30 minutes outside of Paris, a very manageable distance. The palace and its environs, though, are huge and really require much more than a day to see properly.

Also, there are trams, horse and carriages, and little golf carts that can be used to get around Versailles--this is info that was not in my guidebooks. Even the kings of France didn’t walk from the main palace to the Tritons, they used sedan chairs.

The fountains are really something to see. I didn’t think they were anything but the usual run-of-the-mill fountains, but seeing the dvd I bought at Versailles about Versailles that shows the fountains in action, I realize the fountains are more art with water as the medium. If you can, really make the effort to visit when the fountains are on (I think they run just on weekends).

The Paris catacombs were really cool. A little spooky, but really interesting. Aside from the human remains, there’s info on the rock quarry itself. My husband and I were laughing about the warnings that ‘weak’ people should avoid the walk because of the stairs and the long winding catacomb path that has no emergency exit. After Notre Dame, the catacombs were nothing. And the warnings that they ground was ‘slipe’ cracked us up too. What an interesting translation for slippery, no?

In the end, Paris was so busy that I wouldn’t go back in high season. I would do off season. Everything is big in Paris. The Louvre is what, a kilometer or more? Versailles is probably the size of Disneyland but without the amenities and crowd control, the Eiffel Tour is super tall, and Notre Dame is where stair fetishists come to get their fix, Paris is larger than life and so are the crowds.

On this trip, I learned that I really don’t like throngs of tourists, even if I am one of them myself. I don’t want to have push and pull and fight past the crowds in order to see things, it really detracts from the experience.


5. The metro is easy to use if you remember three things...

1) Identify the stop closest to your destination
2) Identify the name of the line your stop is on (hint: Each direction of a line has it’s own name. For example, if there was a metro between NY and LA, one end would be called LA and the other NY even though they are the same line and the same color on the map and route number.)
3) Identify if you’re going to NY or LA. Lines run, not by number or color, but by direction. You have to know which end of the line you need to go.

I always get a streetwise map in advance of any trip and mark all destinations with a Sharpie marker. I also circle the stops on the metro map--this usually saves time.

And that’s it. I’m working on a photo album with commentary, I’ll post the link when it’s done

D

You make an interesting point about the difficulties of finding reliable, affordable transport between the airports and the city. The Air France bus is great, but goes only so many places, and your experience with the shuttle is very discouraging.

Thanks for the useful info about the museums.

nice report, I like your screenname.

I would be mad about the shuttle, also. As you said, they should have called, and they must have more than one shuttle for their business in case of problems like this. If they don't, they are running too much on a shoestring. However, your problems with the taxis were not necessary (difficulty getting one on a sidestreet). You should simply have asked your hotel to get one for you by calling. Any decent hotel will do that, and they have companies they regularly deal with. NOw, they might take a while and you'll have to wait a bit, but I don't usually have them call until I'm checking out and have never waited more than 20 minutes.

I'm a little surprised about your dressing advice (telling people not to wear shorts, capris, etc) because you said it was really cold when you were there and so you wouldn't know what people wore in warmer weather.

1. Tritons in my report (in the part about Versailles) is a spellcheck error. It didn't like Trianons for some reason.

2.There were people in shorts. And one memorable guy in a US Harley shirt and fanny pack. The cold caught a lot of people by surprise. I even wore capris once or twice thinking maybe the weather would be warmer--it never was.

Again, you can wear whatever you want, but I was uncomfortable on some occasions with how much I stuck out.

3.The hotel did call a taxi for us. It still took 40 minutes to arrive. I swear he was taking the longest route to drive up his incoming fare (you have to pay for their drive to come get you).

when are the dates you went? I am leaving for Paris next week and although I live in Northern California, I am aallways cold. I was planning to pack lots of capri type pants but maybe I should reconsider.

Good info here, thanks. I was planning on using the paris shuttle and I just might reconsider. I do not like to stress about getting to the airport on time and because I will be in an apt, I can't have the hotel call me a taxi . Thanks for the museum tips, too. So, what was your favorite part of the trip? What did you love about Paris?

Hi, I like your screen name also, and your short and to the point reports.
I really feel for you at the airport, that is so stressful. The day my Niece and I we landed at CDG the trains were on strike, and the busses were so full they didn't stop to pick anyone else up. So we went by taxi, aprox 50-60E. Oh well... and I felt bad I hadn't booked a shuttle, but now I don't. Our trip was during spring (Easter) break, so many teenagers on vacation, so I don't recommend that week either.
I look forward to the rest of your reports.

Thanks for you very informative report. Lots of good tips! What were the dates you were in Paris? Just wondering about the weather conditions for trip next May. I would have thought it would be a little warmer in May.

The escalator system at the D'orsay catches a lot !! I have to agree about the restaurant there, we had a lovely lunch !

Interesting report and great details - thanks! I'm looking forward to seeing your photos.

We were in Paris on 5/21-5/24 and on 5/31-6/1. Rain was intermittent, but could be heavy enough to warrant an umbrella (which we didn't have). The weather was unseasonably cold--it snowed in southern Germany on 6/1-- hopefully it will be warmer for you.

I enjoyed Paris. I'm glad I went, but the crowds obscured some of its beauty. You'll see what I mean once I have my virtual photo album done, I took pics of some of the crowds. They almost need to do staggered entry, like only so many people every 10-15 minutes to help space the crowds out.

In Versailles it was hard to get a pic without people or construction equipment in it. Whatever your guidebook says to do to avoid the crush at Versailles, do it. Go early, go late, whatever they suggest.

But I did like Versailles, it was beautiful and very well-preserved, lots of knick-knacks from Louis the 14th and Marie Antoinette and Napolean. I regret that it was so cold and so crowded the day we went because I really didn't get to experience it fully.

Musee D'Orsay was wonderful. Intimate and manageable. I found several new paintings of Degas' that I loved. The works of Toulouse-Latrec were fascinating to me because of his association with the Moulin Rouge. I loved the art nouveau section although I can't believe they didn't have one Mucha (as far as I could tell) in the collection.

I enjoyed the rainbow that greeted us on our way to the Eiffel Tower and the tower itself, but again it was crowded, especially on the floor where they had photos of the view posted with notes as to which building was which.

The cemetery at Pere Lachaise was a soothing balm, no crowds just dappled sunlight on worn stone. Peaceful and intriguing. I paid my respects to Moliere, a writer I have always admired.

And the catacombs were really cool in a morbid kind of way. Just super interesting to think of a society unearthing all those bones and arranging them in geometric patterns underground in an old stone quarry while chanting Last Rites.

D

Here's the link to my photo album.

http://dementeddelusions.com/paris_2006/

I tried to make it interesting, hope you like it.

D

Thanks so much for the hints AND for sharing your photos - I always enjoy seeing the poster among her/his trip photos, and your commentary was delightful. Also loved the shoe hints and photos, but not the line for the bathroom! Jes

I loved your report and am just now looking at your photos. My daughter loved the Coronation of Josephine too.

Wonderful pictures, thanks for both!

Thanks for your very practical information, and your great photos.
Your trip report is really helpful!
I'm glad you had a fun trip.
Those crowds seem daunting, I agree. When is "low season" in Paris?!
(That bathroom line really stressed me out!)

Thank you, I'm glad you guys got something out of it.

I'm not sure exactly when low season is. I thought May was supposed to be sort of low season, on the cusp of the real tourist season.

I guess, it must be Oct-April that's off season. I know if I ever have the chance to go back, I will NEVER go between May and September.

D