Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Paris Trip Report 4/2-8

I searched this board for lots of information about my trip to Paris 4/2-8, so here is a brief run down of our experiences to help others in the future. (Forgive my spelling errors; I don?t have my guide book with me and French spelling doesn?t come naturally to me.)

Airports/Getting into and out of town: We flew United for the first time (usually fly Air France into CDG 2) and landed in CDG 1. When we arrived, the two arrival level ATMs were out of service. Luckily I had printed out a map of the terminal from the ADP Web site and knew that there was an ATM on the Boutique level. If you have to go to that level, follow the directions at the elevators as not all elevators go to the right place on the Boutique level to get you where you need to go (we ended up in the parking garage on the first try). The Boutique level ATM had plenty of euros. However, if arriving to out of service ATMs makes you nervous or cranky, just get enough euros to cover your taxi ride (50-60) before you leave home (I will next time; CDG 1 on jet lag was no party for me). Because it took us so long to get money, there was no line for taxis and we hopped right in and were on our way. But not so fast. It took an hour and a half to get from CDG to the 6th. The folks at our hotel told us that a recent change of one lane on the road to a dedicated bus lane has made the traffic much worse (last year the ride took about an hour). Which brings me to the return trip. The taxi ride to the airport took a mere half hour. Go figure. That put us at the airport 3 hours in advance. Which actually turned out to be a good thing as it took us 1 hour and 45 minutes to reach the gate. I?m not sure if it was a United thing or heightened security, but the most significant part of the process was getting past the first hurdle at United: a ?security? booth where we were asked about our bags and how and by whom they were packed. This occurred before we even got to the ticket counter to check in and the lines were divided by destination. Seemed like an inefficient set up to me, but I?m not a security expert, right? Note for you duty-free shoppers: all of the duty-free shops are after you move into the ?satellite? system, but before you go through security, so be sure to get your fill as there will be no around-the-gate browsing once you get past security.

Accommodations: Hotel de Fleurie, which was perfectly fine and met one of my two primary criteria: it was clean. It fell down a bit on the quiet criterion, however, mostly due to American tourists stomping up and down steps and slamming doors as they talked with each other at the top of their voices across the halls as if they were standing in their kitchen and calling out to Junior in the den. Yes, the room is small, but quaint, and having the toilet separate from the shower is nice if you?re sharing a room. The staff was friendly and helpful. Last trip we stayed at the Artus and it was blissfully clean and quiet, although more expensive. Next time, I?ll eat the extra euros and stay at the Artus.

Some activities:

Paris Walks. We found the recommendation in our Rick Steves book. We took three: Napoleon at the Invalides, Art Nouveau Walk, and The French Revolution. All were interesting and got us to places off our beaten path and gave us a fuller picture than we probably would have gotten on our own. If I had to lose one, it would be the one on the French Revolution. While there were a few interesting tid bits we didn?t know, most of the tour is about structures that no longer exist and the guide took us to two sites that were not open to the public and we were kicked out, which was interesting but strange. However, you get more than your 10 euros worth on these tours.

The Cluny. An interesting hodge podge of a collection. It only took about an hour for us so while it wasn?t the most exciting museum (to us, of course; I?m sure it has its fans) it merits a look see if only for the Roman baths and the heads of the kings from Notre Dame.

The jardins. We walked through the Tuileries and the Luxembourg. Both are stunning, but the Lux was my favorite. And the flowers were starting to bloom so it was all the more enjoyable.

Catacombs. This was recommended to us by a friend who said it was a must see. My husband now agrees. It is astounding to see all of the bones, so artfully arranged. After a while I became numb to them and it started to seem like something out of Pirates of the Caribbean at Disney. We took a small flashlight which was nice to have to illuminate some of the darker niches, but optional if you don?t want to travel with one.

Grand Magasins. We went to Galeries Lafayette on the last day of one of their sales. While there were some discounts of 30-40%, the prices were still too much for me to justify. I?ll just have to wait until my discount designer dreams make it to the outlet mall next season (which they inevitably do; I get great bargains on the very things I saw in Europe). Bon Marche was fun for a tour and some Diptyque candles, but its real attraction is its Grand Epicerie ? the site of many of our snacks and on-the-run meals. However, my favorite was BHV. It doesn?t seem to be marketed to tourists as heavily but it is unlike the other department stores in that it is part traditional department store, part Lowes/Home Depot, part Container Store, part arts & crafts store ? well you get the idea. It has about anything you?d ever want and you could certainly blow several hours in there just looking around. We even bought a phone there (which works at home, thank goodness).

The Marais and Place des Vosges. We spent an afternoon walking around with our guide book. Here?s another neighborhood that I could enjoy for much more time than I had. Paris Walks had Marais tours but we could never make them fit into our schedule.

Pompidou Centre. While we didn?t visit any exhibits this time, I always like to stop by the fountain outside and then go in to the cafeteria, order a kir, and do some of the best people watching in Paris.

Tall places. We stopped by the Montparnasse Tower on the way home from the catacombs. (Transportation note: if possible, you may do more walking in the Montparnasse metro than in Chatelet/Les Halles.) It was a great view and certainly worth a stop if it?s on the way to or from somewhere. But before we left home a friend said that we really needed to go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. And I thought, why? Well, as he said, from the top of the A de T, suddenly the lay out of Paris becomes completely clear. The towers (Eiffel and Montparnasse), the Samaratine, etc., are just too tall or aren?t in the center of an etoile for you to fully appreciate the city. So my recommendation: if you can only go to the top of one thing, make it the Arc de Triomphe. True, it?s 284 steps, but there are small landings on the way if you need to catch your breath and the stairs are modern and evenly spaced which makes it easier to me. The duomo in Florence still stands as the least favorite climb for me to date (uneven steps, tight spiral staircases, etc.).

Musee Rodin. This was a drive by for us given our schedule, but I could have spent days here. The works are amazing and the gardens are meant for picnicking or just peaceful meditation.

Food. Our schedules get all out of whack so we?re never hungry at the right times, so we don?t do fine dining really. We?re also content to grab a sandwich or a quiche in a museum cafeteria to keep us going. Then there?s always the crepe stand by the St. Germain metro that we hit several times in a visit. We didn?t eat the hotel breakfast. It was 10 euros for the same thing we got for 6 euros or less elsewhere. Mostly we ate our breakfasts at Paul, where we got a croissant, flute, fresh oj, and café crème/tea/hot chocolate for 6 euros. One day my husband had two eggs added and it came to 8 euros. (A note about the service at Paul: it?s very hit or miss, so if you?re in a hurry you may want to try elsewhere. We got wise and started bringing exact change with us to at least eliminate some of the time at the end of the meal when we were ready to move on. And I don?t think this was a case of our being culturally different. One day an elderly French man nearly had a stroke trying to get one of the servers to pay attention to him.) Other days we went to Gerard Mulot and had a croissant and coffee for 3 euros (okay, I?m a rogue: the croissants at Mulot didn?t taste any better to me than anywhere else). I?ll put in another rave for the Grand Epicerie for great picnic makings and food gifts for home. Monoprix also served us well in that department. My favorite real meal (which we indulged in twice ) was at the Relais de L? Entrecote. I can taste the steak and frites now. If you go, don?t be afraid to try the house red wine ? it?s quite tasty. Café Bonaparte was a nice place for a bowl of soup or an omelet. Laduree was a last stop for us to pick up meringues for gifts and pay homage in the tea salon where we had sinful tarts and hot chocolate that tasted like pudding (no dinner necessary that night). An interesting dining out tid bit: in a week?s worth of eating out, 3 of our bills had errors (2 in our favor) and we received incorrect change once (again, in our favor). So, check your bills and change.

The Metro. Loved it and took it everywhere except the airport. Got by with carnets of tickets. And, we actually encountered a ticket check point in the system where fines were being doled out for those without proper tickets, so if you?ve been thinking that ticket checking on the Metro is a myth I can attest that it?s true.

We survived without any pick pocket attempts or episodes with doggie doodle on our shoes. For you shoe researchers, I wore a pair of Dansko professional clogs which I alternated with a pair of Bass walking shoes, both of which served me well. My husband always buys Bata shoes when he?s there and wears them around (and manages not to get blisters breaking in new shoes, lucky guy). As for wardrobe, I employed my usual disposable wardrobe system (I take clothes that are on their ?last wear? and just leave them there) and boy were we glad that I did as I filled up my suitcase with our goodies from the Grand Epicerie that we might not have gotten home (easily) otherwise.

I?ve gone on quite a bit so I?ll give it a rest. Please let me know if you have any questions; I?m happy to provide any help that I can to repay my debt to the Fodorites who provided me with great info.