Susan

Will be traveling in France. Husband and I are 45 and two girls are teenagers. What type of shoes are best?<BR>

for real?

are you serious?<BR>wear whatever you'd wear at home!

alice

&lt;&lt;Will be traveling in France. Husband and I are 45 and two girls are teenagers. What type of shoes are best?&gt;&gt;<BR><BR>Comfortable ones.

RuPaul

4 inch heels, for all four of you. It's so fun to look down, smugly and superiorly at everyone. And I'll still be able to look down on you.<BR><BR>I so, SO tall.<BR>

Foostie

I've got Ecco shoes for travel. They're very comfortable and give great support. They look nice enough for almost every place except the opera.

elaine

susan<BR>If you do a search here on &lt;shoes&gt; you will find gazillions of past suggestions.<BR>My advice is to go to a good shoe store<BR>(some malls even have stores that specialize in walking shoes--look for the Ecco or Mephisto or Clark logos) and try on as many styles of each brand of shoes as you can. Even my beloved Mephistos came in many different styles, some of which did NOT feel good<BR>Some of these brands, like Mephistos, the ones I fell in love with, are expensive. Others, like Easy Spirit are much less and can be found easily in most Dept stores and shoe stores, but I personally have not found those to be comfortable for even a few steps. If they are good for you, you're lucky because you will save money.<BR><BR>Shoes and feet are so variable, you need to find what's best for each of you.<BR>

lze

Hi, I agree with Elaine. Do go shopping and try different ones. What works for one person does not necessairly work for another. I read about Ecco shoes on foddors myself. I just bought a pair over the weekend and they are great! New shoes that don't feel like they need to be broken in. They look stylish enough and oh so comfy! They are very light weight also. Reeboks, Nike etc. are good of course but they make you look to much like the "tourist". Everything I read says try not to look that way and to try and blend in. We leave in June. Can't wait! Have a great family vacation. Take lots of pictures to look back on.

BillF

The most comfortable shoes I had found and used during several trips to Europe were Mephisto's. Then a couple of weeks ago I went into a shoe store that specializes in comfortable walking shoe brands like Mephisto, Birkenstock, Eccos, and discovered the wonders of the Josef Siebel shoes. I was amazed how much more comfortable these shoes were than my favorite Mephistos. The main reasons were that they are wide all the way to the tip of the toes, and the sole is much thicker and cushions much better than my Mephistos.

elaine

thanks bill<BR>since I want another pair at some point, I will try the Siebels

Joy

Just bought my husband a pair of Eccos "Walkathon" for our trip in June. He has very sensitive feet and has a difficult time "breaking in" shoes. He absolutely loves them and said that they felt great from day one. The cool thing is that they don't look like the typical "walking/traveling" shoe. <BR>www.nordstrom.com has a great ECCO page with tons of decent styles for men and women. Have a great trip!

BillF

The Josef Siebel men's shoes I purchased are called the "Bailey shoe", and they are simply amazing. Since purchase them I no longer use my Mephistos, Eccos, or Rockports. Searching the web I found that you can see a good seleciton of Josef Siebel shoes at www.shoobedoo.com. Looking there I see a couple of women's shoe models called the Gena and Jeniffer which look pretty good. I am not associated with this website and have never purchased from them, for shoes I always find a local store were I can try the shoes on before deciding whether to purchase them or not.

Nike man

Get yourself some good ole Nikes. Polish them up so they shine.<BR><BR>Nuttin' better than a pair of white Nike walking shoes to keep your feet feeling good. <BR><BR>This will also tell everyone that you are indeed a proud American!!

Jean

I just discovered Wolky's, really comfortable.

catherine

I concur about Wolky shoes. I have their sandles. I used them a lot on my trip to France and often wear them on my 2 mile walk from work. I wish I could afford their closed toe shoes. The sandles cost $110.00 but are well worth the money if you care about comfort and quality.

narrow

I'm sure that all the European shoe brands are worth the money. Mephistos are $200-$300ropean label go for it. But before buying Euro consider alternatives. I think Dexter walking shoes are great. Both men and womens and they are in the $30-S70 range in their outlet stores. Also naturalizer is an alternative if you (female) wear narrow asEuropean shoes do not come in narrow widths.

Diana

I have a pair of Born flats which are great for walking. Also a pair of Clark closed back shoes which are fairly comfy. But the most comfortable ones I have are my Clark's clogs. They may not look as great as the closed shoes but they are so comfortable. And wonderful for wearing on the plane sinc ethey are easy to kick off.