Trip to Paris and Normandy
 

I just returned from a trip to France. We stayed in Paris and took a day trip (guided tour) to Normandy. We used the Fodor's guide as a bible and loved it! The restaurants recommended throughout Paris were great. We did find a great Polish restaurant underneath a church near the Louvre called La Crypte Polska that was completely in French but got the Plat du jour and it was AWESOME.

I have noticed people being on the fence about the parismuseumpass.com, which I highly recommend. We went to the big museums and because we were able to skip the lines had time to even stop by the smaller museums that we wouldn't normally had done without the pass. It was great. The Tour Eiffel does not accept the museum pass and (fyi) the light show only occurs after dark for 5 minutes on every hour, unlike what the travel guide said of 10 minutes, but all in all it's the Tour Eiffel so anything I say doesn't matter you still have to see it.

The Normandy day trip is a once in a lifetime experience highly recommended for any American. Really experiencing what our soldiers went through on D-day to fight for our freedom was emotionally moving. The tour guide was wonderful and explained so much history and information I would have never experienced without her. The day trip does make for a very long day and if you go I highly recommend packing food.

I hope this helps people taking a trip to Paris. I loved it, despite the high prices, and miss the wine, cheese, and bread.

Oh one more thing....if you are in Paris for a week, get the Navigo pass. It is a metro, bus, rer, all in one transportation week pass that is around 60 Euros. You can get it as the beginning of the week and is worth every penny for being able to bypass buying tickets and having to carry cash around when you need to jump on a train.

You sound happy!
What tour did you use for Normandy? Any more details on Paris?

I'm trying to figure out what you put on your Navigo Decouverte for 60 Euro. A 1 week zone 1 and 2 which is all most tourists need is 16.80 euro

The Eiffel Tower changed from 10 minutes to 5 minutes of flashing last year to save energy. It will take awhile for the guidebooks to catch up.

There will be four of us wanting to take the tour of Normandy. We will be staying in Paris and taking the train over for a 1/2 day. Which tour companies are recommended for a 1/2 day tour (without the big grayline bus)?

Thanks!