StCirq

I would be very, very surprised if you could make a reservation to eat at either of the Tour Eiffel restaurants at this late date. You can try, of course. Jules Verne gets a lot of good reviews. I've never eaten there. We prefer eating at Le Ciel in the Tour Montparnasse if we want a Tour Eiffel experience and a fancy meal. Instead of being IN the Tour Eiffel, you get a great view of it, plus the rest of Paris. But again, I doubt you can snag a reservation at this point. It was mobbed when we last went in October.

In the absence of your guidebooks, I hope you know that every single attraction in Pariis has a comprehensive website, and the official website for the City of Paris has incredibly detailed information about just about everything.

You really need to stop talking to TAs.

thursdaysd

"also wish i had the time to go to B and N and read and drink coffee.."

It would be a more productive use of your time than what you have been doing. Instead of clueless TAs, and getting info in bits and pieces here, you would get most/all of what you need in a compact package, including answers to questions you don't know to ask.

However, failing B&N, I checked the catalog for the Buffalo and Erie public library. They have the Rick Steves' Paris and London 2016 guidebooks (the full guidebooks) available, and probably several others as well. If your local branch doesn't have them on the shelves, I would expect them to get them for you from a branch that does.

KTtravel

Small museums I really enjoy in Paris are the Musee de L'Orangerie and the Rodin museum. The first, in particular, is a must for me when I visit Paris as Monet's paintings there almost bring me to tears. It does not take long to visit.

fuzzbucket

Instead of eating inside the Eiffel Tower, where you might not get a window seat or a reservation - and most importantly, will not get a refund if you decide not to go - here's another idea: Les Ombres.

Open every day, food is IMO much better than the Eiffel Tower and you are spitting distance away from the Eiffel Tower. There are holiday menus for lunch and dinner. The restaurant is located in the Quai Branly museum. If you decide not to go, you won't lose any money.
http://www.lesombres-restaurant.com/

The Foxity Tour bus is exactly the same as the HOHO bus, but you can't get on and off unless you purchase that specific pass - there are several passes available.
The top deck is covered with a translucent layer, so nobody gets cold. You can buy directly online, print the vouchers and go.
http://www.foxity.com/paris-sightsee...-city-tour.php

Sassafrass

I think I gave you several websites about things and events in Paris in your other thread.
Forget busses. You remember nothing. Better to actually visit two or three important and interesting places during that time.
Your Mom might enjoy Musee d'Orsay. So would you.
Don't go to B&N and sit and read. Just buy the books. Compared with the whole cost of the trip and all the time (and money) lost working with TA, the cost of a couple of books is cheap for all the information. It is fun to read them on the plane and train.

Christina

I don't buy guidebooks very much, I always get them from the public library. If you are in a large city like Buffalo, I can't imagine the library wouldn't have travel books.

B&N isn't a library, you're not supposed to just go and read and manhandle the books which are for sale, I think that's unethical. Sure, you flip through to get an idea if a book is what you want, but B&N isn't a library and you shouldn't be using the books. That's what a library is for.

An awful lot of information is now available free online, though. It just takes a little longer as you usually have to open each section seprately, etc. But if you aren't looking for the hotels, restaurants, etc but just the basic city info, it's not so bad.

Lilly2016

Ok i do not live in Buffalo itself - I live outside in the suburbs.. our local library did not have them...I checked yesterday, however they could get them by Tuesday.

Sassafrass - I had already ordered the guidebooks Thursdaysd suggested and they are to arrive late this week though. I did save the suggestions you gave me .. thank you.

Yes I don't use B and N like a library.

----
fuzzbucket - ty for the bus info-
Ktraveler - thank u for the museum info

Lilly2016

Do you guys think that if I am arriving in Paris late Dec 24, I can still book tickets to the Eiffell tower all the way to the top (i think that is called the Summit)?

If the website of the eiffel tower is sold out -- does that mean we can not get them there? would I be able to buy the skip the lines at the hotels ?

kimhe

And I can't help myself: Sara Baras, the most famous female flamenco dancer in the world today, performs in Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris from Dec 26 to Dec. 31: http://www.theatrechampselysees.fr/e...let-flamenco-1

She's dancing "Voces" (Voices), a tribute to some of the greatest of the art.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSB63RCOzYc

Excellent review in the leading flamenco magazine for Voces in Jerez de la Frontera earlier this year: https://www.deflamenco.com/revista/r...-jerez1-1.html

StCirq

There are ticket offices at the foot of the Tour Eiffel, open every day, where you can buy tickets IF there are tickets available and the tower is open. There are usually long, long lines there - don't know what the situation would be on Christmas Eve.

Lilly2016

Kimhe ty ty ty sooo much, my mom's main reason to go to spain was to see a flamenco dancer..

Stcirq- so even at the eiffel u could go there and possibly not be able to see it, due to limitation in number allowed in?

thursdaysd

She could have seen flamenco in Buffalo last year:

http://www.buffalo.edu/calendar/cale...4-E4E84942C1F0

If B&N objected to people reading books or magazines off the shelves in the store they would not provide comfortable seats and a coffee shop. I pay for an annual discount card and do buy books there, but I would not buy every guidebook I look at while in the store.

StCirq

Yes, Lilly, that's possible. It could also be shut down because of weather conditions.

Also, there's plenty of flamenco in Paris and London. Just google. It may not be the same quality you'd see in Spain - or it might be.

kimhe

<plenty of flamenco in Paris and London. Just google. It may not be the same quality you'd see in Spain - or it might be.>

Doesn't get much better than Sara Baras who performs in Paris Dec 26.-31.

And a fabulous flamenco festival in Sadler's Wells in London every February, the absolute finest and most cutting edge artists: http://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on...stival-london/
Video intro: https://vimeo.com/122653005

suze

I think ordering the hard copy guidebooks was a good idea, take them and read them on the plane ride over.

We never went UP the Eiffel Tower, it's still pretty amazing to see (from almost anywhere in the city). I wouldn't get stuck on that idea, if it can't happen.

KTtravel

I like reading guidebooks on the plane. You and your mother can both take a look at them, pick your favorite activities, and plan your days.

The Eiffel Tower lights twinkle every hour in the evening which is a nice sight to see. You can walk around and under the tower and gaze up even if you decide not to ascend. You can also just take a look at the ticket lines while you are there and decide whether or not you want to stand in line. Also, sometimes the line is shorter at one "leg" of the tower than another.

Where are you staying in Paris?

Lilly2016

KTravel
here is where i booked a hotel .. I liked this one I just hope it is close to attractions... ????

151bis rue de Rennes 75006 Paris

the one the TA had suggested was right by the Eiffel tower but it didn't have good reviews.

StCirq

What's the name of the hotel? And WHY are you still dealing with TAs?

Yes,that hotel is close to some attractions. You do have to realize in any European city that the early seltters and then the medieval ones didn't plan the city based on modern tourists' desires for tourism. You might want to read a few histories of Europe in addition to guidebooks. It's not Disneyland - it's a city built over many centuries for many populations. Scattered over lots of territory. B

I hope this all work out for you.

Lilly2016

st cirq - Not STILL dealing with travel agent.. I was referring to her suggestions from Before.. couple weeks ago.

name of hotel is Legend...

mjs

One way onto the Eiffel tower if you want to splurge is to book a meal at the Jules Verne which has a private elevator to the second floor. After eating you can walk out of the restaurant onto the second floor and purchase a ticket to the Summit. I think lunch would be about 100 Euro a person plus drinks and dinner is probably twice that of lunch. Suspect Christmas meals are a lot more and "special'