What to Pack for Paris Trip
Aug 28th, 2004, 02:44 PM
#21
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Nicoleg, here's my 2?!
We just came back from 1 week in Paris on 8/24/04. Go to the Dollar Store, buy an umbrella, and leave it in Paris! All toiletries I bring are trial size and are left in my visiting city. I am a jeans/tshirt/shorts person. Additionally, I am a disposable clothing person. I clean out my closet of items that should be tossed or I don't wear anymore. I only bring my wheeled carry on and a backpack. I do not check luggage. I bring underwear that is on its last legs. I clean out my tshirt draw while on vacation. I had my Teva sandals and Saucony sneakers in Paris. That's all the shoewear I needed. It rained & rained so also bring a raincoat & even a baseball hat. Even on the sunniest days, I had the umbrellas in my backpack and right outside Notre Dame, boom! it started raining.
I am a HUGE fan of convertible pants. The bottoms zip off if it's too hot. As stated earlier, you only see shorts on tourists and children. I wore mine but my husband wore his khakis. He had his boatshoes & sneakers for Paris. We did not bring jeans but you could. My German friend always tells me "no one in Europe wears jeans" but they are everywhere! They are just heavy so if you do bring them, wear them on the plane. We ate at regular restaurants with me being in $2 Target tshirts that did not come home. Pants that were beginning to fray on the cuff were brought for dinner time and left in Paris. Bring a spandex-material type of dress that does not wrinkle and can be used for a dressy dinner.
And yes, it was a bit chilly, even in August. I brought one light jacket and I did use it.
For the Louvre, I wore shorts and a tshirt and a small purse for my camera. The bag check is free so my backpack with our raincoats & umbrellas were checked while we strolled the Louvre and avoided getting trampled to see the Mona Lisa.
I walked into all churches without any problem. I've only encountered "church dress code" at the Vatican.
Have a great time!
We just came back from 1 week in Paris on 8/24/04. Go to the Dollar Store, buy an umbrella, and leave it in Paris! All toiletries I bring are trial size and are left in my visiting city. I am a jeans/tshirt/shorts person. Additionally, I am a disposable clothing person. I clean out my closet of items that should be tossed or I don't wear anymore. I only bring my wheeled carry on and a backpack. I do not check luggage. I bring underwear that is on its last legs. I clean out my tshirt draw while on vacation. I had my Teva sandals and Saucony sneakers in Paris. That's all the shoewear I needed. It rained & rained so also bring a raincoat & even a baseball hat. Even on the sunniest days, I had the umbrellas in my backpack and right outside Notre Dame, boom! it started raining.
I am a HUGE fan of convertible pants. The bottoms zip off if it's too hot. As stated earlier, you only see shorts on tourists and children. I wore mine but my husband wore his khakis. He had his boatshoes & sneakers for Paris. We did not bring jeans but you could. My German friend always tells me "no one in Europe wears jeans" but they are everywhere! They are just heavy so if you do bring them, wear them on the plane. We ate at regular restaurants with me being in $2 Target tshirts that did not come home. Pants that were beginning to fray on the cuff were brought for dinner time and left in Paris. Bring a spandex-material type of dress that does not wrinkle and can be used for a dressy dinner.
And yes, it was a bit chilly, even in August. I brought one light jacket and I did use it.
For the Louvre, I wore shorts and a tshirt and a small purse for my camera. The bag check is free so my backpack with our raincoats & umbrellas were checked while we strolled the Louvre and avoided getting trampled to see the Mona Lisa.
I walked into all churches without any problem. I've only encountered "church dress code" at the Vatican.
Have a great time!
Aug 28th, 2004, 02:58 PM
#22
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My thoughts on the umbrella. I have a red, vinyl, folding hat with a brim all the way around. In the hardest rain I pull the hood of my rain jacket up over the hat to keep my neck dry. The brim lets me see out. I do fine even in the Pac NW rains.
Aug 29th, 2004, 04:26 AM
#23
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Just returned from Paris and based on some threads on this message board, I brought khakis and shoes to wear to dinner. We did not go out fancy (we had 3 kids with us) but we went to perfectly nice places. I can tell you the clothes we completely unnecessary. People in Paris dress pretty casually. Plenty of folks wear jeans to dinner and sneakers are worn by many. We went to places with virtually no Americans so this is what the Parisians (or other Europeans) wore. My advice -- wear what you want unless you are going out fancy.
Aug 29th, 2004, 07:49 AM
#24
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Asking and replying to these types of questions are alway's fraught with danger....but...
I was in Paris this July. Hopefully the weather will be warm for you in September.
Wear what you feel comfotable in. I don't wear shorts etc when I'm at home or in Europe because I don't feel comfortable in them.
This year my ensemble for 1 month in Europe was:
a pair of leather loafers (bought in Italy) and very comfortable.
1 pair of flat strappy sandals
2 x skirts
1 wide leather belt
3 x white shirts
1 x beige chino's (worn only twice)
1 x pants
1 x denim jacket (worn twice)
I washed out my clothes at night and luckily they always dried overnight....
I like to look nice and don't want to look like a "brutta figura" on my holidays. Yes, my holiday snaps have me in the same clothes over and over but I felt comfortable and I felt I looked smart!
The only thing that I wish I had packed was something to slob around in at night....the sarong I brought did the job well though.
Next trip, I think I could even pack less.
Have a lovely holiday. One of my nicest memories of this trip is sitting on the grass in a park near our apartment, reading a book in the sunshine.
I was in Paris this July. Hopefully the weather will be warm for you in September.
Wear what you feel comfotable in. I don't wear shorts etc when I'm at home or in Europe because I don't feel comfortable in them.
This year my ensemble for 1 month in Europe was:
a pair of leather loafers (bought in Italy) and very comfortable.
1 pair of flat strappy sandals
2 x skirts
1 wide leather belt
3 x white shirts
1 x beige chino's (worn only twice)
1 x pants
1 x denim jacket (worn twice)
I washed out my clothes at night and luckily they always dried overnight....
I like to look nice and don't want to look like a "brutta figura" on my holidays. Yes, my holiday snaps have me in the same clothes over and over but I felt comfortable and I felt I looked smart!
The only thing that I wish I had packed was something to slob around in at night....the sarong I brought did the job well though.
Next trip, I think I could even pack less.
Have a lovely holiday. One of my nicest memories of this trip is sitting on the grass in a park near our apartment, reading a book in the sunshine.
