PARIS: BASICS OF PLANNING A TRIP, PART I

PARIS: The city of lights

Paris is on the wish list of many wannabe travelers. And it’s famous for a reason or several. It’s definitely one of the BIG 3 in Europe.

WHEN TO GO?

Paris has all year round charm.

Summer July-Aug is the height of tourist season; anyhow, tourist numbers are growing irrespective of the season.

Winter can be grey and rainy.

 It may be a good bet to opt for May-June or Sep-Oct to get the best of weather and relatively less crowds.

As per the advice for any travel, Look for historic average of temperature, current conditions, day light hours, crowd expectancy and decide as per your tolerance and preference.

WHERE TO STAY?

Again as per advice for travel to any part of the world, look at a map of the concerned place… google “Paris (substitute the name of any place you plan to visit) map with attractions” and you get your map for reference!
This link will give you a detailed map:

http://www.plandeparis.info/plans-paris/paris.html

Plan de Paris 

Orient yourself with respect to any important landmark… for Paris, the river Seine is an excellent anchor for reference.

Circle the attractions you’d love to include.

It makes sense to stay in reasonable proximity to them. Of course, hotels in prime locations are expensive and if you have a tight budget, you take a call after considering your commuting time and expense.

First time travelers say “I want to be near the tourist attractions”.

In the case of Paris, see these maps: 

MAP 2: Paris arrondissements

MAP 3: Paris Top Sights

You’ll notice the attractions are spread all over the city. However, another point to note is the city is fairly compact and is very well connected with a network of public transport. Also the best way to appreciate this city is by walking.

Paris is divided into twenty arrondissements (administrative districts). The first one is in the center, the following ones spiral outwards in a clock-wise direction. Frequent visitors speak highly of choosing to stay in single digit arrondissements.

In 2014, we stayed just near Moulin Rouge, 17th  arrondissement–had no problem getting to where we wanted to go, as there are buses/metro plying close-by. As long as you are within the circle you should be able to cover all the sights of your choice.

Do remember you need to declare the number of ALL occupants; not your choice to sleep your little kid on your double bed. People have been turned away for carrying an undeclared infant to a double room they had booked.

Hotel Eugenie, Hotel Diva Opera, Henri IV Rive Gauche ( near the river and Notre Dame), Hotel Marignan in the 5th arrondissement, Hotel des Nations St. Germain,  Hotel Michelet Odeon again in Saint Germain are well recommended by frequent visitors. Hotels near Montparnasse tower like Hotel Montparnasse Daguerre, Hotel Apollon Montparnasse for instance are reasonably priced and in a convenient area.

A kind lady had shared her research for family/quad rooms available in Paris. Over the years, some info may have become wrong... read the recent posts in this thread for some pointers if you need a room for 4:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k1554693-List_of_Hotels_with_Family_Quad_rooms-Paris_Ile_de_France.html  

If you are renting apartment, use caution/due diligence. Read plenty of reviews. Many apartments do not have elevators, air conditioning, a place to store luggage before or after checkin/checkout. There could also be legal issues in some cities and people have reported they get notice just a few days before their arrival that their apt had developed some problem and is off the market. Take into account the cleaning fee etc. Also in many apts, the hygiene standards may not be good enough... with itchy towels, bed linen etc. Hotels with good reviews may be easier to bank on

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HOW TO ENTER PARIS:

Now see where is your port of entry on the map… it may be CDG airport if you are coming on an international flight from the US or India.

If you are flying on low cost airlines from another European city, always check which airport you are flying into and if your airport is well connected to the city.

Beauvais Airport for instance is marketed by some airlines as Paris Beauvais Airport  despite its location being 85 km (53 mi) north-northwest of Paris. The money you may save on airfare may well be wasted in the expensive commute into the city if you are landing at awkward timing when shuttle may not be feasible.

If you are combining any other European country on one trip, it’s usually a good idea to see if there are trains which can take you from city center to city center.

As discussed in the earlier blog posts on Switzerland, you can use the fast TGV trains from Basel to reach Gare de Lyon in Paris. Book your train tickets 90/120 days ahead of travel from the train line's own website to avail huge discounts. 

HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR HOTEL:

As is the case for any place, use a search engine (Booking.com, Hotels.com or Tripadvisor), put in your dates and use a filter for your preferred range of Euros per night.

Out of the options coming up, Start checking out reviews focusing on factors like safety, hygiene, connectivity etc and you’ll be able to narrow your choices.

As already detailed in earlier post
http://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2016/03/how-to-plan-trip-to-europe-air-tickets.html
I use Tripadvisor site and narrow my choices.

For Paris, we stayed in Residence Blanche just adjacent to Moulin Rouge in May, 2014 as it has a kitchen which we needed. (check it out in map 3)

In 2015, we stayed in Hotel Diana, in the Latin quarter. This hotel is marked in Map 3, in fact, the map is from the web site of the hotel

Both are reasonably priced and great value for money.

People on low budget find the hotels near Gare de Nord adequate...

The hotel's own website will have directions on how to get there by public transport from several entry points like Airport/train station etc

MUST-DOS:

Again, you and your family/travel companions are the ones who can really decide what is your must-do.

PARIS TOP SIGHTS:

Google “Paris top sights” and you’ll land with several lists—start looking at the pictures and read the descriptions and you’ll know if it should be on your itinerary. 

Let me explain this with examples for Paris.

There are some 130 museums in Paris. And many top sights list include Picasso Museum, Paris Catacombs, climbing the Eiffel tower.

Now, our family members love art and museums but we are not into Cubism and contemporary art. We can’t for the life of us see beauty in Picasso. And contemporary art as of the kind displayed in Centre Pompidou leaves us cold. So Picasso Museum or Centre Pompidou are definitely not our must-do, though they may well be some one else’s priority.

Picasso's Le-Reve

The Catacombs of Paris museum is an underground network of tunnels in Paris that used to be stone quarries. At the end of the 18th century, Paris needed to find a solution to the overflowing and unsanitary inner-city cemeteries, so they lined the walls of the quarries with the bones of 6 million people. Many people find this display fascinating and there are huge crowds. However, it’s not for us!

Going up the Eiffel tower is a top activity for visitors of Paris. You need to book your tickets as soon as the slots open up online and tickets get snapped up fast. Then you can turn up a little before your time slot and go up and enjoy the views. Of course, if the weather is not clear on that particular day, you may not have good views. If you miss buying advance tickets online, you can queue up for the limited tickets available on the particular day and again queue up to take the elevator to go up. Of course, there is always the option of climbing the stairs which has shorter lines and the ticket is lower priced than the one for the elevators. We, as family, felt it is not worth our while to commit in advance to a particular day/time for an Eiffel tower climb or queue up on a given day. We decided to go to Tower Montparnasse, where there are no queues usually. We just walked up, bought the tickets and went up their elevator and saw the view of Paris spread out in front of us … the Eiffel tower was also in this view, so we felt this experience was great.

 On an earlier visit, we had taken the elevator at the shopping mall, Galleries Lafayette and gone to their terrace and had fabulous views of the city, all free and at our convenience without crowds or standing in queue.

We were at the Trocadero gardens in the evening, enjoying the fountains and the Eiffel tower view and did not feel the need to climb the tower. That was our Eiffel experience and we were more than happy, despite not going up the Eiffel tower.

So analyse your options and the time at your disposal and pick sights that interest you and will be rewarding for you and your family.      

MUSEUMS ARE NOT FOR ME?!

Some people have the wrong notion of the word "museum"… I’ve heard many a friend, colleague say “we are not museum people” and it turns out that they have visited some dusty old place and have assumed all museums are only full of broken shards of pottery excavated.

No indeed, European museums have royal crowns, jewelry, artifacts made of gems.

Many museums are housed in former palaces, the ceilings are ornate, the floor mosaics are awesome and the exhibits are one of a kind.

In Paris, Louvre is awesome. This is the Apollo Gallery in Louvre with the royal crowns.

This is one of the halls of the royal apartments of Napoleon III in Louvre.

 This is in the Decorative Arts wing of Louvre.

Orsay is smaller and magnificent. Rodin museum is also small and has amazing sculpture. I've written about these in detail in later posts in my trip report.

Decorative Arts Museum (http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/en/) has one of the most comprehensive displays of lovely interiors; it’s just next to the Louvre (housed in a separate wing) 

Opera Garnier is never crowded and is fabulous:

Of course, it pays to have some little knowledge of sculpture and paintings before you visit a museum. I'll be writing in detail about specific works in later posts.

Paintings belong to so many schools. If you are not into religious paintings, don’t assume you won’t like any painting. A scenery, with reflection in water may draw a gasp from you! 

Monet's water lilies

CHURCHES: OH, I’M NOT A RELIGIOUS PERSON?!

European churches are works of art. Most of them are free to enter and you need not be a person of Faith to enjoy the architecture, the stained glass and sculpture.

Paris has hundreds of churches. There's at least one in each neighborhood or district. Each has its story. Many are centuries-old architectural and historic gems.

Notre Dame cathdedral, Sacré Coeur, Sainte Chapelle, Saint-Sulpice are some of the famous ones. Do include a church or two in your trip to Paris.

This is Sacré Coeur

This is the interior of Sainte Chapelle.

CRUISE ON RIVER SEINE:

Enjoy a leisurely trip down the Seine on a 1-hour river cruise. Glide past famous monuments including Notre Dame Cathedral, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre  

vedettesdupontneuf.com/home/

 is a good option.

An evening cruise when monuments are lit up is magic!

Seine Cruise

WALKS:

Walk along the Seine from Notre dame to Arc de Triomphe, passing Louvre, Concorde. You can take little diversions, this is one of the scenic walks.

Stroll around the Marais district

Stroll around the Seine banks

There are many free walking tours—you can tip the guide at the end. Paris walks, Discover walks, Wego Walking Tours provide a 3.5 hour  free daily walking tour in English that takes you to all the classics that make Paris a beautiful city.

Walk through the prettiest parts of Montmartre. Lamarck Caulaincourt:  climb the stairs up to Caulaincourt and turn right; cross the street to Avenue Junot and go up that street. If you keep going you end up at Place du Tertre (it’s full of artists and their ware and may be terribly crowded). If you veer left at the little park with the man walking through the wall statue (lovely playground on the opposite side of the street here), there is a vineyard; turn right and approach Sacre Coeur from the side/back. There is a nice park back there. You walk along the Basilica and come to the plaza in front with great views across the city. You can vary this walk to take in other lovely spots.

PARKS AND GARDENS

Visit parks and gardens such as Tuileries and Luxembourg.

If you are looking for a lesser known but beautiful park, Parc Monceau will fit the bill. It is a lovely public park situated in the 8th arrondissement at the junction of Boulevard de Courcelles, Rue de Prony and Rue Georges Berger.

It’s not the typical French garden where everything is landscaped but is an “English garden”. It has a big lake, lily pond, bridges, antique statues, and some lovely architectural features from 1770s (miniature follies):  Egyptian pyramid, a Roman colonnade,a Chinese fort, Dutch windmill, etc.

It has been the subject of Monet’s paintings… what more does one need to say!

FOOD, DRINKS, SHOPPING:

Every place has a specialty specific to the region/culture and it may be great to incorporate local specialties. We are vegetarians and don’t drink. If you are in the opposite category, do your research and include the top wines and food of the region.

https://www.thefork.com/ is a good site to research restaurants; there are some discounts too if you book through this site.

https://www.happycow.net/ is great for vegan/vegetarian restaurants

Hot chocolate and macaroons are famous in Paris. Go for the much touted Angelina’s hot chocolate and Laudree or Pierre Herme's macaroons and Berthillon or Amorino Ice Cream.

At the top of the collage above are the much touted Amorino ice creams shaped like petals.

 Be aware that some find all the above overpriced and overhyped. Test out the local bakery near your hotel, you’ll probably find delicious surprises.

Macarons from the much hyped brands are also from the same central kitchen and do lose freshness soon. Instead of paying for better packaging and the brand name, you can try the macarons from the several McDonald's cafes in the city where 6 macarons are available for 5 euros which are from the same source as the famous brands. Lemon tarts and other fruit flavors are well liked.

Rue du Bac has great patisseries, you can gorge on the desserts…La Pâtisserie des Rêves, Chocolat Chapon, Hugo & Victor gourmet shop, Des Gâteaux et du Pain (featuring artisan breads as well as pastries, cakes and other sweet treats) and Angelina are well known

For good food at prices not breaking the bank, on Rue des Rosiers there are plenty of cheap but good ethnic restaurants. L'As Falafel is a great middle eastern place with sit in or take out. Creperies near Gare Montparnasse have quality crepes at reasonable prices. Bakeries offer affordable and delicious quiches, sandwiches at lunch time.Many Indian restaurants are in the Faubourg Saint Denis area on the right side of Gare du Nord. There also are some popular Pakistani/Indian places in the Passage Brady. 

Rue de Rennes which stretches from the Montparnasse Tower to Boulevard Saint-Germain is great for window-shopping and there are also affordable chains like Etam (135-139 rue de Rennes), Zara (two boutiques, at 45 and 140), and Naf-Naf (143-145), along with Kookaï (155) and Darjeeling (152), Franprix grocery store (71), an Fnac (pronounced “fuh-nack”), the largest French entertainment retail chain (136).

MISCELLANEOUS STUFF TO DO:

There is dancing along the banks of Seine near Parc Tino Rossi every non-rainy night 8 - 11 pm, April – October. There are different areas for tango, swing, salsa, etc . You can bring food and drink and picnic on the grass. Watch the fun or join in if you're interested. Great music, all ages. 

There are concerts and shows at churches or other venues. Check billetreduc or classictic. It's nice to attend a church service, the organ sounds awesome in big cathedrals 

HOW TO PLAN AN ITINERARY:

It’s up to you if you want to draw up and stick to the plan or wing it. However, you don’t want to waste your limited vacation time by turning up at an attraction when it’s closed. So have your options ready and sorted. The official websites of attractions give the timings and days of closure.

Download a list of all your options/the top sights, look up pictures/descriptions and make your list.

Mark them on a map and group them according to proximity. As said, ensure you are not scheduling something on their weekly off day. Online map can be custom made and is a very useful tool.

http://goo.gl/maps/oRv6n is the link to the google map I had prepared with the sights we planned to cover on our visit in 2014. you may consider creating a similar one for your use.

You can zoom in and out on the map below and see how we had plotted our pick of sights to be covered and put in some notes in the bubble...

Consider opening/closing times, if they are closed on the particular weekday etc

Then draw up itinerary for each day. Have your bus options sorted in case you may need them. You are good to go!

SOME GENERAL TIPS:

Pre-planned and pre-announced strikes are frequent in France. (so frequent that there is a website which tells everyone which strikes are planned, when they will start and when they will end: www.cestlagreve.fr )  

DON’T buy the Paris Pass. The Paris Pass is a collection of existing passes that can be bought individually for less cost: it is never worthwhile.

The Paris Museum Pass is worthwhile, depending on how many museums you intend to visit. Like in all such cases, you have to do the math. Add up the cost of individual museum tickets and compare to the price of the pass. Usually with the museum pass, you can skip the regular lines and just get into the security line. Another nice thing about the Museum pass is you can just "pop in" to a museum as you pass maybe just to see one thing, like the Unicorn Tapestries in the Cluny museum for instance. You can keep returning to the Louvre or any other of your choice with the pass. It just frees you up.

Taxi from CDG to Paris is a flat €55/50, definitely well worth it. There is a flat fare of €55 between CDG and central Paris south of the Seine (left bank), and €50 for central Paris north of the Seine (right bank). From Orly, the equivalent fares are €30 and €35. These fares apply to all Paris taxis, replacing the previous metered charges.

Ignore people approaching you inside the terminal.  Follow the taxi signs at the airport to the official taxi line just outside one of the terminal doors. You can use the free baggage carts available at the baggage claim and wheel directly to the taxi Take official taxi with the Taxi Parisien sign on the roof from the taxi line outside. Have the address of your destination, including zip code, printed or hand written and hand it over to the driver.

Transport options are discussed in detail in the next post...
http://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2016/04/paris-basics-of-planning-trip-part-ii.html
according to your plans, a carnet of 10 tickets or the Navigo Découverte may be good options

GENERAL ETIQUETTE:

In France, always greet a person  saying  "Bonjour" before starting any interaction. This includes restaurant, shop staff as well as vendors. When you enter a shop, look around and greet the staff before you start browsing. 

SAFETY TIPS:

Millions of tourists visit Paris every year, and the great majority of them have no problems at all.

Paris is a safe city. Any kind of violent attack is very rare. There are stealthy pickpockets and some scams as in any big city anywhere in the world. So Be alert. Be aware

 Pickpockets are opportunists looking for easy targets: men with a wallet in their back pocket, women with a purse at the top of an open bag.

Keep your valuables tucked well inside your clothes, and they will look for an easier target.

Don’t engage with strangers. Never accept anything for free, there's usually strings attached. Specifics are as follows:

There are young girls roaming around in Paris/Rome, carrying petitions. Don't stop and sign these. The petition girls approach one asking 'Do you speak English?’ Shake your head and move off. Don't sign any petition, because they will want you to pay money for a cause that you just pledged to pay. Or they may surround that person and try to steal the phone or wallet. Many people have reported their valuables had been stolen when they were surrounded by these petition girls. Even if nothing is stolen they'll ask for money for their cause and won't leave till they get it. It's all a hoax, not charity, so be aware, say NO and walk away!

Don't let anyone to tie a string/ bracelet on your wrist, or give you a rose; they’ll ask for money and may become annoying. In Paris, the bracelet guys are near the steps to Sacre Coeur. A shake of the head is enough to stop them. Rose/lavender guys/women are in any tourist spot in Rome, Florence or Madrid.

Don't fall for shell/card games played on a street where rigged results can tempt you to participate in the hope of winning.

Gold ring scam is a confidence game. Someone pretends to find a ring, offers it to you at a bargain. You give them money thinking you are getting a deal. Obviously the ring is a cheap fake..

The Tailored Italian jacket scam is the same thing. A guy pulls up asking directions, says he's just coming from a fashion show, needs money to get gas for home. Do you want a 500 euro jacket for 50? You buy it, walk away thinking you've just made a great deal to find the jacket made of some cheap material with the durability of tissue paper.

Don't let anyone help you with buying metro tickets from a machine. There are uniformed conmen pretending to help at Gare du Nord station and they pocket the ticket and your money and make you pay again.

Try and use ATM machines inside banks. Always hide your pin.

Avoid crowds milling around a street performer; pickpockets work under such distractions.

Don't carry anything in outside pockets. Carry just enough money for a day hidden deep inside a well closed cross body purse. The same with your phone, camera.

 Don't hang your purse on a chair in restaurants.

Try and store your bags in the overhead rack or under your seat when you are traveling by train. Keep an eye on them especially at stops. If you have to use the luggage rack at the end of the compartment, be vigilant.

Carry purse right under the arm, always closed, with hand over it, and with the zipper tab end of the purse toward you. Valuables should be always at the bottom of the bag, with  water bottle, scarf, or other unimportant things at the top.

 Carry passport on day trips with you in an internal pocket of the purse.

There's no need to be paranoid or fearful, but you do have to be mindful.

Here's a short video of Paris to lighten the mood:

https://picasaweb.google.com/108910506663540711253/RioIguacuVideos#6267089810409441970

Paris Trip reports:

I’ve given a detailed trip report of each day of our Paris visit, it may help in having an idea of the several options available for you...the report starts from here:

http://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2016/04/paris-trip-report-day-1-cdg-to-city.html

I’ve given a detailed description of the public transport system and how to use the bus system in Paris in this next post:

http://adventuretrav.blogspot.com/2016/04/paris-basics-of-planning-trip-part-ii.html

Videos of our Paris trips:

The following are the video links of our visit to Paris. They are set to music. Some of the frames are captioned and you may find them helpful in deciding on your itinerary: 

https://picasaweb.google.com/108910506663540711253/6272982759068429265#6272987538890581906

is the video of Louvre

https://picasaweb.google.com/108910506663540711253/6272982759068429265#6274408331432194066

is the video which contains our Paris day 2. Sacre Coeur, Musee d’orsay, Musee de l’Orangerie, Invalides, Rodin museum, Nissim Camondo Museum

https://picasaweb.google.com/108910506663540711253/6272982759068429265#6272999572822836802

Versailles part i has our video of the royal apts of Versailles.

https://picasaweb.google.com/108910506663540711253/6272982759068429265#6273959646446812866

Versailles part 2 has our video of Queen's apts, Grand Trianon, Petit trianon, fountains

https://picasaweb.google.com/108910506663540711253/6272982759068429265#6273983044151513010

is the video of Paris day 4a: Notre Dame, St Chapelle, Conciergerie 

https://picasaweb.google.com/108910506663540711253/6272982759068429265#6273817909395301506

Paris day 4 b: Opera Garnier, Galeries Lafayette,  Jaquemart Andre museum

https://picasaweb.google.com/108910506663540711253/6272982759068429265#6273766291475366466

is the video of Fontainebleau Part 1

https://picasaweb.google.com/108910506663540711253/6272982759068429265#6273951934867112258

is the video of Fontainebleau Part 2

https://picasaweb.google.com/108910506663540711253/6272982759068429265#6274340449208550402

is the video covering Cluny museum, Luxembourg gardens, Montparnasse tower