and I'd like some suggestions for what to see and do.

Eat a snail, spit off the eiffel tower, kick a mime, play frogger through traffic, moon a cop under the Arc de Triumph, point at a gargoyle atop Notre Dame, buy a tacky souvenier, drink a bottle of wine, smoke a ***, and take the next train outbound to Germany.

Are you going to Paris? If so, don't bother with the Louvre. I mean, go see the building, the court yard, but unless you can spend at least a day there, don't bother. It's way too big. You really need a few days for it. You should stop by if you go to the Eiffle Tower (http://www.paris.org/Monuments/Eiffel/), though, since it's within walking distance. Also, the Arch of Triumph (http://www.paris.org/Monuments/Arc/) is there.

Go see the Basilique du Sacré Coeur (http://www.paris.org/Monuments/Sacre.Coeur/), or Church of the Sacred Heart, up on the hill in the Montmartre area. In fact, spend some time wandering around the Montmartre. Plan to wander around and find a cafe for lunch or something. It's a really nice area.

You can take a subway train from Montparnesse to Versailles for a couple of bucks. It's very well worth seeing, too. The palace is unbelieable. Just amazing.

Might as well stroll around Montparnesse and the Sine, too.

I only spent a couple fo days, so that's all I did while I was there. Oh, and food. Almost forgot. The food is expensive, but it's the best in the world, so save some extera money to eat good stuff. Especially anything involving chocolate.

I didn't bother to stop anywhere in the south of France, though I probably should have. Nice is supposed to be a nice town, and a lot of places in the south are supposed to be, but I don't have first hand knowledge of them.

How long are you staying? What cities are you planning to visit?

If Paris, do you speak French? Not everyone in France is a stuck up *******, but everyone in Paris is. If you don't speak French, you should at least try to memorize how to say everything you'll need. Like excuse me, where's the bathroom, do you know where the train station is, I'd like the chocolate dessert, etc. And google up a copy of the subway map and try to familiarise yourself with it. You'll need to use the subway to get around.

Are you going to Paris? If so, don't bother with the Louvre. I mean, go see the building, the court yard, but unless you can spend at least a day there, don't bother. It's way too big. You really need a few days for it. You should stop by if you go to the Eiffle Tower (http://www.paris.org/Monuments/Eiffel/), though, since it's within walking distance. Also, the Arch of Triumph (http://www.paris.org/Monuments/Arc/) is there.

Go see the Basilique du Sacré Coeur (http://www.paris.org/Monuments/Sacre.Coeur/), or Church of the Sacred Heart, up on the hill in the Montmartre area. In fact, spend some time wandering around the Montmartre. Plan to wander around and find a cafe for lunch or something. It's a really nice area.

You can take a subway train from Montparnesse to Versailles for a couple of bucks. It's very well worth seeing, too. The palace is unbelieable. Just amazing.

Might as well stroll around Montparnesse and the Sine, too.

I only spent a couple fo days, so that's all I did while I was there. Oh, and food. Almost forgot. The food is expensive, but it's the best in the world, so save some extera money to eat good stuff. Especially anything involving chocolate.

I didn't bother to stop anywhere in the south of France, though I probably should have. Nice is supposed to be a nice town, and a lot of places in the south are supposed to be, but I don't have first hand knowledge of them.

How long are you staying? What cities are you planning to visit?

If Paris, do you speak French? Not everyone in France is a stuck up *******, but everyone in Paris is. If you don't speak French, you should at least try to memorize how to say everything you'll need. Like excuse me, where's the bathroom, do you know where the train station is, I'd like the chocolate dessert, etc. And google up a copy of the subway map and try to familiarise yourself with it. You'll need to use the subway to get around.

Ya I'm planning on spending two or three days in the Paris area and some time in the South Of France. I'm going to be in France for ten days and I appreciate your comments and suggestions. My plans are tentatively set for 2 or 3 days in Paris and several days in the South Of France. You've given me some places I'll probably go see too. I know very little French and I need to learn some phrases although I'm gonna hang with a couple of local friends some of the time.

Oh and Asir, I keep planning trips to Berlin and cancelling em. I'd like to hang at the Love Parade if they have one this year. A gf moved there from London about 18 months ago so I'm pretty sure I'll get there sometime soon.

Berlin's Cool... Munich's Better.

:nice:

If you are interested in Picasso at all, there is an incredible museum in the city of Antibes.

I agree Nice is very pretty. Its port city Villefrance is beautiful as well. Monaco is nearby and famous for the casino. Grace Kelly married the Prince of Monaco so many Americans flock there for that as well.

and I'd like some suggestions for what to see and do.

Visit a mosque.

Eat Indian food.

Get a two franc sucky-sucky from a Vietmanese ho.

Dont go to Paris, go to Avignon, in fact go to anywhere except Paris and Nice (maybe not Marseille).

Visit Agincourt and Crecy where we English gave them a good stuffing, then perhaps Normandy.

Strasburg is very nice.

and I'd like some suggestions for what to see and do.

Go here: http://www.paris.org/Musees/Invalides/

Les Invalides, the burial place of Napoleon Bonaparte. I sat where Hirohito sat and meditated for four hours when he visited Paris as Crown Prince of Japan. :D

Boo is right about the Louvre, if you're going to see everything. However, I only went to see Egyptian and Hellenistic artifacts, which was a blast and could be pounded out in a couple hours. They have a neat cross section of a medieval wall which was pretty fun.

General travel books/ country guides are a good place to start getting ideas about what there is to see and do in the main tourist towns.

Have you ever seen the PBS show with a guy named Rick Steves? He has a book series out with most countries in Western Europe. He tends to advertise/promote himself as low-budget, but I've found him a good resource for more than just hostels. He gives a nice background overview of history on most places, and has kid-friendly ideas.

Ya I'm planning on spending two or three days in the Paris area and some time in the South Of France. I'm going to be in France for ten days and I appreciate your comments and suggestions. My plans are tentatively set for 2 or 3 days in Paris and several days in the South Of France. You've given me some places I'll probably go see too. I know very little French and I need to learn some phrases although I'm gonna hang with a couple of local friends some of the time.

Oh and Asir, I keep planning trips to Berlin and cancelling em. I'd like to hang at the Love Parade if they have one this year. A gf moved there from London about 18 months ago so I'm pretty sure I'll get there sometime soon.

Sounds wonderful. I've been traveling a lot for teh last year and a half or two, also. I'm planning to go to Spain this year, and I keep meaning to plan for Germany, but other things get in the way. Like last year's big trip was Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria. One of these days I'm going to get around to Germany.

Hey. Take a lot of pictures and give us a thread with a photo journal of the trip when you get back.

- Musee D'Orsay
- L'Orangerie (don't miss the big Monet Waterlilies on the lower level)
- Musee Rodin (check out the statues in the garden)
- Palais de Luxembourg park (you can find the spot where Hemmingway killed pigeons) - the park is a great spot for having a picnic and listening to the band (if one is playing)
- Notre Dame (climb the stairs and pet the gargoyles - I have pics of one of them wearing my shades)
- The Opera House (check out the Chagall fresco on the ceiling). Cafe de La Paix is across the street, and is a great place to people watch.

And just cafe surf. The most fun is sitting at a sidewalk table, sipping wine or cappucino and letting the world rush by.

bloody dup post

Looks like you have been getting good advice already.
I'd just say: skip Montparnasse. Its a matter of personal taste in the end, but I don't know anyone who particularly likes the place and if you have limited time, I really wouldn't waste any of it there... Its just a railway station, a tallish building with a lookout on top, over-priced cafes and restaurants, and a few pubs mostly frequented by under twenty year olds. You'll probably find most of Paris over-priced, but some neighborhoods have more of a right than others because of their history and charm... Montparnasse is an imposter in the group of high priced hoods.

M.

Malcom's right. Paris is absurdly over priced....with the exception of their taxis. London has the most expensive taxis I've ever seen, anywhere.

I went to Paris in 1997 and didn't speak any french, nobody was rude to me :shrug: - In fact a lot of people were extremely helpful.

Note regarding the Louvre, unless they've changed it, by the time you get into the upper floors it is so hot and stuffy that it's hard to breathe, let alone enjoy art.

That being said I spent 2 full days just looking at Renaissance sculptures.

We also toured the catacombs which was really interesting.

In / around Paris ...

The Louvre
Eiffel tower
Palace of Versailles
Notre Dame or Sainte-Chapelle
Dinner cruise on the Seine

The museums are all closed on Monday and the other places are crowded on weekends


South of France

Castle of Carcassonne
Any of the little jewel towns on the southernmost med coast

Port-Bou
Cerbere
Banules sur mer
Port Vendres

Malcom's right. Paris is absurdly over priced....with the exception of their taxis. London has the most expensive taxis I've ever seen, anywhere.

True: at some stage, London just slipped into the twilight zone.
It has reached the point where I don't feel like going there anymore (and I was BORN there). When you compare the quality of living to the price of living in London, and in the places I have lived in Australia and New Zealand... it is a no-brainer.

Londoners get to work their butts off just for the 'privilege' of living in London, spending most of their hard earned cash on just paying the rent and having a few drinks now and then, enduring rain, cold, grey skies, edgy, grumpy and cold fellow Londoners... In Oz and NZ, the same careers afford you sun, ocean, great and far less pretentious cities, friendly people and enough time/money to actually enjoy your life...
In my industry, the comparison becomes even more stupid: the company I worked for in New Zealand pays VFX artists better than any of the London companies I know of (on a dollar per dollar basis, without even taking into account the exacerbating factor of cost of living).

Conclusion: London is too far up its own arse to realize its own stench... and it can stay there. No offense to the poor Londoners caught in this sorry state of affairs... You have my sympathy.

M.

Don't use taxis. Anywhere. Use the subways. You travel farther, faster, and cheaper, and get a better idea of what life in any given city is like. Just learn to read a subway map.

I forgot to mention the Notre Dame. It's not the single most impressive church or cathedral in Europe, but it's worth seeing, especially since it's only a ten minute walk from the palace in Versailles. Nice enough walk, too.

Don't use taxis. Anywhere. Use the subways. You travel farther, faster, and cheaper, and get a better idea of what life in any given city is like. Just learn to read a subway map.

I forgot to mention the Notre Dame. It's not the single most impressive church or cathedral in Europe, but it's worth seeing, especially since it's only a ten minute walk from the palace in Versailles. Nice enough walk, too.

Mmm, Notre Dame is a very long way from Versailles. The cathedral is in the middle of Paris, by the river: Versailles is outside the city limits, to the SW of Paris. It would take maybe half a day to walk between the two ...

I like Notre Dame... I hardly paid any attention to it when I used to live here, but now that I'm back, I played tourist with my Dutch friend and we went to ND.

We were so giddy over each other's company, we made far too much noise in there. Not obnoxiously loud, but perhaps louder whispers than is considered decent, and the occasional laugh (laughter is of the devil :eek3:) They have professional shooshers: people who look at you with the severity of the wrath of God, and hiss 'Ssssshhh' at you. Problem is, it gave us the giggles. The second time around, we found the shooshers so funny that we had to rush outside because we were on the verge of cracking up completely :)

M.

Ah, haha. Yeah, you're right. I was thinking of the Saint Louis Cathedral in Versailles. Why I called that the Notre Dame, I can't quite say.

Dont go to Paris, go to Avignon,
The Papal City is indeed a slick place to see.

Visit Agincourt and Crecy where we English gave them a good stuffing, then perhaps Normandy.


Visit Patay, were we gave the English an similar one :p
Visit the extensive English continental possessions... err... ooops ... :p
(more seriously, I don't think there's much to see at any of those places)

Alsace is a very nice place to visit too (but a boring one to live in) : Wineyards + Castles in the Vosges + medieval & renaissance architecture + gastronomy = win .
Avoid the big cities of the north and north western coast (down to st nazaire) , they were bombed to smitherens during WWII ... Small towns can be pretty, on the other hand (like St Malo, or Dinan/Dinard)
South from the Loire, stuff gets better .
Go in the south west and try and be at a Feria. Go and see a rugby match :D

i travell a lot to London and have to say its a fine city, yes its expensive but a good quality life, weather apart.
Once you are prepared for the freezing wether is not as important, i enjoy the Theatres, Museums as well as the feeling one can enjoy of the City centre.
I lived there many years ago and hated it but i do luv going back for my small breaks and enjoy the SALES in the Big Stores.
Its full of History, i luv London.
I dont like Paris, the locals arent friendly and they arent helpfull when you ask for directions.
Its also a v. expensive city.
Comparisons are hatefull huh? :p
ps. Berlin as well as Germany in general are racist and v. unfriendly, my older daughter went to Berlin on a hols. with her friend and she was ignored by some locals as well as came across a few neo nazis with pitbulls and staring at her but would walk away when they heard her speaking in spanish.
She looks more indian and i was afraid for her when she decided to go there for a break and against my advice.
London is multi cultural as well as friendlier in comparison to some European cities.
End of my experiences.
Ciao.
A. :)

i travell a lot to London and have to say its a fine city, yes its expensive but a good quality life, weather apart.
Once you are prepared for the freezing wether is not as important, i enjoy the Theatres, Museums as well as the feeling one can enjoy of the City centre.
I lived there many years ago and hated it but i do luv going back for my small breaks and enjoy the SALES in the Big Stores.
Its full of History, i luv London.
I dont like Paris, the locals arent friendly and they arent helpfull when you ask for directions.
Its also a v. expensive city.
Comparisons are hatefull huh? :p
ps. Berlin as well as Germany in general are racist and v. unfriendly, my older daughter went to Berlin on a hols. with her friend and she was ignored by some locals as well as came across a few neo nazis with pitbulls and staring at her but would walk away when they heard her speaking in spanish.
She looks more indian and i was afraid for her when she decided to go there for a break and against my advice.
London is multi cultural as well as friendlier in comparison to some European cities.
End of my experiences.
Ciao.
A. :)

You're right A: thanks for throwing some perspective on my rant.
I used to love London and Paris. Its only after living elsewhere and discovering what life can be like that I feel this way...
I enjoy returning to Europe for a few weeks at a time... perhaps up to a couple of months - but I'm happy to spend the rest of the year elsewhere, fashion and eurocentric culture be damned :)

M.

Some great help and thanks everybody!! I'll prolly spend several days sipping chocoly coffee drinks and eating extremely naughty and sinful dishes. I'll gonna do some of the artsy suggestions and prolly see the Catherdral .

waves and smiles :D

Don't use taxis. Anywhere. Use the subways. You travel farther, faster, and cheaper, and get a better idea of what life in any given city is like. Just learn to read a subway map.



Very true - the metro system in Paris blew my Los Angeles mind. It's been almost 10 years so I'm sure it's a lot better now, even. I could not believe that it was possible to get somewhere fast and easily without a car :)

Yea there are the touristy places, the Louve, Eiffel Tower and the Arch De Triumph, but after you are done with those check out..

1 The Catecombs (a really grusome experience but one you will never forget.
2 The University in the heart of the left bank.
3 Père Lachaise Cemetaty: See Jim Morrison's grave and also see the place of the last battle of the French Commune of 1871, the The Communards' Wall commemorates this event.
4 Les Invalides: see Napoleon's tomb.
5 The Street of Love: Paris's famed red light district