Paris

[di marco]

me and my sis are going to paris for the day next week cos at bluewater they were doing a 2 for 1 deal. anyway weve never been before so just wondered if there was anywhere people would recommend to go/things we should see. thanks :)

[StarsOfCCTV]

Classic tourist places :D
Notre Dam cathedral
Eiffel tower - but don't go up it, takes too long :p
Arc De Triumph (sp?)

It's also quite cheap to buy a day travelcard. Paris trains are very confusing though! :lol:

[Perdita]

Just remember, although being considered the capital of romance, most couples are arguing when in Paris, so don't be surprised if you can't agree on where to go :lol: I went some years ago, it was quite expensive but loads of tourist attractions. Why not discuss what you want to see before you get there and get all the info from the internet so you can plan a time table to see whether you can fit it all in during your time over there? Have a great time.

[CrazyLea]

Don't listen to Kasple :p. DO go up the Eiffel Tower. May take a while, but it's totally worth it I think! Unless of course you are scared of heights! :p.

[di marco]

thanks guys :) we will be there for quite a while, the train gets in at 8.50am and doesnt leave til 7.15pm so should have plenty of time to do stuff. how much money would people suggest we take?

[Trinity]

The Louvre is 'huge' too much to see, and the Mona Lisa is behind tinted glass and surrounded by 100s of Japanese tourists holding cameras over their heads.

I love the Musee D'Orsay, just across the Seine. If you like art it is so cool, and they have a fair bit of MacIntosh furniture, too.

Paris is one of those places where it is great to just walk and take in the ambience. Walk around the outside of the Louvre, see the glass pyramid from the Da Vinci Code.

Walk alone the side of the Seine to the Notre Dame Cathedral. The bridges over the river are beautiful.

I also love Montematre, and the Sacre Coeur. You get a fabulous view from up by the dome.

I agree that the Eiffel Tower shouldn't be missed, but it is up to you whether you go up, or go up on the roof at Musee D'Orsay (not very high but great view over the river to the Louvre) or the roof of Sacre Coeur.

A trip on one of the many boats that go up and down the Seine is worth the money, you can see so much.

I went to Paris for 2 weeks for my honeymoon 18 years ago, and since then I have visited 7 or 8 times. I love the place, it is my second favorite European city after Rome.

[CrazyLea]

As for money I think it depends? Do you intend on shopping? Like for yourselves? Buying souvenirs? Doing stuff like going up Eiffel Tower?

[Abigail]

thanks guys :) we will be there for quite a while, the train gets in at 8.50am and doesnt leave til 7.15pm so should have plenty of time to do stuff. how much money would people suggest we take?

Exchange rate is rubbish at the moment. 1.21 euros to the pound in our local Tesco (provided by Travelex) compared to US$1.89 to the pound.

It really depends on how much you plan on spending, what you're going to do and what sort of food you're going to eat (fancy restaurant or McD's). I've never been to Paris so I don't know how expensive it is.

I'd be tempted to take around £300. Plenty for food and a whole lot more for shopping :D

[Chloe O'brien]

Go shopping around the Champs Elysees or you could get the metro out to Euro Disney.

[di marco]

thanks for all the suggestions guys :) we still havent completely decided what we are going to do lol but we got 240 euros each to cover it (though hoping i wont spend that much!). weve been looking at metro maps cos we were thinking of getting a day pass, the prices are different depending on which zones you want to use it in but none of the maps i can find say which stations are in which zones. does anyone know of anywhere i can look at a map which has the zones on it? thanks

[Trinity]

http://www.ratp.info/informer/anglais/paris_visite.php#

There is a link on the left hand side - zone map

[di marco]

http://www.ratp.info/informer/anglais/paris_visite.php#

There is a link on the left hand side - zone map

thanks :) (didnt realised i didnt thank you before, sorry). the map was usual, we did only need zone 1

[Trinity]

Did you have a good time?

I am just back from Venice - loved it!

[di marco]

Did you have a good time?

I am just back from Venice - loved it!

yeh i did thanks :) and we didnt get lost which is pretty amazing lol! i went to venice last year, i enjoyed it too, did you go on a gondola?

[Trinity]

Yep - did the whole gondala thing - really relaxing and interesting too, seeing all the doors half submerged and some changed into windows. The gondalier said that many ground floor properties are abandoned, and that people have left the city in droves over the past few years. The ones who have remained are mainly old, and have moved upstairs. Apparently the maintenance costs are so high that more and more properties are being abandoned.

I liked getting the waterbus from the airport to the city, but I preferred the water taxi we got back - much faster and only 2 -3 times more expensive.

It was really amazing, like being on a film set, and everywhere looked so familiar.

I was also staying in a villa at Lake Como for 2 weeks, and it overlooked the villa Balbianello where some of Casino Royale was filmed. I have to go out and get the DVD to relive some of my holiday, lol

[di marco]

we went on a gondola when we were there, my sis hated it, she cried for like half the time we were on there, she thought she was gonna fall out! its a nice place though, it feels so weird that there are no cars! we just wandered around for most of the time we were there and there are so many little squares and stuff that were really lovely

[Trinity]

we went on a gondola when we were there, my sis hated it, she cried for like half the time we were on there, she thought she was gonna fall out! its a nice place though, it feels so weird that there are no cars! we just wandered around for most of the time we were there and there are so many little squares and stuff that were really lovely

My husband is comment on the lack of life jackets and safety briefing...

Our gondalier was fab - he didn't hit anything even when we were in the smaller narrower canals. I didn't even get splashed!

[di marco]

we went on a gondola when we were there, my sis hated it, she cried for like half the time we were on there, she thought she was gonna fall out! its a nice place though, it feels so weird that there are no cars! we just wandered around for most of the time we were there and there are so many little squares and stuff that were really lovely

My husband is comment on the lack of life jackets and safety briefing...

Our gondalier was fab - he didn't hit anything even when we were in the smaller narrower canals. I didn't even get splashed!

ours was drinking beer! although he didnt hit anything, even when this speed boat came reversing out of another narrow canal really fast almost right into us!