What did you do after your flight?

Hello everyone...

We are traveling to Paris at the end of June, arriving early in the morning (7am), and thought of a heavy sightseeing day after the 7 hour flight is mind boggling!

So what did you do your first day in Paris?

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I spent a good part of the day at the D%26#39;Orsay Museum.

Started on the top floor with the Impressionists and worked

my way down. Then went to the Rodin Museum and

relaxed in the Sculpture Garden.

I think I will do it again this September !

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I would fight the urge to nap right when you get to the hotel. Depending on your locale- I would try to stick close to that area and explore. I stayed on the Ile de la Cite and I explored that and the Isle St Louis after my flight arrived at 10am. I stayed up the whole day and went to bed at about 11pm that night- It definately helps with the jet lag and gets me on the right time schedule! I personally would fall asleep if I went to a museum for the day- so I recommend alot of outdoor exploring- maybe a boat ride or walk on the quai%26#39;s of the Siene.

Have a great trip!

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When I arrive I%26#39;m so excited there%26#39;s no way I want to take a nap. For my trip, I had an exhausting 11 hour flight from LA where I got no sleep. (Plus it took me 2 hours to even get to the LA airport, which would normally take about 1/2 an hour, due to a horrible shuttle experience. So it was a looong day)

I actually flew into London, not Paris, and hit the ground running.. all day. I was so excited I didn%26#39;t even stop to eat til about 8pm that night.

And when I arrived in Paris (by train from Amsterdam). I got off the train about 1pm, went to my hotel, freshened up, left my hotel (which was on Ile de la Cite) and went for an 11 mile walk! Walked past the Louvre, thru Tuileries Garden, all the way down Champs Elysees and checked out the Arc. Then made my way over to the Eiffel Tower. Stayed there awhile waiting for sunset. Then walked the same way back. But this time I stopped off in the shops on Champs Elysees. Got back to my hotel about 10pm and collasped!

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Hello,

I visited France for 2 weeks at the end of May. I landed in CDG around 9:30am. After taking the RER to my hotel by Jardin du Luxenbourg I ended up spending most of the afternoon on l%26#39;Open Tour bus. It%26#39;s allowed me to get a quick overall look of Paris (and take some notes along the way)....so when I made my way back to Paris a week later after visiting the south of France I already had an idea of where some things were.

Here is some info:

…parisinfo.com/paris_sightseeing/…6324

Have fun on your trip!

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I agree with RPL67 on this one.

The most important thing to do as far as I am concerned is to get out and walk fairly briskly for at least an hour, whatever the weather, as soon as possible. If I don%26#39;t it takes me three or four days to get rid of the stiffness and aches from the flight.

Second really important thing is a really good but light lunch, preferably in a plce we know to make the decision-making process easier.

And third is to have a little more down time than usual before dinner - perhaps even a SHORT nap - but absolutely to get out for a good (and again not too heavy) dinner somewhere fairly close so we are back to the hotel by 11-11:30-ish.

If it were my first time, I%26#39;d try and have a couple of plans dependent on the weather, for the first day, but with nothing too ambitious. The first day is not a time for spending six hours in the Louvre, IMO.

And the three things I mentioned would be the inflexible parts. Everything else would have to fit around them...

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Once we check into our hotel, we will usually quickly unpack the most pressing items, take quick showers, change and get out on the street as quickly as possible. Unless we have some specific destination for our first day, we%26#39;ll run %26#39;housekeeping%26#39; errrands--get additional cash from a nearby ATM, stop at a Metro station to pick up transportation passes and museum passes, free RATP %26#39;..#2 --PARIS--Grand Plan--lignes et rues..%26#39; Metro/RER/Bus maps, buy post cards and postage stamps, stop at the rooftop terrace/observation deck of the La Samaritaine store, have a light lunch, stroll around getting re-acclimated to the neighborhood We%26#39;ll usually go back to the hotel a bit earlier than normal, finish un-packing and take a short nap (with the travel alarm set and duct taped to our heads so we don%26#39;t oversleep), then dress and go out for an earlier than usual light supper, take a short stroill and make it an earlier than normal night. The following morning we may sleep in a bit later than usual, have a light breakfast and then we%26#39;re good to go as usual. Works for us.

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Here is an alternative: I was a confirmed %26quot;No sleep on the first day%26quot; person, but traveling to North America twice or more per month has led me to a routine where, going east, I get as much sleep as possible on the plane, arrive Paris CDG around 9 am, go home and sleep for no more than 90 minutes (one or two REM cycles), rise as if I have just slept late, shower, and (not recommended:) stop by the office for a reasonable afternoon%26#39;s work. It%26#39;s different for everyone, but I find those 90 minutes give me a lot of energy the first day and really minimize the adjustment.

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You should consider doing something active. Hopefully something rather brainless. A nap is a personal choice. However, I find them DEADLY. I feel awful after a nap. Eat on a schedule whether you are hungry or not, and eat something that feels appropriate for that meal. It seems to help your body adjust.

All flights from the states seem to arrive in Europe in the morning. Some first days I remember....

In London... dozing on a tour bus. Obviously not active enough for me.

Last time in Paris, I had a shopping errand I had to do that day. I had to find an elusive Luthier on the Rue du Rome. It was a nice excuse to spend a couple hours. Its odd how hard it is to find a door to a shop sometimes. I watch the entrance for 15 minutes before I saw someone come out. The door looked like a window and there was a little %26quot;secret%26quot; buzzer to gain entrace. Luckily I grabbed the door when someone came out.

I will not take a nap... I will not take a nap.... I will not take a nap...

Even still I will be up at 4:00 AM ready to start my day.

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I think m.giroux may be on to something. I think that would work for me. BUT, very few of us have a place to sleep that early in the day and by mid-afternoon its probably better to tough it out.

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Hey Portland, I believe that I bought a violin from that luthier!

I am with Giroux, we get in and force ourselves to nap and then we are on Paris time for the rest of the trip, however, I do understand that it is very hard to sleep with that first excitement of having Paris just out your door.

If I am not with my kids, I just sleep the entire flight and arrive more or less good to go.

Does everyone feel overwhelmed before they go?

I%26#39;ve bought the guidebooks and the map and am panicking a bit. We%26#39;re only going to Paris for 3 days and are soooo excited, but we%26#39;re overwhelmed with the choices we need to make. Obviously we can only see a limited amount in that time but don%26#39;t want t o waste any of it. Also worried about the amount of walking we will need to do. Is it normally very warm in mid June?

Is it normal to feel like this? I hope I%26#39;m more relaxed when we arrive!

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First of all dont panic, Paris is a wonderful city and you are going to have a great time.

There is a lot to see in Paris, and I think you need to accept that in 3 days it is not going to be impossible to see everything.

I%26#39;ve been to paris on more than one occasion, but the last time I went I was with someone who hadn%26#39;t been before, so we tried to see as much of the main tourist attractions as we could. We spent 5 full days in the city and still didn%26#39;t see everything this great city has to offer.

So first thing I would do is make a list, put the places u most want to see at the top and least at the bottom, you%26#39;ll probably be able to get in 2 - 3 attractions a day. Then from your first day in Paris, start from the top of your list down, and at least that way, you know your going to get to see the things you really want to.

The places I would personally recommend as a must are : The Eiffel Tower, The Arc De Triomphe, La Lourve, The Sacre Coeur, The Notre Dame %26amp; The Seine River Cruise.

I also strongly recommend using the metro to get around the city, it will save you time and money.

I know its a lot to take in, but try not to stress %26amp; just enjoy. Paris is my favourite city in the world.

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Don%26#39;t panic !

My advice : don%26#39;t try to do everything, nobody can.

3 days means 6 half days, so identify 6 things to do (places to visit, food to eat, activity to do, things to buy, etc). With a map, try to assemble them 2 by 2 so you can do 2 of them in a day without spending your life in the metro.

And don%26#39;t overplan, it%26#39;s useless as this is holidays, not a military commando, focus on your pleasure, not on the physical achievement!

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Oh I%26#39;m so glad you posted those feelings. I%26#39;ve been dreaming of going to Paris since I was 6 years old and I%26#39;m turning 44 this summer, so that%26#39;s a lot of dreaming. We%26#39;ll be there for a week (though one day will be spent in London), and I%26#39;m feeling overwhelmed too. I just keep reminding myself that there%26#39;s no way I%26#39;m going to be able to see everything, do everything, or EAT everything I want to see, do, or taste! :) (I%26#39;m a real foodie and my list of restaurants to try is a mile long.) I am reminding myself to stay %26quot;in the moment%26quot; and try to soak up everything and just enjoy it. Deep breaths are helping. :)

Have a wonderful time!!! I leave Monday for New York and DC first with the family, then our teen boys fly back to L.A. to stay with grandparents while hubby and I fly to Paris. We leave from DC for Paris next Sunday night. I can%26#39;t believe it%26#39;s almost here!

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Please waste some of your time....For me, nothing kills the enjoyment of a vacation more than the feeling of hurriedness. The sublime fills Paris...and that is best found when stopped. Just BEING in Paris (metaphysically and physically) is special...take the time to just sit and look at it...

Benches...Parks....Squares...Bridges....I cannot recommend highly enough that these places be your lunch spots....particularly in pleasant weather.

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I think both Denys and Travlin%26#39;Prankster have given you some very good advice.

One other thought occurs to me. If you are only in Paris for a very short time, consider whether you want to spend a fair bit of that time standing in lines waiting to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower or even to visit the Louvre.

I very much doubt that this will be your only visit. Scotland is not that far away after all and the %26quot;Auld Alliance%26quot; will pull you back even if nothing else does. So if these things are not things you are absolutely dying to do, think of other things where you will not spend your time in queues. You can%26#39;t do everything anyway...

So the view of Paris from the top of La Samaritaine instead of the Eiffel Tower?

The Rodin or Marmottan or Jaquemart-Andre (or...., or....) instead of the Louvre?

And if you can only manage one of the Sainte Chapelle or Notre Dame - I%26#39;d pick the glorious beauty of the Sainte Chapelle over the gloom of Notre Dame any day...

So OK, I%26#39;m a heretic. I%26#39;m ready to be burned at the stake...

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To save you some time : don%26#39;t queue to go up the Eiffel tower during the day, or even worse during the week-ends, you will lose your precious time, go early morning (9 am) to be among the first people when it opens, or after 6 pm, there are less queues. For the LOuvre enter through the Carrousel du Louvre on rue de Rivoli, less queues than at the pyramid... Group the monuments that are close to each other : Notre-Dame/Ste Chapelle/Conciergerie/Latin Quarter (if they are on your list), it will save you time.But relax, 3 days in PAris is not much, but one day only in London is worse, as London is much bigger than Paris...Relax and have a walk from the Ile de la cit�� to Pont Neuf along the quays ...

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You have received excellent advice from all, particularly

IrishRovr and raphy.

Let me add this - On your good map, indicate the places

that are high on your list. Check their hours and whether

any of them are closed on the day you want to see them.

As was mentioned, you might want to pass up things

where you have to stand in line or that take an inordinate

amount of time.

Be strategic, don%26#39;t back track, identify the metro stations

and lines that you can use to avoid extensive walking.

It will all work out, let the panic subside and have a wonderful

time.

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I felt the same way, I had planned so much I thought I was going nuts, then we got there and between the weather, the strike, and the lines, everything changed, and you know what?

We still had the time of our lives. Trust all this fine people and their wise opinions (remember, they have been there and done that already...).

If I can add my two cents worth... take the Hop-on, hop-off bus tour. You will be able to practically cover everything, take pictures and then come back to what you liked the most, and like that you will not regret not seeing almost everything.

You have very little time, enjoy it to the max!!!!!!!!

Good luck,

OEC57

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If I had only three days I%26#39;d skip the big museums altogether, maybe do the Cluny if you like medieval stuff because it%26#39;s small and manageable and you can chill out in the Jardins du Luxembourg afterwards.

Similarly foget queuing to go up the Tour Eiffel. Start at Trocadero and wander slowly through all the gardens, take your time to sit and admire it from different angles. Eat a picnic lunch in the Champ de Mars.

You can combine it with Sacre Coeur - visit S.C. first then catch a No 30 bus to Trocadero.

The Batobus hop on, hop off river trip is good and the two-day pass very good value at just 2e more than the one-day.

You can do Notre Dame and Ste Chapelle together in one morning as they are very close together.

If you want to go %26#39;up%26#39; somewhere I%26#39;d recommend Tour Montparnasse - no queues and you get to see everything. We did it at the end of our stay - you get a %26#39;second look%26#39; at all you%26#39;ve already been to!

Have fun, and as the others have said, take time to just sit and feel Paris.

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I don%26#39;t have any super traveler tips but wanted to offer reassurance, you WILL be back so if you miss something you have a good excuse to return :)

I%26#39;ve been twice so hopefully you can benefit from my mistakes. The first time we had a list of sites to see but no real planning. So we wasted a lot of time just trying to figure out point-a-to-point-b logistical info. It was sublime to my heart and soul just being there but we could have planned better.

The second time, I had an idea of the %26quot;layout%26quot; of the city, what was next to where, what was convenient, etc and so I was the %26quot;tour guide.%26quot; That time I didn%26#39;t feel like we were wandering around wasting time, rather our wanderings had a general direction but we could take time to enjoy the little surprises Paris will give you if you let her.

THIS time I have the %26quot;master plan%26quot; (said with much self deprecation.) I%26#39;m in the process of compiling my own little maps on 5X7 index cards. On a color copier I enlarged sections of my Streetwise map for each arrondissement. On the back, I%26#39;m listing the major monuments/museums for that section with open days/hours. I%26#39;m also listing the restaurants and other sites I%26#39;ve heard of on this forum. I%26#39;ve got the metro stops for each of these. They will be laminated and will fit in my day-purse/camera bag while I%26#39;m wandering around.

What I%26#39;m *hoping* to accomplish with this is that instead of micro-planning each moment of each day I can have a general outline of what I%26#39;d like to do and see each day. Then, I can see what%26#39;s close and convenient section by section but leaving lots and lots of time for wanderings and exploring.

Sorry for the long post on what basically amounts to a theory since I%26#39;m not traveling until later in the year. I guess what I%26#39;m saying is, don%26#39;t PLAN the details so much but LEARN where things are. Then no matter where you go, you know what%26#39;s available to you.

I hope that all makes sense and that I haven%26#39;t bored everyone with my ramblings. I%26#39;m not a seasoned traveller but I do love it so if any of you experts want to help me with MY plan too, I%26#39;d appreciate it.

Please tell me about Hotel Vendome in Nice

I am trying to find a nice hotel in Nice, for the beginning of July, and was thinking to book at Vendome.What was your experience with this hotel.Good, bad?Please share .Thank you

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staying there later this week - will let you know!

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Hi,

Thinking of going to Nice too this summer but I have heard that a lot of building work is going on in the city centre for the new tram system, especially around L%26#39;Avenue Jean Medecin.

Would Portcullis mind letting me know what the situation is like please on your trip and if it%26#39;s noisy around some of the hotels?

Many thanks.

Train Conductor's Strike

Is there a strike of train conductor%26#39;s that is causing cancellations right now?

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Yes, looks as if there are some %26#39;perturbations%26#39; (=mouvements sociaux!) today and tomorrow.

Details in French on the SNCF site:

voyages-sncf.com/trafic/gl/fr_perturbations_…

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Thanks. I didn%26#39;t understand %26quot;mouvements sociaux.%26quot; I just hope things are straightened out by next week.

gay paris

what is the younger gay scene like in paris (teens/20s). what are the best clubs and bars to go with big crowds mostly gay. any like g-a-y or heaven in london? discos

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You will find a lot of G/L/B friendly clubs and night spots up in the 3rd--Marais. But perhaps for more G/L/B specific information you should search out some of the travel sites which tend to specialize in this a bit more--as an example GayParis.com-- http://www.gayparis.com/home.html --for more specific information, recommendations and advice.

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Joey, there are actually gay people who post on this site, so it%26#39;s not essential to go elsewhere for some information! Generally the gay crowd tends to hang out in the Marais. There are many restaurants, bars, boutiques, bookstores, etc. in this area. You%26#39;ll also find places near Bastille and others scattered around the city. Probably the best approach is to go to the Marais and just follow your nose!

I don%26#39;t see many gay teens out in Paris, but I%26#39;m sure they must go somewhere. The age range I usually see is about 20-50. After 50, I think French gay men just disappear in a puff of smoke!

Happy hour is popular at L%26#39;Open Cafe (corner of rue des Archives and rue St-Croix de la Bretonnerie). Mostly men in their 20s and 30s. Another bar, Cox, is just down the street and is popular with a bit %26quot;harder%26quot; crowd that also a little older (mostly 40-50). There are two other very popular bars one block away on rue du Temple, but I can%26#39;t remember the names. Banana Cafe in the Montorgeuil district has a party crowd with go-go boys--it%26#39;s very popular with straight people as well and it%26#39;s pretty laid back. L%26#39;Amnesia Cafe on rue Vieille du Temple just north of the intersection with rue St-Croix de la Bretonnerie is a nice place to have afternoon drinks on a rainy day and it gets very crowded at night.

There are a number of danceclubs. Le Depot is very popular, although dancing seems to have become less and less the reason people go there ;). A large club called Amnesia (not to be cofused with L%26#39;Amnesia) is near the Tour Montparnasse. Queen is located on Champs-Elysees, but I%26#39;ve heard that it may be closing. It%26#39;s world-renowned for being very difficult to get into and nobody goes before midnight.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I%26#39;ll be around for a few more weeks before I head off to Paris myself.

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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;Joey, there are actually gay people who post on this site, so it%26#39;s not essential to go elsewhere for some information! %26lt;%26lt;%26lt;

That%26#39;s certainly true, but %26#39;..casting your net..%26#39; over a broader %26#39;pool%26#39; of specifically directed sources of information is always a good idea. As a matter of fact, it would be foolish not to.

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KDKSAIL, nearly without exception over the years, I have found the information on gay-specific websites to be woefully outdated. I%26#39;ve been to gayparis.com and several other sites, and I can%26#39;t necessarily vouch for their information. %26quot;Up-to-dateness%26quot; is one of the best qualities about TA and there is information to be found here that might not appear on the gay-specific sites.

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That may certainly be true but in %26#39;..casting a wider net..%26#39;, the visitor is provided with MORE information....which may then be confirmed or expanded upon from participants on top-notch forums like TA..from people with some specific experience(s),...like yourself.

Much like traveling with children or handicapped travel; G/L/B travel information tends to more detail-intensive and more difficult to find. More interest/needs specific sites provide more INFORMATION, from more directed resources than is usually available on general travel sites or forums. Even though the amount of G/L/B travel information has expanded eponnentially over the past decade or so, the amount of specific, targeted information available is still woefully inadequate.

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Point taken.

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I would like to ask a question regarding Marais and gays. I have reserved an apartment in Marais and later found out it is the center for gay Paris.

My question is, will we be alienated in the Marais because of this?

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I would like to ask a question regarding Marais and gays. I have reserved an apartment in Marais and later found out it is the center for gay Paris.

My question is, will we be alienated in the Marais because of this?

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What exactly do you mean by being %26quot;alienated%26quot;?

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joey... when do u plan on visiting paris?

Hair Straightening Irons

I recently returned from the U.K. and Continental Europe and had no problems using my hair dryer or ceramic straightening iron. I%26#39;ve read through several posts stating that people have had major problems with using these devices overseas. If you want to be able to use these items properly overseas, make sure your iron or dryer is DUAL WATTAGE. This is an absolute must. You can tell if your appliance is dual wattage if it says 120-240v - or you can simply buy appliances which are dual wattage on the packaging. Another tip is to buy a wattage convertor - just in case. I bought one from magellan.com and I used it with all my dual wattage appliances (just in case) and had absolutely no problems in london, paris, or rome. london, however, seems to use a lot more power than the other countries and my transformer/convertor got a bit hot so I turned it off periodically. Also, don%26#39;t forget to buy adaptors to the countries you will be visiting! AND! most hotels now have hair dryers for you to use in your rooms, but when I was in Rome, my hotel room dryer didn%26#39;t work so I was glad I brought my small travel dryer. Hope this helps!

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Thank you for this good advice!

American Express Travellers cheques

Has anyone brought American Express Travellers cheque with them and cashed in Paris?

How easy is it to encash them and do the banks and post offices indicated by American Express as fee free partners actually charge a fee? There must be like 100 fee free partners (serach for paris in the link below) so to me it seems that travellers cheque should not be a problem. Just want to hear it first hand from someone who has used Amex travellers cheques.

…americanexpress.com/tcintl/…

Also, are dominations of EUR500 a problem to cash?

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Sorry, can%26#39;t answer for traveller cheques. IMO, ATMs are the way to go.

Travellers cheques are too much of a hassle, because you%26#39;ll need to find places to cash them and observe business hours. I am not even sure, a regular bank will cash them. You%26#39;ll often see the sign %26#39;no change%26#39; at their doors.

As for EUR500 dominations, yes, they can definitely be a problem, unless you spend most of it at a large store or at a high end restaurant. Don%26#39;t expect a small business to be willing to accept it, if you should only spend a small part of the one bill.

BTW, it%26#39;s always better to have small dominations, anywhere that is. Just my experience though.

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btw, i don%26#39;t intend to spend the cheque at the shop... my intention is to cash them at the fee free bank or post office. In that case would EUR 500 still be a problem to cash?

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giraffez -

There have been quite a few posts on this topic. Do a search using the spelling %26quot;checks%26quot; as well as %26quot;cheques%26quot; and you will find all kinds of info.

To summarize very briefly, TCs are no longer widely used. ATMs will give you a better exchange rate and are much more convenient. You will lose up front by buying TCs in Euros because you will not get a good exchange rate, and you will most likely lose on the other end by paying hefty fees or by just having the inconvenience of having to find a place to cash them without fees.

ATMs are everywehre...

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A couple of years ago, I received my rent deposit refund in the form of five, 500EUR notes. Maybe I tried all the wrong places (including banks) but I couldn%26#39;t get ayone to take them. A few months later I opened a French bank account and I was finally allowed to deposit them.

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Thats weird because the rate for travellers cheques are slightly better than exchange for notes. This is not just for EUR but consistent across all currencies

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And the rate for both pre-purchased TCs and notes is worse than the rate you will get by just using an ATM in Paris as you would at home...

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The rate you get at ATMs, isn%26#39;t that just the same rate as your bank at home%26#39;s rate for the day? I thought this was the case.

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It is not the same as the rate your bank or any other agency will sell you currency or TCs for if that is what you mean. It is probably better by somewhere between 5% and 15% depending on the agency or bank concerned.

Do yourself a favor and read the posts I suggested you search for. This topic has been covered extensively.

Just search for ATMs, or travelers checks or exchange rates or any one of a number of other relevant topics.

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giraffez,

Have you tried the new AmEx travellers check card? I guess they are pretty new and work just regular travellers checks but are in a ATM like card. So I am assuming you use it just like your debit card, but it has all the wonderful features of having travellers checks. I am planning to use these a long with ATM when going to Asia and they are running some sort or promotion right now.

Go to for more info: …americanexpress.com/sif/…00.asp

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I used ATM%26#39;s and a money belt through Europe - VERY convenient. Banks and businesses are not always open - but an ATM is. I got a great exchange rate, and I think only one ATM charged a fee (that I saw, anyway) - it was reversed by my credit union automatically.