Nick's Travel Tips

Lynn's one or two days in Paris

I preface this by saying the recommendations are a personal preference and not at all intended to show all possible places in Paris. Most is personal experience, some incorporates information from Trip Advisor contributers.

Passes

Museums

Paris Museum Pass: Having a pass allows you to skip the queue in most situations (not the towers of Notre Dame) and to visit so many museums even just to pop in to see one thing.

Travel

Carnets (10 tickets) allow travel on the metro and buses. In the metro you can make changes to other lines and your ticket expires only after you exit the metro system. (Keep the ticket until you exit.) One bus journey may allow a change provided you are still going in roughly the same direction.

We have bought Paris Visite Passes but have never found them worthwhile. You need more than five trips a day to make them economical. For Moday to Monday stays, try a Navigo Decouverte pass.

The buses are excellent. They all have maps of the line they serve, electronic displays of the next stop and all stops are named, so it is easy to plan and to get off at the right place.

Itineraries

Day 1: Notre Dame> Ste Chapelle> Isle St Louis

If you want to climb the towers (fee or Museum Pass) of Notre Dame to be among the gargoyles, begin by lining up no later than 9 am. Line forms to the left of the church. Entry begins at 10 am.

Visit the church and especially admire the stained glass and rose windows, and walk behind the altar through the ambulatory to see the scenes carved in the stone.
There is a charming square behind Notre Dame, John XXIII. Again behind that, and at the tip of the island, is the Monument to the Deportation of Jews from Paris. Very simple and moving.
In the square in front of the cathedral is the point from which all distances are measured in France.
There is an underground excavation of the Crypt of Paris. Not terribly exciting, very hot. OK if you have time and can go in on a free pass.
Walk across the main square and go a bit to the right, walking through the flower and bird market and heading for the spire of Ste Chapelle. To get to Ste Chapelle you must go through the doorway of the Palais de Justice so there is a security scan.
Ste Chapelle (fee or Museum Pass) is an extraordinary double level church, beautifully painted and gilded below and made almost entirely of stained glass above. Built to house a thorn from the “crown of thorns” by King Louis. Fabulous place for photos of the glass but also of the angels and saints. (Remember to drop the exposure by a stop for the stained glass.) There are music evenings in Ste Chapelle and you can buy tickets just over the road from the chapel. It is no longer a church.
Finished here you could visit the Conciergerie (fee or Museum Pass) but I never have so can’t comment.
Now wander over to Île St Louis. Time for Berthillon Ice cream. You can buy it in lots of places but the nicest is to sit in the shop itself (closed August, and Monday/Tuesday). The fruit flavours are incredibly intense. Try the cassis and framboise.
Wander the main street. There is a chocolate shop, a foie gras shop, a cheese shop, Pylones which sells incredible painted homewares, a very nice scarf shop, a number of galleries and jewellery and gift shops. On the streets along the quai (if you read French) you can read the blue signs on the houses which tell of famous people who lived there.
Visit the church of St Louis en L’Île with its lacy spire and iron clock over the street. It has been recently restored and is absolutely gorgeous. Look for the organ and the delicate paintings at the back of the church.
If you want an unusual meal, basically all you can eat for about €40, consider dinner at Le Sergent Recruteur. Soup and terrine and vegetables and sausage a volonte (take as much as you like) and that is just the entrée. www.lesergentrecruteur.com This is good food but not haute cuisine. There is an element of theatre as well and it is lots of fun.

Day 2: Arc de Triomphe > Place de la Concorde> Orangerie>Tuilleries garden> Louvre> Palais Royal> Angelinas

You can start this at Étoile and visit the Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysées first, but that makes a very long walk.

If you don’t start with a walk from the Arc, begin the day at the Place de la Concorde where they used to guillotine people. The fountains are lovely and deserve some photos.
Admire the obelisk that was a gift from Egypt and has scenes on the side about how they transported it. Look also for the meridian line that runs up to it. This was to have been the 0° meridian but it went to Greenwich instead.
Look nearby also for the Arago medallions. 135 of these run across Paris and are a memorial to Francoise Arago who calculated the meridian (called the Hidden Memorial).
Inside the gates and up to the right is the Orangerie Museum (fee and queue or museum pass). Inside are two huge oval rooms under natural light, each with four paintings of Monet’s waterlilies. So you sit in the middle, immersed. Stunning!
Beneath is a gallery of Impressionist paintings. It feels a bit closed-in but is well worth a visit as the paintings are well curated and tell a developmental story. I love how the two girls often painted by Renoir seem to grow up on the walls as you meet each new painting.
Outside, continue to walk through the gardens of the Tuilleries, maybe stopping at the outdoor café, sitting by the round pond or floating a toy boat. Off to your right some glimpses of the Eiffel Tower and to the left a ferris wheel from a small fun fair. Take the traditional photo of Diana with a ferris wheel halo.
Walk around the Arc de Triumph du Carrousel and you are facing the Louvre with its entrance pyramid. If you have a pass you can enter (closed Tuesdays, free first Sundays) or you may need to queue for a ticket. You can also enter from the Carousel du Louvre and get tickets at a machine. Almost no queues that way. Have a look in the basement at the excavations of the original Louvre castle.
After the Louvre, walk to the left towards the city, across the Rue de Rivoli and past the Hotel du Louvre. Admire the wacky Metro station entrance here. Cross the next road and walk to the area of the Palais Royal. Here you will first see the art installation of striped columns by Daniel Buren. Take a photo of someone sitting on a column.
Visit the garden, which looks private but is not and is absolutely beautiful. They fire a tiny cannon at midday. Again, this is on the Paris meridian. Have a rest here.
Then there is the lovely arcade of shops, including Le Grand Vefour restaurant, the first restaurant in Paris. VERY expensive. Napoleon and Josephine apparently ate here. All the rest of the shops are just so French, little jewels of places selling gorgeous things. Window shop.
Go back to Rue de Rivoli and turn right. Down this street is the fun fair near Rue san Roche but also, at 226, Angelina’s Salon du The famous for its hot chocolate and its chestnut puree meringue (l’africain and mont-blanc). There may be queues but apparently they move quickly.

Further days or add ons to the other days

More a collection of things not to be missed, or fun things to look for, rather than an itinerary.

Get the metro to Trocadéro and walk to the left, between the golden statues of the Palais de Challiot. There before you is the Eiffel Tower. View from the belvedere. Then walk down through the gardens and fountains, across the bridge, to stand underneath it. A much nicer introduction than getting off at Bir Hakim. If you want to go up, best to have booked tickets and a time in advance to avoid queues. (€13.10 to the top floor) www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/pratique/acces/page/achat-billets-en-ligne.html

Note that the tower twinkles for the first 10 minutes after the hour at night and that sometimes this can be the best time to meet the tower at Trocadero, especially for first time visitors.
Musée d'Orsay is AMAZING (closed Mondays). (fee and queue or Museum Pass) Built into an old railway station it is filled with Impressionist and post Impressionist art, everything from art deco furniture to Cezannes and Degas to my favourite, Pompon’s polar bear. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pompon_LOursBlanc1.jpg
The Musée Pompidou (fee or museum Pass) (Closed Tuesdays) should be seen from the outside at least. It is filled with very modern art. Great view from the external escalators and the roof. Nice plaza in front.
Nearby is the beautiful Place des Vosges, a very large square where all the houses match. Graceful architecture and nice for a place for lunch but a bit expensive. You may picnic on the grass also.
Other museums to consider are Rodin (both gardens and the house), Picasso (currently closed), Marmottan (Impressionists), Cluny (The lady and the unicorn tapestries are here). The private museum of Jaquemart-Andrée is full of things a rich person can do and buy and very worthwhile. I was not entranced by the Musée d’Armée or Napoleon’s tomb at the Pantheon, but others like it.
You may like to visit the Musée d'Arts et Métiers also (science machines), but make sure you get an audio guide. The information in the rooms is useless. Do try to see the Line 11 métro for this place. Like a copper submarine. Not time for them all of course. Most are on the Museum pass.
If you visit the Madeline Church pop into the toilet underneath for photos (supposedly forbidden, but do try). Apparently the best Art Deco loo ever.
Nearby are foodie heaven places, like a truffle shop, an Alain Senderans restaurant, Hediard the grocer to the glitterati and very rich, Fauchon (two stores) including the most fabulous prepared foods ready to take home and pop in the oven for your dinner, the other chocs, wines, jams. You can then wander into Place Vendome (huge column in the middle) and laugh at the prices in the jewellery shops. The Ritz is in the corner. Don't expect to be admitted.
Other churches include St Eustache, one of the few true Gothic churches in Paris, near the old market sites of Les Halles (and quite close to Centre Pompidou). It sometimes has organ recitals. And St Sulpice, featured in The Da Vinci Code.
Visit the Arc de Triomphe (fee or Paris Museum pass). Entry is via an underpass somewhere on the outside part of the road. You can climb the stairs to the top for a view down the Champs Elysées if you wish. There is a lift most of the way for the infirm.
By all means wander down the Champs. Admire the pretty shops and the gorgeous car showrooms. Avoid all restaurants and cafes and shows as their prices are greatly inflated and the food is usually mediocre at best. An exception might be Laduree for its macaroons.
La Grande Arch de la Défense. Take the métro here and marvel at this arch, on a line to the Arc de Triomphe right down the Champs Elysées, built of white marble. It is an office block. This is the office area of Paris, just outside the walls and therefore NOT actually Paris. The only highrise in Paris itself is the Tour Montparnasse. Some great modern architecture and photos.
The Grandes Magasins, or big department stores, Galleries Lafayettes and Le Printemps. Even if you don't buy they are very beautiful. Both have domes of stained glass and the view from the roof at Le Printemps of Paris is recommended.
The Opera is nearby and can be toured. It is apparently amazingly beautiful.
If you have leisure time, a walk by the Canal St Martin is recommended. Rather hip and happening these days. The pretty iron bridges (remember Amelie skimming stones) and locks open for the tourist canal boats but you can get there by métro. Maybe Métro Jaurès
Métro to St Michel. A very lively and cheap area, lots of young tourists and students, maybe a good place for an evening meal. A nice view of Notre Dame across the river.
There are many parks and gardens, the nicest being perhaps Jardin de Luxembourg. The huge Bois du Boulogne has a number of interesting areas but you have to know which bit you are heading for. It is the haunt of prostitutes and drug dealers at night.
I haven't mentioned Montmartre, which I love and which has the most amazing villagey streets. My favourite arrondissement.
If you have time visit the monumental cemeteries such as Père Lachaise where famous people are buried. Great for photos.
Fantastic market streets such as Rue Cler and Rue Montorgueil and actual markets such as Richard Lenoir or Clignancourt (fabulous antiques) but they take a lot of time.
We have never been on a night boat trip on the Seine. We tried once but the queues were very long.

Warnings

Avoid Les Halles for any extended time, especially at night. The area around the centre and the park seemed to have a number of vagrants when we were there. However, the shopping centre is huge and popular with young people and there are a number of cinemas
Avoid Bois du Boulogne at night, it is quite dangerous.
Avoid anything enticing you in on the Bvd Clichy near Moulin Rouge: the Red Light district, safe enough but a rip off if you enter and very sleazy.
Steps in front of Sacre Coeur (the meringue on the hill) where people will try to put a woven bracelet on your wrist and then charge you for it or wrap a scarf around you and charge. Get used to smiling, making little eye contact and saying "Non, merci". Use the "stop" hand gesture if necessary but do not respond rudely. They are just trying to make a living. Same with the gold ring scam or the "Do you speak English?" or the small toy placed on your table to buy. Just say "Non, merci".
St Dennis is the site of the burial of French Kings and is a lovely cathedral to visit, but the area can be unsafe and there have been riots there. Be happy to visit but avoid at night.
Keep bags protected in the Métro. Think how safe they will be if your hands are suddenly occupied to balance yourself or protect yourself and secure your valuables accordingly. I usually recommend two barriers between an opportunistic thief and your wallet or iphone. You are unlikely to physically accosted but yell if you are. And don't put bags on chairs or the floor when eating. Secure them with a chair leg under the table and keep between your feet.

Some more information

Hidden things

I love the hidden things of Paris. The Arago medallions, the Covered Passages, the space invader mosaics that people put up on buildings, the dragon sculpture at Place Augusta Holmes .

Food

A Menu is a set meal with several courses and a small amount of choice. You might find a €16 menu, a €20 menu and a €50 menu at the same restaurant. You can only order from one menu, otherwise go à la carte. Some places offer "plat du jour" which is dish of the day, and you can just order that. It will be good.
Wine can be ordered as vin du table, or house wine, by the pichet, including a very small pichet of 125 ml. You can always order a jug of water free of charge "un carafe d’eau, s’il vous plaît" anywhere in France.
La Carte is what we call a menu, each dish ordered separately. Fine if you want just one or two dishes but "le menu" is always cheaper for the same dishes.

Note: An entrée is a first course, not a main course.

Manners

Always greet people, especially people who are serving you or when you enter a shop. "Bonjour Madame/Monsieur/Mademoiselle" and then “Au revoir” when you leave. "Bonne journée" means "Have a good day”.
If buying or asking about something, wait your turn. It is very rude to interrupt. When it is your turn you will have their undivided attention
Do not handle food or goods unless you ask first. Many markets and shops do not allow you to touch the merchandise.
Attempting the language will earn kudos, even if it is imperfect.

Health

Pharmacies are indicated by a green cross. They can prescribe medications for some ailments. Most medications are kept behind the counter and you must ask. From personal experience their treatments for sore throats and colds are superior to anything at home. Not all pharmacies have someone who speaks English. Miming is good.
Blister treatment, a plaster called Compeed, is fantastic.