Hi all---

Heather and I and her mom are heading to France for 10 days in May, and I wanted to see if anyone knew of sites to be sure not to miss, tourist traps to avoid, good RPG shops/stores to try to visit, good bookstores and restaurants, etc.

I'd love to get together with any members here, if the timing worked out, too!  Here's our high-level itinerary:

- Paris from 17-22 May
- Amboise in the Loire Valley from 22-23 May
- Saint-Remy from 23-26 May
- and back to Paris to depart from 26-27 May

We will be driving with a rental car, so any driving tips in France would be welcome, too.

Thanks!

I lived in Paris for three months when I was a teenager, and I've been back several times since.  I love the place.  People say the French are snobs, but it's really only for people who talk loud and have an attitude that everyone should understand English.  Once you get out of Paris, you rarely run into any snobbery.

First, a couple of overall tips. When visiting Paris, just use the Metro.  Traffic and drivers in Paris is like any big city and the Metro is a wonderful sight in itself.  Buy a packet of 10 tickets on your first day.  It's called a Carnet but pronounced "Carnay."  Wear comfortable walking shoes but realize that white sneakers will likely reveal you are a tourist.  Get a small tourist book about Paris.  You don't need the big honking book because you'll want to take it with you.  It probably has a vocabulary section, a map, and updated info about restaurants.  Get it in the US and study it beforehand.  In other words, go in with a plan.  Have some rainy day itineraries and some sunny day itineraries.

Food is expensive overall, especially if you eat in restaurants.  The service is slower than in America, so go to eat before you are really hungry.  Most people eat supper about 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM.  However, there are street vendors with baguette sandwiches and such with no waiting at a reasonable price.  Research one or two budget restaurants ahead of time and schedule them in some time or another.  You want to do the restaurant thing at least two or three times.  Don't eat at McDonalds.

If I were to recommend Paris with five days to visit and tour, here's what I'd recommend(each paragraph is a day's itinerary):

Eiffel Tower, Arch of Triumph, Champs Elysees (sunny) - Eiffel Tower is the main thing in Paris everyone knows about.  It's a great first day sight because it helps you understand the size and layout of Paris.  Go early in the morning since it's popular and the lines will be better.  There are usually some crepe (French pancake) sellers nearby.  Yum!  Take at least an hour or two to go all the way to the top and back down.  Take the Metro to the Arc of Triumph.  You can pay to go to the top, but after the Eiffel Tower, it's a bit of a disappointment.  However, the traffic around the site is fascinating.  From there, walk down the Champs Elysees (The Elysees Avenue).  The stores are fun to look at, but don't buy anything.  If your feet don't give out, you might make it all the way to Place de la Concorde (Concorde Plaza), but don't wear yourself out.  Maybe stop at a cafe, get some coffee and a "Pain au chocolat" (pronounced "Panh oh shock o la") and just watch people walk by.  Call a friend or two back home and brag.  

Museum Day (rainy) - The Louvre Museum - It is a huge maze, and a little difficult to navigate, but entering through the Metro is the way to go.  Spend at least a half a day here.   Arrive in the morning and head straight to the Mona Lisa.  The lines get horrid as the day goes on.  After lunch in the museum, near the Metro entrance, walk over to Museum D'Orsay which is half the size but wonderful.

Versailles (sunny) - Make sure you explore the inside and the outside.  The Museum offers these mp3 tour guide things you can rent.  You can go at your own pace and learn a ton which isn't obvious just to the eye.  You get out there by metro and train.  I know that sounds intimidating, but it's easy.  You could make a day of it and come back to Paris to eat at a restaurant to rest your feet.

Notre Dame & Sacre Coeur (Preferably sunny) - Start with Notre Dame as you will want to go all the way up to the top and lines can get long later in the day.  This is definitely cool if you like ancient architecture.  Take the tour to the top first and then see the rest of the place.  There are tours to see the sewers of Paris in front of Notre Dame that I hear is incredible, but I've never done that.  I hear they don't stink that bad.  There are also tours to see the catacombs in front of Notre Dame that most people don't know about which are cool if you are into that.  Anyway, take a couple of hours to do that.  The take the Metro to Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart).  Climb a hundred steps or more to get up to the church.  It's beautiful inside, but the coolest thing about this area are the artists.  Have everyone in your group get their portrait done.  Yes, you can haggle for the price, but you get what you pay for.  The good artists wait for customers and the bad ones try and convince you to hire them.  There's lots of other artsy stuff up there too.  Eat at a cafe or restaurant and watch the sun set over the city.

The last day you could do several things depending on your interests or the weather.  You could go shopping, you could visit the military museum at Invalides and see Napolean's tomb, or you could go to the George Pompidou museum and see some modern art. Or you could take a walk through the Luxumbourg Gardens (Jardins) which was a major setting for Les Miserables.  The first four days I recommend hit the major highlights in my opinion.  Get those out of the way first.  

Finally, once you rent your car, drop by Foutainbleu on your way out of town.  It's like Versailles but prettier in my opinion.

And that's what I recommend.  

benjoshua wrote in [OT] Heading to France in May!:And that's what I recommend.  

Thanks for your input, Chris!  I'll print it to talk with Heather and her mom.  I heard a recent NPR story on Versailles, and thought it would be fun to go there, too.  I hadn't thought about sunny vs. rainy stuff to do, but heading to museums is definitely on our to do list, rain or shine!  (When we were in London in 2006, we felt robbed when we got to the British Museum because our tour book only said to allocate 4 hours to the place, and we could have spent the entire week there.  That's the only time any of Rick Steve's books have steered us wrong, however).

grodog wrote in [OT] Heading to France in May!:Thanks for your input, Chris!  I'll print it to talk with Heather and her mom.  I heard a recent NPR story on Versailles, and thought it would be fun to go there, too.  I hadn't thought about sunny vs. rainy stuff to do, but heading to museums is definitely on our to do list, rain or shine!  (When we were in London in 2006, we felt robbed when we got to the British Museum because our tour book only said to allocate 4 hours to the place, and we could have spent the entire week there.  That's the only time any of Rick Steve's books have steered us wrong, however).

Glad I could help.  If it's not obvious from my comments, visiting these places requires a fair amount of walking.  Get in shape before you go and don't break in new shoes.

Finally, jet lag is going to be a drag on everyone for the first day or so.  I personally recommend taking Dramamine on the flight there so you'll get some sleep on the flight over.  I also like to take Dramamine, or some other sleep aid, my first night or two overseas to get my body adjusted quicker to the time change.  

Spring in Paris! You will have a great time  Hmmm, I haven't been for a couple of years. But some things I would do:

Use the city bicycle hire scheme. Paris set this up before London and it is a great way to zip around the city. Bicycle is three times faster than walking, and you don't get footsore the same way you do when you tramp around a tourist trail on foot.
Vélib' - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Visit Shakespeare and Co.
Shakespeare and Company (bookstore) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yes it is a bit cheesy, it is also a must-stop for any American visiting I would say. And they still put writers up for free and do poetry readings etc..

Walk west from Place des Vosges and get lost walking around the old Jewish quarter. Great food and coffee.

On the south bank, the Luxumbourg gardens is a lovely park for a stroll, then a short walk east is Place de la Contrescarpe, a great small square with several good cafes; running south from there is Rue Mouffetard which is, most days of the week, a street market with great food.

Notre-Dame is a good spot to visit, although to my mind, the best church to see is Saint-Sulpice.
Saint-Sulpice, Paris - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

When you get exhausted by your itinerary, visit Ile St Louis in the Seine. It is a quiet residential island, and often peaceful. But there are some good cafes and ice-cream shops. And spectacular views over the Seine and Notre Dame at sunset.

The Louvre was absolutely amazing. When I went, we did the Louvre, Arch, Eiffel Tower and Champes all in the same day. Truth be told, you could easily split that into two days, with the Louvre being all by itself. Gotta spend at least 6 hours at the Louvre regardless. And have fun.

Zenfinite

And Géraud, do please let me know if you'll be free, so that we can meet up at some point while we're in your neighborhood

lokiwookie wrote in [OT] Heading to France in May!:* if you like castle, there is a LOT of castles around St Rémy: Châteaurenard (where I live, a very small castle), Fort Saint André (Villeneuve, in front of Avignon), Tour Philippe le Bel in front of Le Palais des Papes (Villeneuve), Le Château du roi René (Tarascon), le château du Barroux, etc.

We definitely like castles

Can you also provide floor plans?