Rick Steves' Paris Guidebook Feedback
If you've traveled with this guidebook, please help us improve it for future travelers. How can it be more helpful and accurate? Did any recommended hotels, eateries, or sights disappoint you? Do you have any new experiences or new places we should consider? Any warnings or tips for people traveling with existing edition?
Paris feedback
I'd like to express my thanks for the Paris 2002 guidebook. I found it very useful
during my recent 12 day solo visit to Paris (my first). Thanks for pointing out
the Chartres day-trip : it was a particular highlight. I found the two-weeks
of Pimsleur language tapes I did in my car prior to departure were worth their
weight in gold - I was able to handle every store/restaurant I visited without
problems - and even managed some simple phone conversations -when all else fails "Parlez
vous l'Anglais?" gets you a bit further.
A couple of items that might be of use in future:
* spending a brunch decoding "Pariscope" weekly entertainment guide is well
worth the effort so that you can plan out special concerts throughout your
stay e.g. the inexpensive piano recitals at St.Julian-le-Pauvre, or v.o. (version
originale) movie screenings in English with French subtitles. NB if a third
language is spoken (Elvish or German for example) then that is translated into
French subtitles!
* a warning that the ticket-vending machines at Metro and Rail stations (like Gare Montparnasse) are very touchy about the credit-cards they accept - I tried 2 different Amex and 2 different Visa cards but none of them were accepted by any of these machines despite the card listings. I happened to mention this to Malcolm Miller (of Chartres fame) while we waited for a tour to assemble, and he said that he had this problem frequently and missed trains as a result. Message: have coinage ready for unattended Metro stations or leave plenty of time for buying tickets at other stations.
* sometimes you have to go through several gates at a Metro station to get to the required platform (e.g. the maze at Les Halles/Chatelet) and you end up needing 2-3 tickets for one journey before you even get on a train!
* I had a really hard time with the amount of cigarette smoke, particularly in restaurants and cafes where I had several meals ruined. I just came across this web site that lists Parisian restaurants with non-smoking sections: http://www.droit-air-pur.com/no-smoking%20restaurants.htm
* Parisians don't care about queues and will brazenly shove past you
to get into exhibits, movies etc.
Mike Williams <email>
Seattle, WA USA 12/27/02
Rue Cler note
The restaurant Champ de Mars is closed for renovation. This makes Le Florimond
(a few doors down on rue Motte Piquet) even busier. They were fully booked every
night last week.
paul <email>
hoodsport, wa USA 12/10/02
Hotel La Motte Piquet
We spent the last week of October on our first trip to Europe, and thanks to
Rick, Paris was our absolute favorite! We stayed at his recommended, Hotel La
Motte Picquet, and have nothing but good things to say. The wonderful manager,
Ms. Ireland, not only spoke fluent english but didn't laugh when we butchered
even the most basic french. She was more than willing to give us directions to
anywhere we wanted to go, she has tube maps on hand and knows all the connections
by heart. She was even kind enough to come back to the hotel at 6am to open the
safe so that we could get our plane tickets and passports (the safe was provided
free of charge). The rooms were quite small (as were all our european hotels),
but it was immaculate, cozy and had great windows that your could throw open
and look out onto the Rue Cler. It was very centerally located...by foot and
tube we could be at the Eiffel tower, the Louvre or Les Invalides within 10 minutes
of leaving our room. We were within 3-4 minutes walking distance of a laundry,
grocery, restaurant, and drug stores. And for about $80 a night(inluding a simple
but delicious breakfast) is an amazing bargain.
Donna Oconnor and Mike Thompson <email>
jacksonville, fl USA 12/05/02
Hotel Sevigne
I have an even worse opinion of the Hotel Sevigne than the previous unhappy patron
above. The room was totally unsatisfactory. The towels were smelly, mildewed,
unusable, the towel hanger was rusted and the towels were barely able to stay
on the hanger (above the bidet) if you didn't touch them. The bathroom was smelly.
There is a balcony outside the window connecting with several other rooms, and
the window lock barely engaged. There was not a single electrical outlet in the
room, nor a phone connection for the laptop. The staff was indifferent and completely
unhelpful, but I expected that from Steves' book. Small rooms and no amenities
are tolerable, it was a cheap room, but the uncleanliness was not. They charged
me an extra day for leaving early, I gladly paid to leave. We are now at the
7th Art Hotel a block away, a well-run and very good hotel. I think that they
gave us a large double for the regular price, 90 euros. I recommend this one
highly.
Gordon Deppe <email>
Concord, Ca USA 11/25/02
La Serre gets our vote
My wife and I just returned from our honeymoon, and about half of our time was
spent in Paris. Unfortunately, our stay at the Grand Hotel Leveque was not that
enjoyable. The odor of cigarette smoke in our room was so dense and thick that
it made us both ill. Apparently I made the mistake of not specifying that we
wanted a NON-SMOKING room! Other American visitors didn't have this problem --
they had all asked for non-smoking rooms and received them . . . on the first
floor, no less! We then visited Marie Alice at the Hotel La Serre. She was kind
enough to let us look at one of her rooms -- #505, to be specific -- and we fell
in love with it. Charming, clean, odorless, (less expensive than the GHL,)and
a GREAT view of the Eiffel Tower! We switched rooms instantly, but not before
being charged another night's stay at the GHL. Oh well. It was worth it! Marie
Alice and the staff at La Serre were wonderful, and their restaurant a few streets
down is also first-rate. To my wife and me, THIS is the best bargain in Paris.
Brian Hendricks <email>
Springfield, IL USA 11/18/02
Paris in September
We had a great time in Paris in September using 'the guide'. Stayed at the Hotel
Lyon Mulhouse. Our room was clean and very affordable (55 euros). Pickpockets
tried to get us on two different occasions. I agree with an earlier comment about
including in the guide what methods they use. Luckily we had money belts so they
weren't successful. The Eiffel Tower late at night is great. Not a lot of people
and the lights of the city are beautiful. We also enjoyed the nighttime cruise
on the Seine...very romantic. Versailles was a treat. We rented the audio guides
at this and other locations and were happy with the outcome. While at Versailles,
make sure you check out the secluded areas - ask someone to show you on the guide
map where they are located. Thoroughly enjoyed the walking tour of the Latin
Quarter.
Betty Lu
Pleasanton, CA USA 11/14/02
Paris and Rome
I just returned from my fourth trip to Paris and my second to Rome. Paris is
alway fabulous. The people are very helpful, friendly and warm. There were several
occasion when my companion and I were confused and were offered assistance by
local people of all sorts. We found that if you locate yourself in a neighborhood,
less touristy, then your experience is better. Rue Cler is a great area, Cafe
du Marche and Le Comptoir du Septieme are great dining choices. I must have bad
timing, I am never able to get reservations with Rick's reccomended hotels. I
have stayed at Hotel Splendid twice, and even though expensive, it is a good
choice. The people are very helpful, making suggestions and so forth, even negotiating
our airport shuttle price because they were late. Now for Rome. We stayed at
Hotel Italia, great price, $100 euros for cash, and good staff. Our meal at Ristorante
Pizzeria Sacro e Profano was fabulous! What a beautiful place, the frescoes were
great. The food was excellent, we shared the tasting menu. Our server was terrific
and professional .Pasquale spent time with us answering all our questions and
giving us great suggestions. Don't miss this place. I really appreciate the Rick
Steve's guides. Thank you very much.
Sandra Sarka <email>
Tanpa, FL USA 11/08/02
Paris walking tours and dining
Your guide book was indispensable for our enjoyment of Paris. We followed the
Marais, Montmartre, Latin Quarter walking tours with nary a problem. We enjoyed
all of the walking tours. We found the Parisians to be friendly, helpful and
willing to go out of their way to help us especially since we do not speak the
language. In the ten days that we were in Paris there was only one unfortunate
incident. On a rainy evening we decided to have dinner at Le Bar a Huitre on
Beaumarchais Boulevard. Because of the weather we decided to wear jeans and rain
slickers. When he entered the restaurant, we requested a table for two. The Maitre
d'hotel looked through us as if we were invisible. I repeated my request and
again no verbal response but an icy glare. At the third repetition, he rudely
jerked his thumb toward the bar and rudely and abrasively said to us "Bar, five
minutes". At which point we both decided we would not spend any money in this
restaurant. I am still angry when I think of this rude treatment. Fortunately,
the evening ended happily at Le Genie D'Or, an Alsatian restaurant adjacent to
Bo Fingers. The sole meurnier was the best I have ever tasted and the cost was
so reasonable.
Harvey Hayashi <email>
Reading, MA USA 11/05/02
Hotel D'Alma and Paris
Loved Loved Loved Paris. I took your advice and tried to think of it as an adventure
and it worked for the most part. We stayed at the Hotel D'Alma at 32 Rue de la
Exposition, close to the Champ de Mars off Avenue Bosquet. I found the clerk
Slava (Polish lovely) to be the most friendly and accomodating person I ran into
in all of Paris with the exception of the wonderful lady at the L'Aubergine restaurant
a few doors down the street. Slava at the hotel told us that we would receive
a discount if we mentioned the Rick Steves connection. Please remember to use
this at booking time. I was astounded when she lowered our hotel bill from 100
euros a day with an extra 6 euros each for breakfast to 76 euros a day breakfast
included. She was helpful, cheerful and most accomodating. I would highly reccomend
this hotel - small rooms, but have pretty good service. The heater was fixed
and bathroom was fairly modern and clean. It had a working elevator (very important
when your room is on the 5th floor). It is France and my standards are not the
same as theirs. When in Rome attitude helped keep me humble and enjoy the trip.
I tried to accept this it and this made my stay more enjoyable. Your self guided
tours in the Paris book were wonderful and also the humor helped when it did
nothing but rain..The smell of Versailles was like a large urinal???? I would
like to warn the ladies to bring your own toilet paper as they have a penchant
for pink paper that causes some problems for sensitive women as myself.
Brenda Ayres <email>
Los Gatos, CA USA 11/01/02
Hotel Sevigne in Paris
Rick Steves' guide book was very helpful in making my visit to Paris a very enjoyable
trip in late September. My only disappointment was the hotel, Hotel Sevigne,
in the Marais District. At appears that half of the rooms in this hotel face
a very busy and noisy street. The window in my room had double pane glass, but
I had to open it because the room got very warm and stuffy. The noise from the
traffic and the restaurant below my window was extremely loud, especially on
the weekend. Even with the window closed, the street noise was still very noticeable
until late at night. It should be noted that this hotel charges a nonrefundable
one night deposit at the time the reservation is made, making it difficult to
back out of a reservation. Also I want to mention that the front lobby staff
were polite but two clerks gave me the wrong information about the L'Open Tour
Bus (both stated that there was no such bus tour company but suddenly knew about
this company when I started to pulled out Rick's book - they also made statements
such as the bus does not run on Sundays, can't buy tickets from the driver, and
there were no stops near the hotel, all of which were incorrect). There are no
English tourist information pamphlets in the lobby.
T.H.
Cupertino, CA USA 10/31/02
Marmottan Museum
We just returned from Paris and enjoyed using the 2002 book, especially the "tour" sections.
You need to update the Marmottan tour however. The collection has changed so
that all the Monet paintings are now in the basement. It would also help to give
better directions by metro since the La Muette station is hard to get to.
Larry <email>
Wayland, MA USA 10/21/02
Paris guidebook
We went to France in September, which was our 4th trip to Europe, and we've always
used Rick's very helpful guide books. We sent a discussion of the France book
and our trip to the France graffiti page. The Paris book is excellent and surprisingly
accurate for a first edition. We did all the biggie sites and the recommended
Marais walk, which may have been the highlight of Paris for us. It's fascinating
and we were unexpectedly surprised to find it so interesting. We walked from
and to our hotel near Rue Cler to the beginning and end of the Marais walk which
is fairly long - about 10 miles we figured, with all the detours we took. The
actual walk described in the book is about 3 very walkable miles. Paris is a
wonderful city to walk. In September the weather's cooling off and Paris is mostly
flat. Everywhere you go there's something interesting to see so take good walking
shoes to Paris. The Metro is fine but we used it less than we thought we would
because walking was such a pleasure. The recommended museum tours are good, and
the tips on avoiding crowds getting into the Louvre are excellent. We went early
and saw Mona Lisa in its room with only about 20 other people. Our lodging left
something to be desired. We stayed at the listed Mars Hotel near Rue Cler and
it was kind of grubby. The drain in the bathroom floor was missing its cover
and there was something moldy looking down there. Also, the door handle to the
bathroom was half off the door. These things probably sound worst than they were
but they should have been easily correctable. Otherwise we thought the hotel
was fine, and we got the impression that the new owners are trying to fix up
what had been run down.
Don and Diane Rake <email>
West Sacramento, CA USA 10/18/02
Chartres Tour by Malcolm Miller
When I took the wonderful Malcom Miller Chartres cathederal tour in mid-June,
2002, he had raised the price from E 6 to E 10. He also collected the fee before
the tour since he said too many people just walked away after the tour without
paying. However, I felt lucky to have Malcom himself as the tour guide.
DeWitt Whittington <email>
Richmond, VA USA 10/16/02
Suggested Amendments to Paris 2002 Guide
I just returned from a week in Paris (10/4 - 10/11/2002) and wanted to offer
a few suggestions for the Rick Steve's Paris Guide, which was our choice for
the trip. (1) The number for United Airlines on page 311 is incorrect. There
is a transposed number. The correct number is 08 10 72 72 72. (2)There are no
pickups for Bateaux Mouches at Pont Neuf or at the Eiffel Tower...just the old
location at Pont de l'Alma. (3) There was a 3,70 Euro charge to ascend the Eiffel
Tower to the first level, even though we had dinner reservations at Altitude
95 (the dinner was good, if a bit more expensive than neighborhood restaurants).
(4) We encountered a problem with tipping and getting change back, most obviously
at Brasserie St. Benoit on rue St. Benoit. This appeared to be an intential "game" aimed
at Americans, Aussies and other English speakers. The servers simply failed to
return the change unless specifically asked. I guess this worked for them often
enough to make it worthwhile. After taking payment, nothing happened. I asked
for "la monnaie" and got my change with a sheepish "well, it was worth a try".
This wasn't a few Euros involved, either. The second time it happened, the bill
was 45 Euros and we tendered 60 Euros. Had we not finally requested the change,
the server would have kept it. It just soured the dinner experience. I would
suggest adding the word "la monnaie" to your survival vocabulary at p. 313. Thereafter,
a simple "la monnaie, s'il vous plait" along with payment resolved any ambiguity
of intent.
deirdre dessingue <email>
arlington, va USA 10/15/02
Paris Guide Book
Opera Garnier English tours are noon and 2p.m. at least through Sept. We were
disappointed with Vaux le Vicomte and Auvers sur oise. Vaux closes between l
and 2.
Pat Donegan <email>
Petaluma, ca USA 10/14/02
2 1/2 Week Self Guided Trip in Paris
Once again, we had a marvellous self-guided trip tramping through Paris using
Rick Steves' Paris 2002 guide book. Rather than stay at a hotel, we decided to
checked out an alternative that was in the book.... rent an apartment for our
stay. There were 6 of us travelling together so this seemed much more feasible
than 3 hotel rooms. Through one of the links listed under "Longer Stays", I was
forwarded on to RENDEZ VOUS A PARIS Ltd. (http://www.rendez-vousaparis.com) Roughly,
our 17 night stay came out to about $47/night/person and the apartment was large.
Huge by Europe measurements. We had a split level townhouse with a small but
fully furbished kitchen, 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, living room and dining
room. Plus a wall full of videos... mostly all in French. Mr. Albert Bertin and
Mrs. Katherin Grillard were great and very helpful in getting us settled! Get
the museum pass... it pays for itself in time saved from waiting in lines! Plus,
chances are you'll pop in to some place that you might not have if you hadn't
gotten the pass. Because we were a large group, whenever possible, we made arrangements
for private tours. I highly recommend that you look into the Paris Walking Tours
(http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pariswalking/thismnth.htm) for a variety
of walks through the neighborhoods of Paris. Oriel Caine's assigned guides (Dominique
Atkins and Jonathan Holburn) were inspired and we had a great experience. We
traipsed all through the Latin and Marais quarters learning interesting facts
and tidbits about the areas. If you can't do a private group, check out their
website for where and when the larger groups convene. Note, they can get as large
as 40 people. This was a great way to orient ourselves and, time permitting,
we went back to those sites we wanted to see in more detail. For a tour of the
river Seine, definitely stick to the smaller Vedettes de pont Neuf. The only
draw back is that they have far fewer night excursions. Further afield in the
Loire Valley, we once again used one of Rick's recommendations: AccoDispo-Tours
(http://www.accodispo-tours.com). They are a much smaller outfit, but Dominique
and Pascal personalized our trip to the Loire Valley. Note, make sure you have
reservations in advance on the TGV to Tours. It's a very visited place! We started
our day in Chenonceau, with a lunch break in a 4th generation owned tea shop
in Amboise (KILLER desserts!), followed by Chambord and Cheverny before catching
the TGV back to Gare Montparnasse. They are equipped for groups of up to 9. My
only complaint about the Paris 2002 book, is that some of the maps have too little
detail. We got lost, but, with the help of our StreetWise map, this was easily
fixed.
<email>
Redwood City, CA USA 10/08/02
3 Week France & Switzerland Self Guided Tour
Rick Steve's You've Done It Again! For a fantastic France and Switzerland vacation
Rick Steve's videos and guidebooks are the best! We would not plan a trip without
them. This is the second consecutive self-touring trip we have taken using Rick's
recommendations and have not been led wrong. Our famous phrase was "Rick Steve's
you've done it again!" We arrived at Paris's CDG airport and were immediately
greeted by our courteous driver, Joseph of www.aeropartner75.com shuttle van
service. We were escorted in a pleasant, friendly manner to our wonderful hotel
www.hotel-leveque.com on Rue Cler. We were presented a traditional view of Parisian
culture by staying on a pedestrian-only street on the Left Bank. All amenities
(tasty food, wine, and friendly conversations) were available at our doorstep.
The accommodations were excellent and became a strategic home base to begin our
tour of 3 weeks (2 days Paris, 3 days Normandy, 1 day Brittany, 3 days Loire
Valley, 1 day Paris, 3 days Switzerland, 5 days French Alps and 4 days back in
Paris). Beginning with awesome city sites in Paris and the absolute must do's
that include evening picnics at Eiffel Tower and museum visits to Les Invalides
and Orsay, we then conveniently picked up a Europcar rental at Air France terminal
(reserved from USA through helpful and friendly, Julia at www.frenchexperience.com)
to travel to the quaint fishing village of Honfluer at the mouth of the Scene
River, with a quick lunch stop at Claude Monet's Gardens at Giverny www.giverny.org
and an evening stay over with great accommodations and views at Hotel de Cheval
Blanc www.hotel-honfleur.com , The next 2 wonderful days we stayed at the friendly,
charming Hotel d'Argouges (email: dargourges@aol.com) in Bayeux, touring the
beautiful country side with visits to the inspiring D-Day beaches that are generally
still in their post invasion natural state conveying the feeling of the ever
present sense of sacrifice and honor. Then a look at the well preserved Bayeux
Tapestry with a story to be seen and understood. The next stay was Dinan in Brittany
at Hotel La tour de l' Horloge not fancy but inexpensive and convenient. Here
you must have a multi course meal of Crepes for a cultural culinary experience.
Traveling on to the Loire Valley with 2 exceptional nights at www.labreche-amboise.com.
The friendly staff, quaint accommodations and delectable meals were wonderful.
Here we had various visits to the several outstanding Chateau's (Amboise, Chenoceau,
Cheverny and Chambord, each one was delightfully exquisite and interesting. Than
a night in Chartre's Hotel Chatelet (email hchatel@club-internet.fr) with a visit
to the magnificent cathedral, a beautiful sight especially when eliminated at
night. Back to Hotel Leveque for one night then an early morning train to Lauterbrunnen,
Switzerland, lodging at a lovely place, Hotel Staubbach a definite recommendation
(www.staubbach.ch). Purchased the French and Swiss Train passes from Rick Steve's..
which worked beautifully. We easily traveled by trains; buses and cable cars
to all recommended must see magnificent sights. All we can say is WOW! The experience
of being in the Alps is truly awesome. The next 4 nights were at www.chalet-beauregard.com
a hospitable, lovely Bed & Breakfast with outstanding views of Mt. Blanc, France.
So many awe-inspiring hikes and cable rides to breathtaking views. We than traveled
comfortably back to Paris by train for our last 4 nights. This was a great way
to finish the 3 weeks of various wonderful sights and experiences to be remembered
a lifetime. We felt so comfortable back in Hotel Leveque, so we continued the
wonderful visits to Paris sights and also had a delightful day trip to Chantilly.
Al & Bev from Naples Fl & Jim from Succassunna NJ (email: jim@jabaker.org)
Beverly Larsen <email>
Naples, FL USA 10/08/02
City Maps
The best maps I've found are the city maps from Lonely Planet. Plastic coated
and worth it. I took the Paris City map along with the Rick Steves maps and didn't
have a bit of trouble. You can order them online at lonelyplanet.com They have
a map of the metro system on them as well.
CR
USA 10/05/02
maps
aloha- Why get upset with poorly drawn maps after the fact? Get any of the Streetwise
city series maps and a small compass. That way you only have yourself to blame
or praise if you get lost.
Jeffrey Hartman <email>
Kealakekua, Hi USA 09/30/02
Paris Hotel
Hotel Odeon is not worth the price. Rooms were small even for European standards
(didn't see any rooms that looked like web-site) and staff was very unhelpful.
I would not recommend this hotel.
Helen <email>
Centerville, IN USA 09/30/02
Paris
Steves'is best guidebook, except for the maps.For this reason and the changes
in transportation to the airport, I wish I had checked these feedback messages
before we left. We recommend getting a transit system map at the tourist office:it
shows bus lines and the branches of the train lines, which can be confusing.
For the catacombs tour, take a flashlight,but don't go if you're over 6'2" tall.Take
a perfumed(!) hankie for the sewers.No one accepted traveler's checks!Use ATM
instead.BestCrepes:Les Ecuries,Rue Washington, near Arc de Triomphe off Champs
Elysees.
Carol
Indianapolis, IN USA 09/29/02
suggestion of hotel--> a bad stay
I just wanted to say Leveque, Rick's suggestion, was a little disappointing.
They were a bit rude to me and my family.There were incidents when I asked the
questions and they answered in such a manner I felt I was squatting at the hotel
instead of paying over 100 dollars a night. I had a question on how the electricity
worked, becasue the plug O bought wouldn't fit. They told me don't use your electronic
then, I was shocked. The bathroom also smelled like the public bathroom I would
find in the worst New York subways. The rooms look exactly as it did on Rick's
show, but the bathroom you might want to rethink.
Lily <email>
San Francisco, CA USA 09/29/02
Map
National Geographic's website has a great plastic coated map of Paris for sale.
I used it last year and found it very helpful
Herb
Ky USA 09/28/02
Re: Non-functioning metro tickets
A note on Paris metro tickets and Cartes Oranges: sometimes they will become
demagnetized if you keep them in a purse with a magnetic clasp. This has happened
to me often (much chagrin!); however, just take your ticket(s) to the ticket
booth and the generally kind folks will fix things for you. At least that's my
experience. I eventually learned to keep my tickets stuffed in a paperback or
my French dictionary that I kept in my tote--that seemed to help.
Michele
Vancouver, WA USA 09/19/02
Pack a compass and ignore Rick's lousy maps!
Just a few comments on Rick's Paris City guidebook. The maps (and many associated
directions to sights) were BEYOND HORRIBLE! I darn near threw the thing in the
trash by the second day of 8 in Paris. I only found it useful for the museum
tours/info, museum pass info, and listing the names of Metro stops that were
near the sights.
Given that Paris is laid out like the spokes of a bicycle wheel rather than the grid system, it isn't easy keeping your bearings in parts of the city where the Eiffel Tower isn't visible. My advice is to pack one absolutely indispensable item and make sure you know how to use it-- a compass!
We ended up using the free hotel map as soon as I could track one down.
Thank goodness, at least I can speak French well enough to get directions
from the amazing and helpful Parisiens, so the nightmare guidebook experience
didn't ruin the rest of the trip.
Brenda <email>
Denver, CO USA 09/17/02
Paris
We just got back from Paris last week; here are a few notes that are a little
different from other postings:
HOTEL LYON MULHOUSE: spacious and clean rooms in a great location. Staff was helpful and let us store our luggage at the end of our stay for free until we could pick it up.
EIFFEL TOWER was beautiful at night and still a little crowded at the top. We were ushered out at 11:30pm, even though the book says it closes at 12am.
VERSAILLES: Went on our last day and our museum pass had expired so we paid out of pocket (should have gotten the 5 day pass instead of the 3 day). It was 13 euros each for admission + private apt tour and the tour was worth the extra expense. State room tours can be "overheard" with general admission. Gardens were 3 euros extra. Rick, thanks for the infomation on which doors to go to upon arrival.
In the book, the "Daily Reminder" about which attractions are open on
which days was also very useful as well as information how to get to
Charles de Gaulle Airport. If anything, slightly clearer directions to
the airport would be useful.
Kathy
Portland, OR USA 09/16/02
Paris
Hotel de la Paix in Rue Cler neighborhood was remodeled this summer and was worth
the 60Euros. I had trouble following your maps for the neighborhood tours, particularly
the Marais area. I would have liked more details on getting TO Charles deGaulle
when leaving Paris. I got off at the wrong terminal after I noticed that there
was a listing of airlines posted ON the bus.
Ed <email>
Houston, TX USA 09/09/02
Rue Cler & Samaritaine
A couple of updates that I found to the Paris Book. The Samaritaine was charging
2 euros to go up to the observation platform. This was in mid August. The cafe
section was still free and the view was almost as good. On Rue Cler the Charcuterie
J. Ragut has been replaced by another store that sells mostly pastries and chocolats.
Thanks for the great book.
Jeff <email>
Miami Beach, FL USA 08/30/02
Hotel Beaugency
Following Rick's recommendation in his guidebook, we made reservations at the
Hotel Beaugency in the Rue Cler neighborhood for early August. When we arrived,
though we had reserved a month in advance with a credit card, they were full
and did not have a room for us. We were told by the front desk that they had
just changed owners, that the new owners were "very unprofessional" and everything
seemed in disarray. It was unclear if they had already given our room away or
if they had lost our reservations, but the front desk offered to find us another
room elsewhere.
Meanwhile, some other guests came up to desk and displayed a number
of empty jewelry cases, graphically demonstrating that their room had
been robbed, while another party started arguing with the desk over some
money matter. We assessed the situation and quickly took the offer of
a room at the Hotel Splendid, where the staff was most helpful and they
graciously honored the rates we were given at the Hotel Beaugency. Perhaps
time to update the recommendation on this hotel?
Debra Kam <email>
Kittery Point, ME USA 08/26/02
Rue Cler cafe
The Hotel Leveque was pretty good, but let me tell you the air conditioning was
the best!!! We found a wonderful cafe on Rue Cler. This cafe must be in your
book. The service is excellent, the people are great, and the prices are good.
It's called the Cafe es Aux PTT Bar and Brasserie, 54 Rue Cler.
I really liked using your book; every night I chose a place for the next day
without worrying as everything was already laid out for me. Thank you very
much.
Alfred and Any Kopiloff <email>
Everett, WA USA 08/24/02
Paris notes
Rick's guide to Paris is really good. Just a couple of comments:
1) Rue Cler pretty much shuts down during the August holiday. Seemed about half the shops were closed - especially the chocolate shops.
2)Follow Rick's advice about when to go to avoid lines. What we learned from our recent trip is that the French apparently are stunned anew each day that there are crowds at their sights. We found very poor signs etc for lines and organization. The second level of the Eiffel Tower was the worst. There, and at the Louvre and other places there would be a line, then someone would tell the people to move the line. Only half would move and the other half would just move forward and viola! you have 2 lines.
3) If you can't go to the Louvre in the afternoon when crowds are thinner, then you need to get in line around 08:30. The entrance via the Metro is closed until 09:00 - maybe Rick can do some research and see if it is worth going there right at 0900 with no line or waiting in the Pyramid line at 0830 is better.
4) Rick notes that restaurants that have menus in English and French are usually touristy and of poor quality. But with economic expansion it is getting harder and harder to find such places and the good ones are even producing menus in English (though sometimes they hide them).
5) Rick needs to add that the top of the Eiffel Tower is a great place
to propose to one's girlfriend ;)
Eriol <email>
Webster, TX USA 08/21/02
Hotel Beaugency -Paris
We booked this hotel because they assured us it had air conditioning! It was
very hot in Paris, during the middle of June 2002. On Friday 6/21, we checked
into the Hotel, The first night, we found out the rooms were air conditioned,
but the power to the A/C unit was connected to a infra-red motion detector (like
ones used in home alarm systems) that turned the A/C off after 15 minutes of
stillness, like when you leave the room or GO TO SLEEP!
During the night, the uncomfortable warmth woke us up about every 45 minutes and you had get out of bed to stand in front of the detector and wave your arms to make the A/C come on again for another 15 mins. Finally my fiancé discovered she could and kick her leg in the air up while lying in bed and make the A/C come on again. Well this was ok for her, unless she was sleeping and I had woken up sweating and had to get out of bed to wave in front of the detector. Needless to say, it was a most unsatisfying night of sleep or non-sleep we could have had.
On Saturday morning 6/22/02, we inquired to see if the A/C could be
fixed or changed and they told us "they would look into it." When we
returned later that afternoon and about 4:30 pm and we inquired as to
what was done to remedy the A/C, they told us "nothing, there was nothing
they could do, that was the way it worked". Well that was totally unsatisfactory
to us and we immediately went upstairs and called another hotel nearby
to find a room. I walked to the new hotel and made sure it had normal
working A/C, plus a ceiling fan. I came back to the Beaugency and we
packed to change hotels.
Chuck <email>
Wayne, NJ USA 08/21/02
Additional Resources
Rick's books are essential reading before and during a trip through europe. Would
like to add that a solid mapbook -- Paris Practique -- made wandering and choosing
a metro station much easier for us.
Randy
san jose, ca USA 08/12/02
Positive Experience with Paris Metro
Not all Parisians are "unreasonable"! After taking the train from Chartres to
Gare Montparasse (sp.), my husband and I were connecting to the Metro to get
back to the Rue Cler area. We did not realize that we had to run our train tickets
through the turnstiles to get from the Gare to the Metro area. Instead, we were
hopelessly trying metro tickets from our carnet. An elderly man (who spoke no
English) came over to assist us, and as best he could, he showed us which tickets
we needed to be putting in the turnstiles. We still were a bit confused, and
another Parisian who spoke English then helped explain more fully. So -- many
Parisians are helpful, even to clueless Americans!
Beth <email>
Columbia, SC USA 08/12/02
Hotel Kensington in Paris
My daughter and I stayed at the Hotel Kensington in Paris near the Rue Cler.
We had a wonderful stay there. The staff was warm and helpful: they took the
time to explain the Metro system, allowed us to keep food in the fridge downstairs,
and were very nice overall. The room was small, but we were out seeing the sights,
and spent little time there. We ate on the Rue Cler twice. Bought fresh produce
and hit all the bakeries in the are. Our favorite was Lenotre. EXCELLENT pastries & chocolates.
Yummy quiche (Lorraine & a type with leeks in it. Both were delish!) We had a
wonderful trip to Paris!
Susan <email>
Puyallup, WA USA 08/11/02
Day Trip to Loire Valley
Thanks to messages on the Graffiti Wall, I tried Accodispo Tours for a one day
trip to the Loire Valley (www.accodispo-tours.com). Very professionaly run by
Pascal who enhanced the day with information presented with knowledge and humor.
If you're considering it, try to buy your TGV tickets after you arrive in Europe
-- MUCH less expensive that way!
Freckle Face
Portland, OR USA 08/09/02
Paris Metro
I hate to tattle on the residents of my favorite city in the world, but Parisians
can be truly unreasonable. Last week in Paris, two college students travelling
with me, but not with me at the particular time, headed to the metro, where they
were unable to pass the turnstiles because their tickets didn't work. They had
most of a carnet remaining and they tried one ticket after another, to no avail.
Okay, they shouldn't have, but after trying four tickets each, they slipped under
the turnstiles, only to be stopped immediately by a "metro cop" . . . who I am
sad to report had stood there and watched the whole thing.
Rather than offer assistance, advice, or otherwise help in any manner,
he chose to wait until frustration drove my two students under the turnstiles
and promptly gave them tickets for $40.00 each. Despite their evidence
that they had numerous new tickets and that the tickets weren't working,
and that afterall he had stood there and watched them try, they had to
pay the fine right then (he had a portable credit card machine). So watch
out. If you're metro tickets are for some reason not working, find another
way!
Freckle Face
Portland, OR USA 08/09/02
Your book is a MUST!
Returned recently from Paris and your book is a MUST! We had 3 other guides,
but after the first day - used nothing else. My husband would spend the early
morning hours previewing our daily plan, and then turn the guide over to me to
keep us on track . . .We thought this must be universal, as all the couples we
saw with your guide were in the hands of the lady, with the man nodding as she
read out of it.
We can't praise your suggestion to get the MUSEUM PASS enough! Cost effective, but the REAL value is the time saved by not having to wait in lines! I will add my voice to the other travelers and say: "BUY THE MUSUEM PASS!!" We walked right into d'Orsay, Louvre, Palais de Justice and Versialle - and the lines were PHENOMENAL (I thought July was a 'light' tourist month)
We thought your reviews (and tours)of the art museums were terrific! I am an art history major, but my husband's eyes glaze over at the mention of an art museum. We found your tours to be insightful and charming! Not too much detail for the novice, but hits all the highlights for art lovers. He was fascinated and spent MUCH more time in the museums than he will admit (and your side comments are delightful! We are still sniggering at some of them!) Merci!
The only drawback to your guide is the lack of detail in your maps and the rather difficult to follow walking tours. We got lost several times and had to use our detailed Paris Plan Map to find our way back on track. (Actually, getting lost was charming, we found neat restaurants and streets we'd have never seen otherwise). Please try and get more detailed maps inserted. There are just too many small sidestreets that you leave out (especially in the Latin Quarter and Montmartre) that were in our "Paris Plan". Paris is actually a VERY easy to navigate city.
I have other advice for travelers: Check out the website: http://www.france-hotels.net.
This is a wonderful service to book hotels, restaurants and a terrific
(inexpensive) airport shuttle (only 15 euros - right to your hotel door!)
If you're like me, and wait until the last moment to book a hotel-this
site WILL find you a room. Ours was wonderful (and at a reasonable cost!)
6eme 3-star booked only 2 weeks in advance! Their restaurant service
gave us a list of lots of nearby, inexpensive places to choose from for
our first night and our 20th Anniversary dinner.
Kimberly <email>
Hendersonville, TN USA 08/05/02
Erroneous information about Giverny
I wanted to correct some information about Giverny printed in your Paris 2002
book. The American art museum there is not called the "American Impressionist
Art Museum" as you say, but the Musée d'Art Américain. Moreover,
it does not only exhibit American Impressionism, though the museum has a strong
collection in that area (it is the sister institution of the Terra Museum of
American Art in Chicago and was initially built from the private collection of
former ambassador and American Impressionism collector Daniel Terra). For example,
right now (August 2002), the museum is showing a Jasper Johns print retropective.
Finally, your book mentions that tourists can rent bikes from the cafes
outside of the Vernon train station to go to Giverny, but that it is
a "crummy ride on a busy road." I am really surprised that you didn't
know, but there is a lovely bike path that begins just over the bridge
from Vernon into Vernonnet, which was a former train tracks that has
been paved over and is open only to cyclists and pedestrians.
Bett <email>
Santa Fe, NM USA 08/02/02
Airport Update
Just returned from Paris. Loved the Book! Excellent enhancement to our Versailles
tour. Felt like rock stars with our Museum Passes. As an update, American Airlines
flys out of Terminal 2 at Charles de Gualle Airport. It appears that they took
over some Air France space. The Paris guide sends you to Terminal 1. You may
also need to know that it takes 30-45 minutes to travel from the Louvre to Charles
de Gualle Airport.
Dianne <email>
St. Louis, MO USA 07/31/02
wonderful, small museum
Wonderful addition to list of Paris museums: Jaquemart-Andre, 158 Blvd. Haussman.
Check it out!
Ray Singer <email>
Malibu, CA USA 07/26/02
Eiffel Tower
One evening just before Bastille Day, my wife and I made our way to the North
entrance to the Eiffel Tower, as suggested by Rick. Found a bunch of other Rick
Steves partisans there. It was our collective impression that the North entrance
offers no advantage. (We arrived at 8:30 p.m. and didn't get to the first elevator
until after 10:00 p.m.) The other lines seemed to be moving much faster. The
problem appeared to be that the North corner is also the entrance for group tours,
several of which arrived long after us and moved quickly ahead of us. The variable
informational signs over the ticket windows can be helpful. But just after we'd
bought our tickets, the North ticket windows closed for about forty minutes without
any notice or explanation, leaving hundreds of people standing in line. I found
the ticket personnel to be otherwise congenial. But when they seeme to just close
up shop without saying anything, there were many comments from other visitors
about "those arrogant French." Just about the time most of the people left in
line had wandered off to other ticket windows, the North ticket window re-opened.
Adversity breeds opportunity, though. While in line, we made friends with lots
of other visitors. By the way, we were surprised to find that the top deck of
the Tower was closed when we arrived due to overcrowding. The ticket agent said
it might open later, but that we could buy a supplemental ticket at the 2nd deck
only after it had actually opened. When we did finally reach the 2nd deck, the
upper deck had opened. But after waiting almost an hour for the elevator to the
top, we decided that the second level was high enough. The view from the 2nd
deck is, in any event, breathtaking.
Chris <email>
Virginia Beach, VA USA 07/23/02
Vatican Museum
We visited the Vatican museum with a tour group, arriving at about 10:00 am on
a weekday in late June. While the sights were spectacular, I have never been
in such a crowded museum in my life. The crowds really detracted from the experience.
While we had no choice about the schedule of our tour, I would encourage anyone
contemplating a visit to be there before the museum opens in order to get in
quickly. Also, please note that the paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
are intended to be viewed from the back of the chapel, but you enter from the
front. Thus, everything is upside down unless you go to the back of the chapel
and work your way against the crowds in a forward direction.
Tim
DE USA 07/21/02
Hotel Leveque - Paris
I think the Hotel Leveque in the Rue Cler must be living on past glory! We stayed
there in May. The staff were at best oblivious to us, at worst rude. The rooms
are tiny. The towels were like sandpaper. In 8 weeks we spent travelling France,
Spain and Italy, this was the only hotel recommended by Rick which didn't meet
expectations. It was also the worst hotel of the entire trip and it wasn't the
cheapest either. We checked out some alternative in the St Germain area and found
much better quality for about the same price. The Rue Cler is great, but next
time we will visit by catching the Metro from St Germain!
Peter Spring <email>
Warrandyte, Vic Australia 07/21/02
Hotels / Accomodations
Hi, just back from Paris and SW France, with good memories and a few problems
at one hotel listed in the guidebooks. First, the Paris hotels. The Hotel Castex
was great - - clean, safe, simple, a good deal in a good neighborhood. At the
Grand Hotel Leveque, I reported money missing from my room. Before I left Paris,
I left a note with all the phone numbers / emails of the hotels where I would
be staying in France, and my home email / phone as well. No word after a week
and a half, so I contacted the Leveque and was told that guests are responsible
for belongs in their rooms. Other than that, Rue Cler was nice, and the Paris
Guidebook was a good mini-introduction to the museums. For anyone heading to
the Dordogne, the Manoir d'Aillac in Sarlat was wonderful. Very inexpensive,
a large and comfortable room, private bath (just across the hall, true, but only
by about three steps), and the town and countryside are lovely.
Adrienne Ross <email>
Seattle, WA USA 07/20/02
Paris - May 2002
My husband and I stayed at the Hotel La Serre on the rue Cler. The hotel is undergoing
renovations (the breakfast area was unusable during our stay), but looks like
it will be quite pretty when done. They were actively working on the suites on
the 3rd floor, but our room on the 4th was just fine. It faced away from the
rue and was nice and quiet at night. Friends of ours were in a market-facing
room, and had to keep their windows closed at night to avoid the street noises.
Hopefully the hotel will be ready for an inspection from Rick & Steve soon (until
then, avoid the shared rooms on the 2nd floor - the shower & toilet room is kind
of scary).
The restaurant "7eme Sud" listed in Rick's book is not vegetarian, but does feature whatever is fresh from the market that day. The owner and his staff are very friendly, and the food is very, very good. They do have veg. dishes, which we thought were great (I'm a veggie, my husband is a sworn carnivore).
The highlight of our trip to Paris was actually a day-trip out to Chartres. We had planned to take in the stained glass "tour", but had not counted on them being cancelled that day (a Saturday) for Confirmations in the morning, and a Wedding that afternoon. We were there when the wedding party arrived. The organ began playing, the huge doors opened filling the cathedral with brilliant sunshine, then the beautiful bride and her adorable little attendants walked in. Just when we thought the experience couldn't get any more magical, the soloist started to sing. The walk around the town is also a great way to spend a sunny day. My favorite photos of our trip have been from our walk along the river and through the twisty streets.
We can't praise the advice about getting the museum passes enough! We waited for rainy days to see the museums, and ended up at the Musee D'Orsay on a Sunday, with the rest of the city. The line ended at the exit doors of the RER station. We strolled right past all the soggy tourists and were shown through the front door in an instant. Boy, was it crowded in there. You might want to avoid going there on a Sunday (unless all you care about is getting out of the rain).
Our trip would have been perfect had we not been swarmed by gypsy kids
in the metro on our arrival into Paris. They got between my husband and
I as we were getting into a metro car, separating us (me in the car,
my husband still on the platform). Fortunately, they were not able to
lift anything from us but my sense of security, which really didn't return
until we landed back in Seattle. I also broke my camera as the metro
car doors closed on me while I was struggling to get away. Truly, wear
your money belt, be aware of who is around you, especially in the metro,
and if you see a gang of gypsies - even though they are "only kids" -
walk the other way. Quickly. Happy and safe trails to all of you, and
thanks, Rick, for the great advice! If any of you get the chance, head
up (down? over?) to Edmonds to see the slide shows the ETBD group puts
together. They are really fun and worthwhile. Cheers!
G&TP
Seattle, WA USA 07/08/02
I first learned of this tour from the Graffiti Wall and want to add
my kudos. A friend and I planned an extra day in Paris so we could tour
the beautiful Loire Valley and see the chateaus. For 43 euros, Pascal met
our train from Paris in Tours and wisked us off in the air conditioned
van.This is a great full day tour with Pascal a great guide who adds humor
along with the history of the people and places visited. Get more information
at the website: www.accodispo-tours.com.
Martha Green
Yuba City, CA USA 07/08/02
Casa di Sergio
I just wanted to post a short defense of our favorite restaurant in Paris - Sergio's.
We just returned from a 20-day trip to Europe, and the dinner we had at Sergio's
was the highlight of the trip. Like Rick said in his book, we trusted Sergio
and were completely delighted with the results. We got the set menu, which included
an antipasto course, a pasta course and desserts. For four of us, there were
numerous plates of antipasto, three types of pasta and three types of dessert.
The plates kept coming, and everything was fabulous. We talked about this meal
the rest of our trip and compared all dinners to Sergio's. Sergio himself is
also really charming. His restaurant was very busy the night we were there, and
he still took the time to tell us about living in Naples and explain each dish
to us. He truly created a wonderful memory for our entire family.
Mindy Baxter <email>
Dallas, TX USA 07/01/02
Paris
We have just returned from our first trip to Paris. We would not have enjoyed
out trip as much without the Paris guide. We were surprised at how many
tourists we saw reading Rick Steves' Paris guide book. Usually it was the
woman reading to the man, pointing to a particular item being described,
and the man standing and nodding! The guidebook added so much to our self-tours.
In particular the tour of Chartes is made all the better by the details
found in the book. So too, the tour of Versailles and the Louvre. Following
the Historic Walk we got a bit turned around in places, but always managed
to catch up with our "tour guide". Besides being informative, the guide
is also humorous. My husband and I still sing "Louie, Louie" whenever we
look at our pictures from Versailles. We were pleasantly surprised with
the Invalides Tour and the WWII musuem. We spent a much longer time there
than we had anticipated. The only other book we brought with us included
detailed maps of the city and the metro stations. It would be great if better
maps could be added to the guidebook. When traveling to Europe, we will
always travel with Rick Steves!
Sheila Garner <email>
Castro Valley, CA USA 06/29/02
Montmartre
I will never travel again without Rick Steves in my pocket! The Paris 2002
enhanced greatly my Paris experience. Although I have been to Paris before,
going with the guide was like going for the first time! One disappointment
though, You cannot express enough just how touristy the Montmartre area
is. It's almost like going to Disneyland. There is no sense of history at
all. Almost every business there caters the tourist trade. The guide recommends
dining at the Auberge de la Bonne Franquette for "classic Montmartre ambience
and good French Onion Soup". The classic ambience means "Tourist". This
restaurant caters mainly to large bus groups and is not the place to go
for any sort of classic ambience. The onion soup was watery, I'd had much
better in every other restaurant where I ordered it. Avoid this place. Otherwise,
thank you Rick Steves for a great holiday in Paris!
Kyle <email>
Los Angeles, CA USA 06/26/02
More Tips
Great book! My friend and I enjoyed many of the top places you recommended
and saved a lot of time with your tips. I have a few suggestions for your
book. Please put more emphasis on the pickpocket problem. Sure, your book
touches on it, but it should explain more. I had two girls (probably Romanians/Gypsies)
about 14 years old try to pick my fanny pack. They would have got away with
it had my friend not caught on to their game. These girls were nicely dressed
and looked quite innocent. Your book should mention the tactics used in
more detail, note that everyone is a suspect, and give additional tips (like
avoid being near subway doors so that the pickpocket can't get a quick exit).
With such an explanation, people (like myself) will wake up and get a money
belt or find some other secure way to hold our money. Note, a fanny pack
isn't bad if it has a back zipper against the stomach, but the other pouches
are exposed.
As for luggage, pack light. I made the big mistake of bringing a big suitcase thinking I would need the extra room for gifts on the way back. The problem is that Paris is not handicap friendly, so there are not many ramps or elevators at the metro/train stations. And my big suitcase wouldn't fit through the turnstiles so I had to lift it above my head to get through. It would have been better had I brought two small suitcases or just one mid-sized suitcase. Of course, bring some good walking shoes and get in walking/stair climbing shape before your trip.
And finally, there are hardly any public water fountains in Paris! Some
Parisians get water from the sinks in the bathrooms.. Ewww... So take
Rick's advice and get bottled water from somewhere cheap and bring it
with you.
David <email>
Chandler, AZ USA 06/26/02
Rick Steves' Paris
I bought several guidebooks (and checked out ones at the library) before
I took my first trip to Paris last October. Rick's was the only one I took
with me (except for copying a few pages from others). His tips are invaluable,
and I especially like his museum tours. When I went to the Carnavalet (which
isn't even huge!) I didn't have Rick's book, and was frustrated with the
place immediately. I left and came back the next day with the book.
I went to Paris again this May, of course with Rick's book in hand. I
didn't stay at his recommended hotels, as I like to be in St. Germain
area, or Montparnasse (especially near Luxembourg Gardens)- but may try
Rue Cler hotel next time, for a change. I've decided I wouldn't go anywhere
in Europe without Rick's books, except London, which I know very well.
I lived in Italy for a year (many years ago) - but now I wouldn't go without
a copy of Rick's book!
Mary
Atlanta, GA USA 06/25/02
Paris
What an incredible time we had. We used "The Book" to see so much of Paris
beyond what other people get a chance to do. The "walks" allowed us to see
things that most people never see. Le Tastevin was an awesome place...on
the Ile St. Louis. Got to see everything we wanted in the Louvre and the
Orsay. We stayed at the Acacias Saint Germain......right down the street
from the Montparnasse Tower. Centrally located and easy to get around. Nothing
negative to say at all.
Mark A. Hinkle <email>
Visalia, CA United States 06/22/02
Back to Paris (Part 9 and counting...)
I can't imagine staying anywhere in Paris other than the Marais; I usually
select the friendly and convenient Hotel Castex; last year, however, the
staff mentioned they might be renovating during the time of my next visit.
(It turns out they've decided not to at this time.) I booked a room at the
Grand Hotel Jeanne d'Arc instead. It's also centrally located -- a quick
walk west of the place des Vosges -- and inexpensive. My first three nights
were in a dinky streetside room (#41) with the tiniest bathroom I've ever
encountered. The shower is a comedy of errors, as the uneven floor inevitably
leads to flooding if you don't hold the shower nozzle just-so.
My final three nights were in the much roomier #55, in back, which had
modern bathroom facilities. (No funky acrobatics necessary to use the
toilet paper dispenser.) I opted to have hotel breakfast a couple of mornings
-- the cozy breakfast room is a nice place to get geared up for the day
over juice, hot chocolate, bread and a croissant. As another post indicated,
the handy RER train into the city has been compromised by the (hopefully
temporary) need to take the overcrowded cattle car known as the #5 bus
to the RER station. The SNCF at Terminal 2 is still quite handy for purchasing
all your rail tickets and TGV reservations if you aren't traveling with
a rail pass. If you opt to take the pleasant "Amelie" walk around Montmartre,
try to wait for a sunny day -- it'll make a big difference. Paris was
cloudy and gray when I hiked through Montmartre, and a bit of the spark
of the place is absent under dismal skies.
Tom <email>
Los Angeles, CA USA 06/17/02
Paris RER trains from airport to city
Used Paris 2002 Guide for recent 8 day trip to Paris. Rick's instructions
were so helpful. Update to book --If you fly into CDG airport - use the
#5 Bus(free) to get to RER trains to Paris. Rick's instructions aren't current
on which bus to take. This is due to "act of vandalism" all RER trains to
Paris leave from Terminal 9 which is serviced by Bus #5. If we'd known this
it would have saved us about 90 minutes. Did day trip to Chartes -- enjoyed
Rick's guided tour of cathedral. We couldn't have done it without Rick's
"tips". Rue Cler street is wonderful.
Pam Ames <email>
San Diego, CA USA 06/13/02
Wonderful trip to Paris
For the second year in a row, we planned a trip to Paris with the help of
Rick's book. We stayed at the Hotel Muguet (as we had last year) and again
loved the place, the area, and the convenience of its location. We spent
a lot of our time just walking all around the Seventh and sitting in parks,
people watching and enjoying the weather.
I would sort of second the comment below about Sergio's. The food was good, but he did seem disappointed when we didn't choose the menu of the day. Plus, the only people in the place were our fellow American tourists. For a fast, inexpensive lunch, I would recommend the Chinese buffet restaurant near the Hotel Leveque -- really quite good.
Definitely, definitely read Rick's recommendations about Versailles closely. We arrived (on a Tuesday) right after 9 am. We went and purchased our tickets for a 10 am guided tour, then headed to the State Apartments -- we literally were the only people in the Hall of Mirrors! After our guided tour was over, the place was packed. But, by then, we were ready to head out to the gardens. The museum pass really seems to save here -- there are separate charges for the Petit and Grand Trianons, as well as a new exhibit about the French Congress (mildly interesting, perhaps more so if you read French). It was easy to show our passes, however. There is a small charge to access the gardens -- I think 3 Euros. Also, pay attention to the RER return schedule. It seemed as though they did not depart as frequently from Versailles as from Paris, so that we ended up sitting in the Versailles station for a little while, waiting. We could have spent a few more minutes in the beautiful gardens instead.
One additional comment: the directions in the "Montmartre Walk" are a
bit confusing -- especially the part that takes you past Renoir's home.
My husband and I spent a few minutes searching for the "small walkway
at the curve," and then weren't sure we were in the right place. I would
suggest re-wording that a bit, as I wouldn't characterize that part of
the street as a "small walkway." The area was a lot of fun, however, and
your walk gave us a nice overview of it.
Beth <email>
Columbia, SC USA 06/10/02
Sergio's Restaurant
On Rick's advice we went to Sergio's restaurant on Rue de l'Exposition,
if you like take charge kind of hosts, Sergio is your man, otherwise beware.
We asked for a carafe of tap water (which he is legally required to provide)
and he refused, saying the water in Paris is "Not good" and sold us 2 bottles
of minerasl water. When we didn't want the 26 Euro menu (we weren't all
that hungry and in a hurry) the service became noticeably cooler, although
the food was good.
Mary and Terry <email>
Portland, OR USA 06/09/02
Weekly Metro pass (hebdomaire)
The Paris 2002 Guidebook states that the weekly Metro pass is no longer
available to visitors, only to Paris residents. However we had no problem
buying 3 passes on our recent visit (end of May 2002). It's a great bargain
for heavy Metro users like ourselves.
Jim Monde <email>
Branford, CT USA 06/05/02
To be gallant or not to be
Your Paris 2002 Guide Book advised us to be "gallant" to yield seats to
ladies and old people on the metro. I'd never seen this happened in my 20+
metro trips in Paris.
Daniel F. Ong <email>
San Jose, CA USA 06/05/02
Vick or Vero Train to Versailles
Your Paris 2002 Guide Book advises us to take only the "Vick" train to Versailles.
Thu., May 30, I was waiting for at least 1/2 hr. at the train station for
this train, only to discover that the "Vero" train also runs to Versailles.
Somehow that morning, the Vick train never showed up!
Daniel F. Ong <email>
San Jose, CA USA 06/05/02
Paris
We took the Eurostar over from London. Arrived in Paris about 9:30PM. Rick
had recommended strongly that we leave Gare du Nord as quickly as possible
due to pickpockets etc. We tried to. I had obtained some Euros in London
in order to buy a Metro ticket only to find that the ticket machines only
took coins and all I had were bills. I couldn't get my credit card to work
and all of the ticket booths were closed. We wandered around the station
until I found one booth back in the corner that was open, got some change
and we were on our way. It was not a good omen. The first day trying to
obtain a museum pass was difficult to say the least. We couldn't find a
Metro stop that had a three day pass only one or five. We finally found
a couple and then went to the Orsay first. The book had said we didn't have
to wait in line but we felt really weird walking past literally blocks of
people to jump the line but it worked! You must get a pass in Paris, it
is the single biggest lifesaver there was. One other tip. If you are going
to see Saint-Chappelle, there are two security lines going into the Palace
of Justice. One is marked for the church and has a terrible line and the
other is marked for the courts and has a very small line. Get in the short
line. All you are waiting for is a security check to get into the courtyard.
Both lines go to the same place and then you can go to either the church
or the courts. We probably saved at least an hour by doing that.
Steve Cox <email>
Tacoma, WA USA 06/04/02
Museum of National Antiquites
The Museum of National Antiquities, located in the Chateau of St-Germain-en-Laye,
is not mentioned in your book but is a wonderful visit for any history buff.
Located on the Seine, west of the City and a short distance past Napoleon's
chateau at Malmaison, it has a grand view of Paris and a beautiful park.
From the stone age to the 8th century with thousands of priceless artifacts
and exhibits. Give it a try if you have time.
Gene Mauberret <email>
Metairie, LA USA 06/04/02
The Hotel Central. Paris
The Hotel Central in Paris is the worst place I have ever stayed. I think
that is has been included in the book because of it's great location and
the fact that the rooms have their own showers at a price that would normally
seem like a bargain. It's was clear to my wife and I that nobody from the
Rick Steves organization has ever given it more than a cursory looking over.
I suggest the authors attempt a night's stay and then see if they still
recommend it. First: it's dirty. They have a dark stain and dirt hiding
carpet, but the grime still shows up. Second: Mildew, mildew, mildew. Besides
the grime the stench of mildew is opressive. It's not a problem with the
window open but the cafe scene in front of the hotel is noisy into the wee
hours of the morning so you have to close the window to avoid the noise.
Third: Hell beds. I have slept on some saggy beds before but this one took
the cake. Saggy and lumpy. Not just lumpy but painfully lumpy. Generally
I choose to stay at the cheaper recommendations in the Rick Steves guides
and while some haven't been great they've never been just plain awful until
now. It was so bad that we left for the airport the night before our flight
and slept in the terminal.
Kerry Hogan <email>
Los Angeles, CA USA 06/03/02
Paris
My wife and I just returned from 10 days in Paris. Used Rick's guidebook
every chance. A lifesaver!!! 1. Check out the 4 department stores he recommends.
They truly are fabulous. The epicure gourmet floor in Bon Marche is unbelievable
-- it's actually on street level now, guidebook said basement. 2.A 1/2 day
trip to Giverny is well worth time. Use one of the excursion comps -- ParisVision,etc.
Sure simplifies it. 3. We became very adept at picnicing in the city parks
-- the little gourmet grocers + bakeries for a French pastry was always
delightful. 4. Again, beware of pickpockets -- the're very slick. Felt something
in my left hip pocket in metro station, thought it was my wife goosing me
only to realize I was almost a victim. I kept everything in money belt or
front breast buttoned/zippered pockets. Bon Voyage!! Dick and Jan, SC
Dick McCoy
Rock Hill, SC USA 06/03/02
Paris
Paris, of course, is wonderful. The people could not have been nicer. All
you need to do is watch how the French behave and try to imitate them. Be
very polite and everyone will be wonderful. A few Bonjours, mercis and s'il
vous plaits will get you everywhere. Besides it's fun trying to order in
French and hoping you get what you think you ordered. The Hotel Muguet was
terrific. The staff was nice and very helpful. The location is convenient
to Rue Cler and the Eiffel Tower. It is only about 2 blocks from the Tour
de Marbourg Metro stop. We went to a great restuarant called La Toulouse
in the Rue Cler area. Rick's Marais and Montmarte walking tours were very
helpful. Watch out for the Gypsy kids in the Metro in the Pigalle area.
They are fast and slick. Hold on to your wallets and purses. The museum
pass allowed us to go the head of the line at the Musee d'Orsay. The line
was around the block and it was raining. The waether was raining and cold
the whole time we were in Paris in early May but that's what umbrellas are
for. Try to go to Versailles on Sunday. It is crowded but the fountains
and music are wonderful.
Sharon Cruz <email>
Fort Lauderdale, FL USA 06/03/02
Paris
Arrived in Paris on May 1st knowing it was a holiday. Some tips for arriving
at cdg.When you pick up your bags you must go to gate 2 to exit. If you
are 2 or more people take a taxi (40 euro) to your hotel. Itis much faster
and only slightly more expensive than the shuttles or RER. You don't get
an unwanted tour of everyone's hotel or have to haul your bags on the
metro. Since our general rule is to never stay in the same hotel or area
we use www.viamichelin.com to get a list of hotels and restaurents in
our area of interest. On this trip we chose the SEVRES AZUR on 22 rue
de l'abbe-gregorie(MO sevres-babylone or st placide) because of location
and price(76 euros per night). This is a 2 star hotel with small clean
rooms (no AC) run by adults (see amsterdam) that speak english and provide
excellent service.
As always our first task upon arriving in Paris is to get a carnet and our museum pass. If we are leaving Paris by train we reserve tickets online (sncf.com).On this trip we were going to Bruge on Saturday so we reserved tickets because the Paris/Brussels trains are used for day trips between the cities on weekends. Although the Brussels trains leave from Gare du Nord you can pick up your tickets at any station. Since Gare Montparnasse was near us we went there and showed a copy of our online reservation and credit card and picked up our tickets. We also purchased our museum pass at the info window.
The next day we went to the Louvre to see the special Egyptian exhibit. As always we used the Palais Royal/Musee du Louvre metro entrance(pg. 91). To our surprise there was a hugh line waiting to get in. We assumed and rightly so that this was the nonpass line for bag x-ray. We walked pass a few hundred people to the front of the line and there (as we remembered) was the pass entrance with nobody in line. We flashed our passes and walked right in. At that point I turned to my wife and told her that if Rick were here right now I would kiss him.
Do Versailles according to the book.If you want a snack try the shop
to the right of Mcdonalds with your back to the station. For a great boat
tour on the Seine try the Vedettes de Pont Neuf. These are not the mass
production tourist bus fed Bateaux-Mouches. Access is from the center
of the Pont Neuf where you will see the signs and walk down the stairs
to the river. On the Montmartre walk try the Butte en Vigne restaurent
for good service and food.
George Scott <email>
Mn USA 05/20/02
Paris April
Just returned from 10 wonderful days in France on 4/30. Found the French
to be very friendly, especially outside of Paris. Upon arrival, took the
RER into Paris and two Metro connections to the Rue Cler. Be sure to pack
light or spring $15 per person for the shuttle, as hauling our bags up
and down the stairs was not fun after a long flight. Stayed at the Hotel
Muget in the Rue Cler area. Very friendly staff, spotless rooms but a
little on the small side. Rooms overlook a large courtyard with rather
loud songbirds in the AM - bring earplugs.
Be sure to try the wonderful Rue Cler restaurants NOT listed in Rick's book. Many of the restaurants not mentioned by Rick were packed with locals had a wonderful atmosphere. Rick's recs like the Champ Du Mars were empty except for a few Americans with Rick's book. Rue Cler location near the Eiffel Tower and Invalides was wonderful and not too hectic. Be sure to take a stroll over to the tower at night after dinner.
Be sure to see the WW II exhibit at the Invalides museum. Gives an interesting history of WW II (from the French point of view) with great multi-media and relics on display. In the end, found the Museum pass to be a break-even proposition. Most of the sights had no lines in April. Tower of Notre Dame had a huge line, but a sign stated no Museum Pass express entry for security purposes. In my humble opinion only sights on the pass that are a must see - Notre Dame Towers, Invalides, D'Orsay, Louvre and Arc D'Triumph. Others Pass sights such as Catacombs, Rodin and Picasso would not have been worth an entry fee. Louvre is by far the most amazing museum in the world. Allow at least a ½ day or go early evening on the night is it open till 9:30 PM.
The best sight in Paris is just walking the streets and watching the many faces. Paris is a wonderful walking city - just be sure to bring some snacks. We were wiped out at the end of every day. Didn't even need to take the Metro during the day. Batobus is a nice outdoor alternative to the Metro with stops at every major sight along the Seine. Only problem is the long wait between each boat.
We felt four full days in Paris was plenty of time to see the major sights.
Highlight include - Eiffel Tower views, strolling the Champ Eleyses, Falafal
in the Jewish Quarter and an evening at the Lourve with no crowds!!!!
Picked up rental car through Auto Europe before heading to Normandy (see
separate post under France). Do not try to drive in Paris proper - a real
pain. Returned again to Paris the night before our departure. Stayed at
the Grand Hotel Ecoles. Nice, clean rooms and a more lively area than
the Rue Cler. It is fun to stay in a few areas to get a real feel for
the city. Be glad to answer any questions. Happy Travels!!!!!!!!!
Brian <email>
Chicago, IL USA 05/17/02
Paris and an update
Update info: The entrance for Palais de Justice has moved. It is now before
the oldest clock. It is marked, but we were informed by a nice police
officer that we were trying to enter at the old entrance.
We stayed at the Hotel Leveque. The hotel and people were great! The most common question people continue ask us about our trip is, "So, were the people rude?" to which my husband and I both reply, "The rudest people we saw there were the Americans. The French are great. We tried to speak the language (please, thank you, you know the basic stuff) we tried to follow the customs, and had the time of our lives."
We ate in several of Rick's recommended restaurants, I have to admit the eating was my favorite part of the trip. I got to the point where I really didn't care what they brought me, it was all good!
We took the RER to the Amboise and stayed at Le Petit Clos. Madame Roullet spoke way more English than we spoke French. Enough to show us the bread oven she and her husband built. She even showed us how she bakes bread in the brick oven, how to tell if it is hot enough (without a thermometer). Her father was a bread maker. She and her husband also built the three rooms that they use for their B&B business. She has one daughter that is going to study nursing in Tour. She also had a new puppy named Sophie. She also told us she likes to drive fast!
We made friends with the ladies who run the "Caves" at Chateau d'Amboise though they spoke less English than we did French we had several laughs (they laughed at how my husband recognized the French word for wine, repeated it and smiled!) We had a snack there and shared pictures from Boise, Idaho. We rented a car from Garage Jourdain. I am pretty sure the girls who rented us the car were taking wages on whether we would return the car in one piece or not! :) Once again we managed just fine without any of us speaking a common language. They were very nice, helpful and understanding! We even managed to talk one of them into driving us back to town. Not too bad for a couple of Yankees who don't speak French!
We visited Cheverny, Chenonceaux, and Chambord. We drove all over, and
saw a lot of cool little villages (once we figured out what the road signs
meant, and how to get the car in reverse). Rick's book helped us understand
how things work in France, and we had the time of our lives. We are already
starting to plan a return trip.
Janie <email>
Boise, ID USA 05/15/02
Paris 2002
Spent Easter in Paris and stayed at the wonderful Hotelde l'Esperance. Your
write up on this hotel was "right on". It should be three stars. It is a
very short walk to the Rue Mouffetard which is an experience in it self.
Your guide books made the trip easy as we used your maps in Paris and our
day trip to Beaune.
Judith Westerhaus <email>
Destrehan, LA USA 05/14/02
City of Light
In every other tour brochure or guidebook on Paris, it is referred to as
the "City of Light". However, in yours it is the "City of Lights". Please
clarify
Barbara H. Tyson <email>
Sunnyvale, CA USA 05/13/02
Paris Museum Pass
I was in Paris in late March, bought the museum pass as usual and went to
the "head of the line" in every museum we went to. It was especially nice
since the line to the Orsay was wrapped around the block. I walked right
past everyone (getting numerous stares!!) and waltzed in without any problem.
CR
Atlanta, GA USA 05/13/02
Museum Pass, Paris
We were in Paris for a week in April. Steve's guide met our needs perfectly.
Unfortunately, the Museum pass did not allow us to go to the head of any
line due to the enhanced security search. We did get a break at the Louvre
side entrance. I would have bought the pass in any case because of ease
of use and money saved.
Jane <email>
Santa Fe, NM USA 05/11/02
Paris - Flea Market
I hope this will help anybody interested in going to the biggest flea
market in Paris- Via the metro the Purple/#4 line will take you all the
way up to the Porte de Clingnancourt stop that you need to go to. Once
you get above ground you will see a lot of people and vendors milling
about. Just so you know what to expect there are a lot of people from
all around the world. You can feel a little overwhelmed when you first
come up and start heading toward the actual flea market. What I mean is
the first stands you see are those that are selling t-shirts, shoes, clothes,
touristy items. The actual flea market is very peaceful and quiet with
dozens and dozens of wonderful shops and stalls selling vintage and antique
items.
When you come up from the metro you want to turn right and walk down about 2 city blocks through all the vendors I have mentioned (just ask if you are unsure – Where is Rue des Rosiers which is the street that runs through the heart of the markets. There are actually about 13 markets. Marche Dauphine, Marche Vernaison, Marche Biron, Marche Michelet is the ones I visited. Most of the stalls sell or will give you a very handy map to the market. They make it easy because each aisle is numbered as well as each stall has an assigned number. It is well worth going but I do recommend that you go early and leave early. My step-mom and sister stayed at the market until about 3pm and they felt very uncomfortable walking back to the metro due to streets becoming even more crowded with people.
Tip: Don’t make eye contact with the street vendors and you will
not have a problem passing without being bothered by somebody trying to
get you to buy a necklace or trinket. I am hope I am not putting you off
but I just want to make sure you are prepared. There are websites on the
market (google search engine type in Marche du Puces) I hope this helps
out. Have a great time. A great inexpensive place to have lunch is Pizza
Napoli on the Rue des Rosiers.
Cheryl Keathley <email>
St. Louis , Mo USA 05/09/02
Versailles guided tour question
Clare, thanks so much for the posting about Versailles. Were you able to
choose between different themes for your guided tour? How large was the
crowd on it? Thanks for the additional information!
Beth <email>
Columbia, SC USA 05/08/02
Update on Versailles
In case I alarmed anyone in my earlier note, the fountains are running
as usual at Versailles on Sundays, and the Versailles website schedule
has been updated to reflect this. Readers should note that on Fountain
Show days, the cost of entry to the gardens is Euro 5.50.
Rick's advice to turn up early can't be taken too much to heart, at least on Sundays. We ate a picnic breakfast on the train, enabling us to arrive before 9 a.m. After buying our ticket to a guided tour (just follow Rick's directions, and yes, the tour was worth it) we made haste to stroll past just the highlights of the main State Apartments. By around 9:30 a.m on an April Sunday, there were only a dozen people or so in the Hall of Mirrors. After that, the Hall filled up rapidly, according to someone who was just 20 minutes behind us.
After our brief glimpse at the hall, we bought our ticket to the gardens,
before our 10 a.m tour began. This enabled us to make a beeline to the
gardens as soon as our tour ended at 11:30, since as Rick points out,
the fountains only run from 11 till 12, and won't begin again until 15:30.
Yes, they're worth seeing, they really add atmosphere. Also, we second
the enthusiastic endorsement of using bikes to see the grounds (in shoulder
season, 5 Euro per hour) since the place is immense, and the bike paths
lovely. Do hope others enjoy their time here as much as we did.
Clare
Nova Scotia, USA 05/08/02
French Tourist Office info / "Amélie" film location
A quick note about the French Government Tourist office here in Los Angeles
(located in the heart of Beverly Hills and mentioned in Rick's Paris book):
A well worn sign on the door says they no longer welcome visitors who drop
in due to "staffing situations." I guess everyone has budget problems. So,
if you're planning to stop by at last minute (as I was today) and pick up
any brochures or the Discovery Guide Rick mentions, you need to contact
them well in advance via the contacts in the guide to avoid the $4 charge.
(To clarify, the fee is for 5 to 10 day delivery of materials only - if
you can wait 4 to 6 weeks it is still no charge). Before I forget, I do
have a quick follow up to my touring Montmartre "Amélie" film locations
post: I was able to obtain the address of the Maison Collignon grocery /
produce stand seen in the movie (actually Chez Ali). It's at 56 Rue des
Trois Frères.
Al Lutz <email>
West Hollywood, CA USA 05/06/02
Gardens at Versailles
The note about a charge for the gardens at Versailles was correct. I was
there last week and though my museum pass got me into the palace, I had
to pay an extra 3 euros for the gardens. Also, since this was my second
visit, and my friends wanted to see it, we walked down to Le Hameau. Rick
says it's a 30 minute walk, but foolishly I didn't believe him. He's right!!!
It's a fun place but a long, long walk. Next time I'll take the little tram.
I think it was about 2 euros and would have saved quite a bit of wear on
my poor feet.
Sherry Neaves <email>
Arlington, TX USA 05/03/02
Adding "Amélie" film locations to walk?
I just got the 2002 Paris book, it by far has the most useful info of all
the guides I've purchased for my upcoming trip. I'd like to suggest the
addition of the locations for the film "Amélie" to the Montmartre walking
tour - as most of it was shot in the area. I've managed to locate the Tabac
des Deux Moulins (the Twin Windmills), the real cafe where she worked (at
the corner of Lepic and Cauchois streets behind the Moulin Rouge), and have
an approximate location of the the Maison Collignon grocery (actually Chez
Ali) it is within two blocks of the Pigalle, up on the hill. The manager
Ali Mdoughy will, (if you ask nicely) show you the photo album he put together
from the shoot with all the actors. He has preserved the green facade added
for the film, the sign and the layout. The steps featured in the film (with
the chalk arrows Nino follows) of course lead up to Sacre Couer. The carousel
shown in the movie sits at the bottom of the Montmartre funicular. Amélie
skims stones over Canal St. Martin - but this location is not in Montmartre.
The canal runs near the Métro République. When I return, I'll post an update
to this with any additional information I can find, if everyone is interested.
Al Lutz <email>
West Hollywood, CA USA 05/02/02
Paris
My husband & I were in Paris April 5-13 on an ETBD tour. We were very please
& satisified. Food was outstanding. Wine good. The French People were friendly.
Hotel & staff nice. William Altman, our tourguide, helped to make our visit
special. I hope to take my 24 yr. old son with me on my next ETBD visit
to Paris.
Jane Rotella <email>
Collegeville, PA USA 04/25/02
Bruges
Rick, you are correct, there is no way to change money at the Bruges station.
If you don't want to walk, the taxis will take you to your hotel for american
dollars. I think they charged us $10. Worth every penny.
Paul Warren <email>
Miami Beach, FL USA 04/21/02
Paris 2002
Just finished 5 days in Paris and our Paris 2002 book was vital with everything
priced in Euros. As usual the greatest problem comes from museums moving
their exhibits. All the warnings about pickpockets are true! One tried
my pocket while crossing the street after seeing the Louvre. He got nothing
because we took your advice and used your money belt and protected our
wallets. The Graffiti Wall advice to use the Nord tower at the Eiffel
saved us a lot of time.
Warning to all visitors bound for the Arc De Triomphe, the metro tunnel
to the pedestrian underpass to the Arc is blocked and finding the underpass
from above ground is almost impossible. Study the map on Page 67 of Paris
2002 and you will have no trouble. We were 3 adults and 1 child age 12.
Buying the 3-day museum pass for the adults was all we needed to save
some money and a lot of time. The pass is worth it just to bypass the
lines. Only the Arc De Triomphe required a ticket for children 12 and
under; even then we avoided the line thanks to the very helpful staff.
Best advice on travel is do your research to know current events in Paris.
We visited the Surrealist Exhibition at the Pompidou Center. It was great.
The free fashion show at Galaries Lafayette is worth the time. The internet
must have been invented by Al Gore for travelers. What a great resource.
Albert and Elizabeth
Clanton, AL USA 04/11/02
Paris Guide Book
1. The guide book of Paris is great! 2. If you are going to Versailles,
Rick says any RER C train named "Vick" will take you to Versailles Rive
Gauche. This is not true. Any "V" train -- marked on the front of the train,
or on signs on the platform -- goes to the Chateau. We were helped by a
local who told us the first letter "V" was the key. We boarded the "Velo" train. 3. The Contrescarpe neighborhood is not done justice. A great place
for people watching, varied and cheap eats.
Tim Carey
USA 04/07/02
Eiffel Tower
Spring visitors: a heads up about the Eiffel Tower: It's wearing diapers!
It's undergoing a paint job and is surrounded by scaffolding and has been
draped in tarps to catch the drips. The view is still pretty good from the
Trocadero or from the tower itself. As of 1 April spring has sprung in a
big way here and the trees have their leaves back and there are flowers
everywhere. I just love France in the springtime!
Lori <email>
Fontainebleau, France 04/03/02
Paris sights
The line to climb up the Notre Dame tower was very long. I recommend going
early if you want a shot at it. Make sure to walk along the Seine at night,
beautiful. The Marais and Latin Quarters have so much to offer we barely
got a taste of them. Crepes and Chocolats (hot chocolate) were two unexpected
treats. I recommend Moules and Frites (steamed mussels and french fries)
great fun-different from the typical American fast food at home. Notre Dame
is AWESOME. Everybody talks about St. Chapelle's rose window, however I
found the rose windows along with the awe-inspiring setting of the Notre
Dame to be wonderful.
C Keathley <email>
St. Louis, mo USA 03/26/02
Paris tips
Note that there are many pickpockets in the metros. My father, who is street
smart, lucked out. We were getting on a crowded car (4 of us), 3 of us got
in, but the doors began to close on my father. There was a young guy that
put out his hand to help him in the car while I am trying to get the doors
open, just then my father feels another guy's hand in his back pocket whips
around and shoves the guy away from him- the doors close and we are looking
at my father on the other side. Luckily we had all discussed our next metro
stop so we waited on that platform and he showed up on the next train.
I visited the Musee Jacquemart-Andre and loved it. It is located on Blvd Haussman (metro:miromesnil) It will only take you 1 hour or less to see this wonderful mansion with all its artwork and salons. 8 Euro to get in and includes english audio. We attended a Vivaldi 4 seasons concert at St. Chapelle on Sunday evening 9pm (about $25 each) When you visit the church there is a ticket office advertising many different concerts and various times through out the week. The acoustics and the setting made for a great experience. Ile de Cite and Ile St Louis is a great place to while away a day. Try to get to the Square Du Vert-Galant - this is the very small tip of the island-there are fantastic views. The best view of the Notre Dame is from the rear of the church from the square or the bridge- great views of the flying buttresses. We ate at L'enoteca, a very nice Italian restaurant in the Marais area near the St. Paul metro stop. The food was some of the very best we had in Paris.
If you are travelling with a small group of people here's a great tip: We took 4 Walkie Talkies with us ($19.99 for 2 at Wal-mart)- this allowed us to stroll around at our own individual pace and still be able to communicate for connection times and locations. Four adults can have very different styles of sightseeing.
Cafe le Dome on Rue St.Dominique near the Tour Eiffel has a funny waiter
but I do not recommend any meat dishes- very very bad. If you want to
get some great insight into the French frame of mind read Savoir Flair
by Polly Platt and Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik.
C Keathley <email>
Clayton , MO USA 03/26/02
Paris for the 1st time
Just back from 6 nights in Paris. My first trip to France and I loved it.
Our museum pass was invaluable. We got a 3 day pass and I wished we had
got a 5 day pass because we tried to go visit the Pompidou one day after
our 3 day had expired and the line was unbelievable- 6 across and 2 blocks
long. They were having everybody go through security checkpoint (big tip
buy the pass prior to your visit)when we got to the Pompidou and saw the
line we thought well we will just buy a one day pass and get around the
line- Ha Ha- the only place to buy one is at the Tourist Info booth on the
Champs Elysees.
We stayed at the Hotel du Champ de Mars. We paid 72 euro and had a nice, comfortable room with a view overlooking the street. The rooms are smallish but most rooms in Europe are. We were hardly ever in our hotel anyhow. Francoise is nice. She can seem a little bit aloof at times but if you try to strike up a conversation about her family or Paris in general she will brighten up. The hotel could not be situated better. Located on the corner of Rue Cler, two blocks from the Tour Eiffel and Ecole Militaire metro stop, one block from the post office and ATM. Start your morning perusing the wonderful markets, pastry, cheese, bread,butcher, flower, seafood and many many other wonderful shops right outside your hotel door.
Montmartre was delightful (Anvers metro leads you right to the Funicular)-
make sure to hunt out the Lapin Agile nightclub for a great photo op.
The streets leading away from Place du Tertre-those going away from Sacre
Coeur are charming and peaceful. The Paris flea market is something to
be experienced as well. Porte de Clignancourt is the metro stop. Warning:
The first stalls that you pass are not the true flea market. The acutual
flea market is much tamer and very quiet and enjoyable. There is a great
little Italian restaurant called Pizza Napoli on Rue du Rosier - the food
is quite good and fairly priced. I bought two very nice lithographs and
was able to bargain on the price and saved myself about 30 euro.
C Keathley <email>
St. Louis , mo USA 03/26/02
Seine flood
Deportation closed when I was there too, and seeing as how Seine was way
over it's banks (thought thankfully not in a life-threatening way or anything),
I'm pretty sure that's the reason.
John Hollinger <email>
USA 03/25/02
Altitude 95 in Eiffel Tower
Had lunch last week at the Altitude 95 restaurant in the Eiffel Tower. Food & service were excellent. Great view. But, reserve a window table before
you leave for Paris using the Internet. Just as nice as the more famous
Jules Verne and cheaper.
MHS <email>
Rockville, MD USA 03/24/02
My husband & I returned yesterday from a 2-week trip to France, using Rick's Paris & France books extensively. Overall, his books were very accurate & provided exellect lodging & food recommendations. We love you, Rick! But no book is perfect & here's a few things worth updating &/or adding:
--None of the recommended restaurants in the Rue Cler area were open on Sundays.
--The Deportation Memorial was closed & as best we could translate the sign, it was due to conditions of the River Seine. Might want to warn ppl of this possibility.
--The Paris Visit Metro pass may be pricey, but you're paying for convenience. Vacation time is precious, & we didn't want to spend a lot of at ticket booths. One pass was much easier & faster.
--Speaking of the Metro, it's really hard to judge how many tickets you'll need (we bought a carnet for the 2 days after our pass expired). At some Metro stops, you don't need to use your ticket to exit the station, & at some connections between Metro & RER (like Invalides, IIRC), you'll need to use your ticket twice. This can be confusing & wasn't mentioned in the book.
--Everything on the Rue Cler closes by 7pm. This is alluded to in Rick's book, but I think it should be more strongly worded. Hard to shop for dinner picnics if you don't know this ;-)
--Bateaux Mouches closes very early on Sundays (the book says 10pm daily).
Keep up the good work!
Trystan <email>
San Jose, CA USA 03/21/02
One other thing
Nobody knows what a PIN or KOSMOS card is. Go to the post office and ask
for a "carte telephonique"; we figured this out after making variuos "phone
from hotel" gestures to the postal worker and getting this card (it was
a pretty hilarious sight actually). Also, beware that it won't work at Hotel
Castex because of their rotary phones.
John Hollinger <email>
Decatur, GA, USA 03/13/02
Paris Tips
Just back from Amsterdam, Bruges and Paris. A few tips on Paris:
1) Gare du Nord arrival is more complicated than book shows. First, information
booth by track 18 ain't there. Second, you need to by Metro tickets at the
window and go THRU the RER station (don't worry, you don't lose a Metro
ticket, which we thought would happen) to get to your Metro train.
2) The RER train to CDG doesn't have a stop called "Roissy." There's two
stops - Charles de Gaulle 1 and Charles de Gaulle 2. Get out at Charles
de Gaulle 1 and catch the bus to your terminal. As soon as you go upstairs
from your train, there's computer monitors at the station that show which
terminal each flight is leaving from so you can get on the proper bus.
3) At the Eiffel Tower there's construction that makes it look like Pilier
Nord is the only one open. It's not. While everyone waits in line at Pilier
Nord keep walking past the construction area to Pilier Est, where you can
waltz right on to a waiting elevator.
4) Some of the impressionists in Orsay have been relegated to a cramped
back room, which diminished the experience a bit.
John Hollinger <email>
Decatur, GA, USA 03/13/02
Museum Fee Policies - correction
Sorry, I've just re-read the Intermusees web site, and Versailles is included;
it's the second last site listed before the listing for departmental numbers.
However, the charge for the gardens does seem to be correct
clare
nova scotia, ca 03/08/02
Possible changes to Museum fee policies
The official web site for the Cartes Musees (intermusees.com) no longer
lists Versailles as one of the included museums, unless I have misread the
site. Ste. Chapelle is included, however. Also, the official website for
Versailles, chateauversailles.fr has recently changed. It now stipulates
that the gardens cost 3 euro in addition to the entrance fee of 7 euro,
regardless of the day of the week. The schedule for the fountains also shows
no displays scheduled for either April or May, at present, although one
hopes this will change.
clare
nova scotia, ca 03/08/02
Some tips for Paris
Some tips from our one-week trip to Paris: 1. There is no real reason to
ride in a taxi in Paris unless money is no object. My wife and I used carnet
(the 10 pack of Metro tickets for 9.30E, a 40% savings) to ride around on
the Metro. We had no problem whatsoever....figuring out which lines to transfer
to was easy and Metro stops are always nearby.
2. We definitely recommend visiting Sainte-Chapelle, especially after visiting Notre Dame. While Notre Dame is awesome in size, architechture and beauty, Sainte-Chapelle's chapel was breathtaking and intimate.
3. Another must-see visit, Musee Jaquemart-Andre. From the street, you really can't tell that this huge historic mansion is just a few steps away. The art collection inside is incredible.
4. One of the best things we did was to take a day trip to the Loire Valley by the TGV train and then tour by van (total cost for two people: about 174E and well-worth it). See my post in the France Guidebook.
5. We tried to go on the Sewer Tour, but the metro Alma-Marceau is closed until March 15. Iena is the next-nearest stop, a good 25 minute walk away and was not worth it for us.
6. We highly recommend our hotel, the Roma Sacre Coeur, in the 18th district, 101 Rue Caulaincourt. The prices listed in the room were from 50-86E (high season). Helpful staff that speaks decent English, many cafes within two blocks walk, two small markets on the block, two ATM within 150 ft. of the hotel, and most importantly the Lamark-Caulaincourt Metro stop (and a post office) are around the corner from the hotel.
7. We booked our air and hotel package through francevacations.net and would do it again.
8. The major advantage of going in late Feb. like we did: virtually no
crowds at the major attractions. The weather was so-so, about 45-50 degrees
daily, and lightly sprinkling most days. 9. Finally, a tip for language:
buy a phrase book and use it. You will gain respect from those who you
try to talk to, even if you butcher the language. Too many fellow Americans
we saw in Paris seemed to be ignorant and apathetic towards actually trying
to dive into the culture.
Chris Bryant <email>
Southfield, MI USA 03/02/02
Paris
Your guide book on Paris 2002 was a valuable tool on our recent trip to
Paris. It was our first time to Europe and since we don't go for highly
organized trips, this book made it possible to enjoy Paris. The guide book
was also lent to coworkers who went to Paris after we did and they said
it was the best resource ever. Here are my comments:
1. The Euro is an incredibly easy currency and God Bless ATMs. Money was
no hassle at all.
2. I loved the Latin Quarter of Paris. The people were warm and friendly. I loved the bakeries, grocery stores, markets and cafes. It may not have been as it was before, but coming from Wyoming it was impressive. Also, the Hotel Sully St. Germain (31 Rue Ecoles) was great, a wonderful continental breakfast.
3. The highlight of our trip was a Seine Dinner- river cruise by Bateaux Parisiens. Expensive, but well worth it. The food, service, and entertainment was a perfect way to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. At the end of the cruise they had the boat spinning in a circle in front of the Eiffel Tower and the small Statue of Liberty, and played "New York, New York".
4. You were right, there wasn't any bad food in Paris.
Janice Bray <email>
Laramie, WY USA 02/27/02