Traveling to Paris in November 2010

[mellah]

Originally Posted by mullman

+1

I spent two weeks in Paris & southern Belgium last fall, and saw this happen twice to people.
Once at Sacré-Cour, and once at Notre-Dame - each time the gypsy group was relentless.
At first glance it will seem like the gypsy is alone, but spend some time on a park bench relaxing and you can see how it works.

What exactly is it they do? They approach you and say is this your ring and then what? If you say no, this is not my ring do they leave you alone? Don't want any Thinner-like spells cast on me!

[BlueWillowPlate]

Don't worry too much about it. They want to engage you and distract you. Just don't do eye contact. As FlightAttendant said, just ignore them and don't answer them if they say "Do you speak English?"

I've seen a few suspicious characters in Paris before, but saw nothing at all in May 2009, maybe that's because the only touristy place we went to was the Arc de Triomphe.

So sorry about your mother, mellah.
But I bet you will have a wonderful time, weather be damned. If it is nasty outside that would be a good excuse to have some hot chocolate ("chocolat chaud") at Café Angelina, 226 Rue de Rivoli, or at Jean-Paul Hévin,231 Rue Saint-Honoré, not far from the Louvre.

[chielgirl]

Originally Posted by MelanieGermany

Very good idea with the french course, the frenchs dont really like to talk english, cause they are proud of their language....

I think that France gets a bad rap because Paris is where most people go and it's a large city; it's really not much different from other large cities.

Might I suggest the double decker tour bus. It's a one price deal that overlaps at the Notre Dame. I have taken all 3 busses in one day because I'm cheap that way and got my bearings and where I wanted to check out.
Worth the money for orientation purposes.

mellah, so sorry about your mom.
Bring an umbrella! You'll be fine.

For as many times as I've been to the Louvre, I've seen the Mona Lisa once (from afar), it's not very big and the Spaniards are in the room to the left. Much more interesting.

[asimegusta]

Originally Posted by mellah

Thanks to all who responded, appreciate each and every recommendation. Seven days after I posted I lost my Mom suddenly. That's why I haven't responded before now. We will be leaving in two days, have done a lot of library, online and AAA research, expect the weather to be pretty bad but looking very much forward to a week in Paris -- weather be damned!

Try to visit the Sainte Chapelle. It is really a jewel. The stained glass is very special.
Take the Bateaux Mouche tour on the Seine at night to see the lights and for a unique point of view of the heart of the city.
Bon Voyage!

[Verseau]

If you still need some last minute ideas, check out this thread. I gave a lot of tips there.

I lived in Paris for a while, and some my favorite places to visit were:

-The Place des Vosges and the Marais district
-Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle
-The Catacombs
-The Parc des Buttes Chaumont (Paris' most beautiful park and best kept local secret)
-The Trocadero / Palais de Chaillot (to sit and look at the Eiffel Tower at night)
-The Jardin du Luxembourg
-Montmartre (my favorite street in Paris: La Place Dalida)
-Walking along the Seine at night
-Pretty much any of the museums, although the Louvre is always overwhelming

What exactly attracts you to Brussels? To be honest, it's neither the most beautiful nor the most interesting city to visit in my opinion... If you still have the opportunity to change your itinerary and still want to visit Belgium, I would highly suggest Bruges instead. It's in the Dutch part of Belgium, but everyone there speaks English and French too.

Another alternative would be Strasbourg in eastern France, which is definitely one of the most beautiful cities in France. It is less touristy than Bruges and has one of the most incredible cathedrals in Europe.

Versailles is pretty incredible but it is always ridiculously crowded. A quieter alternative is Fontainebleau, although it doesn't quite have the same historical significance...

[chielgirl]

Funny, I love Brussels.
Chocolates, a great town square, good museums.
The home of frites and great beer.
I love Brugges and Strasbourg.

Personally, I think Belgium is highly underestimated.
But that's just me.

Don't forget to check out grocery stores.

[Jaggy001]

Re: Gypsies .... the best way to deal with them is to make like they are invisible. Ignore them, no eye contact, no verbal contact. Just walk right past them.

Re: Paris ... don't forget to do the boat trip down the Seine. The boats leave from right by the Eiffel Tower. It is a great way to see the city and good value.

[mellah]

We are back and I have so much to tell you! More details to follow but there are a couple of things I have to say right now... first THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART to all who responded to my request with recommendations, warnings, suggestions and commentary on their own personal experiences and preferences. It was all entirely helpful and I will respond to selected posts later. Secondly, you probably won't be surprised that we were approached not once, not twice but THREE times with the 'Gypsy is this your ring scam'!! The last time we both bent down as the Gypsy girl bent down and held up our empty hands and said "is this your ring"... she burst out laughing just like we did!! It was hilarious and we were never approached again. More updates to follow...

[mellah]

A little challenging to upload images but I hope this effort is successful!