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One suggestion: don't even try to cross a street in the middle, what we would call jaywalking. You really must cross at the crosswalks. Drivers will not stop for you if you are not at a crosswalk.
I learned that the hard way (almost!). Close call...
One suggestion: don't even try to cross a street in the middle, what we would call jaywalking. You really must cross at the crosswalks. Drivers will not stop for you if you are not at a crosswalk.
I learned that the hard way (almost!). Close call...
Yeah, I've heard that Paris drivers are pretty fierce...lol. One thing's for sure, I won't be driving any while I'm there like my dad did when he went with my mom and another couple. My mother says she was never so scared in her life while he was trying to "keep up" with the Parisians around the Arc de Triomphe...lol.
1. Get the Paris museum pass. Absolutely worth it because it allows you to avoid the queues at most of the museums as you walk straight in. The pass comes in 2, 4 and 6 day versions. It's expensive but when you add up the separate admissions fees, it comes out to just about the same and of course, saves you time. Versailles is included in the pass as well as are all the main sights and museums save one or two.
2. Go to Chartres Cathedral. It can be combined with Versailles as an easy day trip. The town surrounding Chartres is lovely and a taste of ye olde France.
3. Since you want to cook your evening meals, a suggestion I wholeheartedly endorse especially if you enjoy cooking and there's nothing like winding down a day of sightseeing with a relaxing cooking and wine session in the comfort of your apartment, but do advance research on the best places to shop for groceries, patisseries, cheesemongers, butchers, boulangeries and upscale "delis" (not really delis, but gourmet shops that sell prepared food to go and at very competitive prices). Paris may be famous for baguettes, but baguettes from most boulangeries are ordinary and unremarkable, and the same is true for most local shops - not all patisseries are created equal and there's plenty of medocire food in Paris. By poking around the internet for lists of the "best of" you'll find highly recommended shops and it's well worth the effort. There are also very few large supermarkets in central Paris and the quality of local shops is often iffy - just like New York City. There's also street markets on certain days and some are better than others.
4. Last but not least, make sure the kitchen in the apartment is properly equipped! It isn't always the case. At our last rental flat, there was no colander or pot large enough to cook pasta.
5. Instead of taking a cookbook with you, print out pages of recipes you want to try, or download them onto your laptop/phone/IPad. The trick with cooking from recipes from a proper cookbook is that you just don't know what basic ingredients will be available in the apartment, if any, such as spices, flour and sugar. And buying all of them just to use once or twice adds up to a hefty sum. Have a clear plan of what you can feasibly cook with a limited range of ingredients and minimal spice, namely salt and pepper! Consider having several meals that can be "assembled" rather than cooked, such as buying slabs of pate, smoked salmon, cooked sausages, wedges of cheese, olives and a rough salad of tomatoes and lettuce.
If you are there on the first Sunday of the month, many of the museums, including the Rodin, Orangerie, and D'Orsay are free.
You might want to take a tour, like the Hop on Hop off buses, or a bike tour of the city the first day. It will give you an idea of the areas you want to head back to.
I would be afraid of biking in Paris, but I love the Metro, it can truely get you anywhere. You can get 20 trip for a discount, and I'd guess you'd easily use them up in a week.
When I was there for a month last September I liked the big lunches and then hitting the grocery store for pate, cheese, bread, and fairly inexpensive wine. There is a huge Mono Prix near the large department stores that has a ton of easy to reheat meals that is also a good option.
The first time I went to Paris I made the mistake of sticking to the right side of the city, near the big department stores. I wasn't smitten with Paris. Then I went back and stayed on the left bank. What a difference! Make sure you get to the left bank and the Ile de Cite. Walk along the Seine. Go to the Museums at the Trocadero, and have a picnic in the park looking at the Tour d' Eiffel. You'll fall in love.
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