I am going to france in a few days. any tips from someone who has already been there?

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sometimes

Try to blend in with the locals. Don't talk real loud, don't complain loud. Parisians tend to wear dark clothes, subtle colors. Dress up a little. No tattered jeans and tennis shoes. Try to learn a few French phrases, at least "please" (See voo play), "thank you" (mare see), "a coffee" (un ca fay). Don't be the typical American tourist (loud, aggressive, and complaining) and you should be okay. I've been there 5 times. Last time I was there, everybody thought I was French. People would stop and ask me directions and were shocked when they found out I was a tourist too. I love Paris. I'm going in November.

tee2

I went in May and your going to love it!

The Metro is going to your friend. It literally gets you everywhere and its near the majority of the attractions. It costs about 11 euros for 10 tickets which is pretty reasonable. Make sure you grab a brochure from the hotel, doesn't really matter which one. Most them have a map of the metro and a map of the city, highlighting the attractions. The metro map may seem complicated but really its not, you will get the hang of it pretty much right away. Some of the attractions are near each other so make sure you plan ahead so you can walk and save on tickets.

Buy a 2 or 4 day musuem pass, it includes not just musuems but other monuments like the Eiffle tower. Plus with the pass, you bypass the long lineups. You can buy it online or when you get there, just google museum pass for paris for more info.

The following attractions I highly recommend:

Musuee D'Orsay
Louvre
L'Orangerie
Sacre Couer
Seine Cruise at night
Eiffle Tower
Arc du Triumphe
Street of Champs Elysee (tons of shop and restaraunts.
Jurden du Tuilleries (huge park)

Go to www.frommers.com, it was such a help on travel tips and info on all attractions (nearest metro, cost, hours)

Have fun!

steverice99

How long will you be there? There are too many things to do to list here. Email and I can recommend a few things.

P. S. Paris is not overrated and I am curious to see where the previous poster thinks is a place that isn't.

Monika: You can't accept emails, so if you could email me a list ( my email is my name at yahoo.com ) I would appreciate it.

Victoria

To add to tee2's recommendations...Next to Sacre Coeur is Montmarte or rather Sacre Coeur is in Monmarte where Van Gough and all of the famous artists lived. There are amazing artists there and they sell their paintings and they are surprisingly very inexpensive for the quality of work. I'm still kicking myself for not buying something.

Akinom

I lived there for a year. The French aren't rude, they just have cultural differences like everyone else. They stay quiet and keep to themselves on buses and the metros, so try not to be loud because it's rude to them. They're actually very polite and hospitable if you respect them and their homes. The food isn't that great in my opinion (except I got hooked on "jambon et fromage" sandwiches) and of course getting around is tough unless you know French or are in Paris (which is dirty and overrated- but probably a must-see at least once in life.) As long as you try to speak their language, they will usually appreciate that. The countrysides are beautiful, as is most of the south, but some places there are just rocks instead of a beach you can actually lay out on, like in Marseille. But in Le Lavandou it is gorgeous!! Lyon is a great city, and no as touristy as Paris. It is only 2 hours away by train (the high speed one). You can buy train tickets at SNCF. Make sure they have the correct date and not just the right day of the week, but wrong week...that's happened to me and a bunch of people I know.

The thing I always do right when I get to a new city is go directly to the Tourist Information Office, usually it is located in or around the train station. If not, just ask someone. There you will find all the major highlights and brochures and you can choose for yourself what you want to visit, depending of course on what city you will go to. They have all the information about the city, including helpful maps, and you won't really find anything elsewhere that isn't there for you already.
-I won't assume you're just going to Paris, because I lived in Lyon and everyone assumed that I had moved to Paris for some reason. It's not the only city in France.

**And Steve, like I mentioned, Paris is probably a "must-see" for most people, which is cool because I've been there too... sure go there, because there is great art, the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, etc... and that's all fine and great.
But yeh, IN MY OPINION, compared to the other thousands of cities I've seen in the 45 countries I've been to, I'd say that city is definitely overrated considering the major hype about it. That doesn't mean it's not great, too.
If ya really want to know, email me and I'll give you my list of places you've probably never heard of that are 1,000 times more incredible. **

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