Paris/France "must see's"?

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bisous *â™¥*

I just got back from a two-week school trip to france. we stayed with host families in Nancy (on the eastern side of the country in Lorraine) which was absolutely beautiful. Towns like Strasbourg, Kaysersburg, and Riquewier, along with tons of little mountain/valley villages are about an hour away from that area.

In Paris, one of the things that i loved the most was Versailles, the palace of the napoleons, the louis', and marie-antoinette. we had to make an appointment, but it was my favorite part of the entire trip.

notre dame was incredible too. take a good look at the architecture and the stained glass. they're beautiful. there is a carved relief in the center of all of the new-testament stories.
i loved it there. just watch out for the pickpockets. they're rampant.

the boat rides along the seine were also a great way to see all of the major sights of paris. the louvre, the musee d'orsay, notre dame, place de la concorde (where the guillotine used to be), the eiffel tower, and tons of beautiful bridges lined and passed over the river. there is also a narration in french, english, spanish, chinese, japanese, german (?) and russian for those who care to learn about paris.

the galleries de lafayette, for those who love the highest of high fashion, is just around the corner from the opera house. there were retailers like Chanel, Yves Saint-Laurent, Burberry, Cartier, and hundreds of others, but it was a ton of fun to walk through there. At Printemps, which is down the same street, there is a glass dome 7 stories up where you can get a bird's eye view of paris.

of course, there is no better view than from the eiffel tower. i think you have to pay to get to each level, but it's totally worth it. there is also an incredible ice cream shop next to one of the eastern or western legs (i think it's the east side).

the best sights are the ones that you discover yourself.
just beware--if a woman comes up to you and says in a desperate voice "hello, do you speak english?," just look at her with a confused look and say no after a brief pause.
she's from "bosnia," "is pregnant (with a bouncing baby pillow)" and wants your money. it happened to us 4 or 5 times in various locations. the eiffel tower was the worst, followed by the gardens of notre dame.

aside from all that, have a wonderful trip. I know that i will have wonderful memories for the rest of my life.

~Ruth

Sarah C

Sainte Chappelle has the most beautiful stained glass in the world. Go to the Monet museum. It's a little hard to find so not too many people go, but you can sit on the floor and look as long as you like.

At the bakery, ask for cla-fu-te--a cherry dessert. It's wonderful and this should be the season for it.

mareeclara

1. Eiffel tower..you just have to..might have better views at night.
2. Sacre Couer..again views..lots of steps!
3. Arc de Triomphe...again views..different to others, again quite a few steps.
4. the Louvre...is GINORMOUS and could easily spend a couple fo days there
5. Versialles....I did an organised tour ( half day)...I remember the place was near the Louvre actually on the park side....and found our tour guide was excellent and told us lots of info that made the place more alive.....there is not a huge amount of stuff inside as it was sacked in the revolution or something.
6. Notre Dame....wow! Has to be seen
7. Sainte Chapelle....has the most amazing stained glass. WOW
8. A boat trip along the Seine...good views, nice to relax
9. Alexander III Bridge is pretty neat
10. Pare Lechaise cemetary...lots of famous people are buried here like Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde ( the lipstick is all from men!), Chopin...you can buy a map outside the cemetary.
11..you can get a musuem pass which will get you into a whole host of museums ( including the Louvre which saves on time when going in)..if you like museums you can see a list...I'm not sure if the Musee d'Osey is one but its great and worth a look....I went to thePicasso museum which was quite interesting..even for a pleb like me!
12. Maybe Napoleons tomb at the infirmary or has a name like it ( I remember it was opposite the Rodin musuem...eg the Thinker, The kiss)
Thats all I really remember that hit the highlights.

Rillifane

The problem in Paris is not finding things to see but in figuring out how you will manage to pick and choose among the vast number of sights and shoehorn them into just two weeks. Paris has been a center of civilization since the days of the Roman Empire. That's a lot of history, culture, art and architecture to look at.

Being a "good tourist" requires a lot of preparation. After all, unless you're a millionaire, your vacation time is limited so every moment should be used to best effect.

I really suggest that you take the time to sit down with any competent guide book and very carefully look at all the possibilities. In the end its what interests YOU that will make some things "must see" sights and others that can be ignored or left for another day.

And while you're at it, read some of the books written by people about their experiences in Paris. there are a lot of these type of books too. Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast" is a great one but even a funny book like Art Buchwald's "I'll always have Paris" is worth reading.

There's also a lot to Paris that is beyond the tourist sights. Its the ambience and the attitude of Paris which need to be lived and felt.

You should spend some time just strolling around the city to appreciate its architecture and to get a feel for its medieval layout, the Belle Epoch improvements of Baron Hausman, and the modernizations seen in places like the Les Halles Forum and the new Opera in the Place Bastille.

You should take a little time to just sit in a cafe in the Latin Quarter or St. Germaine and people watch.

Enjoy some of the nightlife of Paris. Not the tourist ripoffs like the Moulin Rogue or the Lido but the vast number of fantastic music venues, from the jazz joints to discos.

Be a bit courageous when you eat. Go to places that don't cater to tourists and don't have English menus. Just point to things on the menu or, better still, walk into a cafe at lunchtime and ask for the daily special which you'll almost always see displayed on a chalk board. don't worry if you don't know what it is! Try it! The worst that will happen is that you'll have a hilarious story to tell about how you got served a calve's head with cream sauce or something else too weird for you to eat.

Keep your eyes and your mind open. Paris is a great place. Enjoy yourself.

Angela D

I can't tell you the name, but there is an AWESOME catacomb. VERY NICE... look it up on the web and go. Worth while. Take the time to climb to the tower of Notre Dame. There will be a line, but the views... YUMMY. Watch the Eiffel Tower light from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.... well worth it

L.Milazzo=)

definately the obvious ones like le Tour Eiffel, Notre Dame, Sacred Heart(standing on the steps where Gene Kelley Danced so many years ago), The Louvre, and of course The galleries de Lafayette (go even if you don't like the shopping...the archetcture is SPECTACULAR!!!) and definatly take a boat ide up the seine!! it's all perfect

Ana

go see johnny depp LOL he lives in france god he is hot LOL

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