We LOVE Paris! We went on a trip to the beautiful city of Paris, France at the beginning of April, and had a grand time!
The Language Barrier
The first thing to consider before going is the language barrier. This is what scares people. We suggest learning a little French before going. Both of us had had a couple of years of French in high school, and that was the extent of it, but, with a little practice, we ended up doing quite well. Some people you meet may know some English, but don't count on it. Too many Americans have the misconception that the French are rude. Quite the contrary. We found them to be pleasant, helpful people that welcomed us most graciously to their country. We think the language barrier has alot to do with this. What we saw alot of our fellow American tourists doing would put anyone off. Someone who needed assistance would ask a French citizen "Do you speak English", in ENGLISH, not even trying to speak the language. What we did instead, was use as much French as we could, horrible as it probably sounded, only resorting to ask "parlez-vous Anglais" (in FRENCH) as a last resort. We got a great reception with this method-it shows you're really interested in ALL of their culture, trying your best to communicate in their language. You'll find that they'll meet you half way and speak English, and be quite friendly about it, too. Besides, if you immerse yourself, like we did, you'll find you've learned some more French by the time you go home.
Getting There
We took Air France. Not only was it the cheapest, but it was also the only airline with nonstop flights to Paris from Washington, DC. Their planes are very nice, new widebody Airbus jets with seatback video players for all passengers. The seats in Tempo (economy) class are a little narrow-definitely not as comfortable as Virgin was when we used them to go to London, but for the price, you can't complain too much.
How to get to your hotel
There are many ways to do it. We flew into Charles DeGaulle Airport (sometimes known as Roissy), which is about a 1/2 hour drive from the center of Paris. There are taxis, limos, and shuttle busses. If you're staying at Eurodisney (now known as Disneyland Paris), they have their own shuttle bus. Depending on where in the city you are staying, and how much luggage you have, you can take a shuttle bus, and then take the Paris subway system to your hotel. The airport shuttle bus, known as Roissybus (if you fly into Orly airport, there is a Orlybus) goes directly to L'Opera, in the 9e arrondissement, for 8 euros. The Roissybus stop at L'Opera is right next to a subway station. Our hotel was located 2 blocks from this bus stop, so we just walked there. Air France runs shuttles to a couple of different places in Paris as well. The Paris equivalent of commuter rail, known as RER, has a station in Terminal 2 of Roissy airport, which goes to downtown Paris and connects to the Metropolitain (subway system). Keep in mind, if you travel with lots of luggage (like us), this probably precludes you from using the RER, since they have a rule about how much baggage you can take on the train, and if you're connecting to the Metropolitain, they're even more strict.
HOTELS
We've mentioned in our London tips about European hotels. The thing to keep in mind is that their rating system is a little more forgiving than ours. In other words, what they'd call a 4 star hotel is more like a 2 1/2 or 3 star hotel as far as American expectations go. The first time you stay in a European hotel, you will be quite surprised at the size of the room. The typical European room is very much smaller than what you're used to at even the Motel 6 here in the States. There are many things which you must research carefully, if they're important to you. First, not all hotels will have bathrooms in your room-older and less expensive places may have a shared bathroom down the hall. Second, if it is summer, do you care about air conditioning? If so, make sure the hotel has it. Many hotels don't, and those that do, don't have it on all year. Europeans like it warmer than we do, so they tend to be stingy with the air conditioning. Third, Europe bed sizes are different, in fact, if you want a double bed, you'll find you have to push together the 2 twin beds that are in the room. Not a huge deal, but different if you don't know what to expect. Fourth, if you want a nice view, it'll cost you plenty. Most of Paris is made up of very small streets, practically alleys, where there isn't a view at all. Sure, there are swanky hotels with great views on the Champs-Elysees, and near the Tour Eiffel, and such, but if you're a tourist and spending most of your day out of the hotel, why pay a bundle just for a view? Best Western Hotel Astra Opera
29 Rue Caumartin, Paris, France, 75009
Phone #33 01 42 66 15 15
We stayed at this hotel. After much research, we decided on a Best Western hotel in the 9e arrondissement. This hotel was very clean, very quiet, and in a great location. It's 2 blocks from the subway and RER stations, within walking distance of the Louvre, L'Opera, the Champs-Elysees, and Boulevard Haussman, which is a good shopping district. The staff at the hotel is very friendly, and some speak English, too. The room itself was clean, and big enough to not feel claustrophobic in. The street the hotel is on is small, but quaint, so the view from the room is nice. There isn't really a balcony, but there are big French doors that open up to a little teeny place to step out on and get air and people watch. There is a full bathroom in every room. It's TINY, but at least you don't share it with others. One drawback was that their website and advertisements say there is air conditioning, but the air conditioning wasn't activated yet, it being April. We just left the French doors open at night, and it made the room pleasant enough to sleep in. When we take another trip to Paris, we would definitely stay at the Best Western Hotel Astra Opera again.
GETTING AROUND PARIS
Public transportation is the best way to get anywhere! The Metropolitain subway system combined with the commuter rail service (known as the RER) will get you anywhere you want to go. Be sure to get yourself a good map. Be very careful reading it-there are many, many different lines which makes planning ahead a must to avoid getting lost. The RER lines function as subway lines within Paris, but they are much more than that. RER trains go to lots of interesting places outside the city, such as Versailles and Disneyland Paris. Be sure to read the map very carefully before buying your ticket-the city and it's environs are divided up into zones, and you need to have the correct zone ticket when exiting the station of your destination. Versailles is in the 4th zone and Disneyland is in the 5th zone. (At opposite ends of the city, of course.) If you are planning on doing LOTS of subway travelling, your best bet is to buy a multi day pass which allows you unlimited use. The best one for tourists is called the Paris Visite pass. You can get it for the number of days you want, and the number of zones you want, as well. It also comes with a book of attraction discounts. Not only will it save you money, but it will save you time-you won't have to keep buying tickets every time you go into the Metropolitain. The passes are sold in all the Metropolitain stations. A WORD ABOUT TRANSIT STRIKES They're a normal part of la vie Parisienne. They don't happen often, but they do happen. Every once in awhile, the transit workers go on strike for a day. This really fouls up the public transportation system. Some Metropolitain and RER lines totally shut down. We experienced one of these strikes while we were there, and you can just forget about getting anywhere when it happens. This is another good reason to know some French. We sat in the station for a good hour, watching the platform fill up, and no trains coming, not paying too much attention to the announcements on the intercom (mostly because it sounded like the guy was talking with his hand over his mouth-it's very hard to understand another language when you hear it clearly, let alone when it's coming over a crummy intercom), until it dawned on us that they were saying there wouldn't be any trains. We had seen a message to this effect on a monitor on the way into the station, but it took awhile to put it all together. Duh. These strikes are usually for a day, which could foul up your plans if you're there on holiday. The best thing to do is to see which Metropolitain lines are reliably running, and see the attractions that are on those particular routes. That's what we ended up doing, which saved the day for us, after spending half of it trying to get somewhere that was impossible to get to.
Attractions in Paris
Arc De Triomphe
Cite Des Sciences et Industries
This was where we ended up on the day of the transit strike. Think of the science museum in your town, and then make it giant sized. There are lots of scientific exhibits, a planetarium, and scientific shows. There are lots of interactive exhibits-it's a good place to take the kids. Being as nuts about the Titanic as we are, this was actually a lucky break. We had seen earlier in the week that there was a big exhibit of Titanic artifacts here, and so we decided to check it out, since our other plans fell through due to the transit strike. We don't plan it this way, but Titanic exhibits seem to follow us wherever we go on vacation, so we always take time to see them. This version of the Titanic exhibit was unique in that it focused mainly on the passengers that boarded the ship at Cherbourg, France, the Titanic's final stop before heading into destiny. It was nice to hear the stories of the many French citizens that were involved in the disaster. Since we knew about alot of the artifacts from other exhibitions we'd been to, it was really fun trying to decipher what the descriptions of them were, since they were all in French. Also, there was a great gift shop which had books published in France about the Titanic, which were nice additions to our collection. By the time we left the museum, we were GLAD our other plans for the day fell through! Unfortunately, this exhibition is closed. Sorry!
Grand Arc De la Defense
The Louvre
You could spend days and days here, and still not see it all.
Attractions Just Outside of Paris
These attractions are easily reached on the RER commuter rail lines.
Chateau De Versailles
Disneyland Paris
Shopping in Paris
Champs-Elysees
Fauchon
A very expensive grocery store.
Galeries du Lafayette
Nicolas
Great Shopping on the way to Disneyland
The Val De Europe shopping complex is on RER-A, one stop before the Disneyland stop. Even if you're not going to Disneyland, this is well worth the ride if you're looking for really good shopping opportunities. Val De Europe is a big complex, including an indoor mall, an outdoor mall with some factory outlet stores, and a HUGE store called Auchon Hypermart.
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Since February 5, 1998 people have flown with us! Thanks!
Email / knighton@cablespeed.com
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Since February 5, 1998 
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