I'm going to Rome and Paris in a couple of week (5 days each). Skydog, what were some of the coolest things you did in Paris last year?
We did a lot of the popular things: Louvre, St. Chappelle, Notre Dame, Luxembourg Gardens, Rodin Museum, Pompideau Centre, Pere Lachaise, Montmartre, the big flea market, a doll museum, Musee d'Orsay, Arc d'Triomphe to name a few. But the most fun part was just walking around. If you like museums, which I do, they were all great. Loved being in St. Chappelle, and the view from the Arc d'Triomphe is fabulous. If you are doing the museum thing, get the Paris Museum Pass, much cheaper than the Paris Pass:
http://en.parismuseumpass.com/. Gets you into a lot of places without standing in line. Loved Pere Lachaise, but you have to like taking photographs of artsy graves.
Here's an interesting idea a friend just emailed me.
"If you did not discover it on your last visit, rent the street bikes-- velibe-- for transportation around the city centre, especially arrondissement 1-8 along both sides of the Seine where the terrain is flat for pleasant cruising. You buy a card in the machine at any bike stand then you can use the card however many times are on it-- you can do it online too (I recommend checking it out from this side and printing a map of the bike stands-- altho' they are everywhere and easy to find) There are no mileage or time charges if you return the bike within 19 minutes (this is their way of keeping the bikes in constant circulation throughout the day), so you just ride it to a bikestand near your destination then put it in the rack to get credit for returning it.... when you're ready to move on, return to that rack or find another rack close to wherever you may have walked and start with a new bike. The last time I was there, I rode the velibes everywhere everyday and the charges on my credit card were something like $4.00-- I would happily have paid much more for the value of using the bikes. It's a great way to see the city and pretend to be a Parisian.
When I go to Europe, I always pack a cork screw and two cheap (but hardy) wineglasses so I can stop at the markets for wine and local food to have picnics in the parks. In Paris, I like to break off of St Germaine des Pres near Rue de Bac and Rue de Universiti-parallel with the river- where I pick up a cheap bottle of wine (better than whatever we have here), some roasted chicken, bread, fresh fruit, and whatever smells delicious for a picnic at the little park on Pont Neuf at the tip of Isle de la Cite or anywhere along the river bank along Ille St Louis north of Notre Dame. That puts me in a good place for checking out Shakespeare & Company at Rue St Jacques and Quai de la Tournelle on the left bank just across from Notre Dame. If I'm near the Eiffel, I amble down Rue Cler which is a street of markets-- a bit pricier since it caught on with the tourists, but suitable for a picnic in the park beneath the tower. The park at Invalides is also a nice picnic location close to lots of museums-- d'Orsay for impressionists and Rodin for large sculptures of naked men."
