Au Revoir Paris

We are now back after spending fifteen nights in the City of Lights. This was an amazing vacation for a number of reasons, but also because we had enough time to take it easy and not rush from one tourist spot to another. This is a city you can spend much time in, if you love one or more of the following: history, long walks, food & drink, art, architecture.

Paris is also one of those few places left where few speak English. I don't particularly mind that; after all, what is the point of foriegn travel if everything is familiar? I have ranted before on how globalization has simplied travel but reduced the charm of travelling to foreign lands.

I also think all those stories about the rude French seems like a myth. I have only found polite and helpful people here. It does help if you make an attempt to speak French - whatever little you know - they appreciate the effort.

For the rest of this final post of this trip, let me add some more tips for those who plan to visit Paris:

It rains often here. Get an umbrella and a raincoat for the kid(s) if you are going to be here longer than a few days. We were lucky - it only rained on one day!


Paris has the best subway system I have seen so far. It is more ventilated and less chaotic than the London underground. Newcomers won't have problems figuring it out: just get a metro map, check the name of the final station in the route, and find the line number. You can buy bundles of ten fixed price tickets good within the city.

You can get your pocket picked in the metro (especially, the tourist route between Champs-Elysees and Louvre) or in the Montmarte areas. Be carefully, but don't worry too much.

The parks are beautiful in the spring and there are many of them. All of them have children's areas to play. During certain days there are also puppet shows that are of high quality and are a uniquely Paris experience for the kids.

The GPS and Google Maps on my Blackberry came very handy, especially during those long walks in the inner roads of the city! Among guides, I would recommend the Frommer's (though I did my own research for restautants on the Internet).

I recommend Cityrama for day trips from Paris and FirstWay for a pickup or dropoff service from the airport (if you don't mind paying for a limo). There are several good day trips you can make from Paris: Belgium, Normandy Coast, Burgundy Wine Tours (check the season first if you wish to do a wine trip) and Versailles.

Indians, you may want to check out a FOREX card that works with most ATMs (my experience with HDFC Bank was very good). This is way more convenient than travellers' cheques or credit cards (they are transitioning to chip-embedded cards in Paris which requires the entry of a 4-digit PIN during a swipe).

If you are a foodie, make sure you are packing some formal clothes for the restaurants. Reservations are almost always necessary; for three-star dining, make your choice and book well in advance. Also, stick to wines and cocktails; there are no good local beers in Paris.

If you were an Asterix fan like me during childhood, you may want to check out the Asterix theme-park on the outskirts of the city. BTW, the other comic-strip character from Europe, Tintin, is Belgian by origin. I had fun hunting for Tintin memorabilia during my trip to Bruges.

Prev: The Foodie in Paris
First: Bonjour Paris