First off, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who posts on these boards. Although I didn%26#39;t post many questions, I read a lot of the posts on here before I left and all of the suggestions/comments made in other posts were extremely helpful!!
I was in Paris November 3rd to November 5th + half a day on November 10th. I was a solo traveller in Paris (female) and it was my first stop on my to visit the south of France. This was also my first overseas%26#39; trip alone.
Day 1
Arrived at the CDG airport - got out of there pretty quickly. Finding the RER train was a little confusing because the doors to head downstairs weren%26#39;t open. Other travellers and people at the station were very friendly in helping me find my way (mind you, I can speak french at basic level). My hostel (Le Village) was in Montmartre neigbourhood so I took the train to Gare du Nord and was able to find the right subway train to take me to my destination. After finding the area for the hostel and checking in, I found a cute little restaurant and had lunch. This was on saturday and so all of the shops were open - browsed through some of them; Tati was one that I can remember. Headed back on the train and went to see the Arc de Triomphe and walked down the Champs-Elysees. Didn%26#39;t shop, but browsed through some of the high end stores. Went to the Place de la Concorde, passed the Louvre (the line up was huge! -I%26#39;m not really into museums so i decided to pass) and took in views of the Seine and the Eiffel Tower. Walked down a bit further and saw the Place du Carrosel. Then I went to Le Printemps to attempt to shop. Bought a watch from a vendor and got a yummy crepe! By this time it was just after 6pm so I took the train to see the Eiffel Tower up close at night. Tons of tourists and I sat and waited to see it light up at 7pm. This was first opportunity to really just take in the sights and pinch myself that I was in Paris!!
On my way walking from the tower to the metro station, I came across a gypsy looking woman. She was alone and asked if spoke English. I said yes and she showed me a card and thanks to the reviews on here - i remembered about this scam so I just quickly walked away. Took the metro back to montmartre and had a late dinner at a restaurant. From there, went to the Sacre Coeur and took in views of Paris at night. I started to head off to walk to the Moulin Rouge but as I was just entering the district around 10pm, men were approaching me and I didn%26#39;t feel safe so i returned to my hostel and decided to go back on sunday at an earlier time.
Day 2.
First stop was Sacre Coeur to see it during the day. Here was where I saw the guys do the scam with the rope around your wrist. These guys are VERY determined. Again, reading from posts here, I knew what to expect and just ignored and kept walking but they repeatedly tried to talk to me and engage me in conversation. Then as I was going up the stairs, I saw a woman holding a baby and she was saying something that i couldn%26#39;t understand. Dont know if it was a scam, but everyone else kept walking so i followed. But it was a strange/sad sight to see.
Took the metro to the Belleville district and went to Pere Lachaise Cemetery to see Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison%26#39; s grave. The cemetery was huge! Walked around the Belleville area for a bit and the took the metro to the Latin Quarter, went to Marche aux puces de la porte vanves shopped! Got 2 sweaters and a pair of shoes all for 40 euro! Then I went to Chez Nicos for a bite to eat which had amazing crepes!! Walked to the Luxembourg Gardens and took the metro to see the Notre Dame, Pl. de Justice and Pont Neuf. I was amazed at the architecture of Notre Dame and other buildings and monuments in Paris- but this was outstanding. They had some street performers near by so I stopped and watched for a bit and then headed for dinner at a nearby restaurant. Great service and friendly, bilingual waiters. Went to see the moulin rouge (around 8pm at this time) and felt much safer than the night before - went down a different street than the one before. Then i went to the hostel to retire for the night.
.5day
From Gare de Lyon, I walked to see the Pompidou centre/area and headed back on the metro to head to CDG.
Although my stay was very short, I felt like I was able to see all the things that I wanted but of course the city is so large so Im sure i missed out on some good stuff but I was happy with what I saw. The metro - absolutely love it! Looks extremely complicated at first but its easy to figure out. On my first day, i was able to use my metro ticket quite a few times. Dont know if it was a glitch or something but that allowed me to explore the city more without having to pay everytime i used the metro. This didnt happen on my second day though. I was really impressed with the city, the people that I interacted with were all very nice and helpful despite my low level of french. I would definitely love to go back to Paris someday but for now I have my great memories!
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Hi Adidas
You were very wise to focus on walking around the city as much as possible and taking the metro from one district to another, rather than spending time in museums or waiting in line to go up the Eiffel Tower. How did you find the Village hostel? A woman I know through travel forums stayed there for a week last year and said it was very friendly and she was happy with the accommodation for the price and location.
I am puzzled about the ability to repeatly use of one metro ticket for a number of trips. Was it an ordinary metro ticket (price about 1.50 Euros each or cheaper in carnet) or was it the more expensive option of a Mobilis (5.50 Euros)? If it was the latter then that explains things as it lasts for all metro and bus tickets for one day.
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Thanks! Since my stay was very limited, I didn%26#39;t want to waste time standing in lines, but if/when I go back, hopefully for a longer stay, i%26#39;ll be able to stand in the lines and see another side to Paris.
I found the Village hostel to be quite good. Great price for a great location and i only had to share the room one night, the other night I had it all to myself. The staff was very friendly, but i was surprised that they didn%26#39;t have a %26quot;happy hour - meet the rest of the tourists thing%26quot;. But overall, a good stay.
The metro ticket was just the normal 1.50 euro ticket. I was able to use the same ticket more than once (i dont know why) on the saturday. Don%26#39;t know if it was a glitch or just good luck! But the day after, it didn%26#39;t work for me then.
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