Hi everyone!
Firstly I%26#39;ll start by saying that my primary reason of going to Paris is to soak up some French/Parisian culture, not to tick off boxes, my main %26quot;touristy%26#39; things that I want to see at the moment, if I can call them that is the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe/ Champs Elysees, and the Lourve, probably others. But mostly I want to just wander around and take in the sights and hopefully go to a market or 2.
With this in mind, do you think I would be better off in an apartment in the centre of Paris or I have my eye on a cute little place near the Arc de Triomphe. I%26#39;m sorry and I know you get asked this question alot, but I am having trouble picturing how large and spread out Paris is.
Also, I will more than likely be going at winter time are there markets operating during the winter. Produce markets- so I can buy food and flea, or other kind of market where I can buy general things (clothes, household items, etc).
Many thanks,
Steph
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Hi Steph,
I think that even if you are not going to tick off sights from a list, it would still be good to stay in Central Paris. Plenty of atmosphere to soak up there. Plus, you can get anywhere you want by Paris%26#39;s extensive Metro.
Yes, the markets are open in winter-the Parisians need to eat. One of my favorite food markets is the Rue de Buci market in the St. Germain des Pres area. The Rue Mouffetard is another street that routinely has a food market. The Rue Cler in the 7th has a food market and lots of food shops.
The main flea market in/nearCligancourt has permanent stalls.
Bon chance and bon voyage!
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Thanks for that!
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Hi Steph,
I highly recommend you go to earth.google.com and download Google Earth. it%26#39;s an amazing tool... you can
almost walk the streets of Paris.
I showed it to my 85 year old mother the other day and
we retraced where she%26#39;d walked on her last trip to Paris
25 years ago. She was amazed.
You can also try communitywalk.com You can easily
plan out routes and it will show you the distances. Plus
you can then export the routes to Google Earth where
they will be superimposed on the satellite imagery
for you.
These 2 tools will help you immensely.
You might also want to check out panoramio.com You
can upload your pics and then have them show up...
guess where? Yep, Google Earth! I imagine by now you
realize I%26#39;m a bit of a Google Earth fan!
Lastly, if it were me, I%26#39;d not be staying near the Arc
de Triomphe. I find it too far away from the centre of things... try looking in the Marais, Latin Quarter or my favourite, Ile St Louis. The Paris Metro is great (when
not on strike) but Paris is a city best seen on foot...
Bon voyage!
Rob
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Hi Steph,
I was in Paris last northern winter. The metro is absolutely fantastic and gets you places quite easily.
I agree with the last poster - have a look at Google earth. It will put some perspective on the size of Paris.
If you know Melbourne well, there was a fantastic opinion piece/story in this mornings Herald Sun (Tuesday 20th pg. 19 %26quot;Melbourne in the future%26quot;) It tries to link distances in Melbourne to similar ones in Paris, London and New York. For example, %26quot;...if the Louvre were at the Melbourne GPO, the Eiffel Tower would be at Bolte Bridge and Notre Dame would be positioned at St. Patricks CAthedral.%26quot;
Hope this helps,
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Thanks Rob %26amp; europe!
Will take a look at Google Earth!
And thanks europe for that article- am doing a search for it at the moment!!!
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Markets are always open even in winter. They are not open on Mondays.
Near Arc de Triomphe there are no markets really except at rue Poncelet (17) or in Neuilly. A short metro ride to Alma Marceau and market there on Saturday and check for other days. All flea markets will also be open and Paris is really a year round destination plus it might do you good to encounter one of our winters! Parisians carry on life as usual. It is not Siberia (where I am sure they carry life on as usual too).
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Apartment living is fun!! Try looking up about the Rue Montorgueil area - do you know the book by the Australian writer Sarah Turnbull - %26quot;Almost french%26quot;?? This is exactly the area she lived in - it is SOOO central, and lots of fun - it is a really interesting, lively area, and you can get any where from here. I think the Arc De Triomph (spoelling??) would be no where near as %26quot;Parisian%26quot;. If you go into the search enging of Trip Advisor you will find lots of comments about this area. Also Google it, and you will get a good idea of what it is like. We loved it!
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Hi again Steph - just noticed on another post from you that you are young...so go for the Rue Montorgueil or Marais areas, or somewhere on the Left Bank (but I am not so fmailiar with the left bank as far as staying there). Much more fun for a young person than up at the Arc de T. The Rue Cler area 9suggested by someone else) struck as as a little %26quot;staid%26quot;. Are you travelling on your own? If so, I wouldn%26#39;t stay right down near the Les Halles area, but further up the Rue Montorgueil. Les Halles is right at the bottom end of this street. It is easy to get around Paris - either walking or the Metro is easy to use - do some research on sites like this to find out how to use it before you go. Paris is quite large and spread out (compared with the CBD of Melbourne, for example). But it is not hard to get about.
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Hi again Steph - just noticed on another post from you that you are young...so go for the Rue Montorgueil or Marais areas, or somewhere on the Left Bank (but I am not so fmailiar with the left bank as far as staying there). Much more fun for a young person than up at the Arc de T. The Rue Cler area 9suggested by someone else) struck as as a little %26quot;staid%26quot;. Are you travelling on your own? If so, I wouldn%26#39;t stay right down near the Les Halles area, but further up the Rue Montorgueil. Les Halles is right at the bottom end of this street. It is easy to get around Paris - either walking or the Metro is easy to use - do some research on sites like this to find out how to use it before you go. Paris is quite large and spread out (compared with the CBD of Melbourne, for example). But it is not hard to get about.
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I just went to Paris this past August and stayed near the Arc de Triomphe. It was my first visit.
It was nice, but a little dull. I am going for a week over New Year%26#39;s and based on my last visit, I found a great apartment in the 6th, right off Blvd. St. Germain. It is a beautiful area, with lots of cafes, art shops, and people.
The Arc area, lacked people, granted it was August, but it was just more sedate and bedroom community like, for Paris that is.
I chose my hotel, based on reviews on here, the Splendid Etoile Hotel, and it was nice and quiet. However, the area was not lively and I found myself sad that each night I had to pass all the fun crowds and cafes and go back to my quiet staid hotel with no sign of life. Some prefer that and I wish the reviews also included age and social tolerance levels.
I would stay closer to the city center and just get something nice and close to a nice cluster of Metro stops. You will enjoy just walking around Paris.
There are markets almost everyday somewhere.
Also, I bought the eyewitness Travel Paris Pocket Map and Guide on Amazon...it is great, small and has everything I needed to get around Paris and great info.
You will be out and about so much and have a wonderful time I am sure.
I could go on and on, and so I am going back, I loved Paris that much.
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