Minnesota Sports Forum

TheSP wrote:The wife and I split a week between London and Paris, I enjoyed London far more than Paris. I'm not sure if the Père Lachaise cemetery counts as a less obvious attraction or not but I thoroughly enjoyed spending time wandering around there!

We aren't the types to take tours and we're not particularly interested in the historic sites per se, we tend to enjoy to getting out and experiencing the cities we visit first hand and see how life is different today vs here at home. This is going to sound odd, but one of the things we've done in each city is seek out a grocery store, you'd be amazed at how different something that seems so common is from country to country. I would recommend setting aside at least one day to just get out and wander around the city, take the underground, visit a grocery store and buy a picnic lunch to eat in one of the beautiful parks or along the Seine. IMO the only way you can go wrong is to spend time in tour lines!

Probably not something Monster should try in February.

I have visited Paris twice. First time was almost 20 years ago while I was interrailing in Middle-Europe. I spend two just two in Paris. I remember that I went to see just Eiffel tower and grave of Jim Morrison. Rest of the time I spend just by walking around the city. Other trip to Paris was maybe fifteen years ago when my friend was studying in University near Paris. He lured me and couple of other of his friends to run Paris marathon. For obvious reasons, there wasn't much walking in next days that we still stayed there after the run. So unfortunately I cannot help you much.

But I can ask from my friend who has spend several months in Paris due work trips. He might have better tips.

Thanks for all the input on my trip. We fly out of Minneapolis Thursday afternoon. My angle for the trip is photography. I'm no expert but I've studied up and tried to practice taking more pics. I'm taking a few cameras and I will have some time to myself while my wife does a couple cooking classes. I'm looking forward to the trip a great deal now.

Good stuff Monster, enjoy your trip. I hope the weather cooperates!

Q12543 wrote:Good stuff Monster, enjoy your trip. I hope the weather cooperates!

Thanks Q. The temps look to be plenty palatable. I realized a week or 2 ago I didn't really have any shoes that would be good to walk around a lot in and keep my feet dry in case of rainy weather. So I went out in search of some new shoes for the trip and fortunately was able to find something satisfactory this weekend and also bought some boot spray as well.

I travel quite a bit for work. The best advice I can give is to do one of those bus tours (similar to the Apple Bus tours in NYC). I know they seem "touristy", but IMO they are a great starting point. You will get to see more sites in less time and for little cost. You can hop on/off at any of the stops/attractions. So if there are things that don't interest you as much - you only spend 5 minutes there, but you can still say you saw it. But if you want to get out and walk the Champs Elysees or explore on your own at one of the stops you really want to see - you can do that too. Just like NYC, the buses come around like every half hour. They have similar tours in most major cities. I've done it in several places in Europe including Paris and thought it was great. Since I'm travelling on work most of the time, it's been the best way for me to see a bunch of things I'd otherwise never get to see. Since you are going on vacation, you will have more time. But I think it would still be a good way to see a lot of the city quickly and it might help you decide where you want to explore more on your own. My 2 cents.

Carlos Danger wrote:I travel quite a bit for work. The best advice I can give is to do one of those bus tours (similar to the Apple Bus tours in NYC). I know they seem "touristy", but IMO they are a great starting point. You will get to see more sites in less time and for little cost. You can hop on/off at any of the stops/attractions. So if there are things that don't interest you as much - you only spend 5 minutes there, but you can still say you saw it. But if you want to get out and walk the Champs Elysees or explore on your own at one of the stops you really want to see - you can do that too. Just like NYC, the buses come around like every half hour. They have similar tours in most major cities. I've done it in several places in Europe including Paris and thought it was great. Since I'm travelling on work most of the time, it's been the best way for me to see a bunch of things I'd otherwise never get to see. Since you are going on vacation, you will have more time. But I think it would still be a good way to see a lot of the city quickly and it might help you decide where you want to explore more on your own. My 2 cents.

That's good advice. I have never used those busses and...I have been on a couple trips where we should have and so I recommend them. We plan to utilize those busses one day early on in our trip. We are getting ready to board now.

We parked downtown and took the light rail. I got a good look at the work being done on the outside of the Target center. I also saw US Bank up close the first time since it's been finished. It's kinda fun to be downtown even for a few minutes.

Carlos Danger wrote:I travel quite a bit for work. The best advice I can give is to do one of those bus tours (similar to the Apple Bus tours in NYC). I know they seem "touristy", but IMO they are a great starting point. You will get to see more sites in less time and for little cost.

The question is do you want to "see" as much as possible, or "experience" Paris? It's just my opinion, but I think it's best to select some things that you would like to experience and focus on them rather than rush from place to place trying to lay eyes on everything possible. You can see everything in pictures online, but you can only experience Paris in person, easy choice for me!

TheSP wrote:

Carlos Danger wrote:I travel quite a bit for work. The best advice I can give is to do one of those bus tours (similar to the Apple Bus tours in NYC). I know they seem "touristy", but IMO they are a great starting point. You will get to see more sites in less time and for little cost.

The question is do you want to "see" as much as possible, or "experience" Paris? It's just my opinion, but I think it's best to select some things that you would like to experience and focus on them rather than rush from place to place trying to lay eyes on everything possible. You can see everything in pictures online, but you can only experience Paris in person, easy choice for me!

He's going to be there a week. The bus tours can be either a half day or full day depending on which you choose. I think most people want to at least see the main sites at a city they visit and the bus tours are a great way to do that. IMO it's very different being there in person vs. looking at pictures online. You can hop off the bus and walk around the Eiffel Tower or stop in and see the inside of Notre Dame, The Louvre etc. Those are memories you can hold forever of places he may never get to see again. I think he'd regret not seeing as much as possible. Walking around on your own is fun too. But unless you are with people who know the city/culture, you probably are not really getting to "experience" the city in the manner you are attempting to describe.

Carlos Danger wrote:

TheSP wrote:

Carlos Danger wrote:I travel quite a bit for work. The best advice I can give is to do one of those bus tours (similar to the Apple Bus tours in NYC). I know they seem "touristy", but IMO they are a great starting point. You will get to see more sites in less time and for little cost.

The question is do you want to "see" as much as possible, or "experience" Paris? It's just my opinion, but I think it's best to select some things that you would like to experience and focus on them rather than rush from place to place trying to lay eyes on everything possible. You can see everything in pictures online, but you can only experience Paris in person, easy choice for me!

He's going to be there a week. The bus tours can be either a half day or full day depending on which you choose. I think most people want to at least see the main sites at a city they visit and the bus tours are a great way to do that. IMO it's very different being there in person vs. looking at pictures online. You can hop off the bus and walk around the Eiffel Tower or stop in and see the inside of Notre Dame, The Louvre etc. Those are memories you can hold forever of places he may never get to see again. I think he'd regret not seeing as much as possible. Walking around on your own is fun too. But unless you are with people who know the city/culture, you probably are not really getting to "experience" the city in the manner you are attempting to describe.

The wife and I certainly don't speak French but we thoroughly enjoyed getting out and about. She did A LOT of internet research in advance and had a list of things she wanted to do and see. We were there with a larger group for which pre-planned tours were available, we only did the first and only because it was part of the bus ride from the train station.

Different strokes for different folks, we simply don't enjoy being herded around like a bunch of animals. In fact while in London we jumped on the tube while the group awaited the bus for a London Tower tour. We were leaving the London Tower as their bus finally arrived and were on to our next thing while they waited on their tour guide. If the OP has a full week in Paris then he'll have an opportunity to do both if he chooses!

TheSP wrote:
The wife and I certainly don't speak French but we thoroughly enjoyed getting out and about. She did A LOT of internet research in advance and had a list of things she wanted to do and see. We were there with a larger group for which pre-planned tours were available, we only did the first and only because it was part of the bus ride from the train station.

Different strokes for different folks, we simply don't enjoy being herded around like a bunch of animals. In fact while in London we jumped on the tube while the group awaited the bus for a London Tower tour. We were leaving the London Tower as their bus finally arrived and were on to our next thing while they waited on their tour guide. If the OP has a full week in Paris then he'll have an opportunity to do both if he chooses!

I hear you SP. I used to think the same way until I actually tried one of those bus tours. My experiences are not as you are describing. You can use the buses to get to the places you'd have to take a cab anyhow, but it's much cheaper. If you hop off the bus, you are on your own. You are not following a tour guide or group. There is nothing pre-planned aside from the bus route. It's just a method of conveyance with the added perk of a local guide explaining the attractions as you drive by. But the guide stays on the bus and you can get off at any stop and go explore on your own. That's what I like about those specific hop on/off bus tours.

I actually minored in French and have been to Paris several times for work. Even with that experience, I still would find it difficult to effectively plan out everything I'd want to do on my own if I go again. There's so much to do...where do you start? The bus tours allowed me to avoid the "Clark Griswold" planning and just hop off when I saw something that interested me.