My cousin and I are celebrating milestone Birthdays.
We%26#39;d like to visit Paris. We%26#39;ve never been there and have many questions!
Where would you recommend that we stay?
Is it safe for two women to travel in the city?
Any recommendations on time of year?
Places to visit?
We would love input!
merci!
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GO....Paris is a very safe city. I have been to Paris every March for the last three years. In 2006
it was just my then 12 year old grandson and I. We always felt safe. Just remember you are in a big city, pay attention to your surroundings and you will be fine. I stayed at the Best Western Darby Alma on Ave Rapp when I was with my grandson. Last two trips was with my husband, we like posh hotels so this time we stayedat the Inter-Continetal Le Grand. It was great but pricey. Just read some of the reviews here on TA for hotels in your price range.
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Yes Paris is safe for two women, it is also safe for one alone, or one alone with a child, I have been in all three scenerios.
Any time is a good time to go,, but obviously it is likely to be rainy and cooler Dec- Mar, but also cheaper and less crowded. I like summery months better as it stays light out nice and late May -August. July and August are sometimes very hot and crowded, but there are often hotel sales from mid July to end of August. Airfares are higher then though. Sept and Oct are great weather wise, but not much cheaper, in fact there are some very busy weeks in that time frame, Fashion Week , when hotel rates go up from summer rates .
If I had my choice I would go in May( serveral holidays during this month can make scheduling things tricky) or June( June is not cheap though, a very popular month) or late September. . I do not have a choice though so usually have to go July and August.
Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements ( neighborhoods) . They spriral out clockwise starting in center of city ( basically). MOst first timers like to stay in central arr. , numbered 1-7,, I prefer 4th, 5th and 6th, but thats just me, other areas are nice also. Every hotels address includes a 5 digit %26quot;zipcode%26quot; , it will start with 750, that is the code for the city of Paris, and then the last two digits are the arrondissement,, so for example, a hotel that lists 75006 is in the 6th arr. Now you can easily map where hotel is. ( oh, did I mention, get a map, LOL ).
All restarants must by law show their menu and prices outside. so you can just wander around and look at menus till you see a place that interests you, reservations are a good idea for nicer dinners, but for a casual meals not so important. Cafes do not need reservations and most serve nice light meals or snacks. The %26quot;menu%26quot; does not mean the menu ,, it means a preset set of courses that are offered for a set price, when you want a menu, you ask for la carte.. confusing,, LOL , no , you will get it easily .
Get a good guide book, personally I get second hand ones to read up on the sites, not to get prices ( which of course change every year) or opening times. I go online for that info, most tourist sites have websites, in english too. Try googling for Versailles or Notre Dame, they have sites!
REad the forums alot, and ask lots of questions. Learn lots of tips here, how to save money and skip lines etc.
When asking about hotels state your budget in euros not dollars.
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I also suggest that you stay in any in any of 1-7 arrondissements. The 4-6 are probably the most popular. 3-4 are called the Marais and they include Ile St. Louis, a quaint village-type Island which is a very popular location to stay in and visit. I have stayed here and loved it. It is also very centrally located. The 5th arr. (sometimes written 5eme) is called the Latin Quarter. The 6th arr is known as Saint-Germain-des-Pres.
Depending on how long you are staying in Paris, you need to choose between an apartment and a hotel. If you are staying at least 3-5 days, you could rent an apartment. If you are staying a week or more, you could save significant money by renting an apartment. Another benefit of having an apartment is that you usually have more space and you have kitchen facilities, especially a refrigerator, which can be very handy and help you save money. Regardless of whether you prefer an apartment or a hotel, once you narrow it down, you can list them on this forum and people will give you feedback about location, etc. and even what they thought if they stayed there. If you know what area you want to be in and how much you want to spend (in Euros) you could ask questions and people will try to make suggestions. Mostly though you need to do the tedious legwork to look at dozens of apartments/hotels until you find an option you like.
Paris is safe. I go to Paris by myself and feel safe--even on the Metro late at night. There is a pickpocket issue in Paris but not really a physical safety issue. Have strategies to guard your possessions.
I love Paris in September-October. However, certain museums like La Galliera--Le Musee de la Mode et du Textile (fashion museum) are never open then. Because of that, I plan to make my next trip (after this September%26#39;s trip) in May to do the things I don%26#39;t get to do in the fall. Don%26#39;t get me wrong. Almost everything is open in September-October. There are just a few idiosyncracies which keep cropping up.
The list of places to visit is by far too long to list. People who know me on this forum know that I could easy create a list of 35 sites. But you can find those by using the %26quot;search%26quot; function at the top of this forum. You have to do the research by reading on this forum, perusing the internet, looking in Paris travel books, and asking questions to decide what you want to see. We can help you organize it and tell you how much you can realistically get done in a day.
Paris is a wonderful place to celebrate ANYTHING. It is so much fun to help people on this site plan their trip to Paris and then have them report back afterwards how they fell in love with Paris. Get excited because it is going to be great!
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Hi,
I%26#39;m not exactly an expert on Paris, but I hope I can be of some help to u. :)
I am a teenage girl who recently stayed in Paris for 10 days. For the first couple of days, I travelled alone. The metro is a very good way to travel around, however I suggest that you don%26#39;t travel so late in the night. When a friend joined me, I felt more comfortable going back to the hostel later than I usually did on my own (8-9 pm) we used the metro around 11.30 pm and we encountered many drunk unruly people. A man even grabbed my friend once! another day on the escalator, another man put his arms around my shoulder, I screamed so he stopped.
But don%26#39;t be so afraid of this! Paris is a charming city. It%26#39;s as safe as you make it to be. So always be cautious.
I used the DK Paris guide book, I found it pretty useful.
You should visit all the %26quot;must%26quot; places. LOL. like the lourve (I used the entire day there), notre dame, musee d%26#39;orsay, saint-chapelle(you get a discount if u buy the ticket with Conciergerie), verseille...oh and maybe u can have a look at a lovely flower and bird market and walk in many beautiful parks.(my fav is Buttes Chaumont)
Have a great time there. :)
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