Just saw bluebananas posting and thought I%26#39;d add a few tidbits:
-bought the Museum Pass at the Tourist office near our hotel (Hotel Duminy-Vendome - rue du Mont Thabor)- no lines and lots of helpful info - brochures, etc.
-purchased carnets of metro tickets rather than a pass
-make sure to take advantage of the FREE %26quot;Sandeman%26#39;s Walking Tours%26quot; - They meet every day at the Place St. Michel at 11 a.m. (and 1 p.m.?) Guides are young English speaking college kids with lots of enthusiasm and a wealth of neat info. Who can complain about a 3 1/2 hour (yup - it was - and time well spent)tour that only costs you whatever you wish to tip your guide?! We also took the Montmartre Tour (10 €) - very good. They also offer a Pub Crawl which looks neat.
-go to the Louvre and Musée d%26#39;Orsay when they%26#39;re open in the evenings (Thurs/Fri) - very quiet visit - not a lot of tourists
-we did an evening boat cruise with the Vedettes Pont Neuf line. They offer a 5 € discount if you book your tickets on-line before you go (tickets are then valid for anytime during the year after purchase) A nice ride - however, do bring hat, scarf, gloves if you go during this time of year - it can be chilly
-don%26#39;t be afraid to pack your jeans - we saw them everywhere. However, ladies - bring scarves - lots of scarves - everyone wears them - all types, colors, lengths
-take advantage of %26quot;Menus%26quot; and %26quot;Formules%26quot; when dining - you get several courses and/or beverage for a good price
-start your day early and come back late - you may be exhausted but every minute you spend in the beautiful city of Paris is worth the fatigue!!
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profteedee,
Thank you for posting your trip info
I would imagine in the tour you just go past the sites?
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Thanks for the Sandeman Tour suggestion! I googled them and now have their website bookmarked. For others who have not heard of them, they have walking tours in many European cities as well as Jerusalem and TelAviv.
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Scarves are a great idea, but pack one and then buy more there. They start at a euro and half at the souvenir shops (some tacky buts lots of nice ones). Then of course they%26#39;re sold everywhere else for whatever you%26#39;re willing to pay.
I bought a ton of them to give as gifts instead of keychains and magnets - they%26#39;ll actually be used and take up no room in the suitcase.
Also agree with being exhausted - it%26#39;s great because jet lag is not an issue, you can fall asleep immediately.
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Yes, the walking tour just passes by the sites. You%26#39;ll have to return to enter them at another time.
During the 3 1/2 hour tour we did stop for lunch before continuing on with the tour.
I forgot to mention - we also did a walking tour with a company called %26quot;Paris Greeters.%26quot; These are Parisians who volunteer to take tourists around their city and show them sites that perhaps would be missed. You can find their organization on the web as well. Again, these tours are free although you can make a donation to the organization.
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thanks proftee-those are the groups I have been looking at, nice to get your review
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Thanks for great trip report, and the great trip tip about the free walking tour,, sounds like something I will have to look into!!
This may be delicate, but what did you think was the average tip?? 5, 10, 15 euros??
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Tips to walking tour leaders varied per person - I did see some give 5 and some up to 15 €. It is really at your discretion.
Some other %26quot;tipping%26quot; info...
I was always under the impression that the tip was included in restaurant meals (%26quot;service compris%26quot;). However, when I did not see this on the check and then inquired, I was told that the tip is not included and you could add whatever you liked. At first, we ended up tipping way too much (10-15%) of the bill. After we spoke to hotel staff, they told us that only if we were %26quot;really%26quot; impressed with the service should we give an additional tip. We then ended up giving about 5-10€ for a 200-300€ meal.
Hopefully we did the right thing.
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