April in Paris

May 1 Surprise

The May 1 surprise sounds intriguing. You’ve really got our curiosity picqued.

See you very soon. Bon Voyage!

Logistics

Airport Shuttle
After arriving, but before getting your luggage, call Blue Shuttle at 0-800-258-826 and the operator (English-speaking) will let you know how to proceed. This is a toll-free call that you can make from any payphone.

24 hours before departing Paris, we should call them again to reconfirm our trip back to the airport.

Metro and Museum Passes
These passes can be bought at most metro stations. We can check at the Pont Neuf or Louvre Rivoli stops (these are closest to our hotel), but sometimes you can only buy the passes at the larger metro stations (the largest station near Relais du Louvre appears to be Châtelet, but I’m sure the staff at Relais du Louvre can point us in the right direction).

• Metro Pass
  
  Cost: 13.75 €/week
  
  We will want to purchase the Carte Orange and the weekly coupon (Carte Orange avec coupon hebdomadaire) that is good for unlimited travel in Zones 1-2 (everywhere we will be going in Paris except for Versailles - for that, we’ll need to purchase separate tickets) from Monday-Sunday. You can purchase the weekly coupon for the current week from Fri-Wed—no weekly coupons are sold on Thursday. So, we will want to purchase our coupons for the first week on Wednesday, and then on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, we can purchase the coupon for the second week (which we will use starting on Monday 4/28).
  
  After the trip, be sure to hold onto your Carte Orange (the part with the passport photo) because it is good for future trips to Paris. When you return, you can just purchase the appropriate coupon to carry along with the card.

• Museum Pass
  
  Cost: 1-day (15 €)/3-day (30 €)/5-day (45 €)
  
  The Carte Musée et Monuments will allow us to bypass the lines at just about all the sites on our list (I don’t think the Eiffel Tower is included). We should probably purchase 5-day passes initially (we may actually wish to wait and purchase the Museum Passes on Thursday—otherwise, we’ll be wasting a day) and then another three day pass for the rest of the trip.

Internet Access
It’s possible that we will be able to access the internet from Relais du Louvre. If not, there is an Internet “café” fairly close to the hotel.

Map/Local Guide
One of the first two days we’re in Paris, we’ll want to stop at a newsstand or Le Tabac (you’ll see them all over Paris) to purchase a second copy of the Plan de Paris (or Paris Pratique) par Arrondissement. These are pocket sized, very detailed, indexed maps of Paris that are better than any of the maps in the guidebooks. Gerette and I have our own that we purchased in 2000, but we’ll want to get another so that when we split up, each group will have a good map.

At the same time, we should pick up the current issue of Pariscope. This is a weekly magazine that covers what’s going on in Paris that week (including movie listings—in case, we want to see an American movie with French subtitles!). There’s an English-language section in the back by the British company that publishes Time Out magazine in London and New York.

May 1 in Paris
Most places are closed on May 1, which is Labor Day in France. However, the Eiffel Tower is open and Gerette and I also have a surprise planned for you, so I’m sure we’ll find some good ways to enjoy the day.

Siteseeing & Other Stuff To Do in Paris

What I’ve tried to do below is to capture the main things that we’ve talked about doing during our trip to Paris. But before we start, I just wanted to make a few suggestions that I think will make the entire vacation more pleasant for everyone:

• Everyone doesn’t have to do the same thing together all the time. There will be times when one or more of us doesn’t feel like going shopping, or visiting a museum, even when others do. And that’s ok. Over the course of 9 days in Paris together, we’ll have plenty of time to see all that we want and not run ourselves ragged.
• One of the nice things about being in one city for an extended period of time is that you can go back to a site again if you weren’t able to get to everything you wanted the first time through. In particular, the Louvre is nearly impossible to digest in a single visit. Lucky for us, we are staying across the street, and with the Museum Pass multiple visits doesn’t mean waiting in line each time.
• Let’s be sure to balance sightseeing time with relaxing time. We may decide after a busy day and a late dinner to sleep in the next morning. Again, that’s ok. Or, in keeping with the spirit of my first suggestion, two people might feel like sleeping in and two others (this doesn’t necessarily have to split along couple lines!) might want to get out and explore.

Churches

• Notre Dame
  Daily: 7:45am-6:45pm
  Sunday Mass: 10am (Gregorian Choir), 11:30am (Regular Choir)
• Sainte Chapelle
  Daily: 9:30am-6:30pm
• Sacré Cœur
  Daily: 7am-11pm

Museums

• Louvre
  Thurs-Sun: 9am-6pm
  Mon+Wed: 9am-9:45pm
  CLOSED TUESDAY (and May 1)
• Musée d’Orsay
  Tues-Wed-Fri-Sat: 10am-6pm
  Thurs: 10am-9:45pm
  Sun: 9am-6pm
  CLOSED MONDAY (and May 1)
• Musée Carnavalet (museum of the history of Paris)
  Tues-Sun: 10am-5pm
  CLOSED MONDAY (and May 1)
• Musée Marmottan Monet
  Tues-Sun: 10am-6pm
  CLOSED MONDAY (and May 1)
• Musée Rodin
  Tues-Sun: 9:30am-5:45pm
  CLOSED MONDAY (and May 1)
• Musée Picasso
  Wed-Mon: 9:30am-6pm
  CLOSED TUESDAY

Neighborhood Walks

• Île St-Louis and Île de la Cité
• Along the Seine
• Le Marais
• Latin Quarter
• St-Germain-des Prés
• Champs-Élysées
• Montmartre

Other sites

• Arc de Triomphe
  Daily: 9:30am-6:30pm
  CLOSED MAY 1
• Eiffel Tower
  Daily: 9:30am-11pm
• Versailles
  Tues-Sun: 9:30am-5:30pm
  CLOSED MONDAY (and May 1)
• Place des Vosges

Parks

• Luxembourg Gardens
• Bois du Boulogne
• Jardin des Tuileries

Shopping
I’m going to let Gerette handle this area since I know she’s done a great deal of research about different shops she wants to check out while we’re there—many of which are just places she can duck into while we are already in the neighborhood. And, obviously, not all of the shopping will be done as a group. Having said that, I do encourage you to go with us to the food halls (like Harrod’s in London) and markets—they’re both fun and tasty :)

Tours

• Boat tour: Bateaux Parisiens
  Tours leave Port de la Bourdonnais (near Eiffel Tower) every 30 minutes from 10am to 11pm
• Bus tour: Paris l’Open Tour
  Buses run every 10-15 minutes from 10am-6pm. Get on or off at any of over 20 stops. Can purchase 1 or 2 day pass (you are given headphones for the English language commentary that you keep for the duration of your pass).

Absolutely Nothing to Worry About

Out of curiosity, I checked one of the travel related message boards today to read the latest comments of Americans who had just returned from Paris. A sampling of their comments:

“It’s almost as if Parisians are trying harder to be nice. Parisians have actually walked up to us when hearing us speak to ask if we were Americans. The first time this happened we were all very nervous. But the Frenchwoman only praised all things American. Another time a quite elderly woman came up to us to say hello. She ended up telling us of her past love affair with an American man. She was quite a character.”

“I’ve personally had only great experiences dealing with Parisians lately. One shocker for me was a wonderful conversation with a taxi driver here in Paris. I’ve never had much luck finding friendly cabbies here. The driver asked my friend and me if we were Americans. He then gave a very eloquent speech about how much he loves American things, from the music to the TV show “Friends.” He thought it was a shame that politics would “interfere with the lives of normal citizens of our countries.” We had a lively discussion and he spent time chatting with us even after getting to our destination.”

“Don’t waste your time worrying about hostility when visiting Paris and northern France. I spent weeks reading this board, talking to recent travelers, etc., when I should have spent my time getting excited about the wonderful trip I had planned with my high school students and their parents. The French people were awesome: kind, courteous, helpful, etc.”

“If you are thinking of not traveling to Europe because of what you hear in the press, you would be making a big mistake. We thought about not going and are extremely happy we went and would do it all over again!”

“My boyfriend and I have just returned from eight days in France (five of these were spent in Paris) and I am happy to report that we encountered NO anti-American sentiments. As many people have posted, just go about your business and try to at least say the basics (hello, goodbye, please, thank-you) in French and you’ll be fine. I thought my halting, high-school French would be scorned, but I was wrong—-it was appreciated! (A bonus: since a lot of people have cancelled their trips, it’s easier to see the sights—crowds were very manageable, and non-existent in some places.)”

“The people in Paris were always friendly, kind, and helpful. I used my very little French as often as I could, always with “please” “thank you” (in French, of course) and a smile. We went about our tourist business, and only discussed politics very briefly on the 5th day with our hotel keeper - and even then, a very civil conversation. We had a wonderful time. We are so glad we never seriously considered cancelling our trip. The people we encountered seem quite able to understand that ordinary individuals do not bear responsibility for their government’s official policies (perhaps beyond our choice in the ballot box). So go ahead with your plans, and enjoy your stay. Just be friendly, and try to learn a few polite words in the language of each country you plan to visit -those and a smile will take you far.”

“We just returned from two weeks in France. This was our seventh trip to Europe and our third to France. It was by far the best trip we have taken. In spite of all our friends’ concerns (to a one they all said “be safe”, not “have a good trip”), no one even blinked at us funny. The only demonstration we saw was an anti-war march in Rennes and it was anti-war, not anti-American. In Paris, everyone seemed happy to see us. The only people who brought up the war were fellow Americans we ran into and they just wanted to know if we thought about not going. It was very interesting to see the different perspectives in the newscasts. So take the advice of most of the people in this column: go, have an open mind, relax and have fun. I predict you will have a great time.”

“We just returned from France. We were there during much of the war with Iraq. Everyone was extremely friendly. No rudeness at all, except for an uptight museum worker who was rude to everyone. A few of the French we talked to about the war were definitely NOT anti-American but just had opinions against going to war. One person we talked to said it made her feel very sad to see the anti-French news from America on T.V. (i.e. the Americans throwing out French wine etc.) She said the French really like the Americans and were very hurt by this. I’ve been to France 3 times and I’d have to say they were just as gracious and helpful to us - or more so, during this trip as during the other ones.”

“Just returned from France this afternoon. There’s simply no word to describe the magnificent trip I had. The French were really polite and nice to me; and were very encouraging even though I spoke terrible French. For those planning to cancel your trip to Europe, I would say DON’T and just GO! It’s springtime, beautiful weather and fascinating scenes are waiting to welcome you. It’s the perfect time to go. I’m definitely returning to France sometimes very soon!”

“I returned with my boyfriend from Paris yesterday. We almost cancelled the trip because we feared for our safety. However, we found Parisians to be gracious and kind, and we had a magnificent time. We had been many times previously, and both speak a little French, but had seen so much anti-French sentiment in this country that we felt assured there must be a reciprocative sentiment over there. But at no time was anyone other than very cordial and friendly toward us.”

“Having just returned from 10 days in Paris and the Rhine region of Germany, I urge all those who may be reevaluating vacation plans to just GO!! I was seriously considering postponing our trip until I started reading some of these postings. We felt no anti-American sentiment at all. We also witnessed the protest on 3/30 in Paris but walked around it. If you’re polite and try to speak some of their language, be respectful of their culture and use common sense, you will be fine.”

“My wife, daughter and myself just returned from a week in Paris. There was no sense of anti-Americanism from any of the people we encountered. The people were friendly and more than willing to help three people without any French language skills. We traveled the metro extensively and never even felt a hint of ill will towards us. In fact, our daughter said on the way to the airport, “I hate to say this but I think I like Paris better than London.”“

“My daughter (age 25) and I returned March 31 after 10 days in Paris. We were treated with respect and kindness by everyone: fellow metro travellers, hotel staff, shopkeepers, restaurant staff, and other travellers from other European countries. We spoke softly, minded our manners (greeting a shopkeeper with a ‘Bonjour Madame, Monsieur’ goes a long way), and had a wonderful time.”

As you can see, everyone seems to report wonderful things from Paris. I’ll be posting some more info in the next few days about logistics and sight-seeing.

Useful Website

I didn’t know if you guys had ever seen this site before. It allows you to check flight status information for all airlines from one place. Pretty cool.

Restaurant Reservations

Ok, I received an email back from Charlotte at Relais du Louvre and we have reservations for the following:

• Friday April 25, 8:30pm
  Le Pamphlet
• Saturday April 26, 8pm
  Le Violon D’Ingres
• Tuesday April 29, 8:30pm
  La Bastide Odéon
• Wednesday April 30, 8pm
  L’Avant Goût

Early hotel arrival

Chris-
When you e-mail Sophie at the hotel, could you mention that your Mom and Dad will be arriving fairly early in the day. We’re just figuring that if they know that, then if the room we’re supposed to have is vacant, that maybe they can get it cleaned up quicker, and just maybe, they’ll let us in it. Figure it’s worth a try.

Response to Restaurant Recap 4/9/03

We agree with the five points that will be in Chris’ e-mail.

As to the more casual places, several of these are noted in other books we have and some of them are not very highly rated in Zagat’s. Of the ones listed, the best bets sound like Juveniles, Willi’s Wine Bar, Laduree, and Granterroirs. Among the others, Angelina sounds interesting, although it had low to mixed reviews in Zagat’s, but apparently it is well known for its hot chocolate. Finally, we could find nothing about Kayser or Bistrot des Augustins, and obviously you have information about them, so we leave the choice about them to you.

Restaurant Recap

I’m really glad that you agree with my ideas and understand my concerns. I want to just recap and then Chris can email Sophie with a request for her to call for reservations. His email will include:

1. A request for a reservation at Le Violon d’Ingres at 8pm or 8:30pm; this reservation can be made any day from Thursday, 24 April, until Thursday, 1 May, but we would prefer it to be later in the trip if possible.
2. A request for a reservation at La Bastide Odéon at 8pm or 8:30pm, again any day from 24 April to 1 May. (Just to reassure you, our friends, Caryn and Warren, ate there on their honeymoon last July and said it was still wonderful. I will ask Chris to ask Sophie if she knows anything about it as well.)
3. A request for a reservation at Le Pamphlet at 8pm or 8:30pm, again any day from 24 April to 1 May.
4. A request for a reservation at l’Avant Gout at 8pm or 8:30pm, again any day from 24 April to 1 May.
5. If at all possible, the reservations should be spaced out during the trip, rather than one in a row.

Once in Paris, we can (1) find out from Sophie her recommendations and (2) if we want, make additional day-of or day-before reservations at Le Maupertu, Chez Maitre Paul, Le Regalade—after reviewing the menu :)

If you have come across more casual places (especially those listed in Cheap Eats) that don’t require a reservation that you think might be good for lunch and/or dinner, please send them to me. My current list is mainly tearooms, wine bars, and boulangeries (places that sell pre-made sandwiches and salads), and includes (listed by arrondisement):

• 1er—Angelina (tearoom), 228 rue de Rivoli (Concorde or Tuileries)
• 1er—Colette (café w/water bar inside lifestyle shop), 213 rue Saint-Honoré (Tuileries)
• 1er—Juveniles (wine bar), 47 rue de Richelieu (Palais Royal—Musée du Louvre)
• 1er—Willi’s Wine Bar (wine bar), 13 rue de Petits-Champs (Pyramides OR Palais Royal—Musée du Louvre)
• 5e—Kayser (boulangerie), 8 rue Monge (Maubert-Mutualité)
• 6e—Bistrot des Augustins (wine bar), 39 quai des Grands-Augustins (Saint-Michel)
• 8e—Ladurée (tea room), 75 ave. de Champs-Elysées (F-D-Roosevelt) OR 16 rue Royale (Madeleine)
• 8e—Granterroirs (gourmet deli/café), 30 rue de Miromesnil (Miromesnil)
• 9e—Chartier (inexpensive bistro with communal tables), 7 rue de Faubourg-Montmartre (Grands Boulevards)
• 11e—Le Bistrot du Peintre (sophisticated restored Art Nouveau café), 116 av. Ledru-Rollin (Ledru-Rollin)

Why We're Not Going to l'Astor :)

According to Patricia Wells’ website the new Guide Michelin has taken away their two stars.

I will be posting a longer restaurant-related message in just a bit.