Mr. Boozilu has to go to Paris for a business trip and I’m tagging along (sans boozikids). I’m planning on doing a lot of walking and public transport during the day, with breaks for cafe and pastry, and then nice dinners in the evenings with him.
Any suggestions on a guidebook or two? I’m hitting the library tomorrow, but they don’t always have the best ones and I’d like to keep one or two to write in during the trip.
Note: our hotel is covered, so we don’t need advice about that. And although we know Paris is expensive, it might be nice to find some off-the-beaten-tracks places where we don’t have to spend a fortune.
Suggest away!
PS – never been to Paris before – ooh lah lah
I usually have the Rough Guide with me. It tends to focus on the cheaper end of the market. Good idea with the public transport - no sane person drives in Paris.
Ooh la la indeed! I’m envious–Paris is one of my favorite places. I was so surprised the first time I went that it looks in-person just like it does in the movies. This is the guide book I used on my visits:
http://www.amazon.com/Unofficial-Guide-Paris-Guides/dp/0470537450/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277156410&sr=1-1
Get a multi-day Metro ticket and one of the museum passes. The Metro is easy to use and you will never be far from a station. Good luck and enjoy!
The multi-day Metro pass may not be your best option; for us it was cheaper to buy a one-day pass each day (even though we were staying three days). That was because the multi-day pass covers more zones; if you’re hanging in the center of Paris, a one-zone daily pass will save a lot.
Didn’t have a guide, but I would suggest you spring for the Bateaux Mouches (or similar) for a nice orientation to the city. I also loved the Musee d’Orsay.
I suggest the Rick Steves authored one.
EDIT: His Europe through the back door series is good about getting off the beaten track into the cheaper, but fun stuff. http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=catalog&parent_id=158
I second the *Rough Guide; *It includes a lot of “insider” info that you won’t get anywhere else. I’d also recommend Lonely Planet.
If your first visit to Paris is anything like mine, you’ll be looking forward to returning. I’ve been there 4 times, and can’t wait till #5.
The OP’s going to Paris, not Baghdad.
What a treat for you!
We have a kid living there now, so we’ve been several times and have our own “guide” there, but he has to work for a living and we get plenty of time on our own. We last visited in May of '09.
I like the Rough Guide okay, and have used Lonely Planet and Rick Steves in the past but over the years I have gone full circle and returned to the first guidebook I ever used: Let’s Go. Our trip was more than just Paris so we bought the France edition, there were many nuggets of information that we found useful. Let’s Go also publishes a Paris guide.
Our kid took us here our first night and it was a festive way to begin: historic building on one of Paris’ oldest market streets, inexpensive, good food and a fun young (loud!) crowd. Au Rocher Cancale
Our best meal was actually here in Rouen (nice day trip, just an hour away by train): La Espiguette
If you really want to get off the beaten path, I’m not sure Rick Steves is the way to go about it. The Man in the Blue Shirt is an engaging, humorous guy, but following his suggestions tends to put one in a herd of other Steves acolytes.
His advice is to make your own back door, and once you are there, you might find yourself doing just that.
If you are a fan of duck, hit this restaurant. Enjoy, it’s a fabulous city.
We did the Rick Steve’s guidebook along with 3 others. We left the other three behind when we left. Rick Steve’s additions about useful buses and the organ at San Sulpice (sp?) made the trip.
We took our 4 and 6 year olds and were working to have Rick update his children’s section in the book as the toy stores he mentions, etc. were lacking compared to several others we found.
One place not to miss that doesn’t seem to be in any guidebook (we saw it on a GlobeTrekker program). It is just a couple of blocks south of the Louvre, and it is literally a natural history museum where you can buy things. http://www.deyrolle.com/
We spent 2 hours in the store and there was still more to see. We were there shortly after the fire so hopefully even more is now open to the public.
I agree with the recommendations for the Rick Steve’s book, especially for a first-time visitor.
Also, if you can get hold of a copy of this map book, I found it indispensable for finding my way around. It’s small, easy to use, and has very detailed maps.