I have finally decided what will be my itinerary from here to Bangkok (motive of the trip over here ), as I have planed things I´d be landing on Paris (with a stop over at Sao Paulo) on the morning of 24th January and leaving to Dusseldorf on the 26th in the evening. I´ll have a night and half a day there.
What should I do and see in those places?, keeping in mind that I´ll be on a half shoestring budget (hey!, I have to save money to settle down in Thailand).
I´ll probably meet a Spanish friend at Paris, but appart of that I´m foggy about what to do, besides visiting the Eiffel Tower…
I remember Dusseldorf only very vaguely, but I do recall that the “old town” is cute and finite and sort of that condensed old Germany experience you can digest in half a day. Or you could figure out where Kling Klang Studios is and kidnap whatever members of Kraftwerk are hanging around that day and I’ll pay you for their delivery.
Paris. . . I’ll let experts chime in. Are you an art person, or a shopping type or what? That might help.
Sacre Coeur!! Lovely place, and Montmarte is a wonderful neighborhood to spend some time in. The Dali museum is awesome, if you like his work. Also the view from the Sacre Coeur is breathtaking.
Musee d’Orsay was my favorite museum in Paris (Louvre was way too overwhelming).
I skipped going up the Eiffel Tower (everyone told me it was overrated).
The Louvre is definitely worth the trip. I think it’s a must see. the Dali Museum also rocks. The Notre Dame Cathedral and the Palace of Versaille are outstanding sites.
The Eiffel Tower is nice to walk by but not really worth lining up to go to the top.
I should clarify - the Louvre was overwhelming but I don’t mean it’s not worth visiting. But if museum’s aren’t your thing and you’re pressed for time, you might want to think about it. It’s HUGE and half a day there was enough to exhaust me.
The Versaille was beautiful but it’s on the outskirts of the city so it takes some time to get there. Again, might be difficult if you don’t have a lot of time.
All these things are true. If I had two days, I’d spend a day at the Louvre (still not nearly enough time) and a day at Versaille. Those are the sites that would tap most directly into my personal interests. Some people might prefer the scenery and the cafes over the history and art, though.
Another great thing about this museum is it’s in a great part of town, home to the Sorbonne as well as Notre Dame, the Latin Quarter, Shakespeare & Co., and more. You could spend your whole layover in that neighborhood (I know I would). Also, IMHO the view from the Panthéon (also nearby) is the best in town.
As for Düsseldorf, if you’re a beer drinker (and judging from your screen name, you just might be) you must visit Schlüssel, in the Altstadt. Schlüssel Alt is to die for.
I´ll have to check out that “old town”, seems interesting; I´m the kind of guy that likes to get a bit lost when visiting new places, walk the streets and get a feeling of the common life rather than the typical touristic circuits. Having said that one of the reasons I want to climb the Eiffel Tower is because I simply love the sight of a city from a great height, millions of places, lives and stories at a sight, it´s an overwhelming feeling.
As for your request I would nothing else to please you with it but I´ll carry little luggage and a couple bound and gagged guys would be way to cumbersome to push around.
Now, the Louvre, being an artistic kind of guy I´d most certainly love to visit it, but I´ve already been told that it´s huge and a whole day visit would barely make it justice, on the other hand I´m very tempted by the Dali museum suggestion.
Oh, the La Défense neighborhood, I had forgotten about it; I´ve always wanted to see that place, that´s a good one.
That sounds good, a chance to walk around the place and see many different things.
Ahh… nope, not a beer drinker, not even an alcohol of any type drinker, Ale is just short of Alejandro, my full name… yeah, very imaginative screen name, no?
Well, there’s not much to do in Dusseldorf in terms of actual sights. The Altstadt is kind of nice to walk around in, but it mainly consists of little beer halls (hence Dusseldorf’s dubious claim to fame as “the longest bar in Germany”). You could also go walk around on the Koe(nigsallee), which is where the rich and famous (sort of) go to shop in expensive boutiques, as Duesseldorf also claims to be Germany’s fashion capital.
Duesseldorf has always been somewhat in rivalry with nearby Cologne, which tries to vie for the number one spot in the region by proclaiming itself Germany’s “media city”. Since they are fairly close, once you’ve seen all the beer halls there are in Duesseldorf, you could also visit Cologne (it’s a short train ride, about 20 minutes) and check out the Dom (cathedral) and Cologne’s Altstadt. In January, they might have started celebrating Karneval, which resembles Mardi Gras in New Orleans, only with less boobs and more clowns. And beer*, of course.
*Even if you are not much of a beer drinker (I’m not either), you might enjoy Koelsch (Cologne beer, like Lager) or Alt (Duesseldorf beer, sort of like Guinness) - they come in fairly small glasses and are easy on the palate. Beware, though, those little innocuous glasses tend to add up quickly…
Hmmm, Cologne, I haven´t thought of that; actually I wasn´t aware it was so close to Dusseldorf.
[Monty Burns]Interesting[/Monty Burns]
As for the beer, nope, don´t drink alcohol, at all. Nothing, zip, nada, forget it. The last time I had a tiny sip of wine (under peer pressure) was on the 28th of November 1998 in Santiago de Chile at around 10:30 PM.
I simply don´t like the taste of alcohol, there´s nothing puritanical or religious about it.
I went to the French embassy today to get some info about the visa requierements; everything went fine, I don´t actually need to do anything here, I just have to show at the airport that I have the money to stay there for the time I specify, a hotel reservation and travel insurance. I´ll sort out the insurance with the travel agency, but I´d like some opinions about a place to stay; I have a friend in Paris I could stay with but I don´t want to bother her with the paperwork she´ll have to do to host me.
Any suggestions for a nice place to stay a couple nights?
Even if you’re pressed for time, I’d say you have to visit the Louvre. Pick the sections you’re the most interested in and spend your time there. I’ll also have to second the Dali Museum suggestion; it’s a lovely little place.
But the real gem, for me, is the Notre Dame de Paris. It’s absolutely, breathtakingly, overwhelmingly beautiful. Do make sure to visit the towers. I wish I’d taken more pictures from the Galerie des Chimères.
As for Montmartre, it’s a nice neighbourhood, but it’s also kind of the bad side of Paris. I’d never seen an actual person play three card monte on an upturned cardboard box until I came to Montmartre. There are scammers wanting to tie “artistic” bands around your wrist, then demand money for them, then shout and bitch and make a scene until you give them money for them. Some parts of Montmartre are absolutely packed with porn clubs and sex shops. And so on.
Not only that, but the Dom is directly next to the train station. No extra transport or asking directions required.
One good place to find reasonably priced accommodations all over Europe is HRS (Hotel Reservation Service). I’ve used them many times and never had a problem.
