# What to do in Paris? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 26, 2003, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-in-paris/203976 "2003-09-26T14:51:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-in-paris/203976/21 "2003-09-28T20:54:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Melandry \* > Don’t miss the Sainte Chapelle- it’s like a little jewel. It’s on the Ile de la Cité, pretty near Notre Dame. > > Musée D’Orsay and the Louvre are also musts. I think the Sainte Chapelle museum may have been the one I was thinking of. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-in-paris/203976/22 "2003-09-29T00:36:22Z")
**Tapioca Dextrin** , I highly recommend the following: Ride the Metro to Montmartre, visit Sacre Coeur and make sure you stop for a little introspection. Walk up the stairs. Visit a portion of Montmartre – get one of those fresh-made “panini” type sandwiches and a beer. Fontainebleu and Barbizon tour. Walk the Champs-Élysées from the Museum of History up to the Arc. Finish any day with a nice big plate of andouiette at your favorite brasserie. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Melandry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Melandry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melandry)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-in-paris/203976/23 "2003-09-29T00:56:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zenster \* > \*\*I think the Sainte Chapelle museum may have been the one I was thinking of. \*\* The Sainte Chapelle isn’t a museum, it is a tiny, gorgeous Gothic chapel with miraculous stained glass. I’m not sure what museum you were thinking of. Maybe the [Cluny medieval museum?](http://www.musee-moyenage.fr/) ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-in-paris/203976/24 "2003-09-29T02:49:15Z")
More words of wisdom: if you see busloads of cops in helmets with plexiglass shields and other riot gear pouring into your general vicinity, approaching them to see what’s going on is generally not a wise move. Unless, of course, you enjoy being tear-gassed. ---
**Author:** ![SaxFace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SaxFace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaxFace)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-in-paris/203976/25 "2003-09-29T09:54:27Z")
What you do depends on your interests, really, so I’d recommend getting yourself a guide book. When friends and family come to visit me, the usual touristy itinerary begins with a “death day” - a visit to the cemetaries and the catacombs. The next day is a “forced march, nice view” day where I make them climb the Eiffel Tower (by stairs), the Arc de Triomphe (by stairs) and the stairs of the Sacre-Coeur. Finally, there **has** to be a shopping day. A lot of tourists enjoy the boat trips, it’s a good way to see a lot of Paris in a short amount of time. September is a good time to come, most of the summer tourists are gone. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-in-paris/203976/26 "2003-09-29T13:37:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Capt B. Phart \* > \*\*Yay! Fall in love twice! > \*\* There are two days in a weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Keek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@Keek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keek)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-in-paris/203976/27 "2003-09-29T16:10:03Z")
Musee d’Orsay Rodin Museum Best of all, find a cafe near a major junction, get a beer and watch the traffic. Parisians are the most entertaining drivers I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-in-paris/203976/28 "2003-09-30T02:04:54Z")
(hijack – nothing about Paris) Here are some net food exporters: Norway [http://www.nhh.no/sam/res&publ/97/abstract-dp15-97.html](http://www.nhh.no/sam/res&publ/97/abstract-dp15-97.html) Argentina and Brazil [http://www.sice.oas.org/geograph/mktacc/edwards.pdf](http://www.sice.oas.org/geograph/mktacc/edwards.pdf) Turkey [http://www.tradepartners.gov.uk/overseas\_trade/archive/mar2002/turkey.shtml](http://www.tradepartners.gov.uk/overseas_trade/archive/mar2002/turkey.shtml) The UK [http://www.tradepartners.gov.uk/food/profile/index/overview.shtml](http://www.tradepartners.gov.uk/food/profile/index/overview.shtml) Thailand [http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/003/X8731e/x8731e15.htm](http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/003/X8731e/x8731e15.htm) Taiwan, South Korea, The Netherlands [http://www.icpd.org/UncommonOpp/right05.htm](http://www.icpd.org/UncommonOpp/right05.htm) Chile [http://atn-riae.agr.ca/latin/e3059.htm](http://atn-riae.agr.ca/latin/e3059.htm) Lots more… [http://www.ifpri.org/divs/tmd/dp/papers/tmdp81.pdf](http://www.ifpri.org/divs/tmd/dp/papers/tmdp81.pdf) (see page 10-13 for a complete list) ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-in-paris/203976/29 "2003-09-30T15:47:03Z")
I’m sure everyone id dying to know where I ended up - down a sewer. It turns out that the Paris sewer mueum is even better than Bergen’s leprosy museum. I’ll leave the googling to those who are interested 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-in-paris/203976/30 "2003-09-30T16:27:29Z")
The Sewer Museum is very cool. Did you also get to see the Catacombs? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-in-paris/203976/31 "2003-10-03T16:55:31Z")
Only managed the sewers, off to the Alcase next for two weeks next, but that’s another thread. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-in-paris/203976/32 "2003-10-03T16:57:59Z")
Learn French? ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-in-paris/203976/33 "2003-10-04T13:53:21Z")
If you’ve seen the sewers, you must read Hugo’s _Les Miserables_. Seeing the Broadway show doesn’t count! ---
**Author:** ![Torgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-in-paris/203976/34 "2003-10-04T19:03:51Z")
Grab a couple of paninis, something to drink, head back to your hotel and spend the evening watching those weird-ass French commercials. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Big\_Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@The\_Big\_Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Big_Cheese)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-in-paris/203976/35 "2003-10-05T12:19:20Z")
Paris is my favorite spot in the world. I took a 15 day vacation there in '99 and still didn’t make it to Versaille. One thing I remember the most was going to the Louvre at night. Not inside, but outside. It’s of course mostly an 800 year old building, and the way they had the lighting done made it absoultuly beautiful. Especially the part where the fountain is. Just go there in the evening, sit by the fountain and look at the way the lights light up the walls of the building. Other things I loved were wathing the kids push their boats in that big fountain in the park (near the University?). Eiffel Tower at night. Walking on side streets, not just the main streets. Oh, and the chocolate!! and the chocolate croissants! It bothers me so that Americans are always picking on them, they were very friendly to me. I didn’t hesitate to ask for help. Every time I asked a woman (and I always asked a pretty woman) for directions, she always helped me, sometimes walking me to where I was supposed to go. When I struggled with the language, a guy behind me answered for me in English, ouvres-eggs, it means eggs. I will go back. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-in-paris/203976.md?page=1)