Going to Paris . Where to go From there ??

Fred,

Yeah, after 3 days I usually have it there. Not to mention the absolutely ridiculous prices for a drinks/food. Unless you do it backpackers way.

Ronald, Firstly there is more than one visitor centre in Normandy (I am guessing you mean the D Day landings). My advice would be, get a train from Paris to Bayeux. Here I would go to the tourist office who will put you in touch with a landing beaches guide. I have heard they are very knowledeable and will save you a lot of time. Unless you just want to do Omaha and it's visitor centre I would suggest you do an overnight in Bayeux, The Churchill Hotel used to be very good but a long time since I was there. hope this helps.

Fred Luckow said:

Just our experience, but a few days in Paris, we were happy to leave...experiencing a theft of our camera along with rude hotel employees. Our experiences with the Italians were much more enjoyable. So, Leave Paris and enjoy friendly and outgoing people!!

Good luck!!

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Let's not turn this into a travel forum (there are plenty of those out there), nor generalize from an unfortunate experiece that could just as well have happened elsewhere.

As for the funny allegation tripods were "illegal" in Paris: restrictions are not so different from what you have in many similiar places elsewhere: It is only really an issue inside museums or in places where they want to deter professional photographers from making money off their image, or make them pay for a permit. With a little bit of cleverness you should be able to get around that if an official ever asks you to fold your tripod (happened to me only once below the Arc de Triomphe), by being quick, moving a little or coming back a little later.

Be careful, my Nikon D70 + SB600 were stolen last November, in Paris. All the hotel rooms have been "visited" by the thieves.

Pedro Aroso said:

Be careful, my Nikon D70 + SB600 were stolen last November, in Paris. All the hotel rooms have been "visited" by the thieves.

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You don't leave your camera in your hotel room, anywhere.

Common sense. Some tips from Scott Kelby:

http://kelbytv.com/dtowntv/2010/06/18/episode-43/

Do you think I should have taken it to the hotel's swimming pool?

Pedro Aroso said:

Do you think I should have taken it to the hotel's swimming pool?

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That would depend on the swimming pool. Either that or locked in the safe or at least your suitcase.

I presume you live in a third world country, but I am talking about an European country called France.

being a chauvinist I suggest when you go to Brugge you could also have a look in Antwerp , it is nearby and worth seeing, lots of museums, pubs, restaurants, concerts

Chris:

Yep, Den Aantwerp is nice, still remember "de zoo" I visited frequently on school trips when I was a little boy. "De Schelde" holds some nice memories as well. Remember de days when the Belgian "Amercian Power Car Club" held its yearly meetings on the "Linker Oever". I used to have a Firebird which I had to leave behind when pusuing my dream to see the bigger picture in the world.

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The statement below is true.
The statement above is false.

Pedro Aroso said:

I presume you live in a third world country, but I am talking about an European country called France.

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You presume wrong being too lazy to check the location as you were too lazy or careless to keep your camera in a safer place ;-). You are the one who had his camera stolen and found it noteworthy for other travelers not in a"third world country" but in Paris. Good luck with your new equipment.

I am sorry your equipment was stolen. It's always very upsetting and distressing and can ruin your trip and impressions. But, I don't think the thieves knew you were going to the swimming pool. Next time you can leave a note that says, "we are at the swimming pool . Please don't steel". It doesn't matter to the theives where you are, swimming or eating dinner or at the theatre or out for a walk.

This thread has lost its way big time. The OP asked a perfectly reasonable question of fellow photographers. There are comments about Paris that are nothing short of ignorant. I live in France, I adore Paris, it is a big city and yes it has big city problems but, it is without question the most beautiful city in the world (next to Edinburgh, being a Scot). If the OP has a bad experience in Paris then he will be in the extreme minority.

If you can isit Nice from Paris, skip Nice and head to Barcelona. It is just a bit further and there is so much change from France and so much things to visit.

Also visit brussels while it is still there.

I was there last year and we spend 15 glorious days in Paris alone. Two weeks for me was just enough to walk through it and enjoy discovering all of Paris using the subway system and the Batobus. One week in my opinion should be a minimum. Like somebody mentioned the only disappointment was the price of food and drinks that are atrociously expensive. The only outing outside Paris was a one day trip to the Palais de Versailles.

if one is informed and avoid the typical tourist places, it is very well possible to eat cheaply and good in Paris

meumerke said:

meumerke said:

As for getting to Rome, Venice or Napoli in a train from Paris, you'd have to be mental (or a train obsessive) to try emoticon - smile

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Have you tried? I used the rail network in Europe extensively and I am rather pleased with it. Venice to Rome took less than 4 hours.

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Yes - I travel to Nice once a week for work, and take the plane because it is just not possible to get their in a train in anything like a reasonable timeframe. I have also used trains pretty much all over Europe either on business or for pleasure, and international train travel is often very long. I've overnighted from Barcelona to Paris - took 11 hours or something. It takes 5h30 from Paris to Turin (keep in mind that that uses the high speed link for at least half of the way) - getting to Naples takes another 8 or 9 hours.

I am a mental train obsessive myself but there are times when it doesn't make that much sense. Doesn't always stop me doing it anyway though (see the mental obsessive bit for explanation )

I'm not bad-mouthing european rail networks (there is no single european rail networks and the quality does vary quite wildly from one nation to the next..), I'm glad they're there, and I try and use them whenever possible. I'm off to Zuerich by train in a couple of days for the second time this month. Like I say, mental obsessive