OT Going to Paris, France, please help

Poss · Jan 26, 2003

My wife and I have planned a trip to Paris France sometime in March this year. I'm perfectly clueless usually and my French is VERY rusty (haven't uttered a French word in about 10 years but I still understand the language pretty well) so here's a few questions (please bear with me):

1. What areas a tourist having a nice F717 hanging by his neck should deffinitely AVOID? The camera is insured but being mugged is not exactly the reason I'm going to Paris.

2. Related to 1. Which kind of hotels would you reccomend? Any nice areas? Anything particular in mind?
3. What's the price of transit in the city?

4. Any other tips for a clueless guy going there?

I have no one in France let alone in Paris so please if you can spare a few minutes to share a few pointers I would deffinitely appreciate it.

Thanks!

--
Bogdan

Life is beautiful

reyeslp · Jan 26, 2003

Paris is like any other big city. I have felt a lot more uncomfortable in other big cities around the world. So the trick is just be wary of where you are. The usual tourist spots I don't think is a problem....just too many people. And you are just another tourist with a camera. The one spot to be careful is the subway after going to the Eiffel Tower. Seems the light fingered kids like that as the spot to pick pockets. A gang of them surrounded me and almost got away with my wallet which was in a belt pouch in front of my waist. Bring lots of memory...there are lots of photo opportunities.

Poss said:
My wife and I have planned a trip to Paris France sometime in March
this year. I'm perfectly clueless usually and my French is VERY
rusty (haven't uttered a French word in about 10 years but I still
understand the language pretty well) so here's a few questions
(please bear with me):

1. What areas a tourist having a nice F717 hanging by his neck
should deffinitely AVOID? The camera is insured but being mugged is
not exactly the reason I'm going to Paris.
2. Related to 1. Which kind of hotels would you reccomend? Any nice
areas? Anything particular in mind?
3. What's the price of transit in the city?

4. Any other tips for a clueless guy going there?
I have no one in France let alone in Paris so please if you can
spare a few minutes to share a few pointers I would deffinitely
appreciate it.

Thanks!

--
Bogdan

Life is beautiful

Poss · Jan 26, 2003

Thanks for the heads up!

--
Bogdan

Life is beautiful

ianR · Jan 26, 2003

Hello

Poss said:
My wife and I have planned a trip to Paris France sometime in March
this year. I'm perfectly clueless usually and my French is VERY
rusty (haven't uttered a French word in about 10 years but I still
understand the language pretty well) so here's a few questions
(please bear with me):

1. What areas a tourist having a nice F717 hanging by his neck
should deffinitely AVOID? The camera is insured but being mugged is
not exactly the reason I'm going to Paris.

Definitely avoid around the Les Halles area which is right in the centre and looks innocuous but is really quite unpleasant.Get out of airports and train stations quickly too. Most tourist areas can be a problem so avoid looking like a tourist if possible.

Poss said:
2. Related to 1. Which kind of hotels would you reccomend? Any nice
areas? Anything particular in mind?

The hotels are generally pretty good but what is your budget?? How long do you wnat to stay for and where do you want to get to? Let me know. Hotel prices are per room not per person so two is as cheap as one (unlike London)

Poss said:
3. What's the price of transit in the city?

The metro/RER is very cheap. You buy a 'carnet' of 10 tickets and one ticket will take you anywhere in the city. It'll be about $1 a ticket and these work on buses too. Cabs are OK but you don't really need them, everyone uses the metro/RER.

It's safe and I've never had any problems in 10 years, even late at night but of course, it's better to stay with crowds.

Poss said:
4. Any other tips for a clueless guy going there?

Pedestrian crossings stop the traffic in one direction only so when you're half way across, expect cars to start driving round you. Motorbikes drive on the pavement. It's accepted to drive the wrong way up a one way street as long as you go in reverse. The roads are NEVER safe here.

If you want a coffee, the price standing at the counter is less than sitting in the salon and much less than sitting outside on the terrace. About $1 standing about $3 on the terrace. Coffee and tea are black unless you ask for milk.

In a restaurant, the service charge is already included in the bill at 15% so if you do want to leave an extra tip, just leave a small one.

If you decide to go anywhere by train (as opposed to metro or RER) you have to put your ticket into a machine and punch it before you get on the train or else you'll get a large fine. The machines are orange posts at the end of the platform.

Museums, galleries etc often don't take credit cards. Everyone else does and I don't know why this is, but often you have to pay cash in these places- or cheque if your cheque book will work in France (very infuriating!!). Talking of credit cards, in a lot places there's a minimum limit of about $10 to use a card.
Museums etc are often shut on a Tuesday.

Poss said:
I have no one in France let alone in Paris so please if you can
spare a few minutes to share a few pointers I would deffinitely
appreciate it.

Thanks!

--
Bogdan

Life is beautiful

regards
Ian
--
6900

Paco · Jan 26, 2003

Hi Poss
You will love your stay in paris, it is a wonderfull city

For your first question, you will feel safe in paris, more so than in some other big citys. You should carry your f717 in a bag so as to protect it against rain, shock, etc.

Finding an hotel is quite easy, check on the internet, there is plenty of sites that will give you good prices and good location. By the way, dont take the taxi from the airport to go to your hotel, they are very expensive and most of the time you will be stock in a traffic jam. Once again see on the internet for info. This site is a good start:

http://www.paris.org/

And also, go to the a bookstore or to the librairy, there are dozens of books for travel to paris, most of them are very helpfull.

For your f717 you dont need a special transfo to charge it, the charger that come with it will take the voltage there " sans problème" , all you need is a adapter for the plug.

My english is not as good as I would like it to be so sorry for the misspellings and other funny things that I wrote.

Bon voyage à vous deux.

Paco

Shutter. · Jan 26, 2003

I can help.... WITH YOUR BAGS! lol

I'm a little Jealous, honestly. I was in Paris in 1990, and have been wanting to go back since. I had a wonderful experience, despite all the things I had heard and my little "incident" with the lady on the bus when she tripped over my lunch bag that was sticking out into the aisle. Oh, and the "run in" with the law, too, but that just added spice to the trip.

Really, we did more strolling and hanging out in cafes than anything else. Lots of wine. Lots and lots of wine. Bread and wine. That's all we really needed was bread and wine.

One recommendation would be the catacombs. A little gruesome, but really interesting. We actually stumbled across this little stairway going down to them during a stroll and decided to check them out. I should scan some pics if I find time, but for now...

click the next buttons to see the photos....
http://www.quovadimus.org/paris/cat/1-400.html

Poss said:
My wife and I have planned a trip to Paris France sometime in March
this year. I'm perfectly clueless usually and my French is VERY
rusty (haven't uttered a French word in about 10 years but I still
understand the language pretty well) so here's a few questions
(please bear with me):

1. What areas a tourist having a nice F717 hanging by his neck
should deffinitely AVOID? The camera is insured but being mugged is
not exactly the reason I'm going to Paris.
2. Related to 1. Which kind of hotels would you reccomend? Any nice
areas? Anything particular in mind?
3. What's the price of transit in the city?

4. Any other tips for a clueless guy going there?
I have no one in France let alone in Paris so please if you can
spare a few minutes to share a few pointers I would deffinitely
appreciate it.

Thanks!

--
Bogdan

Life is beautiful

--
Jim Fuglestad

Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase. -Percy W. Harris
Our existence is determined by the truths we tell.
Why simply live and let live? Live and help live.
http://www.pbase.com/jfuglestad/galleries

Poss · Jan 26, 2003

ianR said:
Definitely avoid around the Les Halles area which is right in the
centre and looks innocuous but is really quite unpleasant.Get out
of airports and train stations quickly too. Most tourist areas can
be a problem so avoid looking like a tourist if possible.

There are a lot of hotels in that area. Thanks for the tip, I'll avoid those.

However Les Halles are pretty close to Le Louvre or Notre Dame as far as I know and those are places I want to visit. I'll probably go several times to Le Louvre during my stay... BTW do they allow available light photos inside? Monopods?

ianR said:
ianR said:

2. Related to 1. Which kind of hotels would you reccomend? Any nice
areas? Anything particular in mind?

Click to expand...

The hotels are generally pretty good but what is your budget?? How
long do you wnat to stay for and where do you want to get to? Let
me know. Hotel prices are per room not per person so two is as
cheap as one (unlike London)

$120/day approx is my budget for a hotel. A complimentary or buffet breakfast would be nice but not neccessary. I would deffinitely include Versailles in my tour but I'm open to other suggestions. I like museums (all art but especially Renaissance, Manerism and most artists from the second half of the 19th century to present with the notable exception of Gaguin - never cared for his paintings much). I don't care for Disneyland-type things. I'm pretty open to everything else in between but I'm there only for five nights so Le Louvre will weigh heavily on my time I guess...

ianR said:
ianR said:

3. What's the price of transit in the city?

Click to expand...

The metro/RER is very cheap. You buy a 'carnet' of 10 tickets and
one ticket will take you anywhere in the city. It'll be about $1 a
ticket and these work on buses too. Cabs are OK but you don't
really need them, everyone uses the metro/RER.
It's safe and I've never had any problems in 10 years, even late at
night but of course, it's better to stay with crowds.

Deffinitely cheaper than London!

ianR said:
ianR said:

4. Any other tips for a clueless guy going there?

Click to expand...

Pedestrian crossings stop the traffic in one direction only so when
you're half way across, expect cars to start driving round you.
Motorbikes drive on the pavement. It's accepted to drive the wrong
way up a one way street as long as you go in reverse. The roads are
NEVER safe here.

Hehehe reminds me of my hometown. They still have difficulty getting people to buckle up there and common road courtesy is considered a sign of weakness

. I won't have any problems I guess...

ianR said:
If you decide to go anywhere by train (as opposed to metro or RER)
you have to put your ticket into a machine and punch it before you
get on the train or else you'll get a large fine. The machines are
orange posts at the end of the platform.

Pretty obvious color, thanks for the tip!

ianR said:
Museums, galleries etc often don't take credit cards. Everyone else
does and I don't know why this is, but often you have to pay cash
in these places- or cheque if your cheque book will work in France
(very infuriating!!). Talking of credit cards, in a lot places
there's a minimum limit of about $10 to use a card.
Museums etc are often shut on a Tuesday.

I hate carrying cash. If it's stolen it is gone! Do they have ATMs close by?

Ian, you've put a lot of info in your reply. I really appreciate it! Maybe we'll have a beer (or a Remy Martin) once I'm there.

Thanks!

--
Bogdan

Life is beautiful

Poss · Jan 26, 2003

Paco said:
Hi Poss
You will love your stay in paris, it is a wonderfull city

For your first question, you will feel safe in paris, more so than
in some other big citys. You should carry your f717 in a bag so as
to protect it against rain, shock, etc.

I actually intend to carry the 717 on my shoulder under my coat. People will think I'm packin' heat and that will give us some breathing room ...
Just kidding.

I will carry my camera bag which DOES NOT spell SONY with half a mile wide letters on it.

Paco said:
Finding an hotel is quite easy, check on the internet, there is
plenty of sites that will give you good prices and good location.
By the way, dont take the taxi from the airport to go to your
hotel, they are very expensive and most of the time you will be
stock in a traffic jam. Once again see on the internet for info.
This site is a good start:

http://www.paris.org/

Thanks for the link. I'm actually arriving by train from London UK (I'm visiting my sister there) and that comes on Gare du Nord as far as I know. I'm pretty used on taking the transit so I'll probably do just that.

Paco said:
And also, go to the a bookstore or to the librairy, there are
dozens of books for travel to paris, most of them are very helpfull.

I'll get at least a good map (and a transit map as well). BTW are those transit maps easily available there? Here in Toronto you can pick one for free at any TTC booth...

Paco said:
For your f717 you dont need a special transfo to charge it, the
charger that come with it will take the voltage there " sans
problème" , all you need is a adapter for the plug.

C'est une fortune vous m'avez dit tout cela. I bought an adapter plug for UK but NOT one for France. J'oubliais complettement, c'etait une catastrophe!

Paco said:
My english is not as good as I would like it to be so sorry for the
misspellings and other funny things that I wrote.

I'm affraid my French is not too good either and that's too bad. I used to speak better than English. C'est la manque d'exercise helas.

Paco said:
Bon voyage à vous deux.

Merci bien et a bientot! L'offre j'ai fait a Ian c'est bien valide pour vous aussi.

--
Bogdan

Life is beautiful

Poss · Jan 26, 2003

Shutter said:
I can help.... WITH YOUR BAGS! lol

My wife's gonna pack'em. Are you sure you want to do that?

Shutter. said:
I'm a little Jealous, honestly. I was in Paris in 1990, and have
been wanting to go back since. I had a wonderful experience,
despite all the things I had heard and my little "incident" with
the lady on the bus when she tripped over my lunch bag that was
sticking out into the aisle. Oh, and the "run in" with the law,
too, but that just added spice to the trip.

It's my first "real" holiday in more than 10 years. I just want to relax a little and see some nice things that I always wanted to.

Say... what was in that lunch bag taking half the aisle? The world's biggest sub?

Shutter. said:
Really, we did more strolling and hanging out in cafes than
anything else. Lots of wine. Lots and lots of wine. Bread and
wine. That's all we really needed was bread and wine.

Sounds like a feasible diet plan

. I would add some camembert to that though... Fresh French Bread, wine and smelly French cheese, my mouth waters already...

Shutter. said:
One recommendation would be the catacombs. A little gruesome, but
really interesting. We actually stumbled across this little
stairway going down to them during a stroll and decided to check
them out. I should scan some pics if I find time, but for now...

click the next buttons to see the photos....
http://www.quovadimus.org/paris/cat/1-400.html

I'll try those too. I've read a lot about them and they seem to be a whole labyrinth under the city. Did you see the "Miracles Court" (La Court du Miracles) too? Apparently the French Police would not dare go there up until the mid 19th century or so. I'm not sure if this is not just a legend though.

Thanks for the tips Jim!

--
Bogdan

Life is beautiful

ianR · Jan 26, 2003

Hello again

Poss said:
There are a lot of hotels in that area. Thanks for the tip, I'll
avoid those.
However Les Halles are pretty close to Le Louvre or Notre Dame as
far as I know and those are places I want to visit.

Yes, trouble is it is a huge station and it's right on the edge of Rue St Denis on one side with all the prostitutes and sex shops. The open area outside seems to be where all the drug dealers hang out and you can see them even in broad daylight. So there is a lot of fairly low life in the area, it's often better to go straight through it. I certainly wouldn't stay in a hotel there.

Poss said:
I'll probably> go several times to Le Louvre during my stay... BTW do they allow
available light photos inside? Monopods?

I'm embarrased to say I've never tried! No idea.

Poss said:
Poss said:

Poss said:

2. Related to 1. Which kind of hotels would you reccomend? Any nice
areas? Anything particular in mind?

Click to expand...

The hotels are generally pretty good but what is your budget?? How
long do you wnat to stay for and where do you want to get to? Let
me know. Hotel prices are per room not per person so two is as
cheap as one (unlike London)

Click to expand...

$120/day approx is my budget for a hotel. A complimentary or buffet
breakfast would be nice but not neccessary.

You can find a really nice hotel for about that price around Concorde. I've had family stay at several hotels and I know this one here is really excellent but it might be a little away from where you want to be.

http://www.paris.hotels-nb.com/forview/France/Paris/BEST-WESTERN-REGENT-S-GARDEN.asp

Some hotels include breakfast, some don't but eating out is never a problem here. A coffee and Croissant in a little café is one of the delights of the city IMO.

Poss said:
include Versailles in my tour but I'm open to other suggestions.

Definitely go to versailles and spend some time in the gardens. They are magnificent. Check to see if the concert season has started because in the summer they give great classical concerts in the park at night with a light display on the fountains. Magical!

Poss said:
I like museums (all art but especially Renaissance, Manerism and most
artists from the second half of the 19th century to present with
the notable exception of Gaguin - never cared for his paintings
much).

Well there's the Musée D'Orsay of course on the other side of the Seine from Le Louvre and that has all the imprsssionist paintings in it, and the Orangery in the gardens of Le Louvre which has all the Monet water lillies, so you'll be well covered just in that area.

Poss said:
I don't care for Disneyland-type things. I'm pretty open to
everything else in between but I'm there only for five nights so Le
Louvre will weigh heavily on my time I guess...

Poss said:

Poss said:

3. What's the price of transit in the city?

Click to expand...

The metro/RER is very cheap. You buy a 'carnet' of 10 tickets and
one ticket will take you anywhere in the city. It'll be about $1 a
ticket and these work on buses too. Cabs are OK but you don't
really need them, everyone uses the metro/RER.
It's safe and I've never had any problems in 10 years, even late at
night but of course, it's better to stay with crowds.

Click to expand...

Deffinitely cheaper than London!

No comparison! A good tip also is to take the Air France coaches from the airport. They'll whisk you to the Etoile or Quai D'Orsay in about half an hour for about $15 (as opposed to about $35 for a taxi) The RER goes to the airports too but the coaches are faster and cheaper.

Poss said:
Poss said:

Poss said:

4. Any other tips for a clueless guy going there?

Click to expand...

Pedestrian crossings stop the traffic in one direction only so when
you're half way across, expect cars to start driving round you.
Motorbikes drive on the pavement. It's accepted to drive the wrong
way up a one way street as long as you go in reverse. The roads are
NEVER safe here.

Click to expand...

Hehehe reminds me of my hometown. They still have difficulty
getting people to buckle up there and common road courtesy is
considered a sign of weakness . I won't have any problems I
guess...

Those 'police stop' videos are used instructional guides here. Seriously, I'll never get used to it. We've just woken up to the fact that we have some of the bloodiest roads in the world and are at last trying to address the problem.

Driving on the motorway at 85mph you'll be the slowest thing on the road being passed by old trucks towing trailor caravans. At the same time there'll be a motorbike doing 180 passing them!

Poss said:
Poss said:

If you decide to go anywhere by train (as opposed to metro or RER)
you have to put your ticket into a machine and punch it before you
get on the train or else you'll get a large fine. The machines are
orange posts at the end of the platform.

Click to expand...

Pretty obvious color, thanks for the tip!

But unmarked and easy to miss. Lots of tourists get caught. You're supposed to punch your ticket on the bus too but that's a lot more obvious.

Poss said:
Poss said:

Museums, galleries etc often don't take credit cards. Everyone else
does and I don't know why this is, but often you have to pay cash
in these places- or cheque if your cheque book will work in France
(very infuriating!!). Talking of credit cards, in a lot places
there's a minimum limit of about $10 to use a card.
Museums etc are often shut on a Tuesday.

Click to expand...

I hate carrying cash. If it's stolen it is gone! Do they have ATMs
close by?

ATM are everywhere so that's no problem. This credit card thing may have changed to tell the truth, but I've been caught by it several times so it's better to be prepared. Nothing worse than queuing for 20 minutes to get into somewhere to find you can't pay.

Poss said:
Ian, you've put a lot of info in your reply. I really appreciate
it! Maybe we'll have a beer (or a Remy Martin) once I'm there.

e-mail me.

Poss said:
Thanks!

Welcome

Poss said:
--
Bogdan

Life is beautiful

Ian

--
6900

Zack · Jan 26, 2003

Ah I feel jealous, even though I was in France last summer.

Poss said:
1. What areas a tourist having a nice F717 hanging by his neck
should deffinitely AVOID? The camera is insured but being mugged is
not exactly the reason I'm going to Paris.

Les Halles area. Probably also some portions of Montmartre. Just be careful with your stuff, especially in metro/RER stations. Keep your valuables in front and close to your body. My wife lost her wallet to a pick pocket at the Versailles station while we were there.

Poss said:
2. Related to 1. Which kind of hotels would you reccomend? Any nice
areas? Anything particular in mind?

Can't say without knowing your budget. But I would recommend staying close to the center of the city, basically the single-digit arrondissements (sp?).

Poss said:
3. What's the price of transit in the city?

I think it was around 9.60 euro for 10 tokens.

--
Zack

Zack · Jan 26, 2003

Poss said:
However Les Halles are pretty close to Le Louvre or Notre Dame as
far as I know and those are places I want to visit. I'll probably
go several times to Le Louvre during my stay... BTW do they allow
available light photos inside? Monopods?

I think you can take photographs without flash in the Louvre and most other museums there. No flash though (you'll however see a lot of tourists using flash.) No tripods. I am not sure about monopods.

--
Zack

Yann LEZY · Jan 27, 2003

Hello.

Just a few tips for your trip:
-Hotels. You can have a look at this website:
http://www.accorhotels.com

using the english version, you'll get no problem in finding prices and hotels at convienient places in Paris. Several types of hotels are references on that site, and they all belong to the Accor group.

you can also try this url :
http://www.123booking-online.com

you'll find hotels relative to locations or prices. looks convenient and allows you to book you room if you want to.

As for the subway, you may find convenient to buy a ticket for a week or so. it's far less expensive than buying several "carnets" of tickets and it can take you anywhere in Paris as well.

Other tickets can also give you privilege access to museums.. many formulas. make your choice, depending on what you intend to do. You might have a look at this site:
http://www.ratp.fr (website of the transportation company of Paris, also in english)

Keep you things close when you're in the subway !

As for me, I've been living in paris or suburbs for 24 years. Never been robbed or anything but I guess I don't look like a tourist

nor do I carry my f717 hanging on my neck

If you have an imagetank or xdrive device I guess you won't run out of memorysticks... Else, you can try to unload your memorysticks at some cybercafe (les halles)... if you have a storage place somewhere on the web or have your pics burned on a CDROM at photo-stations.

Some shops like the FNAC (huge shop for books, music, hifi etc) have self operating decks that accept your memorystick, unload it and give you the choice to have them burnt or printed. give it a try !

My piece of advice concerning les halles : avoid that place, especially the underground part when the night has fallen...anyway try to avoid it... the shopping center area has nothing worth the visit. Stay outside. go see the church, the "rue St denis" if you like it but stay away from the shopping center.

What else ? well, you can get a good meal from 12 to 20 euros. If you like going out in the evening, try places like "place de la bastille" (very good wine bars there), the champs elysees, nation, opera etc.

and yes ! don't you forget the chateau de versailles !

I think most museum won't let you use your flash ! you can use your camera or camcorder.
I've just read the article on http://www.louvre.fr and monopods are not allowed.
It is asked not to use your flash so that you don't disturb other tourists...
(here's the article URL : http://www.louvre.fr/francais/infos/securite.htm
just copy/paste the url here: http://babelfish.altavista.com/ )

Well. if you have any questions, fell free to ask.
Have a nice stay.
Yann

reyeslp · Jan 27, 2003

Don't use travelers checks. They kill you on the exchange rate. Unless it's already Euro. They were giving me 85 cents on the US$. I started charging everything after I found out but I couldn't avoid it completely. We stayed at the Hotel New York which is reasonably priced and located. Walked to the Louvre and Champs Elysee. Took the subway to go to the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur. Subways are fairly easy to use as there is lots of maps and all you need to know is the end points. Recommend Musee D'Orsay...my favourite museum.

Poss said:
Thanks for the heads up!

--
Bogdan

Life is beautiful

reyeslp · Jan 27, 2003

I took pictures in Paris and at the Louvre.

http://www.pbase.com/reyeslp/paris

What surprised me was they actually let people take flash pictures of the Mona Lisa. I don't know why as they had been really tight in the past. So no-flash pictures would be more than enough. The Louvre is very well lit but we did go in the summer so there was a lot of light.

Have fun.

Allan R. · Jan 27, 2003

I suggest that you download this FREE utility called MetrO. You can get it at

http://www.palmgear.com/software/showsoftware.cfm?sid=93019420030106081928&prodID=4869

I visited Paris 2 years ago with 2 other friends. All three of us didn't speak the language. Anyway, we wanted to go around Paris to see the sights and to shop too. All we needed was one of those tourist maps which show all the landmarks and, more importanly, the stations of the metro.

Now with this program, all you need to do is input your starting point/station and tell it where you want to go. The program will then tell you what line to pick, how many stops and even how long it will take.

Hope this helps.

Loren Charif · Jan 27, 2003

Hi Poss

Boy, am I jealous!

Poss said:
I'll probably
go several times to Le Louvre during my stay... BTW do they allow
available light photos inside? Monopods?

We were there 2 years ago, and available light photography was allowed. Not sure about monopods.

Poss said:
I would deffinitely
include Versailles in my tour but I'm open to other suggestions.

If you're into garden/floral type photography, (and maybe even if you're not!), you might want to hit Giverny, where Claude Money lived and painted the Water Lilies and his gardens. We were there on a really crappy day and it was still beautiful and I got some great photos.

Poss said:
I like museums (all art but especially Renaissance, Manerism and most
artists from the second half of the 19th century to present with
the notable exception of Gaguin - never cared for his paintings
much).

I noticed in another message ianR recommended L'Orangerie; I believe it's closed, undergoing a major renovation, until sometime in 2004; it was already closed when we were there, and we vowed to go back when it re-opens. IanR, please correct me if I'm wrong on this.

Finally, to echo what someone else said, beware of the pickpockets on the subway; I had a pair working together; one pretended to drop his keys right by my foot, bending down and trying to push me against his partner, who I could feel feeling my pockets. The door was still open, and when I kicked his keys off the train, they had to make a dash for it...somewhat James Bondish of me, I thought...I was hoping they'd go between the train and the platform, but no such luck.

Loren
--
http://www.pbase.com/lorenbc/
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=4994

Poss · Jan 27, 2003

Zack said:
Poss said:

However Les Halles are pretty close to Le Louvre or Notre Dame as
far as I know and those are places I want to visit. I'll probably
go several times to Le Louvre during my stay... BTW do they allow
available light photos inside? Monopods?

Click to expand...

I think you can take photographs without flash in the Louvre and
most other museums there. No flash though (you'll however see a lot
of tourists using flash.) No tripods. I am not sure about monopods.

I just read the rules posted by the Louvre's website. No support is allowed, monopods included. Bummer...

Thanks for your time!

--
Bogdan

Life is beautiful

ianR · Jan 27, 2003

Fantastic reflexes you have there! Quick thinking and a great story.

I don't know about the Orangerie because I haven't been there for ages but I'm sure you're right. I'll try and find out and post back.

Giverny is lovely isn't it, and if you're out that way you can call in at Auvers sur Oise and see where Van Gough did some of his most famous work.

Another place in Paris well worth the trip is Saint Chapel for the wonderful stained glass.
All the best
Iann
The

Loren Charif said:
Poss said:

I'll probably
go several times to Le Louvre during my stay... BTW do they allow
available light photos inside? Monopods?

Click to expand...

We were there 2 years ago, and available light photography was
allowed. Not sure about monopods.

Loren Charif said:

I would deffinitely
include Versailles in my tour but I'm open to other suggestions.

Click to expand...

If you're into garden/floral type photography, (and maybe even if
you're not!), you might want to hit Giverny, where Claude Money
lived and painted the Water Lilies and his gardens. We were there
on a really crappy day and it was still beautiful and I got some
great photos.

Loren Charif said:

I like museums (all art but especially Renaissance, Manerism and most
artists from the second half of the 19th century to present with
the notable exception of Gaguin - never cared for his paintings
much).

Click to expand...

I noticed in another message ianR recommended L'Orangerie; I
believe it's closed, undergoing a major renovation, until sometime
in 2004; it was already closed when we were there, and we vowed to
go back when it re-opens. IanR, please correct me if I'm wrong on
this.

Finally, to echo what someone else said, beware of the pickpockets
on the subway; I had a pair working together; one pretended to drop
his keys right by my foot, bending down and trying to push me
against his partner, who I could feel feeling my pockets. The door
was still open, and when I kicked his keys off the train, they had
to make a dash for it...somewhat James Bondish of me, I thought...I
was hoping they'd go between the train and the platform, but no
such luck.

Loren
--
http://www.pbase.com/lorenbc/
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=4994

--
6900

Poss · Jan 27, 2003

... not to look like a tourist when you ARE one. Should I fashion a "clochard" outfit?

Yann LEZY said:
Keep you things close when you're in the subway !
As for me, I've been living in paris or suburbs for 24 years. Never
been robbed or anything but I guess I don't look like a tourist
nor do I carry my f717 hanging on my neck

Excellent tips Yann, thanks. I don't intend on flashing my 717 around except when I'll want to take some photos. I'm also not particulary worried by "snatch" artists as I'm a pretty meaty guy who carries all his stuff very carefully. I'm not backing off a knife (faced a few in my life) but a gun would be a different story. I just want to avoid all the "risky" areas beforehand as my intention is on spending a good time and not on filing police reports.

Yann LEZY said:
If you have an imagetank or xdrive device I guess you won't run out
of memorysticks... Else, you can try to unload your memorysticks at
some cybercafe (les halles)... if you have a storage place
somewhere on the web or have your pics burned on a CDROM at
photo-stations.
Some shops like the FNAC (huge shop for books, music, hifi etc)
have self operating decks that accept your memorystick, unload it
and give you the choice to have them burnt or printed. give it a
try !

How much something like this costs (the CD burning) ?

Yann LEZY said:
My piece of advice concerning les halles : avoid that place,
especially the underground part when the night has fallen...anyway
try to avoid it... the shopping center area has nothing worth the
visit. Stay outside. go see the church, the "rue St denis" if you
like it but stay away from the shopping center.

Noted, thanks!

Yann LEZY said:
What else ? well, you can get a good meal from 12 to 20 euros. If
you like going out in the evening, try places like "place de la
bastille" (very good wine bars there), the champs elysees, nation,
opera etc.

Seems a far cry from London price wise and that's good news. I don't intend on taking a second mortgage to finance my holiday

. When you say good meal what's included usually? Is it something that could last you the whole day? You see, this is not a question of budget really but more one of convenience. We rather have one nice meal then go about visiting all day without worry about an empty stomach...

Yann LEZY said:
and yes ! don't you forget the chateau de versailles !
I think most museum won't let you use your flash ! you can use your
camera or camcorder.
I've just read the article on http://www.louvre.fr and monopods are not
allowed.

I read that... too bad...

Yann LEZY said:
It is asked not to use your flash so that you don't disturb other
tourists...
(here's the article URL :
http://www.louvre.fr/francais/infos/securite.htm
just copy/paste the url here: http://babelfish.altavista.com/ )

Je lis certain journaux et regarde les canaux francaises couramment. Malheureusement si on arrive a parler ou porter une conversation legere, on a des difficultes. Pour parler proprement je dois penser in francais et ceci arrive seulement avec beaucoup d'exercice.

I will be not totally lost in Paris. Both my wife and I understand and read French pretty well. Our native language is Latin as well and that helps.

Yann LEZY said:
Well. if you have any questions, fell free to ask.
Have a nice stay.

Thanks for your time Yann. It's deffinitely appreciated!

--
Bogdan

Life is beautiful

OT Going to Paris, France, please help

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