Paris

I went to Paris and recommend Sofitel Arc de Triomphe. I stayed in the business district. You will be able to walk all over with a good map. I recommend Frommers. They have maps of each district (neighborhood)

If you want to be in the middle of everything, stay in the Latin Quarter. There are cafe's everywhere, the best shopping and is smack dab in the middle of the city.

I am so jealous! I love Paris. That is where we got engaged.

Here are some tips, I posted on other boards...


1- Best place to take a picture of the Eiffel Tower is at Trocadero.

2 - One the best walks to the Arc de Triumphe is to take the metro to the Louvre stop in there to see the Mona Lisa then walk up Rue de Rivoli b/c this is where all of the tourist shops are located and it's covered. If you like you can walk along that street all the way down to the Obelisk which is a tall looking pole surrounded by fountains and then you can walk straight up Champs Elysee to the Arc. Along the Champs there are some boutique shops, places to eat and a couple of clubs.

Or from the Louvre you can walk through the Jardin de Tuileries straight to the Obelisk and then to the Arc.

3- Remember that you can sit in any café for as long as you like. You can order a coffee or hot chocolate and sit all afternoon if you want. It's not like here where they rush you out to get the next person in the door. Many cafes have outdoor seating with heat lamps for the winter time.

4- I recommend stopping in as many bakeries as you see and trying something in each one. Every bakery has different pastries and some better than others. Do not diet while you are there. Enjoy the foods.

5 - Street vendors or little windows have great Panini's to eat on the go or sitting in the park. The Crepes are delicious as well! They have such a variety of fillings. One of my favorites is Nutella and bananas.

Yummy!! I'm getting hungry now for one of those meals.

6 - If you have time try to catch a show at the Moulin Rouge. Montrematre is considered the red light district. During the day you can take a nice walk to Sacre Couer (Sacred Heart Church). If you walk behind it you will come across a square of artists and street vendors. You can have them do a portrait of both of you. At night there's a lot of nightlife in the area.

7 - Don't waste your time at George Pompidou Center. It the museum of modern art and it's boring as hell.

Paris is broken up by sections and the fifth is where all college students live, you'd be close to the river Seine, if you stay here Notre Dame and many shops. There's some shops on Boulevard St. Michel, Boulevard St. Germain. There's also some shopping near the Sorbonne University. It's more like shopping in small stores rather than Fifth Avenue. But if your looking for Fifth Avenue shopping I can tell you where that is too.

The good thing about staying near the Seine is that it puts you in the middle of Paris and you can easily go between the left and right banks. You can walk along the Seine to various museums like the Musee D'Orsay which used to be like Grand Central Station but was converted into a Museum. If the weather is nice and you enjoy walking you can walk all the way to the Eiffel tower but that is a hike. Check out this site http://www.pariswalkabout.com/html/walks.htm

Let me know of you have more questions.