Need a basic guidebook to begin planning for a trip this Spring. Has anyone found one particularly useful? Last time I went there I used Let’s Go but that was a few years and a few income brackets ago. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
email sent.
Thanks very much Jay. It hasn’t hit my inbox and I checked spam and did not see it. Unless the subject line was about making me a “bigger man.” Did you send it today?
sent an hour ago…and no not a bigger man…but how you have $2,000,000 waiting to be picked up…
How long will you be in Paris? What are your family members’ interests (art, museums, history, shopping, on/off the beaten path, dining, markets, etc)? Will you have an iPhone or other smart phone?
Oh and buy without question or substitute Streetwise Paris maps (Amazon sells them for something like $8) for each member of your party.
about a week. My wife and son have never been, and I haven’t in ages, so we will be your normal tourists with a special interest in food. I know which museums I want to see (I think) and will want to visit some local markets (article in the NYT this Sunday is a start) Yes, will be carrying iphones, and I am a huge fan of the streewise maps wherever we go
I’m afraid it is lost in the ether.
It’s been a long time since I’ve used one, but my wife likes DK Eyewitness and the Michelin green book
Ok. There are some pretty good iPhone apps for Paris, including the RATP municipal transportation app. Which has routes and journey planners for all of the various Paris transport modes. We use it multiple times daily and it is indispensable. Also check out Patricia Wells’ food lovers app, which covers all things food if you share her sensibilities. It was updated just this week.
For week long trip, or thereabouts, the Eyewitness Top 10 books are really pretty good.
Fwiw, everyone loves the Metro, but, except for long journeys, the busses are faster, often get you closer to where you are going, and are definitely more interesting than traveling underground. Use the RATP app bus journey planner. The bus system in central Paris is great. Really great. And easy to figure out.
Just walked home (3 km) from another exceptional dinner at Chez l’Ami Jean. We travel a bit and eat at lots of varied priced restaurants, but few, very few, deliver time and again like l’Ami Jean. We ordered a ceps appetizer to share (after a couple of gratis pâtés de maison), but rather than ceps, we were served morilles, with a perfect poached egg on top, which was remarkable. Then came a velouté of ceps, just because. Stunning. I preferred the morilles, Patty the velouté, but both were delicious. Really. She had lamb, a rack and loin, and I had a veal chop as our main courses. Embarrassed to say that we ate the same (but not really) mains a week ago. Last weeks lamb was only loin, this week was 5 baby chops and loin. The veal chop last week was bone-in, tonight was boneless. All were superb. And the mashed potatoes are Joel Robuchon good. Neither of us finished. Followed by riz au lait with caramel creme and candied nuts to share. The best in the world. All washed down with 2011 Morgon Lapierre and a paxtaran for me. And a kiss on both cheeks for Patty and one for me on my bald head. Can’t wait to go back next week.
Get the museum pass, it’s a life saver. Right to the front of the line for them all. http://en.parismuseumpass.com/rub-museums-monuments-by-name-5.htm
Money.
Sounds amazing. On the list it goes!
A big +1 for l’Ami Jean, and for taking the buses. As for museums, if you want to get away from the “must-do’s” you should try the Marmottan in the 16th; a nice collection of impressionists, and it’s a much quieter and relaxed experience.
Also, you might check out David Lebovitz’ website: http://www.davidlebovitz.com. He has some great suggestions, one of which is Jacques Genin – don’t miss it; caramels, chocolate, etc.
Have fun!
Make sure that whenever you enter an establishment or begin a conversation with someone you start with “bonjour monsieur/madamme”. It will make a huge difference.
Re apps: check what you are paying for internet access via cellphone. It can get VERY expensive esp with an American phone (wifi is generally free, but you don’t get that in the street)
The map we like is Paris Pratique (actually it’s more like a pamphlet, so easy to carry). Has all metros, buslines, RER, etc., and streets, arranged by arrondissement and with system maps as well. Use to be about E8 (haven’t bought one in a while)
Michelin Green Guide is my best for many reasons. Walking tours, info on great smaller museums, fits in your back pocket, etc.
You don’t need to bring a guide book for hotels, and there isn’t a good book for food - get your info from the various boards.
(Patrica Wells book on Paris food was for a long time the best, but it’s been in print for over a decade I think, without an update).
+1 for Michelin Green Guide.
THIS. This makes all the difference. You’re in a more formal society, so politeness and a smile counts for a lot even if you don’t speak the language. Saying “Bonjour” when you enter any store is de rigueur, and then you can explain that you don’t speak French. Life will be miles easier.
Oh, and PM sent.
Barry,
Patricia Wells now publishes Food Lovers Guide to Paris as a smart phone application that is updated frequently. While I don’t always share her views, it is a handy place to start and convenient to keep on my phone. She has included many of the new micro-restaurants, for instance.
Peter,
If one has an unlocked iPhone (or, I assume, other smart phone) Orange FR sells prepaid sim card plans for voice, data, and email. We spend a month in Paris and usually don’t use our entire €35-each recharge during that time. All you have to do is take your passport to an Orange store and wait for (up to) 3 days for internet connectivity. Voice is immediately available. Or you can buy a sim card and initial time from http://forthevoyage.ecrater.com, an e-commerce shop on Guernsey run by the delightful and helpful Elaine Mahy. For a small fee, Elaine will sell you a sim card, deliver it to you, and make sure that it has the features that you want. Prepaid voice and data costs are very reasonable if one uses a prepaid French plan.
Edit: Food Lovers Guide to Paris is also sold in the US iTunes store. Buy, download, and consult it here as well as in France.
How about if I say “hello” instead of bonjour, but say it really loud so they can understand? 
Neal,
Have someone in your Paris office make your dinner reservations for you. They will have greater success obtaining dates and times that you desire.