Alone in Paris - 2 days!

Alex, thank you for taking time to write with the wonderful tips! I certainly appreciate it and love the link. Best, Janet

Janet, having been there for the first time last year, I can tell you that virtually everywhere one looks in Paris, there is a photograph to be made. Paris is an enormous series of neighborhoods, each with a similar yet slightly different flavor, and whether it's people (use discretion here), architecture, food, even the metal grates around the trees or the metro tracks-it's just right there in front of you all the time, it's endless. Bring lots of memory cards so your eggs are not all in one basket should you lose one. A wide angle lens and a mid-range zoom are probably the minimum for a serious shooter. Have a great time!

Hi Dave, Thank you very much for the tips and as this is my first trip to Europe since 1980 I will have data cards to cover 34 days and several countries! Since I am carrying the famous Rick Steves backpack I won't have my laptop/cloud to back up against - and you are right about all the eggs in one basket. Great lens tips, too - thanks! Best, Janet

Hi I was in Paris last July by myself. Stayed at Champ du Mars off Rue Cler, I loved the location, close to Eiffel Tour, and Alexandra bridge for sunrise/sunset photos. As a photographer wish I had taken a walking photo tour to get the unknown spots. Check this sight out. http://www.phototoursinparis.com. If nothing else it will give you ideas of where to go and look for. Good luck and have fun.

Good ideas from Alex (as usual). We found St-Denis fascinating. I wouldn't call it a "no go" area, though it's a somewhat gritty suburb. Easily reached by Metro. There's a big university there, I believe, but the basilica is the real attraction. It was one of the first Gothic churches in Europe, pioneering the flying buttress which transformed church architecture in the Middle Ages. And the kings and queens are buried there, so you get history as well as architecture. (By the way, Alex, what's with the custom of keeping the hearts in separate urns? Hard to relate to that.....)

To your original question, surfergirlsrq (if that really is your name.....), I'd suggest a good guidebook like Rick Steves or Lonely Planet if you want to find a hotel that will take good care of you as an American visitor (I'm assuming you're American because of the surfer thing). Or, for a wider range of choices, try booking.com. For such a short stay a hotel is probably more convenient than an apartment. There are hundreds of good places, big and small, cheap (for Paris) and expensive, chain and family-run. Closer to the river generally costs more. Look for a neighborhood you like (Google Earth street view helps), proximity to places you want to see, proximity to a Metro stop (preferably a junction of two lines for convenience).

We stayed in the Hotel des Grandes Ecoles in the Latin Quarter and liked it very much. Quiet, charming, nice neighborhood. But there are many many others as you will soon hear from other posters.

Wendy, I have been in contact with the photo tour organization! GREAT idea and I wish you had done it, too! Looks great. I am taking the nighttime class - did you see the shots they posted? Awesome! Thanks again and I am checking out your hotel selection now! Best, Janet

Hi Dick - I literally joined this forum a few minutes ago and have not figured out how to put my real name in! Yes, I am a surfer and an American and I just returned from 10 wonderful days of Seattle rain and cold! Took in opening night of the Mariners and saw a bazillion tulips. Thanks for the great reply and I am listing everything and hoping to see it all. As a street photographer I love grit and nothing will hold me back from seeing everything that is recommended here. I have 34 days in Europe and can stay in France longer if need be. Best, Janet

Hi Janet -- Glad to hear you actually surf. Sorry about the Mariners.

Try the Marais for grit, one of Paris' oldest neighborhoods, central to most everything, lots of old buildings and photo ops. Nice small hotels too. A little noisy at night perhaps, especially in the western part.

Hey, Dick - Awesome - thanks for the tip! Checking out your leads. Currently reading Rick Steves scam artist tips and getting the creeps. The Mariners beat the Angels on April 8 for the opening so we were happy! Janet

What is your budget per night for a hotel?

And Dave is right... every where you go, every where you look you'll want to take photos. Paris is a photographer's dream.

You might like The Royal Phare, affordable, clean, a short walk from the Eiffel and there is a metro stop across the street. Staying near the Eiffel is a photographers dream, the Phare is close enough for sunrise shots and late visits to see the late picnicers and twinkling lights. We stayed there twice and enjoyed it. On the 7th floor we had a view of the tower, over the roof tops :-)

My husband is a photographer and likes high points with vistas such as Montparnasse tower, top of Pompideau center, top of Eiffel at sunset, etc. Also walk along the Seine is great.

Enjoy Paris!

Two places not mentioned and not generally chock-a-block with tourists, Inst. du Monde Arab and the Promenade Plantée. The former is of interest if only for the architecture and the Promenade you will find well used by Parisians with their dogs, children and grandmothers. While in that arrondissement, if it happens to be a Sunday morning, take a bus a little further to Place de la Nation, where there is a fabulous Sunday morning market. Lots of people but you would be hard put to find a tourist. French ladies in abundance, with their dogs in little baskets, and local chefs stocking up with fresh produce, but seldom any tourists. Once we heard some English-speaking people and felt quite resentful! I like to think they were ex-pats.

Montmartre is still a fun neighborhood, and don't forget Pigale! It's still "risqué!" I stayed alone with the granddaughter at Hotel Eber Mars near the Eiffel Tower and Invalides. I had a French Exchange Student many years ago and he insisted we go to the Architectural Museum, and he was right! The outdoor café has the best total unimpeded view of the Tower anywhere in the city! Whether you actually enter and pay to see the museum is up to you. The café view is free!

If you go to the Basilique de St. Denis to see the royal tombs, then head for the metro stop of the same name, on line 13 (light blue), not other stops that also have St. Denis in the name. You'll walk through a covered mall to get to the church; signs may also mention the "mairie"/town hall.

Janet:

It's too bad that you will be in Paris for only a few days. It is only after you have seen all of the usual sites/sights that are described by other posters on this board that I would recommend visiting the Chateau du Vincennes which is located on the eastern edge of Paris and reachable by RER. This is a 14th century castle, one of the largest in Europe, and you go there and see the place and return to central Paris in a half day. Here is a description:

http://en.chateau-vincennes.fr/

Glad you liked Seattle. I returned to this city after being in California for a few decades.

Geor(ge)