Just returned from 8 days in Paris. We stayed at a delightful VRBO property in the 16th Arrondissement; it was a nice quiet neighborhood, close to a Metro, Monoprix (grocery store), good restaurants. Our location did require us to do a bit of travel on the Metro; took a couple of days to get comfy with that but it’s definitely do-able. Rush hour (5 pm) is not a happy time on the metro unless you really really like to be up close and personal with A LOT of folks. No unpleasant experiences, though.
We used the Museum Pass, and we just got lucky- we seemed to get everywhere ahead of the crowd- every time we left a venue, the line outside- even for passes- was really long. I highly recommend a plan of action for the Louvre- it was my third visit there and I still have parts I want to see.
We traveled to Giverny to Monet’s Gardens, and I have to say, that visit enhanced our later visits to Marmottan and L’ Orangerie. Seeing where Monet painted and then seeing the paintings was stellar. We were also very fortunate that there were few people there that day- I got lots of photos with no humans in them!
We saw Versailles, and again, the Museum Pass was a life saver. We were in the front of the line to enter (there are two security lines) and when we left, the line was easily 1/4 mile long.
We had a 4 hour personally guided tour of the Latin Quarter by a fantastically knowledgeable gent from Paris Greeters (https://greeters.paris) The Greeters are “volunteer, passionate ambassadors who warmly receive their visitors;” do look at the website. It’s free of charge (they do accept donations) and our walk added a facet to our trip that we wouldn’t have had otherwise.
We purchased, in advance, tickets to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower (this was my 16 year old granddaughter’s first trip to Paris) at night and it was spectacular. Having tickets in hand is the only way to go.
On the down side, we flew on British Airways, flying through Heathrow. Heathrow was A NIGHTMARE. The security check after landing and before catching connecting flights was an hour easily. The gentleman in front of us missed his flight and the attitude of the personnel was disturbingly cavalier, quite rude. My own luggage wasn’t inspected but my travel companion’s were, and they went through every single item, quite slowly. They confiscated sunscreen. I do like to be safe and I know we live in trying times, but..... just be forewarned and make sure you have plenty of time for any connections. On the bright side, here in the USA, the Global Access pass is fantastic. We just walked right by that huge crowd at customs, were out of the airport within 20 minutes of disembarking. With checked luggage!
All in all a great trip. Paris is a tremendous city, and I love it. But I do not like crowds anymore- and the crowds there are intense. And constant. And seemingly year-round. But- it’s Paris!
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
Nice report, but you should move this to the Trip Report section where it will have a longer life. And it will be searchable.
Posted by
OP
Eugene, OR
25 posts
How do I move this to ‘tips’ etc?
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
Copy and paste and then delete. Simple word processing.
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6713 posts
Nice report, thanks. I haven't had the kind of experience you describe at Heathrow, security is tight but the staff were courteous enough. It wasn't an especially busy time, though, and I had a long connection. As for sunscreen, well, we know liquids and gels can't go through those checkpoints, don't we?
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
4656 posts
Thanks for the great trip report. I will say, that I like these in the country forum, as I tend to forget about the Trip Report one. Maybe post a link to this one in the Trip Report section? Saves having to do the cut and paste.