I wish i had known...

As a first time traveller to Paris (with wife and 2 children 7 and 11),i would love to hear the %26quot;i wish i had know...%26quot; from paris veterans

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I wish I had asked that or even used TripAdvisor.com before our first trip 4 years ago, cause the advice I have received since has been just super.

But without that, I wish I had forced myself to use the metro...guess I was afraid because of the perceived language issue. There is no language issue on the metro and it is SO easy to use.

I also wish I had purchased the musee pass because like KDKSAIL says, with it you can just pop into a museum and if you don%26#39;t like it, you can exit without any wasted out of pocket euros.

I learned on subsequent trips to allow wandering and %26#39;get lost%26#39; time. Our 1st trip I scheduled us to death. And this is exactly what the Paris experts on this forum recommend and they are right on. But one thing we did do and that was to learn a few basic courteous French phrases and that made the whole trip exquisite. Have a good one!

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Maybe you wish you had known that someone else already posted your question ! :)

http://tinyurl.com/go46a

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1.

picnic%26#39;ing in parks is wonderful, but it requires that you bring a small blanket to sit on on the lawn (where that is permitted).

Having picnic on a bench can be quite an acrobatic challenge

2.

always bring some food and drink for the waiting time in Charles de Gaulle airport the day you are leaving for home. Prices in CDG are horribly high and when you are waiting out by the gate you cannot be sure that you can buy anything

3.

do not count the day you are leaving for home as a part of you holiday. In the beginning I used to be very %26quot;greedy%26quot; and book the latest plane bound for Copenhagen in order to get as much Paris-time as possible. No good. In the back of your head you will be constantly aware of the time limit, which (for me) spoils the enjoyment of the things you do/see on that day. I now book a plane not later than around noon or in the early afternoon - and then make my stay 1 day longer

4.

bring a small traveller%26#39;s kettle and make your own morning instant coffee/tea/cocoa in your room and pop down to the bakery to get some croissants. Anyway the normal hotel-breakfast in Paris is only 1 croissant, 1 piece of baguette, butter, jam and coffee/tea/cocoa - and prices go from 6-10 euros. Having breakfast in your room saves you a bundle

Have a nice trip

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Well, eventhough I went to Paris for the first time on my 10th birthday I do not consider myself a Paris veteran, just a Paris lover, sooo,

I wish I had known that:

1) That first trip would be the beginning of your children%26#39;s love affair with Paris.

2) As a child, I was not caught up with the Romance of Paris, heck I was 10 years old,,,instead, I was overtaken by all of the stairs I climbed (to earn an ice cream cone), all of the people I met and all of the pictures I took of Dad. I appreciated that he asked me what I wanted to do in Paris, so we spent time in Parks and other places--

Please involve your children (7 and 11 yr old) in your planning, it%26#39;ll give them a greater sense of ownership for the trip and greater connection with you as their parents.

3) Document,document, document--thoughts, feelings in Paris,,, I still have the little notebook of thoughts from the 10yr old that was me (sort of Shirley Valentine style, but not as rebelious) Dad got me a green 3%26quot; notebook and asked me to start a travel diary..

Have your children write down what they see, feel and do (doesn%26#39;t matter how many words) It will make an amazing momento and they%26#39;ll thank you for it one day. For the 2 year old and 7 year old, let them draw how they feel each day of your trip and then add those pages to your photo album (just a thought).

Ahhh, it%26#39;s way past my bedtime,

wishing you all a good day!