Thursday, April 19, 2012

Paris May 17-22

I will be in Paris May 17-22 on business. We are staying in the 7th arrondissement. This will be my 3rd trip and my colleague%26#39;s 2nd. We are women in our mid-20%26#39;s and don%26#39;t have a huge expense account. Any suggestions for things to do besides the obvious tourist sites? Suggestions for delicious, cheap French food and affordable boutiques would be great too.




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For food-







If you are in the 7th, you may be close the the rue cler- a food market. Try to buy some of your food here and eat in or have picnics. The selection is excellent and it will save you some $$




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Most of the tourist sights in Paris are fairly inexpensive. Attend mass at Notre Dame...even if you are not of the Catholic faith, it%26#39;s wonderful. They give you a translation so that you can follow along, and there%26#39;s nothing like hearing that organ.





Consider going to Pere LaChaise Cemetery. It%26#39;s beautiful and the final resting places of many famous people including Chopin, Bizet, Rossini, Maria Callas, Honore de Balzac, Delacroix(famous artist) Sara Bernhardt and Jim Morrison of the Doors.





Going up the Sacre Coeur for the view is wonderful and you can take a look in the church. Just don%26#39;t miss the crypt underneath. It%26#39;s a bit confusing. If you%26#39;re facing the church, you will see stairs and a walkway to your left. Go down the stairs and walkway and you%26#39;ll come to what appears to be a ticket booth. Tickets are only sold for those wanting to climb the tower, but those going into the crypt are at no charge.





Walk around the artist%26#39;s district, %26#39;Place de Tertre%26#39;. It%26#39;s right there in Montmartre close to Sacre Coeur.





The catacombs are fascinating and only 5 Euro each.





Make sure you go to a market. You can spend anywhere from just a few Euros to several thousand. I got two leather jackets from a market a few years ago for 15 Euro each!





If you want a ride on the Seine without spending a great deal of money, check into the Batobus. It has 12 or 13 stops along the river (it%26#39;s basically a water taxi) and then you%26#39;ll get the benefit of seeing what those who spend a lot of money seeing from the water. It%26#39;s a hop-on, hop-off bus all day and goes to the Louvre, Notre Dame, etc.





Buy your own water at the grocery store (Monoprix) and store it in your mini bar if you hotel has one. You can also put a little amount of food in there and a few soft drinks. Of course you%26#39;ll have to empty it. Many people have had luck asking the hotel not to even fill the mini bar so that they can use it for their own purposes.





Hope this helps. I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;ll get a lot more suggestions!




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Thank you so much for your suggestions. The cemetary sounds amazing. I will definitely check it out. Do you have any suggestions for nightlife? We will be working most days and really only have late afternoon and evenings to enjoy the city. Where is a young section where people go out? Any wine bars or Irish pubs you are familiar with?




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%26quot;Young sections%26quot;:





- Tacky and touristy: rue de la Huchette, rue de la Harpe in the 5th



- Local/touristy and moneyed/show off: around the Champs Elysées



- Local and hip: Bastille and rue Oberkampf




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I%26#39;ll be in Paris the same time and i%26#39;m a Philadelphian. I%26#39;m staying in the 3rd arr. I hope you have a good time. The NY times online has a lot of info about Paris. Check it out.

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