Looking for Suggestions for Paris

[brp]

Originally Posted by Kickapoo Joie Juice

The only suggestion I can offer is to avoid doing Versailles.

If you read Trip Advisor reports (and I did read them all), it is a nightmare of waiting in line and massive crowds, combined with an inability to see anything or escape the palace if you can't take it anymore.

I guess that was the advantage of doing it in December. The gardens weren't much, but neither were the crowds.

Our trips to Europe are in the winter - December, January, February. Good fares, no people,. This NYE will be the south of France - Marseilles/Nimes area. No tourists

Cheers.

[Beca]

Check into renting an apartment. We went for 3 wks, and rented a beautiful apartment next to Notre Dame. They are often cheaper, and always larger than hotel rooms, and ours came with a kitchen and a washer/dryer.

The Metro is super-easy, and the machines have an English option for purchasing tickets.

I am going to disagree with many here, and say do NOT skip DL Paris. For us, it was the ultimate experience to see how different the cultures are....it was so Disney, only not....

If you can get a ressie at the DL hotel, it is SOOOO worth it. It is really easy to take the train out there and back.

Also, before you go, read Polly Platt's "French or Foe"....it give a lot of insight into how to be a polite tourist....

Have fun...the French are amazing people!!

Beca

[D C]

Originally Posted by Kickapoo Joie Juice

The only suggestion I can offer is to avoid doing Versailles.

If you read Trip Advisor reports (and I did read them all), it is a nightmare of waiting in line and massive crowds, combined with an inability to see anything or escape the palace if you can't take it anymore.

Really??
Versailles was awesome! Crowds? Non-existent. Especially in the gardens. The tour through the palace is guided via a handheld "phone" thing.
Just show up early if there's any fear of crowds.

I can't imagine how you could be in a position to not see anything at Versailles. The palace is massive, and the grounds are unsurpassed in size compared to the number of people that visit each day.

We took this in the main courtyard in front of the palace after our tour of the palace, before we went out to the gardens. There was nobody around.


Just show up close to open and everything is fine.

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

Originally Posted by D C

Really??
Versailles was awesome! Crowds? Non-existent. Especially in the gardens. The tour through the palace is guided via a handheld "phone" thing.
Just show up early if there's any fear of crowds.

I can't imagine how you could be in a position to not see anything at Versailles. The palace is massive, and the grounds are unsurpassed in size compared to the number of people that visit each day.

We took this in the main courtyard in front of the palace after our tour of the palace, before we went out to the gardens. There was nobody around.


Just show up close to open and everything is fine.

It's good that you avoided the crowds-I'm going by the trip advisor's website only-we haven't seen it yet. The reviews on there were pretty horrendous!

But maybe it's like Disney on spring break-be there before Rope Drop and it's fine, anything later and .

[brp]

Originally Posted by Kickapoo Joie Juice

It's good that you avoided the crowds-I'm going by the trip advisor's website only-we haven't seen it yet. The reviews on there were pretty horrendous!

But maybe it's like Disney on spring break-be there before Rope Drop and it's fine, anything later and .

I think the problem with many of these sorts of "ratings" sites is that people tend (not always, but there is a tendency) to post when things don't go well. And the large number of times that things do go well, it's expected and people don't post about it. Sure, you will find good reviews of things, but I'd guess that a much higher percentage of the negative experiences get reported.

Cheers.

[D C]

Originally Posted by Kickapoo Joie Juice

It's good that you avoided the crowds-I'm going by the trip advisor's website only-we haven't seen it yet. The reviews on there were pretty horrendous!

But maybe it's like Disney on spring break-be there before Rope Drop and it's fine, anything later and .

The books that we bought before going to France essentially said to be there as close to rope drop as possible.

I suspect that there are, like WDW, peak days to avoid. We were there on a Wednesday in late September. Does that make a difference? Probably to some extent. I would have loved to be there on a day where they had the fountains running. That would be spectacular!

Originally Posted by brp

I think the problem with many of these sorts of "ratings" sites is that people tend (not always, but there is a tendency) to post when things don't go well. And the large number of times that things do go well, it's expected and people don't post about it. Sure, you will find good reviews of things, but I'd guess that a much higher percentage of the negative experiences get reported.

Cheers.

My technique for using online ratings is to first look at the percentage of each rating (i.e. if it's a 1-5 scale, what does the distribution look like). Then I assume that the 5's are just elated and the 1's are simply pissed and neither is going to give a realistic rating. So I look to see what the 3's have to say, figuring they're neither pissed off nor unrealistically excited.. If they're positive, I see if the 4's agree with them. If they're negative, I look to see how the 2's compare.

[brp]

Originally Posted by D C

My technique for using online ratings is to first look at the percentage of each rating (i.e. if it's a 1-5 scale, what does the distribution look like). Then I assume that the 5's are just elated and the 1's are simply pissed and neither is going to give a realistic rating. So I look to see what the 3's have to say, figuring they're neither pissed off nor unrealistically excited.. If they're positive, I see if the 4's agree with them. If they're negative, I look to see how the 2's compare.

I like this. I always look at the 1s to see what they have to say, but your approach is imminently reasonable.

Cheers.

[scottinbx]

We went in 09' and stayed here

http://bersolys-paris-hotel.com/

it was a great little boutique hotel. If you get the top floor you do have to walk up a flight as the elevator only goes to 4. We had the top floor. Only 3 rooms up there and our party had 2. It is in St. Germain and across the river is the Louvre. 2 or 3 blocks down is the musuem d'orsay and either metro or train.

If you are there on a firday night find out where the rollerbladers will be. It is a sight to see. We also walked to the Eiffel tower from here but with kids might be a little too much.

[Deirdre]

Originally Posted by Kickapoo Joie Juice

The only suggestion I can offer is to avoid doing Versailles.

If you read Trip Advisor reports (and I did read them all), it is a nightmare of waiting in line and massive crowds, combined with an inability to see anything or escape the palace if you can't take it anymore.

I have to disagree too. I loved Versailles and the images of the palace did not fade like so many others. It is visually almost overwhelming. Go. Enjoy. Listen to your M.O. trip advisors.

Find time to shop for perfume for your DD's, enjoy good food and if you can, stop by Hermes and pick up a scarf for your wife. Have fun.

[TikiTwinsDad]

We stayed in a small boutique hotel also, off an alley (called Le Colbert). It had a very French feel but they were very helpful to us Americans. It was recommended by a couple of my colleagues and they were right. It was called Hotel Le Colbert. Pictures can be found in my TR here:

http://www.mouseowners.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=25134

It was just across the Seine from Notre Dame, with walking distance of many other places and close to 2 RER stations. I recommend the RER unless you have a lot of bags like we did, which turned into a bit of a disaster in the narrow undeground. We could also easily walk to the Louvre.

We also paid to use the Red Bus (extraordinarily touristy of us, but allows you to get off & on at major attractions).

We did not have time for the Louvre, but did check out the smaller, impressionist Musee d"Orsay. Outstanding place. Like walking into the movie, Hugo.

We also did DLRP and I highly recommend it, though I know many others will say "you can see Disney anywhere" and "there's plenty to do in Paris" - both of these statements are true, but miss the point IMHO. The DLRP experience is very different from WDW or DL and worth it in my opinion, especially for Disneyphiles. And, there's plenty to do lots of places other than Disney, but you should do what you love.