Following up from the Visiting London advice thread from a while ago and given the recent flurry of similar threads, I figured I might as well give a bit of advice on another city that I've been lucky enough to get to know really quite well over the years. Paris is, in my humble opinion, the must see city of this planet, and that's coming from someone who's lived their entire life in London . Following a similar format to that used by @Jana: Transport I can't stress enough that if you have a fairly Central hotel, the public transport is not needed for the vast majority of the attractions. Central Paris is deceptively small and definitely very walkable, despite the streets not being laid out in the most logical of fashions. Paris is, however, on the whole, well-served with public transport options. If memory serves, 16 metro lines traverse the city, serving an area of about 100 square kilometres. The most useful line for tourists is 1, without a doubt, passing through the centre of the city, from the Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre to Notre Dame. Others can be useful for the more isolated sights, but in general a combination of Ligne 1 and walking will get you anywhere you need to go centrally. There is also a bus service, which is quite comprehensive but at times unreliable. There is also quite the developed electric scooter system in Paris, more so than in any other city I have been to. Travelling by car is difficult in Paris. Within the city, circulation is often hampered by the poor design of the city's roads, as well as recent decisions relating to the closure of certain artery roads crossing the city resulting in more traffic within the smaller, less spacious streets not made for so many cars. Accommodation Paris is busy year-round, and as a result, fairly expensive year-round. Generally cheap hotels can be found however, even in the centre. Avoid hotels in suburbia - staying outside the central area can cut off a large portion of your day and certain areas of suburbia are to be avoided. Food and Drink Obviously one of the best cities in the world for food, with an incredibly varied range of cuisines across the city. Not going to recommend anything in particular given just how much there is, other than a few really nice restaurants that can be found just East of the Musee d'Orsay. Tap water and bread typically given for free at tables. Safety Paris is generally safe, although tourists in particular are susceptible to pickpocketing on the metro. Suburbia is where the places that should generally be avoided are located. Language Paris is complicated - French people in general are quite proud of their heritage and as a result around half have a fairly poor grasp of English. However, most workers at tourist spots will speak English at least semi-fluently and about a quarter of passers-by will be able to at least understand and passably speak English. Speaking French will be quite useful however, particularly when entering lesser-known attractions. Zoos Paris is not really endowed with a single, flagship zoo. Its two fairly central zoos are la Menagerie du Jardin des Plantes and le Zoo de Vincennes. La Menagerie is the most historically important zoo in the country and holds a number of nice rarities (two species of bustard for example, including the only Houbara bustards in Europe). It combines the charm of some of the oldest structures in a modern zoo with some more modern infrastructure in places and a lovely little collection. It is a must visit for sure, situated within the grounds of the Natural History Museum, which is also an essential for a Zoochatter. Vincennes is very, very different. The only remnant of the zoo's history is the still functional water tower beneath the iconic rock structure. The rest of the zoo is very modern, with the zoo having been thoroughly renovated a few years ago. The renovations are great in my opinion, with the zoo now not having any poor exhibits and with some of the enclosures being superb for their inhabitants. I would say that this should also be high up on the list for any Zoochatter. The other two main zoos in Paris are further out and much harder to get to. Thoiry, while also a great place, is perhaps the most unremarkable of the 4 collections (not saying much given how unique the others are), with Tonkean macaques being the main rarity for new visitors. The park is not reachable without a car. Finally le Parc des Felins is without a doubt the best felid collection in the world, with all but two of the felid taxa in Europe represented. I would really recommend going, but public transport to the zoo is patchy and attempting the journey is not advisable without a firm grasp of French. I will write a bit more in the next post hopefully, particularly with respect to other sites.
Great advice and information, and I find myself fully agreeing with all the points made. I find France in general away from the tourist areas, to be hard work without being able to speak and understand some French and even then it is often difficult to properly grasp the reply. I will look forward to your further posts on this thread.
I recommend the area around Pont Saint-Michel. It has several bookshops, including Shakespeare and Company, with English language books (and a bed). There are also reasonably priced places to eat. Across the bridge and past Notre Dame is the Pompidou Center and a large library, which has a good collection of Natural History books, including several in English; it also has a reasonably priced photocopier. Ile St Louis is nearby and is a nice quiet place.
Of the two public aquaria of Paris, I would recommend to visit the Aquarium du palais de la Porte-Dorée, which offers plenty of rarely displayed fishes. Next to the aforementioned NHM, I would strongly recommend a visit of the closeby Galerie de Paléontologie et d'Anatomie comparée. Steller's sea cow, giant lemur, Sarcosuchus - oh my!
It is definitely true that France is one of the countries to have resisted the most to English influence, perhaps due to its historical hostility with England and a rather peculiar condescending attitude towards the US, which I can’t understand for the life of me. Practically speaking though, when venturing into remotely rural France it is, at least in my opinion, essential to have at least nailed down the basics of French because the reality is that the majority of people will hardly know a word of English. I’ll give some advice for getting to, for example, Beauval or Doue in a bit but the above definitely applies if one is thinking of making either trip. That area of Paris is lovely for sure - a very peaceful area in quite a busy city. Fairly expensive though from memory. Nevertheless if one can find a reasonably priced hotel around there, it is quite a strategically-placed area for sight-seeing. Oh yes absolutely, if visiting Vincennnes, combine it with a trip to the aquarium just down the road as well! It has a lovely collection and is really ideally placed for a visit, actually on the way to the zoo from the nearest metro station. As for your second suggestion, absolutely agreed - definitely my favourite room in any museum is the lower floor of the Galerie, with some incredible specimens, not least a plethora or rare primate skeletons and an immense ungulate skeleton collection. The floor above is amazing too, with easily the most impressive crocodilian specimen I’ve ever seen. I’d definitely combine with the NHM main hall and the Menagerie for an amazing day of natural history. Within the NHM also make sure you visit the Extinct Animal gallery, probably the best collection of recently extinct animal taxidermies on public display on Earth, plus specific specimens like Siam the Asian elephant. The building itself is also amazing. For sure, and not only that but also on the way to the zoo from the metro stop! For the zoo, the food is actually really good, would definitely recommend, easily best zoo food I’ve ever had (even over Vienna).
