hey guys and dolls,
Any tips for an overseas virgin? Decided life isn't complete if I don't see Paris during my vacation time this fall.
So be my travel guide. 

I've never been to France, but I have been to Belize, Mexico, the Bahamas, and Honduras.

The biggest piece of advice is: Don't go alone, nothing is more enjoyable then sharing an experience with someone else.

Know that the danger level is directly proportional to the level of money, France might be alot safer than Mexico, but even the safest city has dangerous ghettos in it somewhere.

Oh, and if you are American, be Canadian. Otherwise, people will want to talk to you about how bad the US foreign policy is (forcing my to spend several hours agreeing with people, it isn't like anyone I know voted on a ballot to go to war, but people in other countries seem to think that is how it is...).

One of my favorite travel authors, Ed Buryn, would give some piece of advice in a paragraph entitled, "Traveling with a friend is the best", then promptly contradict himself with the next paragraph entitled, "Traveling alone is great!".

Vagabonding in Europe and North Africa

That being said, traveling with somebody is great, but traveling alone makes you more focused externally on the people and place.

On the other hand...

The bottom line, travel!

Hi Nero,
I've done quite a bit of OS over many years, as Hikari said unless it's buisness or conference go with someone. Even a relative if need be Can tell stories about that as well

Security. Use the Hotel safe to store your passport and plane tickets. Photocopy your passport and tickets. If you can keep a copy with you and a copy at home with a friend. Take two credit cards. Don't flash a lot of money, I still use a money belt under my blouse/sweater and have enough in my purse for items. I keep extra cash in the hotel safe if need be. Be aware of pickpockets, the ones in Italy are really good, watch out for the baby trick. I had a friend in Paris who got on the metro four guys crammed around her, one took out a knife, sliced her bag open and took her wallet. She couldn't move as she was crammed in, they just got off at the next station a few seconds after .  Don't carry, take, use, think, about drugs. Never let your credit card out of your sight. I used one in Malaysia at the hotel I was in. Only used it once at the reception desk, it was scammed three times.

Sorry if this sounds like Oh No Never let on you're from the USA, as Hikari said; lots of Europeans don't really like the USA after your ex-president, your new one is popular though. I happen to love you B&G's.

Never get drunk, unless in your room. If in a tourist spot a really cute guy or girl chats you up, it is probably not true love

Be very sensitive to local issues. I remember in SF being asked by a too belligerent hotel guest, out of the blue BTW, which is more beautiful the SF Bay harbor or Sydney Harbor. The answer is obvious, Sydney, I of course said San Fran, he was happy with that.

Of course make sure you have medical insurance etc. Don't break your wrist in Delhi, I had to fly back and have it re-broken and reset, then fly back again, not a good trip

Take lots of pictures. Go to local markets. Never buy stuff from souvenir shops, use banks for money exchange, or use your credit cards only.

Smile all the time.

Paris is great. I like the French, try to speak French, no one likes English speaking people expecting everyone to speak english, even if the do.  If at first someone doesn't understand, shouting doesn't help Had that done to me in the reverse it was hilarious and very offensive at the same time.  Paris is expensive. Full Stop. Expect to queue for hours for the 'famous' sites, particularly in peak tourist holiday time (6 hours for the Eiffel Tower), I waited 5 hours to get into the Lourve, complained to someone they had waited for nine, some one else had bought prepaid passes and got in without queuing Mmmm. The Mona Lisa is a very small painting of a not very attractive person, few, I think, realise how small it is. I do know BTW that size isn't everything Plan to see some of the 'lesser' sites, many are gorgeous. If a 'tourist' bus trip of the city is available think about taking it, they are often quite cheap and show you things you will not see. Locals think they are crap but as a tourist don't try and think like a local. E.G most Londoners have never been to the Tower.

People are usually very willing to help people. Listen to the hotel staff and ask them questions. I remember in LA years ago I was going out for a walk about 9pm. The desk staff stopped me and asked where I was going and they would get a cab for me. I said I was just going out for a walk around. They just said no; you won't come back from a walk around here. Scared the c**p out of me. They were not joking

And most of all - ENJOY IT.

Even with all that and no doubt many others will join in. I love OS travel and also local travel. I have to admit I have had a few scrapes but never a major problem.
The rattling wrist bone and the OT full of s**t was a high-light
Someone picking me and my friend up in an ox cart and taking us to their home and insisting we stay, organizing their family and friends to come to a party and meet us was a highlight. I'm pretty sure I had more cash in my purse than the village had in total, and I didn't have much, but they were so pleased to meet people.

I won't mention the egg breakfast in Vietnam But it was supposed to be a treat

I'm not sure, but I always try and treat people with respect. I hope that in doing so they will treat me that way as well. Mainly I think most people aspire to the same feeling.

Being invited to a, home made, brandy drinking party in (then) Yugoslavia. I still remember that hang over. But it was great. For the month I was in the town after, EVERYONE, new me. I was greeted everywhere and warmly and friendly. Even the 'secret' police were friendly.

Sorry Nero. You have tripped my wires. Time to travel again.

Hugs Bro

Cindy

Let's see, pretty places on my continent... Personally never been much of a fan of Paris really. Too crowded and I just need to sigh at the lack of English. The west of France is quite beautiful though; Britany/Bretagne my personal favourite. Then there's always Barcelona (Spain), Rome (Italy), and I'll suggest Kiev (Ukraine) and Chishinov (Moldova) since I lived there - beautfiul ex-ussr cities with still some grand soviet marks (especially Chishinov is beautiful since it's a rather green city)...

Of course there's always Amsterdam, but I'm not a big fan of it either. It's like walking through a movie script with a bunch of odd characters. But, I guess The Netherlands can be an interesting country to visit. Same goes for London, UK in general.

I was in Paris in 2001, loved it and still hope to go back again. It helps if you can speak a few words of basic French, but no-one will expect you to be fluent.

I would agree with the points Cindy made, and add watch out for the Gypsys. I don't know whether they really are Gypsy, but they are all over and will try and rip you off big time. 

Allow a full day at the Louvre, it is unbelievably popular, better yet allow 2!

Disneyland is identical to the one in the US, so if you have never visited that, now's your chance.  Versailles is also worth the trouble to visit.

Don't even think about eating the Andouillettes (offal sausages), they are for locals only, but the crepes are to die for!

I love this thread!

I have dreams of going overseas and exploring new places. I will check out the book that Renate suggested for sure. I see that it is an older book but the spirit of traveling does not age! I have not gone overseas or out of the country (U.S.) but in my studies there are opportunities for internships which include OOC (out of country) ones. I'm subscribing to this thread

If you go to Paris (my second home) the following are my top ten well worth visiting. To do them all you will need at least a week.

1. The Marrais - that is the lesbian and gay quarter of the city - also where there are a lot of funky creative boutiques and shops.
2. The Eifel tower - and go all the way to the top.
3. Take one of the premiere grade river cruises with a meal.
4. Go to notre dame, Saint Sulpice (where some of Da'vinci code was filmed), and Sacre Coeur.
5. Walk around monmartre and go see the Moulin rouge!
6. The Louvre is closed on a tuesday - I never remember that one and I always get caught out but is a must see - to look at it all you'll need two whole days.
7. Take a day trip to Versaille to see how royalty REALLY lived. Honestly it makes our Windsor castle look like a council house!
8. I you have time the Sorbonne is nice to see as are the various other art galleries like Pomidou centre just off les Halles.
9. Paris Souterrain - (the catacombes) is very atmopsheric.
10. If you like aroespace then the areospace musem at Le Bourget is quite fun too.

general advice

1. be careful where you stay - do your research and pick an area and a hotel to suit your lifestyle. not all districts are the same. We usually go to the 15th Arrondisment because I used to have a flat there and although it is outside the main tourist area it is a nice quite place to stay. It's where all the middle class parisiens live. Avoid at all costs staying anywhere near the Gare Du Nord unless you wan to get mugged - but generally unless you are daft enough to venture into the banlieus Paris is very safe. I've walked about on my own late at night frequently there.

2. Eat mid day and order the plat du jour (dish of the day) you get better value that way, and if you dod it right you can eat like royalty for less than $30 per day. Do it wrong and you'll end up spending three or four times that.

3. Walk - uses buses or the metro, or better still use the Velibes (free bicycles - which you can use for an hour at a time without charge) do NOT even THINK about thinking about taking a car to Paris

4. If you use the metro or buses get a Paris Carte Visite to cover your saty duration - they are very cheap and will save you a fortune.

5. If you are going to do museums then get a museum pass for either 3 or 4 days. Again as long as you use them they save money.

6. If possible go with me or failing that someone like me - I am virtually bi-lingual French English and I have been told by various francophones that I have a typical Parisien accent! That helps a lot. Parisiens can be very rude to outsiders but if they think you are one of the club then they are much more helpful.

7. If you visit Bois De Boulogne DO NOT go after sundown - or you'll probably either get accosted by a man wanting sex, or set upon by a transsexual prostitute. Niether is a nice experience.

8. If you want a real gourmet meal in real french Art Deco style go to "Le Boeuf Sur le Toit" http://www.boeufsurletoit.com/en/ just off the Champs Elysee. If you go there, do go well dressed and keep eyes open for major Holywood actors many of whom are regulars. You can find yourself suddnely seated next to a Hollywood A lister - as we did - which of course is part of the fun!

That will do for now - for any more advice - just PM me. I am also pretty well versed on Amsterdam, where I have also had a pied a terre at one time, and of course LONDON which was my home for many years.

great info above. The museum pass is well worth it as it lets you in a "special" door and when the lines are really long it  helps. I really like the Oursey, it's in an old train station and the building is as much of an art piece as the art in the building. I always get a Paris Carte, I think if you get one lasting a longer period of time you may need a photo for it, but could be getting that confused with the metro pass in England. On my last trip One day I just took my Ipod and wandered around the city all day. I never got lost and had an amazing day. I love Paris, I would hop over for a very long weekend after working the week in London.  I think you will have a great time. Try and learn some french and as I am sure you are well aware yelling what you are trying to say in LOUDER ENGLISH does not make people understand you.
have fun,
Cheers Myles

Oooh.. Paris..  I'll fill you in on my fav places there.  Definately have to hit Montemarte if you like "real" paris feel.  I need more time to write.  If it's ok, I'll answer this one more later, K ?

Take a day trip to Versaille to see how royalty REALLY lived. Honestly it makes our Windsor castle look like a council house!

Then remember that they got killed for living like that too.  But the place there is about the most farking gaudy, ostentatious building I've ever been in - found my self wandering around sounding like the Queen in AiW, "Off with their heads."  The gardens are really some thing else.

When I can - and I have to work at it anymore, I vastly prefer to travel alone.  If you have someone else the two (or more) of you walk around in a bubble.  It's better to go on your own and interact with people. The best things in my life when traveling happened in that way.

I've never been to Europe myself, but if you're going to France, how about visiting the Palais Ideal?




"It all started one day in 1879 when a postal worker in Hauterives, France tripped over a rock. 34 years/9,000 days/65,000 hours later he had built Palais Ideal, a bizarre four-sided castle made from concrete, lime, and wire that combines architectural styles from various time periods and countries."
The postman, Ferdinand Cheval, was recognized by Picasso and others as an incredible artist (which indeed he was) towards the end of his life.

I've always wanted to see it. Perhaps you could see it for me?

Off the top of my head:

As someone else advised, do your best to learn some French, and use it. They tend to appreciate it.

If you get pizza at a non-chain restaurant, be prepared for a new experience.

Don't be afraid to try small, out-of-the-way restaurants every now and then.

If you don't already, be sure to eat European-style, with the fork in the left hand. Otherwise, you may be stared at and whispered about at small, out-of-the-way restaurants.

As others have stated, one day is NOT enough time in the Louvre.

The Eiffel Tower is a total ripoff ($$$), but you really do have to go to the top anyway.

I missed Pere Lachaise and the sewer tour, and I regret it.

Religion is responsible for many a beautiful building.

Paris in the rain is kind of depressing, but Paris at night is an experience.

Quote from: Hikari on April 15, 2010, 02:48:39 AMKnow that the danger level is directly proportional to the level of money, France might be alot safer than Mexico, but even the safest city has dangerous ghettos in it somewhere.

I had a teacher who would travel all the time. Three times a year, maybe? She was appropriately a geography teacher. She said the only time she ever got mugged was in Paris. Probably because so many people go only to Paris that there are muggers waiting for tourists, she said.

Quote from: SilverFang on April 17, 2010, 02:05:41 PM
I had a teacher who would travel all the time. Three times a year, maybe? She was appropriately a geography teacher. She said the only time she ever got mugged was in Paris. Probably because so many people go only to Paris that there are muggers waiting for tourists, she said.

Perhaps so, but when you have lived in Paris, as I have, you tend to know where to avoid, and you tend not to look like a tourist. It probably also helps to speak french with a Parisien accent. Under those circumstances I genuinely I feel safer in Paris than I do in many British cities.

The thing is Paris muggers are predictable. They do tend to stay in certain areas and they do tend to concentrate on "obvious" Tourists. Avoid those two pitfalls and they won't bother you. Whereas in London it's far more random. You can get caught out just by being unlucky.

That's why I said do your research and make sure you stay in a suitable Arondisment, and if possible travel with someone who speaks French fleuntly and knows the turf.

I have never had problems the times I have visited. The last couple trips I was stopped at least once each time and asked for directions in french or asked do I speak English and then when I said yes asked for directions. It was pretty funny, I guess I blended in. Once when I took the train from I think Germany they never stamped my passport because they thought I was French so they never asked for it, sure that would not happen in this day and age. Nero I think you will have a good time, it is fun to go with a friend  but also fun to wander the streets by yourself.
Cheers
Myles

Plus make sure all this volcano ash from Iceland has cleared up before you decide to fly anywhere. A load of European airspace is off-limits at the moment, and the news today said this might go on for months... :S

but when you have lived in Paris, as I have, you tend to know where to avoid
Pretty much true everywhere.  There are parts of SF that are not safe after dark, other parts, not really safe for some people ever.

Treat it like a casino.  You go into a casino with X amount of money, and when it's done you walk out.  Period.  Use the hotel safes and don't EVER take ANY more money than you need for that particular trip out.  That way it's real easy to just fork it over (think of it as a colorful foreign experience - at least they don't have guns, so its a lot less scary to be robbed in Paris than it is in Detroit.)

And, though its not as true in Paris or London (though times are hard and tough everywhere) if you are going into the third world remember that that $100 bucks walking around money you got on you is more money than most of the people around you are making over a couple of months...if that.  Americans tend to casual displays of wealth in a way that the rest of the world considers ostentatious.  So leave the Rolex at home.

I always try to find my tribe.  Sometimes its a deliberate hook-up where I've done research or talked to people before I go, sometimes it's just running into someone and talking to them - but just about everywhere in any major Western city there is a place where people vaguely like you hang out.  There's a place in every town where phony hippies meet / psychedelic dungeons popping up on every street...  And Zappa was right about that, but hey, I'm a phony hippie too, so I try to find the rock clubs/joints/hang-outs, the local 'Dead' bar, the TG spot and the places around the campus where the people who hang out at the university library hang when they are not in the library.  So that's the 'my tribe' vibe.  I try to find the rocker/hippieDeadHead/TG/academic places (yeah, they might well be losers, but they are my kind of losers) because I know I will like being there, and will like the people I meet there.  And because I do well in that environment.  So try to find out where 'people like you, but French' hang out in Paris.

That seems like pretty sound advice, Tekla. One major upside of globalization is that there are a lot of international subcultures - I can fly to Tokyo and find gothy types, music nuts and nerds not too different from the ones here in San Francisco. Some of my favorite bands were more popular in Japan in their heyday than they were here.

Quote from: rejennyrated on April 17, 2010, 05:07:12 PM
Perhaps so, but when you have lived in Paris, as I have, you tend to know where to avoid, and you tend not to look like a tourist. It probably also helps to speak french with a Parisien accent. Under those circumstances I genuinely I feel safer in Paris than I do in many British cities.

The thing is Paris muggers are predictable. They do tend to stay in certain areas and they do tend to concentrate on "obvious" Tourists. Avoid those two pitfalls and they won't bother you. Whereas in London it's far more random. You can get caught out just by being unlucky.

That's why I said do your research and make sure you stay in a suitable Arondisment, and if possible travel with someone who speaks French fleuntly and knows the turf.

Well the OP is "an overseas virgin" and not in the same circumstances as you.