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Post by Jody on Oct 11, 2007 17:43:45 GMT -5
That's the question!
On another board today someone posted a question that was really a bit out of the ordinary. We all ask what are the "Must Dos," but are there things that you've heard about or done that you would not do again or would not have done in the first place?
I'll start
The very last thing I'd do in Paris ..or anywhere else for that matter..is attend a fashion show in a dept. store. I don't have a "Pariser Popo", am just a bit over the hill fashion-wise, and a bit broad in the beam and a bit long in the tooth, as long as I look neat,respectable and won't attract snickers from the natives, I can do without!
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Post by suzanne on Oct 11, 2007 17:58:15 GMT -5
I'm not sorry I went but I would not go again. Moulin Rouge.
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Post by sandy on Oct 11, 2007 18:28:20 GMT -5
I would never go to any cemetery, nor in Paris or anywhere else. Here in Buenos Aires we have the famous Recoleta Cemetery where Evita is buried, among other famous people, and never went there either, though I know it´s a "must do" for many people.
I went to Pantheon though, which is the closest to a cemetery, but I really didn´t have a special feelling there. But the building is worth the visit, especially for the Foucault pendule.
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Post by iank9 on Oct 11, 2007 18:45:04 GMT -5
Fouquets! Two years ago a waiter named Sebastien made us very welcome. Both of us and “the girls” were seated on the terrace. We enjoyed a bottle of chilled Chinon and a Parmentier and a Brandade de Morue and the girls provided with dishes of water. We people watched for a couple of hours, (nearly) spoke to Monsieur et Madame Chirac (if they had waited), and really enjoyed the experience. Last year. Mais Non. Madame Maitre de. Elle est impossible! On a interdit les chiens.  We took our euros elsewhere! ;D |
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Oct 11, 2007 19:10:25 GMT -5
I've never had the slightest interest in Pere Lachaise cemetary - I couldn't tell you why, as I am very interested in the cemetaries of small towns and villages and I realize many famous people are buried at Pere Lachaise. But my interest in the small ones is more because they give such a sense of rural life 100 or 200 or whatever years ago - as when one realizes how many families were affected by a particular war, or when one sees many deaths in a short period and realizes there likely was an epidemic. (Also not interested in the sewers or the catacombs.)
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Post by sistereurope on Oct 11, 2007 19:13:17 GMT -5
Coming up on my third trip and I still have no desire to climb the Eiffel tower!! I guess that tops on my list, though, would be to go to Euro Disney...sorry to all who have been there and liked it, but the whole idea puts my teeth on edge.  On the other hand, I loved Pere Lachaise! |
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Post by cybee on Oct 11, 2007 21:19:34 GMT -5
SistaEurope,
I hear you! EuroDisney would be on my"don't" list. I know some great people who absolutley adore Euro Disney and come back from there with happy tales and that's dandy...but as for moi, give me Paris itself!
I have never been to Moulin Rouge. I have no plans to go there either.
"Must do"s for me include just exploring the various neighborhoods and areas (i.e. being a flaneur!), finding a good cafe or park...enjoying it all at a leisurely pace! Oooh, la la!
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Post by Shoesy on Oct 11, 2007 22:18:51 GMT -5
I'm with Becky - I have no desire to see the catacombs or sewers.
I also have no desire to taste pig trotters. I'd probably be willing to taste just about any other kind of dish , (on someone else's plate) but not that.
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Post by Shoesy on Oct 12, 2007 2:06:03 GMT -5
Another thing.........I would NOT start out my day without first having my morning almond croissant.  |
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Post by Jody on Oct 12, 2007 3:42:49 GMT -5
GItte! You crack me up..the sewers ..EEWWWWW
We went to the Pantheon years ago and I wasn't too impressed for some reason. But a few years ago a group of friends went with Michael Osman along and he made it really interesting and I enjoyed it very much.
Since I live 20 miles from DisneyWorld that would not be on any list of mine. I haven't been to the one here in over 20 years. I only went then because a fried's husband worked there and it was free. Even then we only went to the French Pavillion to buy some Quimper!
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Post by Anne on Oct 12, 2007 6:41:22 GMT -5
My two DON'Ts are directly related to my two phobia : rats and heights . I will never visit the sewers because I would be too afraid of seing rats, or even worse, to touch a place which may have been touched previously by one of those disgusting creatures . I will never climb the ET anymore because I am terrified of heights . I had considered trying and climbing the Pantheon coupole this November because Becky had been raving about the view and I am fed up of missing all the good views while visiting places because I cannot bring myself to climb up towers . Unfortunately, it seems that the dome is closed during the Winter season, so I will not have a chance to try it . What a shame  ! But the bulky Pantheon or even the frailer-looking church towers are nothing compared to the ET, which is much higher and where you can actually SEE THROUGH the structure  ! As a child, I used to spend a few days of vacations once or twice a year at my grand-parents' in Paris . They used to live within short walking distance to the ET, and my grand-father had somehow decided that going up the ET was the best entertainment that he could think about for my brother and I . So EVERY TIME that we were in Paris, he wanted us to go there . It was a torture to me . I was sick with anxiety days before going to Paris, trying to figure out a new valid excuse for not going up . Why didn't I simply tell him the truth ? First, I was quite ashamed of being so much afraid of heights, I didn't realize that many people felt the same . Second, after he took us there for the first time, he asked us whether we liked it and I said "yes" to please him and because I thought that it was all over anyway, and then afterwards I was just trapped with my lie . My fear of heights has gone worse with time, and now I just wouldn't be able anymore to pretend that I like the ET . I am sure that I would just stand frozen with terror on the platform (that is, provided that I have taken the elevator, because there is no way that I could climb those stairs) . So now I am doing my "outing" on this forum : I hated Paris as a child ! To me, Paris was equal to dead-boring days at my grand-parents' + climbing the ET  ... |
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Post by Ray(aka) tripnebraska on Oct 12, 2007 6:49:21 GMT -5
As soon as I read the question, I thought, I'm never going into the Paris Sewers. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way.
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Post by felschurch on Oct 12, 2007 6:50:47 GMT -5
GitteK--"all the small forgotten villages, scattered around in the city". Would you be kind enough to expand this thought, please
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Post by GitteK on Oct 12, 2007 7:39:22 GMT -5
felschurch: You might like to take a look at these guidebooks "Paris au calme" and "Paris Secret et Insolite" www.ourparisforum.com/index.cgi?board=common&action=display&thread=1179870978Also this link could be of inspiration: www.ourparisforum.com/index.cgi?board=secrets&action=display&thread=1186831526But to pick a few, for starters: * La Campagne à Paris in the 20th arr. (close to Porte de Bagnolet) * Ancien Village de Charonne in the 20th arr. (Rue Sainte Blaise, close to the above) * L'Amérique (quartier de la Mouzaïa) in the 19th arr. (on north-east side of Parc des Buttes Chaumont) - I would sell my grandmother to own one of those small cottages ! * Butte Bergyere in the 19th arr. (on the south-west side of Parc des Buttes Chaumont, Rue Georges Lardennois) - view a killer view to Montmartre ! * Hameau Boileau in the 16th arr. (was open to visitors 1½ years ago, may be closed now. Just south of metro Michel-Ange Molitor. * Square de Montsouris in the 14th arr. (northernmost alley on west side of Parc Montsouris) * Cité Florale in the 13th arr. (just east of Parc Montsouris, between the park and Place de Rungis) * Butte Aux Cailles in the 13th arr. (in the southwest "triangle" from Place d'Italie, between Blvd Auguste Blanqui, Rue Bobillot. Delightful neighbourhood, makes you think of Montmartre, before the tourists found it) * Rue Crémieux in the 12th arr. (few paces north-west from Gare de Lyon, with the sexy TGV trains waiting to speed off - and the rather snobby but pretty Train Bleu resto) * Rue du Faubourg Saint Denis in the 10th arr. (running between Gare de l'Est and Les Grands Boulevards. MULTI-ethnical, MULTI-colour - envigourating street. Also passages to explore and classic brasserie "Julien" in no. 16, which is still on my list of must-do's-but-haven't-tried) www.julienparis.com/* Cité de Trévise in the 9th arr. (unbelievable gem of a square just 2 streets east of metro Cadet). * Wealthy mansions- streets in a halfcircle, going south and around Parc Monceau in the 8th arr. * Jardin St.Gilles du Grand Veneur in the 3rd arr. (about 500 m. north of Place des Vosges. Must be guarded by invisible sound-proof walls - the quietest garden in Paris, sheer bliss) You might just need more than an extended week-end. |
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Post by felschurch on Oct 12, 2007 7:53:37 GMT -5
 Thank you
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Post by Happygoin on Oct 12, 2007 8:20:02 GMT -5
I could have written Becky's post. Normally I love cemetaries. The older the better. But I've never been to Pere Lachaise and don't care to. The list also contains The Moulin Rouge, The Catacombs, The Sewers (ewww...WHY??), Euro Disney (emphatically!) and any restaurant that charges in excess of 100E for a meal (without the wine).
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Post by geordy on Oct 12, 2007 8:23:42 GMT -5
Non, Je ne regrette rien! Did the sewers on my first trip. Les Miz was new on Broadway and we had seen it in preparation a month or so before. It was worth it for the looks on the faces of the sewer workers gawking at the crazy tourists who PAID MONEY to come where they worked!! Actually rather interesting...and I understand they have "improved" the tour since then, And I climbed the metal ladder to get down there with a sprained ankle! *Also climbed Notre Dame tower with it but that is another story!) There are things I won't do again(no need to, like the catacombs, rather boring after the first mound of bones but worth seeing) but , again, I don't regret having done them. If there is a regret it is any meal I missed(!) ;D or that each trip was not at least a day longer!!! |
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Post by greyghost1 on Oct 12, 2007 11:47:44 GMT -5
Two things: I would never return to Au Pied de Cochon...the pigs feet were the worst thing I have ever put in my month and I can eat almost everything on GitteK's list. and 2) I would find another Pressing other than "Blanco Pressing" who managed to lose most of our clothes for over a week (and we were only staying 2 weeks) and then charged me 65 euros to get them back cleaned. |
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Post by luvparee on Oct 12, 2007 16:50:11 GMT -5
Gitte - Am interested in your impression of Bercy Village and what you found disappointing. I was there in 2002 and, although kind of off the beaten path, I thought it was kind of a fun place -- mostly enjoyed walking around the park/gardens. I'm sure by now it has grown perhaps more commercial? I had put it on the "B" list for my next trip to Paris, but will not go it's not something I need to go out of my way for. I certainly do trust your opinion! You keep adding many "secret" places to my list!
As for Pere Lachaise, when I was in Paris in 2002, we met up with a former Parisian foreign exchange student of my brother-in-law. He took us to the cemetery as my brother-in-law wanted to see Jim Morrison's grave and get a picture for his son! My sister and I thought both were borderline psychotic, but we agreed to go. Walking around that cemetery turned out to be a highlight of my trip!!! The beauty of the grave stones and crypts was way beyond anything I had ever seen. The property itself is beautiful -- winding, tree-lined cobblestone paths and, on an early October day with a sunny deep blue sky and white puffy clouds, it was a gentle, quiet, wonderful spot to spend time in Paris. The many graves sites went from very simple to extremely "fancy" and beautiful. I don't know that I would go back again, but will always remember that experience.
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Post by annettecinca on Oct 12, 2007 17:25:24 GMT -5
My "not to do" list is similar to everyone elses--Euro Disney, Moulin Rouge, Lido don't interest me. Saw the catacombs at the insistance of a friend and don't need to do that again...ever! Don't think I will visit the sewers, or take a canal cruise. But I would like to visit a cemetery! Maybe not Pere Lachaise, but a smaller one. Our hotel room once overlooked a cemetery, and what I could see intrigued me. Couldn't talk hubby into a walk thru it, but one day I'll convince him!
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Thank you
Let the riot begin! LOL - 
hahahha