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Dodge the museum masses: There will always be crowds at the
Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and other wildly popular museums. Head to
these hot spots early in the morning to get a good spot in line (bring
a book and be prepared to wait, unless it's the middle of winter).
Alternatively, try one of Paris's lesser-known museums: the city is
home to dozens of
institutions, including museums devoted to stamps, posters,
Vladimir Lenin and Edith Piaf. You won't see the Mona Lisa, but Miss
Enigmatic isn't the be-all and end-all. At the Musée des lettres et
manuscrits (Museum
of Letters and Manuscripts), for instance, you can see a 1576
letter from Catherine de Medici and a 1944 letter from JFK to one of
his PT-109 crew members. Even the building—a
former 17th-century convent—is worthy of a
visit in its own right. And the best thing about the museum,
particularly during a typical Paris summer, is that it provides a
cool, tranquil respite from the madding crowds.
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Do the prix-fixe: Many restaurants have a
three-course "prix-fixe" (fixed price) menu, usually including a small
starter, a main course and dessert (and a glass of wine). It's often
an excellent deal, particularly at lunch.
Get tips from an expert: The
mouth-watering blog written by American-born chef David Lebovitz,
Living the Sweet
Life in Paris, is a great source of information for foodies.
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DO NOT DRIVE. Once you've seen Paris
traffic, you'll understand that no more needs to be said about this
tip.
Walk: It's the real reason French women
don't get fat. Besides, it's so much easier to stop at tempting shops
and cafés when you're on foot, although the cafés may derail that "not
getting fat" idea.
Cycle: Don't feel like shipping your bike
by plane? Can't say as I blame you. Instead, do as the locals do and
join Velib', a
bike-sharing service whose name translates roughly as slang for "bike
freedom." While the bikes—thousands of them parked
at self-service kiosks all over Paris—aren't technically "free," they
are inexpensive. Buy a one-day or seven-day pass online or at any
kiosk, use it to check out a bike, cycle where you want to go, then
return the bike to a Velib' kiosk near your destination. Your bank
account will be debited for the time used. It's that easy.
Take transit: For information on trains,
buses, the Metro and more, go to RATP
(click on the small Union Jack at the top of the page to see the
site in English). If you're planning to do a lot of travelling by
transit, consider buying a ParisVisite card, which gives you
unlimited access to transit within the zone and timeframe you pick.
You can buy them at any metro station, bus station or airport. If
you think you'll only take the occasional subway or train, you may
be better off buying a pack of 10 tickets (known as a carnet).
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One could spend one's life writing about shopping
in Paris, guiding people to great Parisian shops or, indeed, actually
shopping. So I'm going to leave this section to a couple of experts.
A note for Firefox users: For some reason, some of the Amazon links
below don't work when this page is displayed in Mozilla Firefox. I'm working to
fix this problem, but in the meantime, I apologize for the inconvenience.
Chic Shopping
Paris: This book by American ex-pat Rebecca Perry Magniant draws
on her experience as the co-founder of the like-named
Chic Shopping
Paris tour company. The firm offers
bilingual shopping tours on themes ranging from baby supplies and
luxury labels to outlet stores and antiquing. You can also set up a
customized tour. To get a taste of Magniant's expertise, check out the
Chic Shopping Paris
blog.
Paris Chic and Trendy: This
pretty little pocket book,
written by French fashion journalist Adrienne Ribes-Tiphaine, is an
insider's guide to famous retailers, hidden design studios and other
purveyors of French style.
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Etiquette tip: When you walk into a store, always greet the
clerk with a polite "Bonjour." When you leave, whether you've bought
anything or not, say "Au revoir." It's considered rude to browse in a
store without speaking to the staff.
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