FunLA | France travel destinations and Activities for the Los Angeles Traveler

Languages Spoken: French, Monegasque, Italian
Capital: Paris
Typical Foods: Salad Nicoşe

Great site for additional information on Hotels, Museums, Popular Places in Paris, City Tours, Suburb maps and more. http://www.paris-tourism.com/

Regardless of the language issue - why go to Paris? Several reasons. There is an endless list of places to go and things to see; it's a great place for taking tours; easy to visit traveling alone and mucho romantic if visiting as a couple. Paris is great fun.

Firstly, many Parisians go on holiday during the month of August, so keep that in mind when booking travel.

Where to Stay

Hôtel Lutetia
Breakfast included. Hotel can arrange for a babysitter.
Nearby park with carrousel. Near Bon Marche food market. Close to St. Germaine area, Musee Du Louvre, Musee D’Orsay, Musee Delacroix, Luxemburg Gardens and the Seine.

Hotel Costes
239 rue Saint-Honore,
75001 Paris, France
Phone: +33-1 4244 5050
Trendy crowd, trendy area, often booked designer hotel.

The Sofital is great!! It is very American and the rooms are large. It's by the Metro and a bakery is nearby.

Plaza Athene

K&K hotel
Modern rooms, nice lobby. Free internet access. Rooms are rather small as is typical of Parisian hotels. Great Amenities. Across the
street from the Rue du Bac metro.

Hotel Artus
Rooms are more generous but still on the small side.

Where to Eat

If you want anything before 9:30 or 10pm go by the restaurant you hope to dine at & put your name on the list early in the day.

Berthillion for ice cream
31 Rue St. Louis En L’ile, Paris, France
Located on the island in the Seine directly east of Notre Dame
Their sorbets and ice creams "glaces Berthillon" are sold in cafes cross Paris but it's worth visit to Berthillion. L'ile St. Louis is a charming street near some wonderful shops and an Epicerie with delightful jams & mustards. Closed Mid-July to end of August.

Amorino for gelato
Some enjoy it as much as Berthillon.
Locations: 4, rue de Buci, 6th, and 47, rue St Louis, 4th.

Benoit
20, rue St Martin
75004 Paris
Tel. + 33 (0)1 42 72 25 76
The cassoulet is their specialty and is wonderful.

Angélina's 226, rue de Rivoli for hot chocolate or thé.
Known to be the best hot chocolate in Paris.

Le Vieux Bistro
14 rue du Cloître-Notre-Dame, Paris, France
Phone: 01-43-54-18-95
Next to Notre-Dame "The Old Bistro" has been serving up home-style French comfort food for over 35 years. Métro: Hôtel-de-Ville.

Les Chauffeurs
8 chaussée de la Muette, Paris, France
Phone: 01-42-88-50-05
A Parisian favorite. Wine by the carafe, but still you should dress for this restaurant. Métro: La Muette.

Pierre Hermé's pastry boutique
72, Rue Bonaparte
Spectacular seasonal desserts, chocolates and pastries.

Poujauran, a fabulous boulangerie on the Rue Jean-Nicot

Pierre Herme

le Comptoir (du Relais St Germain) in the 6th. They have a
tasting menu on Mon-Fri evenings which is quite difficult to book. First come/first serve on the weekend
evenings. Indoor/Outdoor seating. 9 Carrefour de l'Odeon, 6th arrondissement, 33-1-44-27-07-97

L'Atelier du Joel Robouchon on the rue Montalembert
Sophisticated restaurant, gourmet food. First-come-first-serve, bar seating. $$ 5, rue Montalembert, 7th, 33-1-42-22-56-56

Jean-Paul Hevin - Chocolatier
www.jphevin.com Most locations closed August
231, rue St. Honore. 1st district

Dalloyau or Laduree for Macarons

Shopping

Colette : Paris
Rene Derhy - Printemps

Rue de Four/Rue des Dragons - 6th/7th arrondisment
Bon Marche Department Store - Great sales.

Childrens: Compagnie des Enfants and Du Pariel au Meme.

My favorite restaurant is Les Galopins- It is sort of out of the way
in the 10th on Place Ste. Marthe. It may be closed in August. I am
not sure. Its a small smoky place with really good and inexpensive
food. Not a place I would go with a kid. Near there though is the
Canal St. Martin where there are some cool little boutiques.

What to Do

Musee Marmottan in the 16th has a small but important impressionist collection.

Musee Rodin at 77, rue de Varenne, 7th arrondisment for Picnics
Sandboxes for kids. Food at the nearby La Grande Epicerie on 38, rue Sevres, 7th district.

The Musee d'Orsey

Day trip to Fountainbleau
The town itself is quite charming.

Visit Versailles on a tour definitely. There's the Printemps shopping area which is visited by tourists but also the locals. From Printemps, walk to the Louvre taking back streets. You'll like Paris more on the back streets. Like most heavily touristed cities, the people are nicest that are off of the main tourist paths.

The Montmartre (Painters square) area is a great location for lodging. The Montmartre section is affordable, scenic and central. Try waking at 6am and walking around the area up to the Sacré Coeur. This roman/Byzantine church is usually open at 6am, and at that time you may have the church to yourself. It is fascinating to watch the rest of the town wake up. It will make you feel like a Parisian.

There are longer lines in Summer when visiting the Louvre and Versailles (at the Louvre get your ticket at the side door - no lines!) and Versailles (go with a group and you may avoid lines). Reserve museum tickets in advance at FNAC (various locations around Paris). A museum pass provides line-skipping benefits if you're planning to visit several museums in a short time period.

Also on the list of fun things to see or do: Notre Dame, a show at the Moulin Rouge is raucous fun times and a cruise on the Seine is heavenly even without a date. Try to get a cruise during the sunset hour.

Jardin de Luxembourg for a picnic
Exit the Mabillon Subway station and stop at the bakery on the way on Rue Mabillon and pick up your food fare for the picnic. Continue on Rue Mabillon - left on rue St. Sulpice - right on rue
Garanciere and Jardin de Luxembourg is at top of street. Great Marionettes show & playground for kids. The Marais is also a great arrondisment (3rd) to walk around.

Paris Plage, a free "beachfront" walk with sand and amusements for kids and sunbathers along the Seine in the summer.

The Palais Royale is a nice smallish park that's a great place to let the kids run of some energy.

The jardin d'Acclimatation in the bois de Boulogne. Great picnic spot.

Val d'Isere is a great resort and vacation for the whole family summer or winter. Summer activities at the resort begin in July and run until September. Winter activities run from late November to early May. There are also activities and programs created for children to have fun participating in all kinds of sports. Children are grouped by age and participate in sporting events, excursions, educational activities, refuge outings and more. http://www.valdisere.com/

Les Trois Vallees (The three valleys)
The largest ski area in the World, Les Trois Vallees offers multiple villages / resorts for lodging. The 3 Valleys offer the largest vertical drop and the most kilometers of runs plus a wide variety of resort styles and settings.
http://www.les3vallees.com/uk/index.php

Burgundy vineyards were planted in Gallo-Roman and improved by the Cistercian monks. Many great wines hail from this region Chablis, Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune, Côte de Châlon, Mercurey, Montagny, ully, Côte de Macon, and Pouilly-Fume. Foodies will enjoy exquisitely flavored food with its generous use of red wine such as jellied hams, fish stew, wine sauces and innumerable cheeses. This heaven-blest region has much to see like the church of Paray-le-Monial, the medieval city of Auxerre, abbey churches, Beaune with its famous Gothic its abbey church and its tapestries, and Semur-en-Auxois and Nevers.

The traveler will be taken with the unsophisticated beauty of the landscapes, the sunlit lakes and the shady forests. From north to south - from the Ardennes and Argonne to the Haute-Marne - the region is dotted with woodlands.

This is a country of eight great lakes, one of them - the Lac du Der-Chantecoq is 12,300 acres in size. The lake in the Forêt d’Orient has a bird sanctuary noted for its waterfowl. Of course you can find water sports galore here like sailing, fishing, waterskiing, rowing, canoeing and camping.

Don't miss the architectural treasures such as the famous Gothic cathedral of Rheims with its smiling angels; the Place Ducale at CharlevilleMézières; the old streets of Troyes with their half-timbered houses; the ramparts at Langres; the mudbrick churches in the countryside. Also, from Rheims to Vertus there is a series of magnificent vineyards.

An ancient province rising in steps from 800 to 5,580 feet along the Jura mountains between Rhine and Rhône, from the valley of the Saône to the Swiss frontier. A land of mountains, green fields and running water, the Franche-Comté is a particularly attractive place, whose complex physical features give it an infinite variety of landscapes and townscapes. Its outstanding merits are the poetry of its pasturelands, its forests, its broad plateau ending in sheer cliffs, mountain passes, gorges, characteristic blind valleys (Salins, Arbois, Poligny) and zigzag mountain roads, all of which make it a suitable place to explore—on foot, horseback, cycle or skis. Local specialties are Morteau sausage, Comté cheese and Arbois and Jura wines. To explore this region of extinct volcanoes is best on foot.