> I want to keep things fairly cheap
> I was thinking 4-5 days in Paris

Good luck ...

I advise you to take the bus, its really cheap.
What do you whant to do ? Cultural/historical/nature trip or partying hard ?

>>1122186
Try not to get blown up....

But if your in Paris visit the louvre obviously. I thought the audio bus tours were overrated when I went last summer but I enjoyed the guided tours to the wineries in the area they bring you through the vineyards and show you how to make it while you sample the finished product a little pricey if I remember correctly.

For me it was all about visiting Normandy France to see the d day beaches and what not which i found very interesting

Once you get to the airport, go to the information desk and get yourself a museum pass. They're like €50 and last three, four or six days from when you first use it. It's a bit cheaper than what you'd pay to see the museums if you are gonna museum it up and most of the time you get to skip lines, too. Get the shortest time one for cheap and write the starting date on it in light pencil so you can erase it and rewrite it later.

Thanks for the advice everyone.
>>1123231
I want to hit the cultura/historical/nature stuff like you said. No plans to party. I just want to see the sights and visit museums.
>>1123272
I'm hoping to visit the Normandy beaches. Did you take buses or rent a car?
>>1123391
Definitely will check out the museum pass.

I just came back from 4 days in Paris.

Get the Navigo Decouverte Pass for the Metro. Its 25 bucks and is valid for all 5 zones including CDG airport. The by far best transportation deal you will get. It lasts for each running week, so depending on which weekday you arrive, it may not be ideal for you, but i cant guess that. You will need to bring a small pass photo (it costs 5 bucks to make one in a photobooth) but honestly, you might just be fine without. No one bothered me about it, you literally just stick the photo in a little plastic container for the magnet card.

You will find plenty of things to see in Paris. Just walk around a bit. Champs Elysee, Louvre, Notre Dame are all next to each other. For a good view you can either go on the Eiffel Tower (not a rip off, 11 bucks for me since i was under 24 and a EU resident, might be a tiny bit more for you. Take the stairs, not the elevator for shorter lines and cheaper prices) or the Sacre Ceour (5 bucks to get to the top. Worth a visit anyway).

If you want to go to the catacombs, prepare for literally 3 hours waiting time. I gave up after half an hour and left.
Louvre is nice and absolutely huge. I got in free, but you (as an american) probably wont.

Prepare for strong security checks literally everywhere and army standing around on every corner.

For food, go to St.Germain district, just south of Place de Concorde / Notre Dame. Lots of good restaurants. Food isnt a problem anyway, you will find things just fine. Just note that a lot of restaurant close at 10pm and you may need reservations for some. Prices are perfectly fine, one of the cheaper cities when it comes to food.

Be aware of pickpockets and ignore everyone talking to you on the street. You will encounter literally hundreds of people trying to get you to sign something or selling flashing miniature eiffel towers.

>You will find plenty of things to see in Paris. Just walk around a bit. Champs Elysee, Louvre, Notre Dame are all next to each other. For a good view you can either go on the Eiffel Tower (not a rip off, 11 bucks for me since i was under 24 and a EU resident, might be a tiny bit more for you. Take the stairs, not the elevator for shorter lines and cheaper prices) or the Sacre Ceour (5 bucks to get to the top. Worth a visit anyway).

Parisian here, don't limit yourself to this. In fact, the worst experience you can get is if you only visit the big monuments. I would not recommend you to go to St Michel/St germain (touristy restaurant serving touristy stuff where 90% of the townfolk will never think of stepping in)

If you want to enjoy the city you gotta take strolls in certain 'arrondissements' (districts)

1,2,4,5,6,7,8th Arrondissement: City center. most of the touristic places are here, good scenery but shit for shopping (you can guess why). Id recommend Rue montorgeuil for good places to eat which is nearby the Hallesand also the rue Mouffetard for the max comfynes.

9th arrondissement: Montmartre. Basically a village in a city. cozy small buildings, quiet and artsy. AVOID PLACE DU TERTRE! I mean, it's overcrowded with tourists and is generally anticlimatic. Also get a look at the Place pigalle.

10th arrondissement: ethnic quarter, lots of indians/africans.
11th arrondissement: old chinatown. lots of bars and a pretty good nightlife stuff. also old chinatown.

12th arrondissement: ditto but larger, a long parc named la coulée verte is worth the stroll, underneath has lots of galleries and in the end there's a street with cheap IT stuff.

13th Arrondissement: Chinatown, apparently the biggest in europe. lots of shops/restaurants and cozy streets (except the main hub which is olympiades, still worth a shot imho).

14,15th: northing worth of note except for the parc des expositions.

>>1123830

cont.

16th arrondissement: the richest part of the city , expect lots of ambassies, beautiful buildings and a generally quiet ambiance.

17th arrondissement: ...meh.

18,19,20th: avoid going there unless you want to go to the city of sciences (lots of cool expos) It's the poorest and a glimpse of the most violent things in the region.

I agree that bus is the cosiest way to move around town is the bus. you get a nice view of the architecture while riding from places to places.


either way, i hope this helped. im not telling you not to go to museums of course, just don't limit yourself to big sights. I personally find that in some of those places.. it's not Paris anymore, just an international attraction.

>>1123832
Montmartre is in the 18th. I wouldn't tell people to avoid the 20th either, it's really not dangerous to visit e.g. the Père Lachaise cemetery during daytime.

>>1123832
>17th arrondissement: ...meh.
it's literally one of the best and richest arrondissement.
also some places in the XVIII is cool, most of Montmartre is there and everything from Jules Joffrin from the cemetary of Montmatre is a great area

>>1123231
How 2 party in paris?

>>1123869
cool nightclubs :
social club
carmen
melting club
la Machine
6B
Concrete if you're pinged (otherwise its shite)
Java
Gibus

there's many freeparties around paris too