Jan 21st 2013, 15:36:09
Lived in Versailles for 3 years. The Cloaked provides a lot of good information.
Make sure you head on out to Versailles, the Chateau is pretty awesome (bonus points if you find it without having to ask the locals, I lost count of how many times I was stopped and asked for direction by Americans speaking >really bad< french. For reference, I can butcher the French language better than most Americans can, even having lived there for years. The Trains and RER aren't expensive, and they run fast and frequently.
Montparnassee Tower was pretty cool, and definately something to visit. I only really did the Paris sightseeing thing once, and that was in mid-February - when the weather was atrocious (-5 celcius, snow, near blizzard conditions at times) - and the Tower provided a welcome alternative to the Eifel tower. I'd only really recommend visiting the Tower if you can get there really early, before the queues start to hit. I certainly wouldn't recommend queueing for hours there.
The Louvre is highly recommended, and I'd recommend stopping by and taking in the sights at Notre Dame.
Make sure you book, and stop by the Black Dog bar and restaurant (http://www.blackdog-bar.com/). When I lived there, they served the best Steak in Paris. The Chef has since left, but the food there is still exceptional - according to my friends who still live in Paris.
There's tons of little side cafes and restaurants that you can stop by, and you can find food at any time of the day or night. Out drinking all night and fancy a steak at 7am? No problem.
Make sure you head on out to Versailles, the Chateau is pretty awesome (bonus points if you find it without having to ask the locals, I lost count of how many times I was stopped and asked for direction by Americans speaking >really bad< french. For reference, I can butcher the French language better than most Americans can, even having lived there for years. The Trains and RER aren't expensive, and they run fast and frequently.
Montparnassee Tower was pretty cool, and definately something to visit. I only really did the Paris sightseeing thing once, and that was in mid-February - when the weather was atrocious (-5 celcius, snow, near blizzard conditions at times) - and the Tower provided a welcome alternative to the Eifel tower. I'd only really recommend visiting the Tower if you can get there really early, before the queues start to hit. I certainly wouldn't recommend queueing for hours there.
The Louvre is highly recommended, and I'd recommend stopping by and taking in the sights at Notre Dame.
Make sure you book, and stop by the Black Dog bar and restaurant (http://www.blackdog-bar.com/). When I lived there, they served the best Steak in Paris. The Chef has since left, but the food there is still exceptional - according to my friends who still live in Paris.
There's tons of little side cafes and restaurants that you can stop by, and you can find food at any time of the day or night. Out drinking all night and fancy a steak at 7am? No problem.