mercredi 25 janvier 2012

Paris: Walks

I am basically a very lazy person. I don't exercise and rarely walk. When I get to France this all changes.  I don't really understand why.  I get off the plane at Charles de Gaulle airport at about 6.00am.  I am already planning where I will head to first once I have deposited my luggage.  I have been known to be beating the Parisian footpaths by 8.00am. I am no longer in charge of my body.  The spirit of Paris has taken over!  
I will have an extended period of time this year in Paris and will be travelling alone, so I have been madly researching walks and other free things to do.  Every guide book, every French related blog and website seem to cover these to a greater or lesser extent.  

I hadn't had a look at the Mairie de Paris website in a number of years.  Thankfully it has greatly improved and has some wonderful information for tourists as well as locals. The site can still be somewhat confusing to find all of its rich resources.  Their site has 38 heritage walks (in English and French). What I particularly like is that a number of them that seem to be more than just the same well trodden tourist paths.  Not that there is anything wrong with them, but I want to discover 'new' sites and places. The problem is going to be to decide which ones to do. 

In addition to the heritage walks there are also what they call 'Paris Film Trails'. Whether it is 'Midnight in Paris', 'Ratatouille' or 'Devil wears Prada', they and many others are there with bilingual flyers and maps to discover both famous and little-known parts of  Paris that have featured in 'classic' movies.

City Free Tour  provides free guided walks in English both in Paris as well as Amsterdam. The idea is that you give a tip at the end of the tour based on what you think it is worth. Their user reviews on Tripadvisor are rather impressive but I don't know anyone who has done it yet.


Mairie de Paris - Les Balades du Patrimoine
Mairie de Paris - Les Parcours Cinémas
City Free Tour - Paris

2 commentaires:

  1. Then during your home exchange with us, you'll be able to use Paris 300 façades pour les curieux, Paris secret et insolite (also a website) and Promenades dans les rues de Paris Rive Droite 1 (from 1958, picked up in a secondhand bookshop), not to mention individual guidebooks such as Le Palais Royal, Les Tuileries and Le Basilique Saint Denis, plus, of course, Le Routard (what French household would be without it). There's also an iPhone app called Invisible Paris with Street Art, From Sainte Rita to Saint Lazare and Contemporary Architecture put out by a website called www.spottedbylocals.com

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    1. Thanks Fraussie and happy Australia Day. I am really looking forward to our home exchange.

      These books sound like they will be incredibly useful. I will do some preliminary 'study' on the 'Paris secret et insolite' website.

      I will investigate if Invisible Paris app is also available for Android phones. I have Le Routard on my phone but haven't been 'sur place' yet to put it in to action.

      So much to do, so little time...

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