A week in Paris!

Mudman

Mudman

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Very excited. Leaving in about a month. My first time to Europe. I'm getting a customs form filled out for my cameras (Leica M3, M6 and Rolleiflex), buying a chunk of fresh film and that's about it. I've been told to get a museum pass at a smaller museum to cut down on the line to the Louvre.

Anybody else's thoughts on the city or international travel? I'll be staying in the outskirts, with a friend in St Germain en laye.
 
Wow! I had forgotten sall about those customs forms. I did that the first time I went in 1978, but haven't given it a thought since. I've never had anyone in France ask to look in my bags. Offhand I'd say take the M6 and leave the rest home. Buy metro tickets byu the carnet (car-nay) it's 10 tickets and you use them for the metro and the bus. Try to read up on the city before you go. Pack VERY light. We're going the spring, and we'll each have one carry-on bag. That's for a seven-week stay. Get money from the ATM. Our trip in April/May will be our eighth. I hope you become a Paris-a-holic like me! Have fun.
 
You'll be doing a lot of walking in Paris, so get a good pair of walking shoes, and as others have counseled, go easy on photo gear . If I were you, i'd just bring 1 body and 2-3 lenses. Bon voyage.
 
Hey,

i came back from a one week Paris trip just recently.
I once was in Paris for just one day and i did not like it, but now i love the city.

However, be aware of the astronomic prices. My friend and i visited 2 friends, which were studying in paris for 6 months we also lived in in st. germain, near the metro station st. germain de pres.

For the metro you should buy a weekend ticket on saturday and sunday, which is 3,40€ and for the others days perhaps the 10 ticktes mentioned by vics.

Paris is a tourist city and so you have to take care of your stuff, do always have an eye on you camera and you wallet, especially in very crowded places like champs elysees or the metro!

Paris has got some nice museums, the louvre of course, but it can be tiring to see that much paintings of the same bilbic scenes :). So think about visiting the musee d'orsay for more modern art.

As you are living in st. germain i can heartly recommend the restaurant "au pied de fouet" in the "rue saint benoit 3" http://www.aupieddefouet.com/English/Home, great prices and great food, you will have to wait for a free table, but a free róse will make the waiting easier.

I can also recommend to visit marais, it is a jewish quarter with a nice architecture and falaffel restaurants :)

What else can i say? enjoy the city, it's wonderful. Have a great time.
 
A "Visite" pass is a good idea if you're traveling via metro a lot. It allows you to pick a zone and travel freely within that zone as much as you want for the 3 or 5 days of the pass. Works on buses and trains too if I'm not mistaken.

Don't bring too much gear and be ready to walk. It's the best walking city in the world (to me). Also...February can be very cold and damp so wear layers at night.
 
Hope you have plenty of cash in the bank because it is ridiculously expensive. Makes London look cheap.

It helps a lot to have a friend to show you around but don't flash the cameras on the Metro, Les Halles, Porte Saint-Denis etc. You will really only need one outfit at a time.

Check out Carrefour Buci for a great bar on the corner that stays open nearly all night, all year round, with heaters outside so you can watch the world go by. The real deal for a gastronomic experience can be found at Le Petit Zinc, on Rue St Benoît. http://www.petit-zinc.com/ Call ahead for reservations.

Parisiennes are notoriously rude to everyone, especially tourists, so be careful with the candid shots but enjoy Paris at least once in a lifetime.
 
Have dinner at Chartier's at least one evening.

Photograph people on the banks of the Seine. It's like the old News of the World: "All human life is there."

Another vote for the carnet; another for good walking boots; and yet another for LEAVE THE ROLLEI BEHIND. A couple of Leicas is plenty, and will weigh enough by the end of the day. Take a look at the Bd. Beaumarchais, aka Bd. de la Photographie. You may not want to pay the prices, but there's all kinds of fascinating kit to see there.

(I live only about 3 hours away from Paris.)

Cheers,

R.
 
Thanks for the tips. Regarding the cameras - I'll only have one on me at any given time. I did the same when I traveled to New Orleans. Left two behind at the house, walked around with one. I load one of the M's with color, the other B&W. I pick days where I shoot color or vice versa. I'm on the fence with the Rolleiflex, but I love the look of MF.

River Dog - What makes it so expensive? When I travel I usually end up buying groceries and eating in, do dinner or lunch out once or twice (neither myself nor my friend drink much if at all). Don't really intend to shop for anything while I'm there, just wander by myself or with my friend and take photos.
 
River Dog - What makes it so expensive?
Click to expand...
I worked there and have my own theories. The introduction of the Euro, corrupt local government supporting crazy tariffs for their cut, rentals etc. but it is mainly because they can. I also eat like a pig and drink like a fish, whilst putting the entire planet to rights, so it hurts my pocket when I spend a night in Paris. Much as I love it.

As for buying groceries, find a Monoprix and stock up, but Paris is really on the streets, in restaurants, outside cafes and bars, on the boulevard and in the parks. That is what it is, so take a packed lunch. If you can make a coffee last an hour and sound like you are talking philosophy or politics at 90mph, only pausing to draw breath, you'll be fine.

Around the back streets near the Sorbonne you will find cheaper places that cater to students.

Having a place to stay and a local guide will save you a fortune. It is a lot safer than outside the French Quarter of New Orleans, which is Spanish architecture anyway. Père Lachaise is worth the trip on the Metro, as is the area around Place Pigalle and the view from the Sacré-Coeur on Montmartre. To be honest, nowhere should disappoint you.

Have fun and let's see those photos. Remember, you will be in Cartier-Bresson's footsteps.
 
I have stayed in St Germain-En-Laye. Nice town with a rich history. We would get the metro in to Paris city each day-afriend helped us get a 5 day?pass each as it is cheaper than paying each day. If you go to a FNAC they will book tickets for the big museums. We booked for the Quai d'Orsay and just as well, the queue for those without tickets was huge, we just walked in no problem. I suggest you do not try to tackle the whole of the Louvre-it is vast. Oh, I guess you know that Paris has many fine photography galleries.

If you stroll along Boulevard Beaumarchais do it without you credit cards as that street has many camera shops.

A beautiful city-have fun.
 
Been there, done that. I would leave the Rollei home. You will get tired of the excess bulk and of changing film every 12 shots. But I would take the M6 and M3. Having two cameras means you can keep two lenses mounted without having to change lenses too often. Take wide angle lenses only. Maybe a 50, but I only took 2 or 3 shots with my 50 during a month in France. I used the heck out of my 25, 28, and 35mm lenses. Streets are narrow, distances short. A normal lens has a bit more application in the country, in Provence. In Paris, not so much. A shot of the Eiffel tower or Notre Dame from a distance, that's about it. I wore my Royal Robbins vest, which is small, and not obviously a photo vest; but with its two large pockets I could keep one or both cameras in the vest, not looking like a tourist excessively.
 
1. Use the Metro. It goes everywhere. Buy a "carnet" ( a bundle of 10passes).
2. To avoid lines at the Louvre, go underground to the Carrosel du Louvre and enter from there. No Lines. Only the clueless tourists stand out in the lines outside of the pyramid.
3. If you like Art Museums, don't miss the D'Orsay.
4. The best of Paris, after you're through with the tourist meccas of Il St Louis/Il de la Cite/Eiffel/Champs Elyssee areas, lies on the perphiphery.
5. Avoud he mega expensive traditional eateries. Find any ccafe with a lot of people and order the daily plate. The area from the Bastille west to Nation is full of good cafes to eat at. This is where you find the best food of Paris.
6. For a fancy meal, try Le Petite Prince in the Fifth, ( Sorbonne area).
7. Paris is a graveyard for original photograhy. If you,re looking to come home with a trunkful of fine art work, forget it. Everythings been done a million times before. The last thing the world needs is another picture of a guy in a beret carrying a bagette. take a point and shoot and shoot your tourist pics.
8. If you want a real photographic experience, go to theBous de Boulogne after midnight and ohotogragh the transsexual prostitutes. Be ready to act tougher than anyone else, or you may end up cameraless.
9. Go to the VU gallery.
10. Drink lots of coffee in cafes and relax and watch the beautiful french women go by.
 
Bring only the M6+M3 and MAX 3 lenses. I've been to Paris plenty of times with too much gear and learned from experience. I used my 28mm and 50mm lenses most while there.
I could go on and on but I will leave you with that unless you PM me with specific questions.
Have a blast. I miss it.
 
Thanks folks. I know the cameras sound overkill, but again - I work with one camera at a time, not all three. Two will sit at the house (and a lens or two) while I'm out shooting. I work light, but I like to have a variety and a backup. I shoot differently with the Rollei versus the Leica. It doesn't take up that much space in the bag on the plane, so there's no harm in having it. I enjoyed it quite a bit while I was in New Orleans. If I didn't want something for low light and a few different focal lengths, I'd probably just bring that by itself. Thank you for the tips, I hope I can put them to good use. Paris has been on my list of places to go since I was a little child.
 
I'm back from France! I'd like to thank everyone for their advice. I had a blast visiting les marches des puces, Beaumarchais, and all of the other wonderful sights of the city. I ended up only using a Leica M8 on the trip; moreso because it was hard to get back to my friend's house on the outskirts of the city to change cameras and the weather being less than optimal for the last few days of my trip than anything else. If you'd like to read about my experiences in more detail, you can visit my blog here http://awasos.blogspot.com/2012/03/eurotripping.html or go straight to photos at ericjenks.zenfolio.com/paris.

Thanks again!
 
Looks like you had a great time. Nice pictures. I like walking Paris.

For anyone else contemplating a trip to Paris, I've made the trip with only a Contax T3, only an M6 + 35/2, and a 5DmkII with a 28 and 85. I've made pictures I liked with all three on those separate visits. I think the best trip for me was with the markII and two lenses. Sometimes, having the reach to isolate details (which Paris has plenty of) was worth carrying a slightly heavier kit. But honestly, a 5DmkII and two primes wasn't big and heavy. I wore the markII bandolier-style and had the second lens in a pocket of my small backpack (the backpack contained water, an e-reader to read while sipping coffee, and had room to collect keepsakes).

Welcome home, Mudman.
 
 
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