Donald,
First off, grab the Michelin Green Guide in addition to a Berlitz phrase book.
It contains recommended walking tours. If you like street scenes, do not miss
the best open air markets, including the one in my old haunt, Rue Mouffetard.
Have a look at the latest buildings (La Defense Arch, Ministry of Finance, Tres
Grande Bibliotheque) for interesting architectural shots and more. For rooftop
views and other opportunities, make a trip to Centre Pompidou. Other great
views: Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, Tour Eiffel (duh), La Samaritaine, Tour
Montparnasse. Try a Vedette du Pont Neuf or a Bateau Mouche for shots from the
river. Use a touring two-decker bus (there are stops near Opera) for nice
elevated street shots. Check out restaurants with photo expos like Le Zimmer
near Chatelet and Le Berthoud near Le Pantheon.
And keep an eye on your gear at all times as thieves and pickpockets abound,
some of whom can bump into you and grab your passport and wallet -- or a nice
camera -- in no time at a Metro turnstile (happened to my mother) or in a bus
(happened to a girlfriend). That includes begging children, who actually work
for foreign gangs. Also keep an eye on taxi drivers, some of whom steal luggage
(happened to me and to a girlfriend). You may also want to read up on the
latest legal outrage, the so-called "droit a l'image" (image rights) which
allows some to claim you can't take a shot of them or a building they own and
publish it freely (just say you're a tourist). Make sure your hotel has a safe
for expensive stuff.
For the countryside and outlying towns, you need to get past the ring of
banlieue ugliness surrounding Paris. Some towns have lovely historic centers
(Pontoise for instance). Fontainebleau was of course fit for kings, as was
Versailles. Rambouillet is famous too. Just outside Paris, you can't go wrong
with Bois de Boulogne, though -- in addition to many a leafy parc intra-muros,
and Bois de Vincennes.
Phil (a onetime Parisian)
On 02/06/2004, Donald Shedrick <shedridc@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>I am planning a week long trip overseas to Paris (Not Paris Hilton!).
> Anyone have some suggestions on must see photo ops in the city or
>surrounding countryside?
>
>=====
>Don Shedrick
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