Planning a trip? Get inspired by reviews of cities in France
Anonymous
USA
6.0
Paris, The City of Meh...
If it wasn't for the Eiffel Tower, Paris wouldn't have much to offer except huge expense. The food is good, but not worth the prices and all the portions would satisfy children no older than 10. A "polite" Parisian would be considered offstandish and surly in most other countries. They smile occassionally- when you hand them money.
I travel a lot and Paris is the most tourist filled city I have ever been to, and that is one reason I never plan on going back. The Eiffel Tower wait, in the middle of Winter even with a tour is approx. a 3 hour wait to get to the top. Half of that wait is on the 2nd floor exposed to the elements with no heat. The Louvre- the wait can be 5-6 hours long to get in. You can't really plan a schedule in Paris because of these things.
Many better ways to improve how Paris does their wait times for attractions, but it won't happen because people will continue to stand in place for hours like trained sheep.
Overall it wasn't bad, but unless you stay in a hostel for about 4 days in Paris look to spend at least 500-800 Euro (not including travel), and stand through long lines for hours for the privilige to spend that money. Maybe after WW2 Paris was romantic, but I didn't see anything romantic about modern day Paris: huge lines, huge expense, soldiers, migrants, and refugees all over the place, grafitti and trash around the edges, the actual citizens live in buildings that resemble communist country architecture. The PR people are what created the image of Paris, but in this city the image is very far from the reality.
Sarah
United Kingdom
10
Fantastic city on the sea!
I left the nearby ski resort of Isola to spend my last 24 hours in Nice and I'm so glad I did. Beautiful sunlight and warm days even for January, so much that it was possible to sit outside for lunch. The centre itself is pretty small and easy to get to the old town by the beach. The promenade is really great and you can walk the 5 miles or cycle it. The city is full of great architecture - art deco apartment buildings or huge hotels from La Belle Epoque give the place an evocative feel. I could imagine Matisse chilling out or Lartigue photographing the Esplanade on a Sunday afternoon.
The shops are great too from new chains to small vintage antique stores selling Chanel handbags. Plenty of places to eat, particularly in the old town around the flower market. As I was only there for a day I didn't get to see tons, but it was a great refresher after the quiet ski resort!
Rainer
Germany
8.0
Short trip in January
We arrived by train from Germany (direct connection from Frankfurt) and stayed for 3 full days and used a 2-day-Lyon-Card for the first 2, which is definitely recommended. It included a guided tour through the traboules (superb!), a city-tour with the hop-on-hop-off-bus (nice to get an overview) and free entrance to more museums than one could digest. We visited the Musée de tissus et des Arts Decoratif (extraordinary examples of tapestry and silk). I was fascinated by the technical aspects of weaving displayed: paper paintings are divided in 8x8 blocks of "pixels" of 1 mm² which are transferred to punchcards to operate Jacquard weaving stools. In the 18th century.
We also visited the Musée de Beaux-Arts (including the special exhibition Lyons Renaisance), the Musée des Confluences (stunning architecture and fascinating exhibition "eye of the machine" with strong connections to Lyon, eg. cinematograph movie of Lumieres). On the third day we took the funiculaire to the roman theatres, walked down the hill and found some additional traboules, and took a stroll to Croix Rouisse (lots of street art, rack-and-pinion railway). Food is great and affordable, distances are not too great, but be sure to pack sturdy shoes for the cobblestones and steep hills and stairs.
Susheela Robinson
United Kingdom
8.0
Great place to visit for a weeks stay. All can be done by foot except if you want to venture to other areas of Provence
We were advised against the place by many but found this place to be charming. We stayed for 5 nights but would have liked a week stay. The location where we stayed was great. We visited Vieux deport daily, Notre Dame de la Garde, Euro Mediterranean Museum, La panier and Vielle Charite, boat to Chateau d'If which was breath taking, train & bus to St -Tropez which was cheaper than TFL, Porte de L'Orient, Abbey St Victor and Cathedral Major . We wanted to taste the local cuisine of Bouillabaisse and decided to eat near the touristic area it was the most expensive lousy tasteless meal I have had at "La Cuisine au Beurre". Was tempted by the fish display . Fortunately headed toward the Chez Fonfon a few days later (despite you need 2 weeks booking) they were happy to accommodate us on New years Eve. Our hotel was near Les dock and the food and wine they provide is excellent. Pity we did not have more meals there. Marseille has been under development for the past 3 years and a lot of renovations still taking place a great choice to visit
Lucy
United Kingdom
10
Beautiful city with a friendly town atmosphere
Bordeaux was an absolute treat, easily walkable to look at all the amazing architecture & buildings! The tram system is cheap, very frequent & very easy to use, like the London tube or Paris metro but not quite as extensive and overground but brilliant to get around main touristy bits if not able to walk!
There are hundreds of cafes and bars and patisseries offering loads of selection, I found it reasonably priced on the whole!
Very safe city and not once did I feel unsafe or uneasy & we walked back to apartment at 1-2am with no problems, very friendly & very welcoming!
Lots to see and do, the main Cathedral is a must and they have brilliant guides inside who can tell you a bit about it's fascinating history, the best way to see city is to walk around as you find loads of lovely streets, buildings and arches and lovely little cafes hidden in the side streets! There are also a few bell towers dotted around which you can climb, not too strenuous which give fantastic views of city too, the tower of St Michel is also free and they have a fabulous antique market in the square on Sunday's which sells some interesting stuff!
We sadly only had a few days to look around so definitely planning to come back again soon to look around in more detail & look around the vineyard regions also!
My husband and I visited Straßbourg for the Christmas markets. We knew there wouldnt be too many market booths this year due to the current critical situation. But I was still a bit surprised when we arrived, because the markets seemed even smaller than estimated. We still had a great time though. We enjoyed the christmas themed lights and decorations throughout Straßbourg and the Christmas markets of course. They placed several infostands throughout the city as well and you could pick up information flyers and booklets in several different languages. The info stands layed out some flyers about bigger parties and events as well.
As my husband and I are vegans we didnt have too much luck with the food options at the christmas markets, but we definetly had better luck at restaurant 'Bistrot & chocolat' as their day menu was vegan, as well as some other menu options, including a super delicious vegan raspberry icecream and chocolate fondue cake. The restaurant is located behind the cathedral on the right side.
Of course a must-visit is the Strasbourg cathedral itself. This time we didnt walk up the tower but if you haven´t done it yet: It´s a must-to! The stairs ask for some workout but the spectacular view from the top of the cathedral is breathtaking.
We love all the details in and around the cathedral itself as well. It´s a major piece of history in front of your eyes. Pay attention to all the details.
We also used public transportation as we visited several different attractions and parcs, and we thought it was pretty easy to get around with buses & trams. If you visit Straßbourg for vacation you can easily leave your car at home.
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