De rien! Ask away, I love to help!

Hostels? Since I had a place to stay in Paris, I didn’t seek out hostels there. However I know people who did visit Paris, and if you are going in a decent size group 3-4 people, renting an apartment might be pretty sweet. You can be Parisian for a couple days. Check out this website: www.airbnb.com I’ve heard good experiences from this site. I would recommend getting a place that is close to the metro.

Places to visit? SOO MANY. It’s hard to narrow it down. So I’m going to give you a short list of my favorite places, and if I had a couple days in the city, what I would do. Also you should note that Paris is divided into 21 arrondissements (neighborhoods/quarters).

1. Musée d’Orsay-  One of my favorite art history time periods is Impressionism, so Musée d’Orsay is a must. It is located inside what used to be a train station. It’s worth walking around for a couple of hours (2hrs max). Thursday nights its open til 9pm! *Note for the major museums, time period wise it goes: Le Louvre (Ancient, Classical, Renaissance til Realism), Musée d’Orsay (Realism - early Modernism), Musée Pompidou (Modern).
   
2. Jardins Tuileries- BEST PLACE TO TAKE AN AFTERNOON STROLL, READ OR NAP! They have really cool green chairs and some are designed where you have to recline. So awesome. No need to bring a blanket to sit on, because all the grass areas are fenced off. I suggest bringing lunch, or snacks because the outdoor cafés are really pricey.
   
3. L’as du Falafel - THE BEST FALAFELS IN PARIS <— This will be written outside every falafel place. But specifically go to this one. It’s green and yellow outside, and there will be photos of Lenny Kravitz. hahaha This place is in the heart of Le Marais. Go here for lunch, make sure its to go, its faster and a couple of euros cheaper :) 
4. Le Marais - Get lost in the small intimate streets that has not changed even through the Haussmannization. This is the noted “Jewish and Gay quarter of Paris” There’s endless vintage and trendy shops, cute cafés and small galleries.
   
5. Shakespeare & Company - Just when you miss speaking English and fully understanding a conversation, come here. It’s a cute eclectic bookstore that only sells books printed in English. I suggest buying a used book, maybe something about Paris? Doesn’t matter just make sure they stamp it! Oh its right next to the Notre Dame and on the edge of le Quartier Latin.
6. Bastille & Rue de Lappe - Favorite area of bars. The first and last bar I went to regularly was Bar des familles. It’s sandwiched between other bars and restaurants. This place always has a chill crowd, mostly dudes ;) and decent prices. Come here for a beer, it’ll only cost you 5 euros.
7. Montmartre - This area of Paris is home to one of the two highest hills in Paris. La Butte Montmartre is steep but there’s plenty of shops and places to see on the way. Although Montmartre is in the north of Paris and has a bunch of stairs, its worth it. The views are breathtaking. And if you’re into the film Amelie or Audrey Tautou, you can see the market and restaurant is was filmed in. Forreals.
8. UGC Ciné Cité Bercy - Watch a movie, in French or English, American or foreign. Whatever you choose, just make sure you’re at this movie theater. Its just not the movie theater but the whole area. Once you get off the metro, you’ll walk into a small intimate area of shops and restaurants. It’s so rustic and cobble stone-y. And then the movie theater is this monumental building which even has a bar inside… Uh, awesome? *Note: look up the showtimes (http://www.allocine.fr/seance/salle_gen_csalle=C0026.html) VO = in English, VF = in France. And if you’re under 26, prices are half off! It’s under $5. The French love their cinéma.
9. Les Halles - Shopping anyone? Just a little mall that’s practically underground and has multiple entrances and exits that lead to different places - le Louvre, Châtelet etc etc. It also has actual libraries of film and music. One is named after French director François Trufflaut.
10. Marché en Plein l’air - OUTDOOR MARKETS. You can find these everywhere from 9am-1pm. One I know that’s a forsure, is at Bastille Sundays 8am-2pm. Go there practice your french with the marchands, get whistled and hollared at, buy stuff (foods and souvenirs) and be Parisian.
11. Palace de Versailles - My only non-Paris place. If you can, dedicate your whole day, or most of it anyway. I suggest 10am-6pm should be pretty adequate. There’s so much to see, and it worth it. The only regret I had was: not bring a bottle of water and renting a boat to ride on the canals.
    

So these are 10 places I’ve been to again and again, not counting Versailles because I’ve only been there once. But none the less these were my favorite places. I suggest that you do your homework, look at other blogs. I frequently looked through:

• http://hipparis.com/
• http://www.spottedbylocals.com/paris/

Once you start your program abroad, you’ll meet other excited students who want to travel and explore, from there you can plan together. I hope this helps. If you have any more questions, please ask!

Bonne chance!

Bonjour!

C’est une bonne question! I bought my plane tickets through STA Travel and got an ISIC card (international id card) for free. It is worth it, but your host program should provide you with identification. In my case my program’s specific id was more useful and relevant in Paris. But if you are going to a variety of cities that speak different languages its good to have something in English that says you are a student and such. So it all comes down to how much it is. If its more than $20, I would say no. But if you are getting financial aid or whatever, why not? It’s always nice to be prepared!

*Sidenote: In a way a kind of regret booking through STA. Why? Because of their high prices and fees. But I booked it with a bunch of students with my program so I wouldn’t travel “alone”. But looking back it would be nice to have an extra $400 in my pocket.. That could’ve been used towards a trip to SPAIN! Oh well.. You live and learn.

Bonne chance!

Bonjour à toi aussi! That’s awesome that you are thinking about studying abroad. Where ever you end up going, you’ll love it! Prior to my departure I took 3 quarters of French, from Elementary French 1 to 3. However for my program it was not required to know any French.