France Thread 2 (Paris and all other cities) *Check Pg. 1 for reference links*

[eischied_21]

@angeljolie, always be cautious lang sa surroundings mo especially when taking a subway. I went there alone last October and thank God wala naman masamang nangyari. All my gadgets and personal belongings travelled with me back home. Pero ang dami talaga black guys sa Paris. Lahat na yata ng klase ng black guys dun ko nakita.

[minnie99]

I was very scared too because of the stories pero thankfully wala naman din nangyaring masama sa akin sa Paris! Medyo nag-panic ako nung rush hour nafi-feel ko kasi may tumatama sa backpack ko pero kasi masikip lang pala talaga. Hehe.

[angeljolie]

^^ Thank you. I have a friend who was there earlier this week and she said the same thing about the black guys. And she was appalled at how Paris stinks. Parang Quiapo daw. Hindi daw sya makapaniwala kung bakit hindi name-maintain ng government nila ang isa sa pinakasikat na lugar sa buong mundo.  Sayang naman. Lahat halos ng kilala ko nabahuan at nadumihan nga sa Paris. Sad.

[yabutize]

I can't believe our trip is only 15 weeks away! (I know matagal pa din but at least, abot-kamay na!) Haha.

Got lucky and was able to get an AirBnb near the Opera/Galeries Lafayette. I mapped it and within walking distance lang mga restaurants and most attractions. Wala pang 2 minutes to get to the department store. Ang saya.

On this note, mga sis, nakabili na ba kayo ng LV sa Galeries Lafayette? Is it true that you can get your tax refund processed in the same building? I've been contemplating if sa Champ-Elysees bibili or  sa Galeries Lafayette na lang. I backread and ang daming horror stories na nakakatakot mag-Metro and ang daming pickpockets. So I dont know how I feel about walking around Paris with a luxury paperbag. Baka mas maging target ako. If the price and experience is same lang sa Galeries Lafayette, siguro dun na lang ako bibili.

Any input/thoughts is appreciated.

[i_miss_sleep]

On this note, mga sis, nakabili na ba kayo ng LV sa Galeries Lafayette? Is it true that you can get your tax refund processed in the same building? I've been contemplating if sa Champ-Elysees bibili or  sa Galeries Lafayette na lang.

Sis, info on tax refund at Galeries Lafayette: https://haussmann.galerieslafayette.com/en/tax-refunds/

If you want the experience buying LV on the mothership itself the nearest Global Blue are within walking distance. Check this out: http://www.globalblue.com/tax-free-shopping/france/paris-downtown

If you have other stuff to buy cheaper than the minimum amount in order to get a refund, I suggest buying everything in 1 store like Galeries so you can bundle in one receipt and be able to refund along with your LV.

Just make sure to bring your passport in order for your tax forms to be processed by the store. 

I carried boxes on my metro rides and I'm glad nothing bad happened. Amsterdam is a different story

Bring a black trash bag and packaging tape with you so you can wrap and discreetly hide your LV box with it. You can then carry it along with you on your transits or trip home. I just don't trust checking it in.

Be safe, enjoy your trip and shopping in Paris!

[yabutize]

^Thank you very much sis! The garbage bag is such a genius idea. The link has all the information I need pala, ang galing. And also, nice to know pleasant naman ang experience mo sa public transpo. We are visiting 5 countries in this trip pero sa France ako pinaka-kabado because of all the stories I've read. If anything, I know now to be extra vigilant and just be a smart-traveler (carry less, be on guard, and stranger danger!) lol.

Naku, Amsterdam is our 2nd to the last stop. 2 days kami jan. Thanks for the heads up. I have to strategically plan din pala dito. Im traveling with my husband and my daughters (ages 6 & 9).

[i_miss_sleep]

^you're welcome. Basta kapag may lumapit para mamalimos o magtanong, kapit agad sa bag and kamay ng kids then iwasan mo na lang. Maski pa may mag-offer na mag-take ng pictures niyo. Dami raket ngayon, pati nga yung mag-feed ng seeds sa mga kalapati nagpapa-bayad! Unahan mo na lang ng sindak para layuan kayo

[pinkmoscato]

Marami nga talaga silang raket sa Paris. One time may nakasalubong kaming old guy na biglang abot ng rose sakin, todo smile sya and I thought nagwowork sya dun sa resto na nadaanan namin and namimigay sila ng free roses. hahaha! maya-maya hinabol kami, bayaran daw namin. LOL! syempre binalik ko agad rose nya noh. kaloka sya! Sapilitan.

Yung friend ko naman nanakawan sa train. May suntukan bigla na umaarte lang pala.. Yun pala marami silang nabiktima habang nakatingin sa nagsusuntukan eh nanakawan na sila.

[letters_to_cleo]

I can?t wait to tour my Dad around Colmar in September!  For those who have some extra time around France,  check out Colmar too!  It?s officially part of France, but very near the border of Germany and Switzerland, so you can do a trip to Colmar with side trips to Germany and Zurich. It?s famous for its wines.

[nageinna]

we will be going back to paris this june again. this time we are a family of 7 and we will be bringing along our youngest (2.5yo) initially, the plan was to skip paris on this tour because of our traumatic experience last year. hesitant din ako since my 2.5yo son will be coming along baka maging easy target nanaman kami. but inlaws wanted to see paris talaga so no choice but to allot a few days. hopefully this time ma enjoy na talaga namin yung paris and we'll come more prepared.

[otra_vez]

^^ colmar looks beautiful! i'm torn tuloy. i'm crafting a european itinerary and i want to visit those small, fairytale towns like cochem, st. goar, boppard. should i add colmar? or is it too similar naman to other german towns? thanks!

[letters_to_cleo]

Hello!  I?ve been to Cochem and it?s pretty.  It?s actually my favorite German town.  It is a little bit similar aesthetically to Colmar, and  of the two, Colmar is more picturesque,  you can do both and see the difference between the two.:-) Both  Cochem and Colmar are white wine counties, so prepare to haul off wines, super cheap and good wines here.  Our plan is to take a 4 day trip, we?ll just drive from South Holland to Colmar passing through  Lille  (also in France, there?s  an outlet with Lacoste and Le Crueset kasi here. My father wants to check out the Lacoste outlet, I?m hoping I can score a Le Creuset at a good price naman) and perhaps pass through Luxembourg (a few hours lang in Lux, because personally, unless you want to shop for luxury brands, walang masyadong to-do?s sa Luxembourg at least based on my experience). Koblenz (close to St. Goar) is like a bigger more metropolitan Cochem, pretty rin naman, pero I like Cochem better.

[otra_vez]

^ thanks for the tip! you're making me rethink my itinerary. i also wanted to do bacharach. have you been? i figured that i could skip koblenz and st goar as long as i include bacharach and cochem. i really want to see the eltz castle din kasi.

one of my closest friends went to luxembourg and i thought it was pretty.  they went to an overlook, and the view was really something, though she went in the fall kasi so talagang maganda lahat.

[letters_to_cleo]

^Hello!  I haven?t been to Bacharach.  Yung Koblenz talaga skippable na if you go to either Colmar or Cochem. Same vibe, tapos  mas homey and small town ang vibe ng Colmar at Cochem kesa Koblenz.

Luxembourg is pretty naman lalo the lookout point. Pero it?s not that big talaga, kaya ng day tour or daan lang then spend 3-4 hours.  I went there in spring and spent 2 days haha. Nobore ako after the first day, but then I didn?t shop naman. Pero kung kasama ang shopping sa agenda, I think okay naman ang Luxembourg. A day for the sights then another day for the shopping :-)

[yabutize]

Just back from our trip! Sobrang saya and nakaka-sad na tapos na. I wish we stayed longer.

Went to shop at Galeries Lafayette. Waley nangyari sa Louis Vuitton. All the items I wanted to buy, sold-out! I went every single day while we were there, wala talaga. Mag-restock sila kaso wala na ako that time. Kakaloka. Sobrang daming Asian tourists na nagho-hoard talaga. Bilib ako sa kanila (daming budget). Kaya siguro ako naubusan. Ang ending, Longchamp na lang nabili ko and some beauty products. I followed your advice and sa Global Blue ko na pina-process yung refund. Buti na lang I did kasi sa airport, ang haba ng pila.

Regarding scammers and pickpockets-ang dami pala talaga. From Sacre Coeur to Arc De Triomphe and metro. Pati sa train stations! Yung bracelet gang, survey gang-we had an encounter with them all. Buti na lang, nakapagbasa na ako dito. Pero yung nangyari sa father-in-law ko, his backpack got stolen sa Gare De Lyon. His passport was there. He had been looking for 30 minutes tapos bigla na lang may lumapit para magsoli. Wala naman kasi ibang valuables dun except the passport, nakunsensiya siguro.

[kireinachean]

Ang bibilis ng kamay sis, grabe talaga, we stayed near the train, ang sister ko nagpic pa sa lobby then we went down, shes holding my son, just when we are about to ride the train shes looking for her phone and wala na, my husband saw na may nagkindatan daw na babaeng sumalubong sa kanya but hindi naman nya naisip na nakuha na ang phone... buti nalang at nagbabasa ako dito ang ginamit kong bag ay may lock so lahat ng valuables namin ay andun at nasa harap. HOnestly, all throughout the trip praning mode na kame, we have a friend na nagmessage din samin to be cautious at buong back pack nya din ang nawala.

and sobrang na turn off ako, kase kahit train attendants hindi helpful, we are based here in Dubai na sobrang hospitable naman kaya medyo TO. My husband said baka language barrier, but Japan ese are very warm kahit hirap mag explain.

[yabutize]

True sis. Pinagitnaan din ako ng 2 babae sa metro, buti na lang my purse was in front and vigilant din ako pati husband ko. And meron nagmagandang loob na local. When he saw na I was sandwiched between the two pickpockets, sumigaw talaga siya. Kaya napatakbo yung 2. Swerte ko, i didnt lose anything. Wala din naman ako valuables sa bag except yung phone. Pero money and passports, sa husband ko may dala. Nasa inside pocket ng jacket niya.

[riandrew]

oh wow. lucky we didn't experience any of these. though i have to admit mejo scary nga sa mga trains, parang war freak yung mga tao. hehe parang common yung mag-kakainitan tas magsusuntukan bigla 

[examiner30]

Hi po!

I will be in Paris this December for 4-day training but all in all stay in Europe will be 15 days. We plan to go to Munich then Italy also. Done backreading and I still have a few (a lot actually hehe) questions that I hope to be clarified. Hotel will be very near Louvre (300m) according to map.

1. ETA in CDG is 7PM on a Saturday. Would it be possible to go to Strasbourg and spend a night there then go back to Paris Sunday night in time for the seminar Monday morning? or Friday na lang after ng traning ko then from there saka kami punta Munich. last day of training is Thursday.

2. I?ve researched on things to do at night since training ako ng 4 days. Questions are:
 eiffel tower at night - Do I really have to buy skip-the-line ticket kung pag gabi?

Louvre Museum - open sya until 9:45 on Wednesday night. I?m not familiar with arts but would the time be enough for an art-newbie to appreciate what?s inside? And for the museum pass, multiple entry ba to as long as valid or 1 entry lang per museum? Kasi since malapit ako sa louvre, isip ko daan daan din after training sana. hehe

Cabaret show - which one do you suggest? Moulin Rouge or Lido?

Christmas Stalls - San pinakamaganda and/or accessible sa hotel (Louvre) area?

I?m super excited. Tagging along my husband. Do you have any other suggested activities or places to visit at night? Singit din po namin dito yung Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, Champ. Will it be safe to roam around at night?

Thank you very much po. 😊

[minatay91]

Mga sis, is it safe to leave a tripod in front of me to take photos? Im scared of all the pickpockets and issue about the protests in Paris.

I'll visit in the first week of January. Hopefully nagsettle down na yung issue.

Is train the best option from hotel near the aiport to Trocadero station? Any other alternatives? Uber perhaps?