* You can only buy "aspirin" in a drug store!

*Take a bus tour of Paris.

I know...it sounds crazy but you'll be glad you did especially if this is your first visit to Paris. You'll get a wonderful ride with a view of much of the city and it's many monuments. A tour will also help you get oriented as to general locations in Paris such as Left and Right Bank, major monuments, the arrondissements and grand boulevards which you'll be traversing later...perhaps on foot.

* You will find getting around Paris much easier if you purchase a plastic coated metro map and a pocket book size map with a page for each arrondissement and a street index.

Although Metro maps are distributed by the RATP and department stores I've always found them to be to small to easily read. The books come in many sizes so be sure to get one that is easy to read, carry and refer to as there is a lot of small print and information on each page which you will surely refer to frequently while getting about in the city. You'll even see Parisians walking around with these books that can be purchased in most bookshops. We bought ours in the big department store called Printemps.

*It's fun to go into a French department store. Among them are Printemps, BHV and Galleries Lafayette on the Right Bank and Au Bon Marché on the Left Bank.

We've shopped them all and prefer Au Bon Marché even though the other stores mentioned are easier to find and access. We especially enjoy the special food market at Au Bon Marché which features fresh vegetables and fruit from all over Europe. You'll also find an incredible selection of French cheeses, wines, meats, pate, fresh pastas, canned and other dry goods. Before going to the food section which is located across the street from the main store you should really have a bite to eat. There is a cafeteria, restaurant and snack bar on the second floor. The cafeteria was packed when we were there so we enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the small restaurant adjacent to it.

*A word about Credit Cards & Travelers Cheques:

Credit cards are used more frequently and in more business than here. We charge all meals, hotels, and large purchases. Its convenient to have a record for when you get back and we can always use the miles earned on our card for the next trip to Paris. We never carry more than a hundred Euros cash to be used for small purchases. Check with your bank to see if you can use your credit card or express cash card in the French ATM's. Your bank may have to issue you a special 4 digit code to use while in France.

There are places to change travelers cheques on what seems like every corner in the tourist areas and their rates are equal to or less than bank rates but a commission will be charged. Travelers checks, whether in Euros or Dollars always seem to be a hassle. We were told by one of the cashiers at our favorite change bureau that we get a better rate for cash and the larger the amount the better the exchange rate.

Please click here for today's currency exchange rates.

*Need to stay in touch with friends and business associates at home?

If don't want to bother with lugging a laptop, special wires, adapters etc., you can access the internet and e-mail at one of the many Internet Cafes in Paris or your hotel which often provides a computer for guest use.

*I'll be in France for several weeks. What if I want a cell phone?

For the past several years my brother-in-law worked for Airtouch in Lisbon, Portugal. We visited them for a week and he loaned me a cell phone for our use in Paris for the remainder of our vacation. Having a cell phone ended up in saving us a small sum in phone charges and was extremely convenient for making reservations and staying in touch with friends in Paris. Kati and I both have cell phones now and we can stay in touch if we decide to go our separate ways for the day.

Unfortunately you can't take your cell phone from the US to Europe and expect it to work. The phones there work on a different frequency so, if you travel frequently, I recommend you buy one in France (they are much cheaper than in the US) or it is possible to rent one before you leave the US. Or, you could purchase a dual band "worldphone" in the US and get a French cell phone number and minutes once in France.

Cell phone stores are sort of like gas stations in the US. There seems to be one on every corner. A complete cellphone kit from any France Telecom store will cost about $175.00 and includes 30 minutes of talk time. When you buy the phone you'll want to purchase extra scratch cards which will charge your phone with minutes of talk time in multiples of 15 or 30 minutes. Calls to anywhere in France will cost just under $1.00 a minute and you can call home for about $1.35 a minute. You can visit the France Telecom Mobiles web site in English to find out more.

If you're really serious about your cell phone you can rent one here in the US for use in all of Europe for as little as $6.50 a day or even less for an extended stay. Contact Worldcell at 1-888-967-5223 or visit their web site..

*PAY ATTENTION!

I had not planned on including this tip because I never thought anyone would ever need it. It's not meant to frighten you or ruin your vacation but you should be aware of this.

In any city, especially a foreign one that you're not familiar with, you are a target. You must at all times be aware of your surroundings and where you walk. It's just common sense. We have a friend and his bride to be that were robbed not once but twice on the way from the airport to their hotel in Paris. They were both tired from the long flight and they had opted to take the train to the Gard du Nord station and then planned to take a cab to their hotel. My friend is a big fellow and travels frequently in the US. However, they lost cash and credit cards which had to be replaced and they were in Paris for one week to be married there. You can imagine how they felt and the steps they had to go through to replace the lost cash and credit cards.