So, as a late 18th birthday/high school graduation present, my father has decided to take me to Europe for two weeks this summer. We'll be going to France (where he mistakenly believes that I speak the language) and Germany (where he mistakenly believes that he speaks the language). Based on creeping on old posts, I've learned that a lot of you have visited these places before, and while I've been to Paris once, I was only 10, so I hardly remember it. So basically, I would love to hear any recommendations that you all might have for things to do or places to see in Paris, Normandy, Munich, and/or Bavaria. I believe we're renting a car in each country, so that won't really be an issue.

Also, if any of you can teach me how to speak French in the next two months, that would be great!

All I can recommend for Paris, besides whatever usual monuments you have on your list (go to the top of the Arc du Triomph--the views of the skyline from there will actually include the Eiffel Tower, which didn't strike my dense self until I was on top of the Eiffel Tower and realized I was basically really really high up but it still doesn't look very Paris-y without the damn tower in the shot. Don't go DOWN the Arc too fast on the spiral staircase because seriously you will want to pass out/vomit by the time you stagger out the bottom. That's 50 metres of spinning in less than a minute.)

The Louvre. The Orsee. Les Hotel des Invalides has a cool military museum, the Bois de Boulogne...you know I'm just going to stop trying to think what it is in French or spelling or accenting correctly and you can suffer through my pidgin nattering. Also, Versailles is fecking gorgeous. The gardens, the grounds, the fountains... (...reminds me I need to get back to my Antonia Fraser book on Louis XIV.)

I took eight years of government-inflicted French and while I could understand more than I expected, my attempts to communicate with the natives just got confused and snooty glares (Ice. Cold.) so I gave up and I guess most places I needed to communicate I was able to do it with hand gestures, very little French, some English, pointing, and numbers. And maybe days of the week came in handy when we were trying to figure out when the banks were open or closed. The French can be quite kind and charming, however. 20 euros worth of charming... (yeah, I got taken by a guy on the street for 20 euros... >_> My friend never let me forget it.) They generally dress very well and look very put-together. I felt like such a shlub in my cargo pants and t-shirts, no matter how clean they were (or weren't, by the end of the week.)

Drink lots of water--I went in June and it was crazy hotter than I expected (...though, I *was* coming from "omg it's 23 degrees beach party!" Ireland. Bah.) And wear comfortable clothes and good shoes for walking--it's very flat, mostly, but very large. We did a lot of walking, and a lot of it loaded down with three hiking backpacks, so good weight balance on the spine and legs was important (invest in a good quality backpack; I like mine with a wide padded buckle strap to go around the waist that transfers a lot of the weight from your shoulders down to your hips, which is way more comfortable for long periods of walking, but you may be traveling in a...shall we say less hobo-like style. XD This also happened to be the trip upon which I slept in a parking lot, a toolshed, and another parking lot, only that time, I had a cardboard box. If you're going to be sleeping outside in public places--try to scope out some cardboard. Srsly.

If you're going to be in town for several days and getting around a lot, I heartily recommend the orange pass for trains and the metro--it kind of covers everything and can give deals on entrances to certain museums and attractions, though it can seem like a huge lump fee up front--we found in invaluable, but that's bearing in mind that we only actually stayed at a hostel IN Paris for two nights and spent the rest of the time commuting out of the main city to cheap hotels. Hopefully the person you're traveling with who has promised to arrange for accomodations for the week won't leave it until eight days before you leave. I'm guessing this won't be an issue for you, though. (And yes, I'm still bitter about that. We didn't do too badly for a slap-dash job of it, but...still. It ended up being more money than we'd planned on spending, some parking lots and toolsheds for sleeping in (though those WERE free,) and a lot of whining from my friend who refused to acknowledge she'd dropped the ball by just assuming we could stay with acquaintances in the city without actually phoning ahead several weeks in advance to check and see if they could put us up.)

Buy cheese. You will not see prices like that on good French cheeses anywhere else. Ever. I just about died when I saw a wheel of Brie on for something like six euro when a sliver of that would go for 18 bucks back here in Canuckistan.

I can't remember exact directions but if you get off the train at the Juvisy-sur-Orge station and go to cross over the nearest bridge to the station, on the way along that route somewhere there is a Turkish shawarma shop run by these two guys and I don't even know how we ordered what we did but we got these awesome split buns that were something like ciabatta or sourdough, stuffed with meat, raw onions, ketchup and mayonnaise, crammed 'round with fries inside the take-away container, with a squirt of mayo and ketchup in each remaining corner--we hauled that back to our cheap but lovely hotel on the other side of the bridge and sprawled out to watch Germany vs. Turkey in the UEFA semi-finals. (Travel buddy was a German so she sat on the windowsill and smoked like a chimney (non-smoking room, hence sitting outside the open window...) and swore like a sailor throughout.)

Also: the cemeteries. THE CEMETERIES. We hit a couple, but I was really gunning for Pere Lachaise. Lovely, quiet places to stroll around, (TREES! SHADE!) and plenty to look at, some lovely monuments and interesting to see the gravesites of several prominent people, helpful maps distributed by the guards, and FREE.
(It helped that I am also crazy in love with Bill Richardson's Waiting for Gertrude, which was about the only reason I wanted to go to Pere Lachaise in the first place. To chase feral cats.)

To conclude: THE CEMETERIES.

http://www.pariscemeteries.com/

Boom.

Thanks, Emily! That was really helpful! My few memories of my last trip actually do include dragging my mom all the way up the Arc de Triomphe at least two or three times (apparently it was my favorite) and being too much of a coward to go all the way up the Eiffel Tower, which is totally my goal this time. Curse you, acrophobia! Versailles was in the middle of renovations, or something, so I'm going there to see it in all its glory (and hopefully this time I'll understand more of the history than just Marie Antoinette getting her head chopped off!). Cheese and snails are definitely on the to-do list, and I'll try to find that Turkish shop. And yes, the cemeteries are going on the list. Thanks again!

Anyone else care to take pity on the poor little half-cultured barbarian?

Gay Paree.
Just 'cause. Damn but I love this movie. (How can we not love Julie Andrews in a drag queen buddy film with Robert Preston?)

Paris:
Was really underwhelmed by Notre Dame. It's a conveyor-belt attraction. Sacre Coeur was nicer, but unless you're particularly desperate to see these I would spend the time going to one of the museums instead. However, the Ile de France area (where Notre Dame is) I really enjoyed, I remember it being fairly picturesque. The Eifel Tower is iconic, as Emily says, but I personally found it a let-down when I got close up. I would have been quite happy with just seeing it on the skyline.

The cemeteries are fantastic, even though it sounds morbid. We didn't make it across to Pere Lachaise but the Montmartre cemetery has Nijinsky's grave, which I would not have passed up for anything. You could easily spend hours just looking at the famous people's graves, but the non-famous people in between can be just as interesting and at times truly heartbreaking.

Invalides is extremely interesting, especially considering the era of this game There's quite a bit about the Napoleonic wars, and of course Napoleon is entombed there. One word of warning, however; unless they've changed it, be careful on the WWII floor as it is possible to stumble into the Holocaust section without even realising, and it is a very very powerful display.

Versailles I cannot recommend highly enough. Bear in mind you need to take a train out of Paris to get there, and there will be huge queues (probably the worst part). You could easily take two days for it; as well as the inside of Versailles, the grounds are phenomenal and also include the Petit Trianon, the Grand Trianon AND Marie Antoinette's hamlet. It will be lots of walking, but it is really lovely.

Well, it seems Emily and I saw mostly the same things, but at least we agree on them!

Some tips: if you go to a cafe, remember you get a different price outside to what you get inside to what you get at the bar. Since you're going with your dad I expect cost won't be much of a worry, but if you're not fussed one way or another, inside is cheaper. Though you get to do less people watching.
Un cafe usually is a black coffee. If you want it with milk, make sure to order cafe au lait.
Don't be alarmed at the sight of police carrying automatic weapons in the railway stations... you haven't just stumbled into a hostage situation or armed robbery.
I can't really comment on language, because I do speak French fairly well, so I just became our translator. However, the few times my sister got adventurous, most people found it sweet that she was making the effort.
Snails are icky, they taste like fishy, garlicky nuggets of rubber. But French deserts are yummy. Sandwiches always come in a baguette, never sliced bread. Crepes are lovely, whether sweet or savoury. Oh, and if you order a steak at any time, a handy phrase if you don't like them rare is "au point" (just on the pink side of well-done).

I would love to be able to talk about Normandy, but alas aside from my few days in Paris, all my time in France has been further south (Loire valley). It'd be a good historical trip, though. Lots of history in Normandy.

Munich:
Lovely city. However, although I lived nearby for a year, and have been back several times, I am blanking on places to visit, as I've never been a tourist there as such. I will look up my books and see what I remember, and what I can get recommendations on from family and friends over there. Ditto for the rest of Bavaria (although it's a pretty huge region). There are some lovely castles, fantastic medieval towns, and the scenery is gorgeous. There are lots of lakes that can be swum in (if you want to, look for the words Badesee or Strandbad). You will see people wearing traditional dress (women more than men). German chocolate is highly underrated, do get some. And one of the best breakfasts ever is a fresh pretzel with butter. If you drink beer, most places tend to stock at least one "local" beer, which are worth getting. Erdinger is a common one around Munich. Weissbier is supposed to be cloudy, it's not off. You should try proper strudel if you can. German people are, in my experience, mostly extremely friendly and welcoming, and quite patient when it comes to languages, however the Bavarian dialect and accent can be very strong.
On German trains, remember you MUST validate your ticket before you get on. Look for little red boxes on the platform or on the way through to the platform. If travelling around, there used to be a thing called a BayernTicket, which allowed you to go anywhere in Bavaria for the day, with up to four other people, for something like 50 marks. Obviously since then the currency (and price) has changed, but I think the ticket still exists. Depending on where you're going and how much the normal tickets are, it can be a great deal if you have two or more people.

I went to Paris when I was 17 (lo, these many years ago...) and here is what I remember.

1. The Metro smells like pee.
2. Boat ride on the Seine at night = super awesome!
3. On that note...there is this crepe stand on the Seine, right below the Eiffel Tower. They have the most amazing crepes I've ever eaten. I know, really specific, but my older sister gave me the heads up when I went, and now I'm passing it along to you. You'll thank me (and seriously, try the chocolate banana crepe).
4. I actually liked the Eiffel Tower a lot. We went to the top at sunset. It was pretty amazing. If touristy things are your thing, think about it. If you go, beware the street vendors underneath. Avoid them. Trust me.
5. Spend half a day at the Louvre. Spend the other half at the Musee d'Orsay.
6. Spend a day at Versailles.
7. If you are a picky eater, remember this: croque monseiur. They serve it at most cafes and restaurants, and it's like the most awesome grilled cheese you will ever eat. Apparently there is a sandwich called croque madame as well, but I never tried it and so I cannot rave about it like the croque monseiur
8. Eat a baguette. And pain d'chocolat (a croissant with chocolate in the middle." They are incredible.
9. Learn a bit of French before you go. Even if you just know "How much?" and "I would like..." and "Where is the toilet" it will make your life ten times easier. If you try, they will give you this look like, "Oh, what a cute little American, even if she can't speak a lick of French," and they will treat you with a modicum of courtesy. It's terribly stereotypical, but true - if you don't speak French, they will not give you the time of day.
10. You may think you want to see Montmarte and the Moulin Rouge. Be forewarned (especially with your father along for the ride) - there are prostitutes and sex shops and strip clubs EVERYWHERE. It's the most awkward place you'll ever go. You have been warned.

I can't give any information about the rest of Frances, as we specifically went to Paris and didn't see hardly any of the countryside. And I've never been to Germany. I hope you have fun!

(Seriously though. The Metro smells like pee. Don't say I didn't warn you.)

Just to agree with a few things that Betsy says:

The Metro really does smell like pee. Really. Everywhere.

Croque madames do indeed exist. It's basically croque monsieur with a poached egg on top.

And generally avoid street vendors EVERYWHERE, not just under the Eifel Tower.

Oh yeah, and Montmartre is seedy, I agree. And the Moulin Rouge just looks like any old theatre from the outside. There are nice things in Montmartre, but all the main streets are filled with things you wouldn't want to walk past with your dad.

We had to look reeeally hard around the Moulin Rouge before we found a wee grocery shop between all the sex stores (though there is an erotic museum I was sorry to miss, but it was closed that day.) ("We just want some nectariiiines!") On a nice day there's a lot of families strolling around there, though.

Montmartre is where I got took for 20 euros (beware the smooth-talking bracelet-men!) but then I also somehow wound up joining a pickup game of football/soccer in the middle of the street with about a dozen eight year old boys, so...that was fun.

Also, it's not just the street vendors--it's beggars in general, in most touristy areas. Even someone asking something innocuous as "do you speak [insert language here]?" led into me being handed a note explaining that the well-dressed and polite woman in question was trying to raise money to bring her sick father over from [insert war-torn country here] and the French government couldn't/wouldn't help her; with the same story written on all sides of the paper in about eight languages. I handed it back to her and kept walking and felt like a douche, but there it is.

So. Freaking. True.

This is all very helpful for me, as I am in the midst of planning my "Oh thank God I finished that damned degree" Eurotrip with my boyfriend, to occur either 2011 or 2013. I'm thinking that 2013 is the more feasible option after I leave Grad School.

Pick meeeee! I love continental Europe!

Ahem.

I only have one thing to add to other people's recommendations for Paris, and that is that you must go tot he Musee Cluny (Musee du Moyen Age). It's not so well known but it's an absolutely fabulous Middle Ages museum. It also has the La Dame et la Licorne tapesteries and it's worth it just to see them. (If you've seen the Harry Potter films then they were the backdrop of the Gryffindor Common Room.)

Montmatre is really lovely to walk around and I didn't find any of the seediness shocking, and I walked past it with my dad. However, I find sex shops boring and not particularly shocking - and I've been to Amsterdam.

I don't know about Normandy, but if you can get down to the Loire and see some chateaux then that's a really lovely area.

I am currently in Munich so I'll get back to you on that soon. Have to go out now!