I am about to retire and am considering renting an apartment in Paris for a week in November. I would love to know if other women have done this and how it was for you. I am not so much concerned about safety as I am about how it was to be by yourself there. I have traveled quite a bit, gone on tours by myself and have been to Paris many times, but I have never just gone to a city alone. Any thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
|||
Only you can really predict how you%26#39;ll feel about being alone in a city like Paris for a week. Having said this, I have done a lot of traveling both alone and with others and have come to far prefer traveling alone in a city or elsewhere (in a Western country, at least). It is, for me, an entirely different experience. I am inspired by Paul Theroux, the great travel writer, and how much he experiences BECAUSE he travels alone.
Alone, I connect to a far greater extent with the place I am visiting -- I observe more, converse more with strangers, am approached more readily (in a good sense) by others. I am constantly aware of things I might miss if I were with someone else -- little things like the aroma from a bakery, the intricate design of a building%26#39;s facade, the sound of a piano from a cafe that I pass. All of these kinds of things MAKE the experience for me.
I will be in Paris for a month starting 1 Oct., renting an apartment. I will be in heaven and not lonely. I have done this before (in Paris and Venice each for over a month) and have traveled all over Europe, staying in hotels, for month-long trips for years. It is a great way to travel.
It%26#39;s only a week...
|||
If you tend to be independent, unafraid to venture out alone to find your own adventures, you will LOVE being in Paris solo. It is so walkable, so safe, so easy to just BE in. You don%26#39;t even have to have an itinerary, just walking around is entertaining.
I was in Paris alone last year and, although I met up with friends occasionally, I spent a good deal of time alone by choice. It was grand. I highly recommend it.
|||
Does anyone remember the name of the poster, a woman who went alone about a year ago, rented an apartment, and wrote daily postings on her trip? It was SO wonderful, maybe Planejane can pull up these threads, but I don%26#39;t know the name. (The woman saw a little girl with a balloon on a bridge, etc., really touching commentary.)
|||
The majority of the population in Paris is single adults. And women live alone in cities all over the world. You%26#39;ll be fine!
The only time I feel even slightly weird is eating dinner by myself - but I figure no one knows me and I%26#39;ll never see them again. Why settle in the best city in the world and get take out or eat substandard food? I dont do it on business trips and I wouldnt do it in Paris! My Parisian childhood au pair cant believe I would go to top restaurants alone, but I%26#39;m certainly not sitting at home waiting for the right man to eat with! Usually if I%26#39;m at an outdoor cafe, I meet men.
compared to dining alone in Central America, where women rarely travel alone, no one looks twice at you in Paris.
|||
I cannot thank you all enough for aleviating my fear of being lonely. Nutsabouttravel, you said it so beautifully. I wish you were going to be there in November!! I want to stay in the Marais. Is there an apartment that anyone has stayed in that I should know about? I would welcome more comments on my original post. Thanks so much!!! Jane
|||
The last two times I went to Paris, I went alone. Next September I am going alone again. I stay for a month at a time. I absolutely love being their alone. Once I did it the first time I realized that it is the ideal way to travel. You don%26#39;t have to compromise with anyone about anything. It is pure heaven. You can be totally selfish without feeling guilty one bit. You can enjoy every minute--at no one%26#39;s expense. Paris is eye candy, nose candy, mouth candy--everywhere. You will have the time of your life. If you are uncomfortable eating alone, I suggest carrying an enjoyable book to read, a Paris travel book to help you plan your next day%26#39;s activities or a journal in which you can diary your trip.
As for apartments in the Marais, yesterday I just finalized an apartment for my trip next Sept-Oct. in Paris. I wanted to be in the 17e. Because of that, I passed on all of the lovely apartments in the Marais which I was considering. You might enjoy staying in one of them:
vrbo.com/59167. Didier is the owner and he seems wonderful. In addition, this apartment has gotten great reviews.
vrbo.com/174027. The owner of this apartment is also really nice and genuinely interested in answering all of your questions. The apartment is small but newly remodeled and very attractive. Although on the 5th floor, there is an elevator.
Paris Attitude 3635 on Ile Saint Louis on Rue St. Louis en l%26#39;Ile. It is gorgeous.
vrbo.com/103254. This is a lovely studio with its own private garden.
Two other apartments which are very girly and you might love or hate are:
Paris Attitude #1552. Again, this is on Ile St. Louis. So you know, the 4th Floor French means the 5th Floor American. Lots of stairs--but cute.
Paris Attitude #1158 is in the Montorgueil area. This is a fun area--very near Les Halles and St. Eustache Church. Again, it is a little frufru but I thought it was cute.
Well, this is a variety for you. Perhaps one of them will suit your fancy.
Enjoy your trip. Paris is just the best! Spoil yourself!
|||
I share your concern about being alone in Paris. I%26#39;m renting an apt by myself for 10 days in late November. I was in Paris in March with a friend, and I had such a good time that I decided to go back, alone this time. It is wonderful to share experiences with someone, but I agree with what all the posters said. Just think, you can do what you want when you want. If you want to go up the Eiffel tower every day, you can do that. If you want to spend every day in the Louvre or any other museum, you can do that. Or you can just hang out on a park bench all day and feed the birds. I am looking forward to finding a nice cafe and just watching the world go by for a while. Eating dinner alone in a restaurant is hard for me, but I%26#39;m gonna do it; there%26#39;s too much good food in Paris!
|||
I encourage you to go for it! I spent almost two weeks in Paris on my own and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The weather was so magnificent I hardly spent any time indoors, so visited only one museum (Pierre Cardin%26#39;s Art Nouveau apartments above Maxim, which was amazing).
Mostly, I walked (and rode buses) all over enjoying the scenery everywhere, wandering off the main roads. I had a list of lots of places with hidden courtyards and gardens I made from various walking guides I perused at the bookstore.
I also had a long list of Art Nouveau addresses. Checked the photos on PagesJaunes to determine which were worth a visit.
If you get lonely (I didn%26#39;t), people (other tourists as well as the locals) are very friendly.
We often stay in apartments in Paris, but I opted for a hotel for my solo trip, as I really didn%26#39;t need the space or a full kitchen, and didn%26#39;t want to bother with a deposit, security, etc. I had a mini-bar in the room, so cleared space in that for my things, and bought myself a one-cup coffee maker and some really good coffee and cream for it. By myself, I enjoyed the common area, terrace, and rooftop garden of the hotel more than I would have appreciated the extra living space of an apartment.
I prefer the buses to the metro, and really like being near the river, so chose the location of my hotel accordingly, along with cafes, shops, restaurants plentiful within steps, rather than a few blocks.
Since I was moving at my own speed every day, and usually didn%26#39;t get going until after 10AM or later, I was out late most evenings. I never felt unsafe strolling at night, or evening walking all the way %26quot;home%26quot;.
And, I dined anywhere I pleased, without worrying about dining alone. There are a LOT of single people out and about in Paris, and lone diners are common everywhere.
I really enjoyed that trip. When you%26#39;re with one or more people, you%26#39;re busy talking usually. But, when you%26#39;re by yourself, you have lots of opportunity for observation everywhere you go. For example, it was absolutely fascinating to watch the %26quot;symphony%26quot; of the staff in a restaurant. It was also a terrific opportunity to do lots of browsing rather than shopping. But, watching people was the best!
|||
I always had a book, my notepad for travel journal notes, and my PDA, while dining alone, but was rarely bored enough to need them while dining.
Also, I tended to stick to one or two courses and decline coffee or dessert. The coffee in restaurants is not as good as that in cafes, and I enjoyed going elsewhere for coffee and/or dessert, and having a nightcap later on before heading home.
|||
I am going alone to Paris as well in Nov and renting an apartment. I can not offer a female prospective to this thread but I would suggest you should just relax and enjoy your time without worry.
No comments:
Post a Comment