Living in Paris

FirstComradeStalin

So, on Tuesday I head out to Paris for 9 months. I've got an apartment about 2 blocks north of Montmartre set up, but I don't know much about the surrounding area. Where are interesting places to go (I'm an architecture student, so things related would be appreciated), best places to buy groceries, go drinking, meet people, things to do in general?

Improvolone

Parlez-vous francais?
It isn't needed at all, which is actually kind of neat, but it will certainly help.

FirstComradeStalin

I took two semesters, but.....not really, about the level of a mentally-challenged 4-year-old. I'm already trilingual, though, so hopefully immersion will help me get better.

Thanatos

At least try to speak French to people when you talk to them. You'll find that they're much more helpful if you're at least making an effort.

Improvolone

Oh absolutely, I stumble through French with the best of them but everyone did seem to appreciate my trying.
Helpful phrases:
Je ne sais pas - I do not know
en Englais? - in English?

EskimoDave

French is pretty easy to pick up.

LoveIsUnity

Montmartre is an awesome area for architecture. Sacre-coeur is in Montmartre, and it's one of the more recognizable architectural symbols in Paris. (I'm sure you already know this.)

Montmartre is a pretty cool place to walk around, and there are plenty of places to eat and drink if you just go downhill a little (you'll see what I mean when you get there).

The Paris metro is a bit more complicated than other cities I've been to, but you can get pretty much anywhere you'd want to in the city without too much trouble.

Improvolone

9 months should give you juuuuuust enough spare time to spend in Le Louvre. I wish I could live in there for a week.

Thanatos

EskimoDave wrote: »

French is pretty easy to pick up.

Yes, French is fantastically easy to pick up. I was speaking pretty well after only a month there (a year of high school French is all I had at the time). But you have to make an effort; you won't get it by asking everyone to speak to you in English.

Charles Kinbote

Not to hijack this, but you guys are talking about the language anyway - I'm going to be living in France for three months starting in January to attend Le Cordon Bleu, but I have no knowledge of French whatsoever (although I've studied Spanish for years and years). I'm pretty good with languages, though - if I want to learn enough French that living in France will teach me more (if that makes sense), what's a good way to do so?

also the OP's question is helpful for me too

Improvolone

Your library may have language software access. Mine has Rosetta available for the locals.

musanman

Isn't sacre couer at the top of the hill...and the bottom of the hill is the moulin rouge and all the nudie joints (teehee)?

It's been a while since I've been there but I remember that is a damned good view!

Ketar

musanman wrote: »

Isn't sacre couer at the top of the hill...and the bottom of the hill is the moulin rouge and all the nudie joints (teehee)?

It's been a while since I've been there but I remember that is a damned good view!

Yeah, that's pretty much the case

Revolutionary

Hey,

From living in France in 5 months I'll vouch for the need to use French as much as possible. Everybody knows enough English to give you what you want, and apparently one can actually live in Paris just on their English cause of this.

On the upside, when it becomes clear you're a foreigner trying to speak French it really wins people over.

From having lived in Brittany (french name: Bretagne) I can't say much about Paris, so some random points about France in general:

-Read up on the French revolution, it's rather prominent in both their history and culture
-They're really big on separation of church and state to the point where they forbid you to wear religious symbols in schools, for example. I don't know how this carries over to the workplace, but read up on it if concerned.
-During the summer months, many French leave on vacation. Expect some stores to close.
-Unless you want to gravely insult someone, learn the difference between vous and tu. And by 'the difference' I don't mean whether it's one person or two or more.
-Read up on the handshake and the cheek-to-cheek thing. It's not as simply as knowing how to do it but when to do it. Mess it up and it's considered an insult. I'd explain it myself but I imagine it would be slightly different in Paris.
-If you ever venture into the south of France, note that the French accent there is different and that you might have to speak slowly.

Sorry for the ramble, but I don't want you to get off on a bad start with someone like your landlord or something. Bonne chance!

Kalkino

I got sort of lost in Montmare, on the way to Sacre Coeur, which resulted in me finding what appeared to be a street full of shops that sell Afro wigs. The street is the Rue Poulet, next to Chateau Rouge station. Perhaps you could loiter about there and see what the deal is

Tinuz

Revolutionary wrote: »

Hey,

From living in France in 5 months I'll vouch for the need to use French as much as possible. Everybody knows enough English to give you what you want, and apparently one can actually live in Paris just on their English cause of this.

On the upside, when it becomes clear you're a foreigner trying to speak French it really wins people over.

From having lived in Brittany (french name: Bretagne) I can't say much about Paris, so some random points about France in general:

-Read up on the French revolution, it's rather prominent in both their history and culture
-They're really big on separation of church and state to the point where they forbid you to wear religious symbols in schools, for example. I don't know how this carries over to the workplace, but read up on it if concerned.
-During the summer months, many French leave on vacation. Expect some stores to close.
-Unless you want to gravely insult someone, learn the difference between vous and tu. And by 'the difference' I don't mean whether it's one person or two or more.
-Read up on the handshake and the cheek-to-cheek thing. It's not as simply as knowing how to do it but when to do it. Mess it up and it's considered an insult. I'd explain it myself but I imagine it would be slightly different in Paris.
-If you ever venture into the south of France, note that the French accent there is different and that you might have to speak slowly.

Sorry for the ramble, but I don't want you to get off on a bad start with someone like your landlord or something. Bonne chance!

Although all very true, in my experience they cut the foreigners some slack with this. It's not that complicated, but everyone screws it up repeatedly.

Eggplant Wizard

They're really not that strict about the formalities with foreigners. My French colleagues love to taunt me with the bisous because they know I'm a little frightened by it.

Also, you guys must be some goddamned language savants or something. I took four semesters of french in college and I still suck after six months. I can read and write fine, speak passably, but the Parisians talk so damn fast I barely understand a thing.

Montmartre is awesome, but getting around Paris is cheap and easy, so explore.