Home • France • Paris • Italy • Catalunya • Barcelona • Takayama • Fuji • Shikoku • Redwoods • Oregon • Washington DC • Los Cabos
Itineraries • Travel Tips • Images of France • Italy • Spain • Japan

Travel Tips
F r a n c e
Paris Metro (carnet) You can purchase a "carnet" of 10 full-price metro tickets for €10.90 (single fare is €1.40 ea). If you're staying in Paris for a couple of days, buying a carnet is a good option (and a little more relaxing) to the Metro Pass since it's based on "number of trips", not "number of days".
Driving Toll Roads (autoroutes) You pay your toll before you enter the toll section of a highway, and you pay as you go. Another option are "routes nationales", which do not charge tolls. The A13 from Caan to Paris, which is one of the largest autoroutes, is about as wide as the 280 in SF or the 710 in LA.
Wanna play a round at Golf'd Etretat? There are some hotels in the area which have "stay and play" packages. We booked one of these, but also got a tee time easily by emailing the golf course at golf.d.etretat@wanadoo.fr and were assisted by a very nice person named Sophie. They have a small driving range to warm-up and rental clubs available if you arrange for them beforehand (see ours here). There is a small bar overlooking the magnificent 10th hole where you can stop and get a drink. This course was by far the most breathtaking and beautiful course I have ever shot a 96 at.
I t a l y
Galleria dell'Accademia Make reservations for €3 each by calling (011-39)055-294-883 (English). Enter on Via Riscoli at the entrance marked "Reservations". Groups and tours line-up on the left, individuals line-up on the right. You do not need to have a prior ticket issued, only a confirmation number. Once you enter, you will be asked for your confirmation number when you purchase your ticket. If you do not have a valid confirmation number, you will not be able to purchase a ticket and enter the gallery.
Galleria delgi Uffizi Make reservations for €3 each by calling (011-39)055-294-883 (English). You will need to pick-up your ticket prior to entering the Reservation line. Pick-up your ticket 15 minutes before your reservation time at Entry #3 (across the courtyard - 03/2007). Once you have your ticket, go back to the Reservations entry. Again, groups and tours line-up on the left and individuals line-up on the right.
Colosseo & Palatino Purchase a combo ticket for the Colosseo and Palatino at the Palatino ticket office (not the Colosseo). There is a ticket office on Via di San Gregorio. From the Colosseo Metro station, walk past the Colosseo and the Arco do Costantino and the ticket office/Palatino entry will be down the street on the right. With the Colosseo/Palatino ticket, you can bypass the ticket line at the Colosseo. There is a security line which forms on the outside of the Colosseo, but this is not the ticket line. The ticket line usually forms inside the Colosseo. With ticket in had, you can bypass this line and go right in. You can also make a phone reservation by calling (011-39)06-3996-7700.
Musei Vaticani & Basilica San Pietro Join a tour group. No joke. You will stand in line for hours and may not see both in one day. We booked a tour with Appian Line for "Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel" (€51 ea + tip), but were lucky enough to also get into St. Peter's Basilica. This was worth every cent. Our tour guide (Stefano) was incredible, and provided us with a lot of history and context prior to entering the museum. This made our entire experience so much better. Appian Line.
S p a i n
Barcelona Metro (T-10) You can purchase a T-10 ticket good for 10 rides on the metro (and also the bus and some other trains, such as the Renfe from the airport). Multiple riders can use the same ticket. Just leave the ticket on the turnstile for the next rider after you go through. T10 ticket rides are marked on the back of the ticket. You can also use a T-10 Zone One ticket on the Renfe R2 train from the airport to Barcelona (Sants or Gracia). A T-10 Zone One ticket is €7.70.
On The Road: Finding Your Way Around When driving through towns and cities, do your best to go in the direction of the next largest town. Sometimes, street and highway signs aren't easily visible. You can also look for highway markers along the side of the road, but these aren't usually present in the towns and cities. Coming across a traffic circle is always helpful, as it's a lot easier to figure out the route with the various exits. When driving in France and you don't see your route, "toutes directions" and "autres directions" means "other directions" and "all directions".
On The Road: Exits and Junctions We noticed that many junctions have multiple exits. If you miss the initial junction, another may be down the road (and/or don't be alarmed if you see the same exit/junction more than once, especially on the autopistas and larger highways). An exit sign usually displays how far away it is and is usually in blue. When you come upon the actual exit, the sign is usually in white.
Driving Toll Roads (autopistas) You run into two types of toll roads. Basically you pay your toll before you enter the toll section of a highway and you "pay as you go", or you take a ticket and pay as you exit the autopista. It seems like the toll roads closer to Barcelona are "pay as you go".