Have an idea of sites you want to visit and things you want to do during your trip. Do some research on travel blogs and communities. You should ask friends and family who have traveled before about places they enjoyed the most. Read through site-specific guide books like Lonely Planet, Let's Go, Rough Guide, Rick Steves, or Frommers.
However, we advise that you take advantage of this unique opportunity to live as a real Parisian, and keep your trips to other countries to a minimum. Use your free time and weekends to discover Paris and other parts of France! Students who travel too frequently outside of Paris often regret not having spent more time in Paris at the end of the semester.
DO NOT book anything until after the first week of semester-long classes. You may find there are mandatory excursions for your courses, make-up classes, or NYU-sponsored trips already in place.
Things to remember about discount airlines:
Student recommendations from Fall 2009. Let us know if this list should change!
I went to Amsterdam, London, Belgium, and Madrid. I traveled to all the cities by train except for Madrid, which I flew to. I made all of my travel plans online. I loved Belgium. I went during Easter, so we went to the well- known chocolate stores and saw their amazing displays. I had the best time going to places off the beaten track or finding good restaurants.
- Jill, NYU Paris student