@Captain_Crunch
8 days for Paris AND Amsterdam? That's not a lot...
Anyways you could use Airbnb, will lower your costs and you get to meet local people. I only use that when I'm travelling now. Problem with hostels is that you end up with other tourists, but depends what you're looking for.
Did you already take your train ticket ? You can book it online and you might get some good prices. Especially if you travel on odd days like wedneday afternoon or whatever.
In Paris you can already start organizing your stuff here :
ratp.fr - Visiting Paris . Public transportation works really well in Paris. I would recommend a five-day pass.
The best area in Paris imo is the North-East (République, Belleville, Ménilmontant, Oberkampf...) that's where are a lot of bars, clubs, restaurants, etc. I would look for accomodation in that area. A couple bars/places to check out : Downtown Café, Alimentation Générale, Bellevilloise. Comptoir général also is nice, but was better a couple years ago. Bar Le Jeune, Paname Café, La Cigale, Badaboum, New Morning...all places you can check out to go out
Things to see : Eiffel tower (be advised that there's not much else to see in the area...my advice would be to go to Trocadéro to have a nice view, don't know how usefull it is to go under the Eiffel Tower unless you plan on going up), Notre-Dame (avoid eating in Saint-Michel though, if you're in the area go up to Odéon), Montmartre (same thing, a lot of tourist restaurants, but behind the Sacré-Coeur there's a square that is somewhat more authentic). Don't waste your time going to La Défense, Montparnasse, I wouldn't even spend much time on les Champs-Elysées, just go see the Arc de Triomphe and keep it moving, it's only shops really. And FULL of tourists. Louvre area is nice (Rue Rivoli), as well as la Concorde, walking down la Seine (you can walk from Saint-Michel all the way down to Bibliothèque François Mitterand, it's a "newer" area and you can find various bars alongside the river, in two weeks hopefully there's still some good weather).
If you're into arts well obviously Paris is the place to be, Le Louvre is kind of overrated imo (WAAAAAAY too many people and stuff to see), but Centre George Pompidou, Musée d'Orsay, the small Salvador Dali museum, Quai Branly, are worth it.
Also if you're interested there are now tours about the "Black Paris" (
Black Paris Walks) where they talk about, well, Black history/presence in Paris. Haven't done it yet but it looks quite interesting.
If you have other questions don't hesitate to ask
