How can I copy the current path from Nautilus?

I'd say the quickest way is to press Ctrl+L, then you can copy it (Ctrl+C).

Ctrl+L. Very frustrating to not find an option in the View menu (which should then be clearly labeled Ctrl+L). Had to do a web search.

And then very frustrating to find that Ctrl+L doesn't toggle it back. Another web search... Drum roll... Esc

And then, how to set your preference? Web search... Have to install gconf-editor or dconf-editor or manually use a terminal command:

gsettings set org.gnome.nautilus.preferences always-use-location-entry true

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1504058

Of course, this would be a little less painful if there were a 'terminal here' option in the context menu. Web search... Install nautilus-open-terminal

How do I open a terminal in the current location?

Sigh. Oversimplified interfaces are so hard to figure out. I appreciate all the helpful answers people have put on the web for us to find.

May I ask why you want the path?

If you want the path because you want to use it and navigate directly from the terminal, then you can simply install nautilus-open-terminal using synaptic.

Or

sudo apt-get install nautilus-open-terminal

After that, simply right click on any folder and use "Open in terminal"

If you simply want the path, then Ctrl + L would do just fine.