1st time in Paris- need advice!

[leighuf]

My husband & I will be in Paris May 29 (Sunday) - June 1 (Wednesday) 2005. This trip is a side trip from a regular vacation based out of London. We've NEVER been to Paris so we are VERY VERY EXCITED! We are in our 20s & my husband is not really an art fan but loves museums. I love everything. I need some help with the itinerary. We are staying at Le Clos Medicis in 6e near Odeon stop. Breakfast/Lunch quick & inexpensive. Dinner will be more of a splurge.

 

Places We DEFINITELY Want to See/Do:

Notre Dame & towers

Musee Marmottan (closed Monday)

Eiffel Tower

Ste-Chapelle

a market or two (maybe Mouffetard or an art market)

 

Places We Would Enjoy Seeing but not Mandatory:

Louvre

Musee d'Orsay

 

Places We May Have Dinner:

Le Vieux 14e (opened daily so maybe Sun. or Mon. night)

Chez Maitre Paul 6e (opened daily so maybe Sun. or Mon. night)

Dinner for Tuesday ??? last night in Paris

 

Any additional info or reviews or suggestions GREATLY APPRECIATED!

[ClaudiaF]

You can grab the hop on hop off bus ( they are double decker English type buses) that stop at all of the places you have mentioned. Infact you can stay on it and take the complete tour ( takes a couple hours) of them all then do it again and again, getting on at off at wherever you want . They have one or 2 day passes and you buy them right on the bus - here is a link to a website that tells you all about Paris, hop on off buses and things to do.

Take a boat ride ( Bateau mouche..it is a different perspective from the water looking at all of beautiful Paris..esp. nice at night when everything is lit up..have fun!

http://www.thingstodo-paris.com

[vivian02]

Funny, my wife, son and I will be arriving in Paris on May 29th 2005. Won't be there too long since we will change planes going onto Munich,Germany. This will be my first trip through Paris. I really prefer Les Baux Providence. I'm sure Paris will be delightful. Tim

 

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[kate52]

Hi- you didn't mention Sacre Coeur, it is worth going up there for the view, and to browse round the place du Tertre (artists square).

I would definitely recommend the Musee D'Orsay, and the place des vosges.

The area round the Pompidou centre is fun, with lots of buskers and street entertainers.

Coffee and sandwich on the roof of the Samaritaine department store-views are almost as good as the Eiffel tower.

Shop in Galleries Lafayette, ignore the goods on sale and look at the glass domed roof!

A walk through the gardens from Louvre to place de la concorde, lovely places to sit and relax, watch the boules.

[NancyIL]

I would highly recommend buying Rick Steves' Paris guidebook: http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=13&id=54

Be sure to buy a 1, 3, or 5-day Paris museum pass...it will save you money as well as lots of time waiting in lines.

[April2412]

I would say not to miss the Louvre. It is one of my all time favorite places.

[Globaliser]

If you're in or near the Louvre, definitely make some time to walk through the Tuileries - especially on a sunny day. It's very pretty, plus you get to see much of the grand axis running through Paris - the Louvre, the Champs Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe and La Defense amongst others are all built on this line.

 

And if the Orangerie is open (at the Concorde end of the Tuileries, by the river), that's definitely worth a visit. It's been closed for a while for major refurbishment, but it may be open again by now. It has some huge murals by Monet in the basement, plus much other good work.

 

Don't forget to do a river cruise - the main operators start from the Pont de l'Alma.

 

And just up the road from there, there's a restaurant which impressed me very much the last time I was in Paris - the Maison Blanche.

[Florida_cruisers]

You should go to the Louvre and get your picture taken in front of Mona Lisa, this is a MUST. Also, even though it is kind of cheesy, a dinner show at Moulin Rouge is fun.

Make sure to go to the top terrace of this famous dpt store (I forgot the name but it is VERY famous in Paris) and take a look at the view of Paris from their is phenomenal.

Take a boat ride at night along the Seine.... so romantic!!

if you have an extra day, take the train to Versailles, well worth the trip. THe train ride is only like 20 minutes.

Have fun!!

DH and I have promised each other that one day we will go back after we have kids. Maybe in 10 yrs or so...

[Flick]

Ahhh Paris! Have been there many times. As Gertrude Stein remarked "I may have been born elsewhere, but Paris is MY hometown!" Be sure to get the Museum pass-very well worth it especially in season as you get to go to the front of the line at all times. It is especially useful at the Louvre where you take the Metro (underground) to the Louvre's UNDERGROUND entrance (they have their own stop) and avoid the lines and lines of people up on top trying to get in. Another possibility for dinner your last night is Jules Verne on the second level of the Eiffel Tower. Strictly candlelight so the decor doesn't compete with Paris at night. Not cheap, but well, well worth it. Start trying to make your reservations for this restaurant NOW! It books months ahead of time because it is very small. A great alternative to this however, is a dinner-dance on board the Bataou Marche (sp?). When the boat pulls up and stops opposite the Rose Window of Notre Dame and the soprano sings Ave Maria you WILL commit to returning to the City of Lights over and over again. We have travelled all over the world (all seven continents) for the past 25 years and believe me, you can never get enough of Paris and that dinner cruise is one of the top memories.

Incidentally, on Sunday, there is a "bird" market a block from Notre Dame. If you get to Paris early be sure to see it. It truely is "small slice of life" in Paris.

I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that you can get the museum pass on-line or at any Metro station. I would also recommend that you sign up for a half-day tour of Paris to acquaint yourself with the city and get some perspective where everything is so you can go back to what interests you. Napoleon's Tomb (commonly referred to by the Parisians as La Tombe) in Les Invalides is worth a visit. The pass again, gets you into front of the line so you can get in and out quickly....

This, above all, ENJOY THIS WONDERFUL AND AWESOME CITY!!!

[itsjb1]

My husband & I will be in Paris May 29 (Sunday) - June 1 (Wednesday) 2005. This trip is a side trip from a regular vacation based out of London. We've NEVER been to Paris so we are VERY VERY EXCITED! We are in our 20s & my husband is not really an art fan but loves museums. I love everything. I need some help with the itinerary. We are staying at Le Clos Medicis in 6e near Odeon stop. Breakfast/Lunch quick & inexpensive. Dinner will be more of a splurge.

 

Places We DEFINITELY Want to See/Do:

Notre Dame & towers

Musee Marmottan (closed Monday)

Eiffel Tower

Ste-Chapelle

a market or two (maybe Mouffetard or an art market)

 

Places We Would Enjoy Seeing but not Mandatory:

Louvre

Musee d'Orsay

 

Places We May Have Dinner:

Le Vieux 14e (opened daily so maybe Sun. or Mon. night)

Chez Maitre Paul 6e (opened daily so maybe Sun. or Mon. night)

Dinner for Tuesday ??? last night in Paris

 

Any additional info or reviews or suggestions GREATLY APPRECIATED!

 

 

 

My wife and I stayed at the hotel in 2000. It is a great little hotel.

 

We had dinner at a restaurant accross the street from the Theatre Odeon(I think that the restaurant may have had Odeon in its name) which was about a 10 minute walk from the hotel. The food was very good but the desart was amazing. It was warm dough oozing with warm milk chocolate.Amazing.

 

Ask at the hotel. I am sure that they will know the restaurant.

 

I found the hotel front desk staff to bew very helpful.

[sailingfriends]

Has anyone used a private tour company in Paris? We are cruising into La Havre and would love to find a private tour company to take a group around Paris. Only there one day, so we have to see as much as possible. Ships tours on a bus really slows things down.

 

Thanks for any help!!!

Gerry

[ClaudiaF]

Has anyone used a private tour company in Paris? We are cruising into La Havre and would love to find a private tour company to take a group around Paris. Only there one day, so we have to see as much as possible. Ships tours on a bus really slows things down.

 

Thanks for any help!!!

Gerry

 

We use Barons Limousine company every time we are in Paris ( alot).And they do tours from everywhere- France. Check their website and just email them w/ questions. Last time we were there ( May) had 6 people in limo touring all over Normandy and back to Paris -lots of fun. They do transfers and tours.. by all types of cars ( sedans , vans or limos).

http://www.barons-limousines.com/

[dperales]

We were in Paris for the first time before Brilliance in July. It was wonderful. We weren't sure how it would be since neither of us speak French, but it was fine.

Buy a museum pass first thing. It saves time and money. We stayed near the Arc de Triophe and purchased it there, using it to climb to the top.

Be sure to use the Metro. It is fun and very easy. Buy a pack of 10 tickets. We used all except 1 ticket. The people at the ticket booths are very helpful and we just told them where we wanted to go and they circled the lines on the maps. You can change lines on the same ticket if you don't exit the station.

The Eiffel Tower both in the day and at night are a must. We saw it the last night and at 11 the lights began twinkling and it was fantastic!

A boatride on the Seine is also great.

I agree it is a bit cheesy, but we did attend a show at the Lido on the Champs Ellysses. It is a few blocks from the Arc de Triomphe and easy to find at the George V metro station.

We also saw the Lourve, Invalides and Rodan's Garden.

We used AAA spiral guide of Paris and it was very helpful. We also had Rick Steve's book, but the AAA guide was easier to use!

Have fun! If you have any other questions, let me know.

Donna

[mafig]

Just be aware that the Louvre is closed one day a week -- I think it's Tuesday.

[TedC]

Friends who know good restaurants highly recommend Jules Verne in the Eiffel Tower.

 

I don't think the Marmottan is covered by the museum pass but it's not to be missed if you're a Monet fan. More than 100 of his paintings are there, including Impressions of a Sunrise, from which the movement was named.

 

A boat trip on the Seine, especially at night, is also a good suggestion.

 

The Metro is fun (watch your wallet) and walking the streets is fantastic - but watch where you step - a lot of Parisians have dogs.