ash39

Hello all. My husband and I, with another couple, are traveling for nine days to France, 3 of which will be in Paris-I know, I know, not enough time! We are leaving small children behind to celebrate the husbands turning 40, so we are doing the best we can with the time we have.
I have spent countless hours planning this trip (reading guides and trip reports on this site) and have an idea of what we would like to do in Paris, but am having trouble developing a true itinerary for our days there and would love to get some help. I have been once, many years ago, but no one else has been yet.
We arrive at 7:30 on Saturday morning May 17th and are staying in an apartment on Ile Ste Louis. We can drop off our bags upon arrival, but then do not really "check in" until 3pm. We depart for the Dordogne on Tues morning. We would love to:

Spend a few hours in the Louvre hitting the highlights
Tuileries gardens
wandering the Marias-Place des Voges
St Chapelle and Notre Dame
a boat tour on the Seine at night
Rodin Museum
Eiffel tower
Arc de Triomphe
Orsay museum
wandering the left bank a bit

We also love food and wine, so that will take up some time. We will likely do some longer lunches with a quick dinner on those days or vice versa.
I know we will have to cut some of this out, and that is where I get stuck. If anyone has ideas on how to organize this, what we should skip or add I would be much obliged!
I have scoured Pudlos Paris and the egullet website for food ideas, but if anyone has favorites that would work into the schedule you suggest, I would love to hear those as well.
Thanks so much!
Ash39

StCirq

I don't think you need to cut anything out. This looks pretty much like what I'd normally do in Paris with 3 days.

Just get out your map of Paris and plot the logical routes, then check opening and closing times for those items on your list that have them.

Strad

I would save the Eiffel Tower for the next trip. You wouldn't want to waste precious time waiting in a possibly VERY long line if you only have 3 days in Paris. Plus, the views from the top of the Arc de Triomphe are awesome, with no waiting! If you have pleasant weather and strong legs, you could see the Louvre, walk through the Tuileries, then up the Champs Elysee to the Arc. Bon vacances!

highflyer

Fit enough to take the stairs? Walk up the Eiffel tower as there's rarely a line for the stairs!
Go up the tower late at night when the lights are on if you plan to do the Arc de Triomphe during the day.

Sherbrooke

Just a reminder that both the Musée d'Orsay and the Rodin are closed on Mondays, so take that into consideration. The other thing you need to think of is the time you will spend in a queue to get into the Louvre and the d'Orsay. (If you go to the Louvre on a Monday, because the d'Orsay is closed, the crowds will be especially great.) You may decide that those hours could be better spent doing something else, since your time is so limited. At any rate, you will all have a wonderful time no matter what you do, with your 40 year-old husbands.

msinformation

This is a great question! My husband and I will have about 4.5 days in Paris and are making the same calculations as you. We've never been to Paris so I can't comment on the time needed, but I CAN say we have been trying to do a bit more planning than we usually do for trips. We are trying to organize activities by geography so we don't waste time crossing the city unnecessarily. We are also trying to figure out what are the "busiest" times to visit certain attractions. By scouring these boards and guidebooks I'm starting to get some ideas about what time of day to do what. Still, there are lots of hard choices to make!

Hopefully you'll get some other thoughts from paris experts!

ira

Hi A and M,

Stop trying to see everything in one short trip.

Paris is to be savored not dashed through.

Some suggestions:

You can see the ET from almost anywhere in town. There is no need to wait in line to go up to look down.

You can buy advance tickets for the d'Orsay and skip the lines. See the website.

You might find www.batobus.com useful, especially for the evening cruise.

Art Buchwald holds the record for the 10 min Louvre. I can't do it in under 25.

Be prepared to be disappointed. You've seen La Gioconda too many time in books.

For Sunday, I suggest taking the Metro to Monceau, visiting the Parc Monceau and then Brunch at ww.musee-jacquemart-andre.com/jandre/

Visit the museum after lunch, and then go to the Arc de T.

Walk down the Champs Elysee to the Tuileries.

Take the Metro to Pigalle and cross Rue Clichy for the Montmartrobus (no 18) on the left side of the pl. The bus winds its way up to Sacre Coeur and down to Pl Jules Joffrin and then back to Pigalle. Worth the 1E charge.

Enjoy your visits.

msinformation

Thanks for the excellent advice Ira! I agree about savoring Paris, which is why I'm trying to be cautious about not rushing and packing in too much. We've got a small handful of museums we want to see and a couple monuments and therefore will try to somewhat schedule those things, but hopefully we're still leaving enough time for discovery and relaxation. It's our first trip to Paris, and I suspect we'll enjoy and remember the atmosphere much more than any specific museum.

Great reminder about what's really important!

elaine

The Louvre offers periodic guided tours—“Tours Conferences”. These can be booked in advance, or you can go to the Tours Conferences desk, main entrance level. Allow a few minutes before the actual time of the tour: you have to pay for the tour, rent the headsets (the guide uses a microphone), and be prepared to leave a credit card or passport as security for the headset. The Highlights tour is offered in English at least twice a day, and will allow you to see, well, the Highlights. You can always spend more time on your own if you feel you can spare the time.
The Louvre is not a one-visit place.

The Louvre normally closes at 6pm but two nights each week, Wednesday and Friday, the Louvre is open until 9:45, although the entire museum may not stay open during the evening hours. The Louvre website www.louvre.fr will tell you which galleries and sections are closed on which days and evenings and it is very helpful.

dina4

tips for making the most of your time:
-buy a museum pass, and you'll get to skip all the lines
-find out which places stay open on late on which days

I worked like a dog to make the most of our 4 days in Paris by grouping things geographically and using the museum pass.

Paris is the first part of this trip report, if you're interested:
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34832782

have fun!

ellencmog

I agree with StCirq; I don't think you have to cut out anything. Another option for a good view is to climb up the steps at Notre Dame. I love being up close and personal with the gargoyles, and the view is nice. La Sainte-Chapelle is breathtaking; try to go on a sunny day. "Wandering around" is one of my favorite things to do in Paris, especially in the 5th and 6th. You can't be much more centrally located than where you're staying. Sounds like a fun trip!

seafox

There is so much to see and do in Paris that you must take the approach the you will be there again. "there is always next time" For the fortunate amongst us this is true. Being practical though you have a good plan. I would also suggest you consider hiring a private guide for one or two days. Michael Osman who is mentioned several times on this forum is very reasonable and he will stay with you all day. The plus is that he will get you from place to place efficiently and at the same time you will learn a lot that you will not find in the guide books. He can get you acclamated to the city quickly and then you can venture on your own with confidence! If available he can be contacted at:

[email protected]

or on his forum

http://groups.msn.com/DestinationPar...sageboard.msnw

Michael can be very busy at times and you may not hear back from him right away (his days are long). Be patient and keep trying.

ira

Hi M,

>We've got a small handful of museums we want to see and a couple monuments

My suggestion is to plan one morning and one afternoon thing for each day, and let the rest be serendipity.

Enjoy your visit.

ash39

Thanks so much to everyone for the great suggestions! Ira-yes it is easy to get overwhelmed and I definitely want to savor the experience and not rush too much! You ALL have great tips-I will print this out for my travel companions. Thanks again for taking the time to post.

Ash39

muffin2514

Ash39,

My daughter and I will be in Paris in May for about the same time. I have on my list the same exact things you do. Do you mind me asking how you organized your days, where you are going and when, so i don't jump all over the city? Thanks.

ash39

Hello everyone. I worked on our plan based on everyones advice and thought I would give you an update for further ideas. The only thing I do not have is the Eiffel tower. I am satisfied to see it from afar...I think. I definitely will take your advice to get the museum pass-great idea!

Saturday-arrive at CDG at 7:30, taxi and drop off bags in apt.
Louvre for a couple of hours
walk through tuileries
lunch
3:00 check into apt on Ile St Louis, rest a while
Notre Dame (it is right beside our apt) I hope the lines will be diminished if we go late?
wander Latin Quarter, dinner (any suggestions?)

Sunday
St Chapelle
Musee d'Orsay
wander St Germaine with possible picnic lunch in Luxembourg Gardens
Rodin Museum
stop by apt for a rest then wander Ile St Louis with dinner there
seine cruise

Monday
Arc de Triomphe
Champs Elysees (stop at Laduree)
lunch at Taillevent 12:30
afternoon in Marias (will anything be open on Monday?)-Place de Voges
small dinner

Tues
Bon Voyage-off to the Dordogne

What do you think? Of course this is all subject to change once we arrive, but I feel better having a game plan for such a large city. Thanks again for all your help!

Ash39

JackOneill

I can't offer any particularly sterling ideas. But I will add this:
I've been to Paris a few times. My wife had never been until we went in September 2006. We only had a few days. Obviously (duh) there's lots to see.
We took it as it came. We had NO agenda. We strolled the avenues and were in no hurry.
We walked past the d'Orsay when there was almost no line. Ditto the Rodin museum. So we went on in.
We walked under and around the Eiffel Tower (and the Arc de Triomphe) on the sunniest day of our trip.
Meals were slow (as was expected), but since we had no agenda we could savor the meals and each other's company in the city of lights.
It was kismet.

luv2cthings

bm

gard

Hi

My wife and I went to Paris a couple of years back. We stayed a bit longer than you but maybe you can find some useful info in my trip report with pictures and links: http://gardkarlsen.com/Paris_France.htm . Get in touch if you have any questions or comments.

regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures