artsfan

Thought we would have five days in Paris, but the way the train and flight worked out, it's more like three days with two little bits. So...would like to find a compromise between the family members who want to See the Major Sights as well as those who are into Soaking In the Atmosphere. (Don't tell me we should go in different directions; one of the main points of this trip is to experience places together.) Any suggestions?

The Soakers will be into finding a great crepe place, spending some time in the Rue de Buci market where we are staying, taking a boat ride on the Seine, and just watching the world go by, I think. The Seers will want to see or go up the ET and visit the Louvre, the Luxembourg Gardens, the Latin Quarter and the Tuileries, I guess. Is this doable? Does it sound like a satisfying visit to Paris or more like stuffing a bunch of elephants into a Volkswagen?

I have been to Paris a couple of times and done a bunch of sightseeing with my See the Sights husband ;-), but it's been a while and I would like to include some mellow time for our kids, who are college students and visiting for the first time. Of course we will all consult, but people tend to trust that I will suggest a good plan. We are arriving on a Tuesday at 5 and leaving on Saturday at 10. We are renting an apartment in St. Germain. It will be August.

Robespierre

I am not Dr. Phil, but I would suggest some form of time division.

See a sight. Soak in some atmosphere.

Rinse. Repeat.

It would probably be well if you were to plan this all out before you set foot off an airplane. Once you reach consensus, agree that there any deviations will be subject to majority vote.

artsfan

Oh, and even though I am a Soaker up of Atmosphere, I would like to see the Parc Monceau and the Opera Garnier.

jody

One of the best crepe places in paris is right outside the St Germain metro, rue de buci could take all of 15 minuts!..It is stands outside of permanent shops and nothing like a real market, the ET is not that far away, you can walk to LuxG and the Latin quater is right next to St Germain...not that much to see IMHO..except lots of people and tourists wandering around. Have specific places you want to see..

As walk thru the Tuileries passes the Louvre, place de Concorde, champs Elysee, up to Trocadero , cross the Seine to the Ef and walk on to Invalides, then you can cut back to St Germain!

Hagan

artsfan,
We've been to Paris twice for three full days each (on route to other places) and have been able to see most of the "must sees" each time, plus had time to stroll through Luxembourg Gardens, sit and watch the children sail their boats on the pond at the Tuilleries, and just sit at cafes with a glass of wine and watch the world go by.
We stayed right off St. Michel, near the Seine, and could either walk or take a quick metro to anywhere! Don't worry, with 3 FULL days, you'll still be able to see a lot and experience Paris. Trouble is, will you be able to get your kids back home!
One tip, the second trip, we got tickets for the 2-day hop-on-off bus tour, and saw just about everything! We were able to get off and look around an area, then get on the next bus. We also did the whole route on the first day to re-acquaint ourselves with Paris - at this point, still our very favorite city. Have a wonderful time!

cigalechanta

artsfan, ever since I saw Louis Jourdan singing "Gigi" in the Parc Monceau, I knew I'd go there.

PJK

Would you consider skipping the Louvre this trip? I know some will howl at the idea, but your children will likely go back to Paris in their lives (I assume that since you have been several times). We went to Paris a couple of times with our teens before we took them to museums. Unless your children particularly want to go there, you could save a lot of time by letting them experience it on subsequent trips. Pat

Beatchick

Ahhh, <b>Gigi</b>!! I love that movie, Mimi!

Artsfan, I have a cr&ecirc;pe vendors list if you'd like a copy. One of my favorite cr&ecirc;pe stands is the one on the rue Cler next to the Caf&eacute; du March&eacute;. They stay open fairly late, too. Had a cr&ecirc;pe there one night at 11pm!

Scarlett

LOL, I am a semi-Soaker, and I agree with jody, the Buci market is not big at all, sort of something you walk past and maybe stop here and there for a minute or two..the park is just blocks away, we used to walk to the Luxembourg Gardens after breakfast, wander back through the different streets, cross the Seine and have lunch somewhere around the Louvre.
You can hop on the Batobus and get around that way instead of walking too.
Have a great time..

jody

We've been to Paris 20 or so times and gone to the Louvre each time...I can only take it in small doses...do not expect to &quot;See&quot; the whole thing unless you want to exhaust your senses! I think it would be impossible to do the whole thing in a month! Check out a few particulars and the buildings and leave the rest for another trip!

AnthonyGA

The goals you suggest are almost mutually incompatible: seeing the sights and simply soaking in the atmosphere cannot readily be combined beyond a certain point. If you truly wish to all remain together, you'll have to timeshare between soaking and seeing.

On a trip of only four days or so, you could easily skip Versailles and even the Louvre. My first trip to Paris was a week long and I did not visit either of these. I didn't see the Louvre until the third visit, as I recall, and I didn't see Versailles until some time later. I did not regret having waited.

jules4je7

I'm in a similar situation with my in-laws and my aunt and mom who will be going with us when we go in September. Mom and Aunt have never been to Europe, in-laws have seen the whole world, and we've been to Paris once, where I promptly got bronchitis, saw a lovely French doctor and spent almost half of my three days there sleeping til noon and dragging myself out to see whatever I could cram in.

Three days with a little in between is never enough time, of course, but I'd suggest spending mornings doing a sight, and afternoons going separate ways, back together in the evenings. Decide what you soakers can stand to see again, and do that in the morning with the seers. Then split up.

We have a 7-day itinerary that includes morning stuff together, with free time in the afternoons. This will allow my museum-hugger husband and father-in-law to see ANOTHER museum, while those of us who are tired can sit in a cafe drinking wine and people watching, or go off in another direction.

I think getting back together at night will allow you to do more sightseeing, and share what you didn't do together. When my husband and I split up a few times during our trip and did what we wanted one afternoon -- we did that in each city, and quickly found that it was a GREAT way to settle any differences about what to see, and it was really neat to get back together at the end of the day and share our adventures.

Happy travels.

Jules

cigalechanta

three days in Paris is like a drop of rain feeding a starving rose for water.
I've only been there several times and yet to see all I want to see, experience. The architecture, the caf&eacute;s with people watching, the small museuns like the Rodin, the incredible Bois that takes as many days as the Louvre to see it all. Paris is not a moveablfeast, but a feast for the eyes, the stomach and the mind. Wear comfortable shoes

Gretchen

Hire Michael Osman for a day or two and let him work it out with you all.

blh

I love your names &quot;Soakers&quot; and &quot;Seers&quot; - and I certainly feel your pain. Our trip to Paris last fall could certainly be described in those terms. We had seen most of the big sights; our friends had not. I tried to suggest the splitting up stuff, but they insisted they would be happy to do whatever we wanted to do. NOT!!!!! Our trip was great until we got to Paris - and would have been much improved had we spent time doing our own thing. Instead we raced around trying to &quot;see&quot; for them and &quot;soak&quot; for us, and at the end of the four days, we were exhausted. Kind of put a damper on the whole trip - and made us know that our next trip will be alone, so that we can spend most of the time just &quot;soaking&quot;!!! Good luck - think you have had some good suggestions for splitting up in the afternoon - will keep everyone from getting &quot;cranky&quot;. I promise you will resent each other before it is over if everyone is trying to do it all instead of letting each element spend time doing what they really want to do.

tondalaya

And the other downside is that some are fast walkers and others piddle along. My family drove me up the wall because they piddle which means they walk very slowly.

Scarlett

LOL, tondalaya, that was my grandmothers favorite word..
She was just piddling..or was I just piddling?

artsfan

Beatchick, I would love your crepe vendors list.

The only reason I mentioned the Rue de Buci market is because our apartment is located right there. I fear visiting the Rue Cler market in case I am stampeded by Rick Steverites.

Thank you all for the many ideas on how to combine soaking and seeing. I guess planning is going to be the key. Carefully planned soaking lol rather than the open-ended variety.

Scarlett

artsfan,
in March we stayed in an apt on the corner of rue Cler and rue de Grenelle.
I never saw the Rick Steves influence. Everyone around us was French, housewives shopping, after work people grabbing dinner. We were the only Americans buying dinner one night at one of the shops..I know because everyone was very interested in my success in ordering various dishes from the French only gentleman at the counter. It was all done with great good humour and I was successful and no one threw tomatoes at me
So if you are in the rue Cler area, walk it..it is only a block long.

Scarlett

artsfan ( I almost called you cranky) LOL
You will be staying in one of Pascals apts?
I had some dealings with him earlier this year when we were apt shopping. He seems to be a really helpful and professional person..I hope you enjoy the apt and let us know about it when you get back~