mc68beats

Hello everyone!


My partner and I will be visiting Paris from the 14th(early morning) to the 18th or April. I am very excited about our vacation and have planned lots of thing for each day but I am not sure if the plan is too ambitious. We would be truly grateful if you gays give us some advice as it is our first time in Paris.


My plan:


We are staying in an apartment on the Boulevard Arago, pretty close to the RER/Metro station. As we are arrive early in the morning I hope we will be able to catch a market opened in the neighborhood, if not head straight to the Latin Quarter and the Pantheon. Go back to the apartment, nap and take the metro to Musee d'Orsay. Walk to our apartment passing Pont des Arts, Saint Germain, Saint-Sulpice and Luxembourg Gardens.




Day 2 - Morning visit to Sainte-Chapelle followed by some exploration of Ile de la Cite and Notre Dame. Take the metro to Musee de l'Orangerie, after visiting the museum walk to the Eiffel Tower stopping by Pont Alexandre and Jardin des Tuileries on the way.




Day 3 - Have breakfast in Place des Vosges, walk to Rue Montorgueil, Jardin du Palais, Opera District, Palais Garnier and L'église de la Madeleine. Then head to Arc de Triomphe and Champ Elysees. Go to Montmartre in the late afrernoon, visit the church and explore the neighborhood.




Day 4 - Wake up early, catch the sncf train to Versailles. Spend the day there, visit Louvre is the evening as it's a Wednesday.






Is my plan too crazy and unwalkable? Do you guys have different suggestions? Thanks a bunch!

welltraveledbrit

There are lots of other people who know the city much better than I do but here's an opinion with a caveat...I find it hard to tell people what to see or do when I don't have a sense of what's most important to them. For example I'm not that keen on the monumental areas of Paris and could easily skip the Champs Elysee and the Opera but this would be sacrilege to others.

But looking at your itinerary day three sounds like way too much to me, . Between the Place du Voges and Rue Montorgueil you'll be walking right through the Marais (not to mention passing the Pompidou) so presumably that will take some time? I don't see you making it to Montmartre.
On day four I couldn't manage the Louvre on top of Versaille but then I must admit I'm a lazy tourist.
fyi you can get a combined ticket for the l'Orangerie and the D'Orsay.

I see you're arriving early on day one will you be jet lagged? I'm presuming you may be coming from the States? If so and you find your self flagging on day one but wanting to stay up and see something but not able for the D'Orsay you could consider wandering round the garden at the Rodin museum which is very lovely but less demanding if you're in a jet lagged haze. I'm just throwing it out as an alternative of course it don't substitute for the D'Orsay but is a possibility if you're running out of steam.

Hope this helps.

Christina

I'm surprised you can find an apt to enter on Sunday morning (the 14th). There are a couple street markets in that area, one on bd Auguste-Blanqui (between pl Italie and rue Barrault) on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday mornings. actually until about 3 pm. There is also one on rue Bobillot (near Corvisart metro)Tuesday and Fridays, and one on avenue d'Italie on Thursdays and Sundays (south of Tolbiac metro). These are mainly food as far as I can recall. The one on Auguste Blanqui will be closest to you. The one on ave d'Italie wasn't as upscale as some you'll find in other parts of Paris.

YOu first day is astonishing to me, where are you coming from? On your arrival day you intend to go to a market, go to the Latin Qtr, nap, go to the Musee d'Orsay and then walk all the way back from there? Seems impossible to me, but maybe you don't intend to even go in the museum?

Also, I wondered why you say are taking the SNCF train to Versailles and what you mean. Do you mean the regular train and not the RER? The regular SNCF train doesn't go to the closest train station, for one thing, and would cost more. I actually do think SNCF runs the RER C line (the one to Versailles), but a lot of people wouldn't even know that. They don't run all the RER lines. If so, that's fine but I really would not go to Versailles in the day time and then visit the Louvre upon return as a little down time that day.

mc68beats

Thanks guys!
Coming from Britain. So no, it's hardly a hard flight for us.
@welltraveledbrit, my partner and I are both under 26 so we get free admission. I am eager to skip Champs Elysee but definitely want to make it to the Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysee, although dirty and full of tourists seems like a rational thing.
Christina, RER C and SNCF are a completely different thing, the train station is a different one as well. The SNCF train station is right next to our apartment, so it's way more practical taking the train from there (same cost) than to take the metro and then catch a RER C. Also, SNCF is quicker than the RER C, yes the walk from the train station to Versailles is a 20 minutes long one but that's hardly an issue for us.

welltraveledbrit

Great love those EU discounts for the under 26s! Fab use it for all it's worth while you qualify! If you get in for free do run into the Pompidou on your way past (unless the line is too long) even if just to see the view from the 6th floor, it's quite lovely and worth it even if you don't have time for the art, though it's a museum I love. I have a pass and often bring friends just to see the view.

lulunsw20

May i ask where you found your apartment and how or who you booked it through???

StCirq

Well, it looks really ambitious to me, even as someone who regularly walks 15 miles a day in Paris and scoot around on métros occasionally. And I'd skip Montmartre and the Champs Elysées on such a short trip myself as the first is far out and second is just tedious and sterile.But go for it! What's to lose? You don't make it? You don't. Just please, relax and have a glass of something somewhere every once in awhile to break up this expedition!

mc68beats

Thanks everyone!

@welltraveledbrit Thank you for the advise! We definitely will try to go to the museum and make it to the 6th floor, if the lines aren't too long of course. Truth to be told, I haven't considered going in before your suggestion.

@lulunsw20 Of course! We booked the apartment from here - http://www.homelidays.co.uk/paris-13...AnchorGetReady
The owner is a very sweet woman and the reviews about the place were great.

@StCirq I am thinking more and more about skipping Champs Elysées altogether but as both my partner and I are photographers, Montmartre seems like a good photo opportunity. What would you suggest we should do?

mamcalice

I agaree with St Cirq. She is an expert on France and offers sage advice. With your short time, skip the Champs and Montmartre. There are far better photo ops elsewhere in Paris.

Christina

I don't agree at all that you should skip the Champs-Elysees, it is probably one of the most famous main avenues in the world, and an important part of Paris history and events. I can't imagine going to Paris and somehow managing to never see it. It is a masterpiece of urban planning, also, there is really nothing quite like it anywhere I have seen. Have you ever seen those photos of the Tour de France, for example? Besides it fits right in with your schedule that day, and you don't have a lot else planned for that afternoon. Montmartre is more out of the way and takes some time, so I might agree with cutting that out if you are pressed for time.

mc68beats

@mamcalice thank you!

I have reconsidered my wildly ambitious itinerary and this is what I've came up:

Day one: Arrive at our apartment early in the morning, settle in and freshen up. Go to the local market to buy some food, relax for a bit more and take the metro to the Luxembourg Gardens, explore Saint Germain and Saint-Sulpice on our way to Musee d'Orsay. Walk back to our apartment passing by Pont des Arts, Latin Quarter and the Pantheon.

Day two: Take the metro to Musee de l'Orangerie, after visiting the museum have a picnic in Jardin des Tuileries. Then walk to the Eiffel Tower passing by Pont Alexandre. Go back to the apartment for a nap, when rested take the metro to Arc de Triomphe to marvel at a sunset in Paris. (rest of the night is open for suggestions)

Day three: Take the metro to Ile de la Cite. Explore the island and visit Sainte-Chapelle and Notre Dame.
I am not sure where we should go afterwards. Option one is hanging out in Marais. Option two is to head back to the apartment and rest for a bit then make it to Montmartre. Option three is do all of the mentioned above.

Day four: Versailles and then spend the evening at the Louvre as initially planned.


How does the new itinerary sound to you guys? Is it lacking something important? Should we try making it to the Palais Garnier and L'église de la Madeleine?
Thanks a bunch!
Meg

mc68beats

Christina, thank you for your suggestion!