kerriek

Hello all! This has been such a valuable forum in my planning experience. My friend and I are going to Paris for a week, this is my first time and she was there 17 years ago. We found a great hotel (according to TripAdvisor) in the Marais, and now we've tentatively put together an itinerary. We would love to get some feedback. Thanks in advance.

Sunday: arrive and drop our stuff at the hotel. See the Bird/Flower market, the Moffetard market and possibly the Cluny museum. Metro over to see the Arc de Triomphe.

Monday: Take the Seine boat ride, see Notre Dame & St. Chappelle, walk around the Ile de St. Louis. See the Eiffel Tower lit up at night.

Tuesday: Versailles, perhaps the bike tour

Wednesday: Pere Lachaise and then the Louvre

Thursday: Marmotten, Orangerie & D'Orsay. The Seine boat rides to see the buildings lit up.

Friday: Eiffel Tower - all the way up. Walk around and explore.

Saturday: Montmartre during the day and then the Autumn Festival with fireworks at 11p.

StCirq

I think one boat ride on the Seine is sufficient, preferably at night when the city is all lit up.

Three museums in one day is a bit much for me, personally. I'd scatter your museum-goings a bit.

Notre Dame, Ste-Chapelle, and the Ile St-Louis won't take up much more than half a day, if that. Which isn't a bad thing - you do need time to just loll around and enjoy the scenery.

Friday's pretty bare bones, but then again, you do need time just to BE there.

A full day in Montmartre would be a bit much for me (as a tourist), unless you're planning to do those extensive walks around the old ateliers and whatnot.. You could do more

adrienne

On Sunday it's the bird market. Get to the Mouffetard market early before it closes up. If you have time you might want to see the Mosque which is about a 10 minute walk from the bottom of rue Mouffetard.

If you take the Seine ride at night you'll pass by the Eiffel Tower and will see it lit up from the boat - it's fabulous!

I agree about Thursday's itinerary - definitely too many museums, especially since they all have similar art. Why don't you move the Orsay to Friday to avoid sensory overload.

Add something to Saturday because you will have extra time after you go to Montmartre. Where is the Autumn festival?

astein12

Just hint on the Louvre... the place is huge, so check out their website. From there, you can print semi-custom tours that will walk you through the things that interest you (you choose the type of things you want to see and when you'll be there and it prints a walking tour with very specific directions). Without it, you can wander aimlessly for hours (not necessarily a bad thing, but not great if you have a limited amount of time).

http://www.louvre.fr/llv/activite/li...sp?bmLocale=en

seafox

You have a busy arrival day. You may be tired. If you do not get to all of it save the Cluny for later in the week. Keep the day "lite". Move aThursday museum to Friday....are you sure you want to do this many museums - it's an awful lot to absorb in one week.....

Surfergirl

If you're coming from England or the east coast, you may not be too tired to do that the first day. If you're coming from the west coast (U.S.), if you can do ONE of those things, you are my hero.

kmbp

Allow enough flexibility in your plan so that you go to Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle on a bright, even sunny, day. You'll see the stained glass windows at their best then! (And you might want to take some small binoculars...)

If your Saint Chapelle day dawns dark and dreary, you might want to change your schedule a bit.

Proenza_Preschooler

I agree with St. Cirq. Going to three museums in one day is a daft. You won't be able to tell a Jeff Koons from a Cimabue after three hours.

But, in this case it will be a day of Impressionists, which would lead me to head straight for a bottle of gin and a handful of Demerol.

I wonder what would happen if Damien Hirst collaborated with Deyrolle?

What do you think, sweetie darling?

Thingorjus

hpeabody

Bookmarking

djkbooks

I agree about those three museums in one day. You might want to move Marmottan (which is not included on the museum pass) to Friday. There's a lovely large park nearby and it's a nice stroll from there to the Tour Eiffel.

The Louvre and Pere LaChaise in one day is a lot of walking. For Pere LaChaise, be sure to start from the northern entrance, so you are exploring downhill rather that uphill.

On Sundays, there's the flower market, but there are also birds. It's not just birds on Sundays.

Going to Montmartre...recommend heading there a couple hours ahead of dinnertime, exploring, having a nice dinner (lots of places with excellent traditional live music), enjoying the views over Paris after dark, then heading for the fireworks. For a "touristy" area, there are a lot of nice restaurants with wonderful food at moderate prices.

If you don't head to Montmartre until late afternoon, you'll have the rest of the day to do things you haven't thought of.

You could combine a stop at the Tour Eiffel (RER Line C) on your way back from Versailles Tuesday. Then, if the lines are daunting, return another day/evening. Wandering from there down rue Saint Dominique in the 7th would be nice - lined on both sides with those quintessential Parisian shops of every sort imaginable, along with good restaurants in every direction.

The Seine cruises are inexpensive and a wonderful way to rest and relax. We always take a cruise or ride around on l'Opentour our last day, for a last look around at the magnificent scenery.

RJD

When you visit Notre Dame and St. Chappelle, consider visiting the Conciergerie, which is next door. The Reign of Terror in one place. Fascinating.

aliwallace

Create your own itinerary at www.myweekin.net

TDudette

Agree with poster to move Marmotten to same day at Eiffel.
You might want to start with Musee D'Orsay-it's huge. There is a rooftop restaurant btw.
Pere Lachaise could be paired with Monmartre also.
Place des Vosges is possibly near enough for you to peek in.

kerriek

Salut!

Thanks for all the feedback - we really appreciate it. We wanted to leave lots of wander time in - and see our highlights. Per your reccomendations, we'll move Marmotten to Friday. We weren't really planning the whole of Saturday in Montmartre - we actually plan to wander the Marais extensively. The festival is in Montmartre, so we were going to head over there late afternoon. I love the link to the Louvre. I almost wanted to avoid it, simply because I didn't know where to start. This will help tremendously.

Merci beaucoup!
Kerrie