specialT

Hi So myself and a few friends (age 24 & 1st visit) are finally all booked to fly into Paris for 8 days! We arrive the morning a little after 6 am of Friday June 7th and Flying out the morning of Sat June 15. We were able to find a hotel near the Eiffel Tower as well.

We have created a basic itinerary with a lot of flexibility but wanted to get some opinions if we have a good spread or missing any recommended sites or a place not worth the effort?
I also apologize for any spelling mistakes!

June 7th: Seine River Cruise, Rodin Museum, Hotel Invalides

June 8th : Marais, Notre Dame, Hotel De Sens, National Museum of Modern Art, Beaubourg

June 9th: Montparnasse, Catacombs, Bastille, Picasso Museum,

June 10th: Pantheon, Jardin des Plantes, Musee De Orsay, Effiel Tower

June 11th (Tuesday) Day trip to Giverny or other city not decided yet

June 12: Lourve, Arc de Triomphe, Luxembourg Gardens, Chinatown

June 13th: Morning trip to Versaille return mid Afternoon

June 14th Montarmarte, Sacre-Couer, check out Moulin Rouge (too expensive to see a show).

June 15th fly home.

Any advice would be helpful. Trying to see the major sights at a relaxed pace and leave time for general exploring the different neighborhoods as well. Thanks!

mamcalice

You have a very full agenda and are covering a lot of ground but if you have lots of energy, you can manage. Be sure to visit Ste. Chapelle, one of the most amazing sights in Paris. Visit on a sunny morning to see the stained glass at its best. Last I heard, the Picasso Museum was still closed for renovation. If you are visiting Giverny, be sure to visit the Orangerie with its beautiful Monet water lily murals.

And be sure you have time to hang out in a cafe for a cafe au lait or a glass of wine.

adrienne

June 9 - Picasso museum is closed through the end of 2013.

June 12 - Luxembourg Gardens are near the Pantheon so you should walk through on June 10 rather than on the 12th as they are not on the route of the other things you're seeing. Walk through the Tuileries after the Louvre.

Where is Chinatown?

June 14 - there's a Montmartre walking tour at 2:30 which is very worthwhile. No need to book - just show up.

http://www.paris-walks.com/summer-walks.html

KodakMoment

Contrary to mamcalice, I don't think you're covering a lot of ground. 8 days in one city is ideal. Most people tend to spend 4-5 days in Paris. I think your itinerary is perfect.

You've covered most of the sites. For a good cafe, hit up St Germain des Pres and have breakfast at Cafe de Flore or Les Deux Magots.

Try to see Place de Vendome after you visit the Louvre. It's such a beautiful square.

adrienne

A lot of young people hang out at Place St-Michel in the evening - it's across from Notre Dame.

June 9 - what are you doing in Montparnasse?

Underhill

Just to clarify: the Monet water-lily murals are in the Orangerie in Paris, not in Giverny.

cathies

Versailles will be packed at the time you are going to go. If you only want to see the palace then you could aim to get there at about 3pm and return to Paris in time for dinner. Otherwise see the gardens first and then see the palace to avoid the queues and the crush inside.

mamcalice

Thanks for the clarification Underhill - I noticed after I posted that I was not clear on the location of the Orangerie. It is convenient to visit and very worthwhile.

StCirq

Sounds well thought out to me, but I would not do the Seine cruise the night of your arrival - wait until the jetlag has subsided.

And there's a lot more to see in Montmartre than Sacré Coeur and the Moulin Rouge (which is just a windmill - a 10-second walk-by). Check out the Eyewitness Guide walk through the old artists' ateliers area and the Montmartre vineyard.

Christina

I've been to Chinatown as I usually stay in the 13th-15th arr. It's south and SE of place d'Italie. Lots of good grocery stores if you want Chinese food products, but it's not scenic at all and nothing like what you might envision if you've been to Chinatowns in places like San Francisco, etc. It's one of the least charming parts of Paris, actually, so don't go for sightseeing, but only if there is some special restaurant or store you want to go to. I could see it if it were a special holiday, CHinese NY or something like that.

Your schedule is kind of all over the place just a bit -- several times you combine things not close together (like Jardin des Plantes with the Eiffel Tower, but if you can't do better, you can obviously get between the two by metro without that much time.

specialT

Thanks for all the replies! This is still a work in progress and I will definitely take your advice into account. I will also add the Orangerie to the list. IS there any other sites or attractions you would recommend adding that are off the main tourist grid?

StCirq

There are thousands of wonderful places off the main tourist grid, but you have only a week, so it really depends on how you want to organize this trip.

welltraveledbrit

Personally Monmatre holds no interest to me, I'm very interested in the artistic heritage but just found it was too crowded to be enjoyable and I went in March. Yes the side streets are fine but the main square and surrounding were ghastly. I'd much rather do a walking tour of the Art Nouveau buildings in the 16th but it's a matter of personal preference.
Wen you're in the Marais make sure to walk through the Place du Voges (Hotel Sully) and past the Musee du Carnavelet if you want to see some nice Hotel Particuleur. The Hotel de Sens is of course one of the oldest medieval buildings in Paris (now a library) if you make it there have a look at the Shoah Memorial just around the corner and the half timbered houses just behind St Gervais. Stop at Rue Rosier for lunch before heading on to the Pompidou.

Most of these places are covered in any walking tour book so they're easy to find and it won't take long. I'm mentioning them because you singled out the Hotel du Sens. If you're interested in buildings of this period it could be worth seeing the Cluny Museum when you're in the Latin Quarter even if you don't go in to see the exhibits.

Eiffel Tower fits better on day one. If you do make it to the Jardin du Plantes consider checking out the Grand Mosque if you're looking for a different sort of experience, I love their tea room or the cafe at the Institute du Monde Arabe for a great view from the roof. At the pantheon it's only a short walk to the Place Contrescarpe which is very attractive.

When you're at the LOuvre cross the road and see the gardens of the Palais Royal which are a charming escape from the noise and tourists.

Hope this helps!
I have lots of photos/ideas on my blog which you may find interesting.

http://somuchmoretosee.blogspot.fr/search/label/Paris

Underhill

See whether your local library has a copy of the Michelin Green Guide to Paris and/or the Eyewitness Guide to Paris. Both lay out tours by neighborhood, making it easier to combine sights in limited time.

annhig

if you are interested in Monet and impressionism, there are a couple of things you may enjoy that aren't on your list - the Musee D'Orsay for which you can buy a combined ticket with the Orangerie, and the Musee Marmottan in the 16th.

http://www.marmottan.fr/

it's near the bois de boulogne where the Bagatelle garden is situated - lovely roses in season, which in this cold year may well be June.

adrienne

<< IS there any other sites or attractions you would recommend adding that are off the main tourist grid >>

Since you're asking...and since you have the Rodin Museum on your list I also recommend the Maillol Museum for sculpture that is dramatically different than Rodin's. It's so interesting to compare the two artists and there's hardly anyone at the Maillol Museum. It's near the Rodin.

Maillol used the female form as his primary vehicle and tempered the emotional quality of Auguste Rodin's work with a quiet restraint. His sculpture appears classical, but is intensely modern.

Maillol's figures are calm and the faces almost expressionless. He strove to make the viewer react to the sculpture rather than the emotion of the subject. When there is movement in the sculpture, it is more an allusion of movement or a sense that there will be movement in the future, such as the bathing woman with the drape just beginning to fall from her back. You sense, rather than see or feel, that the woman is preparing for her bath by disrobing - the top of the drape is a few inches from her shoulder and sliding down her back. Again, in showing the strength of the figure, Maillol presents the illusion of muscle whereas Rodin uses deep depressions and well-defines his subjects's physiques.

The Museum of Jewish Art and History is a wonderful small museum. What I liked most were the photos throughout the museum of ordinary French/Parisian people and the short bios telling of their heritage and their feelings on being Jewish. My second favorite thing was the 19th c. wooden Austrian Sukkah hut (for the harvest festival) with three colorfully painted interior walls showing a view of Jerusalem, a shield with the first 10 words of the 10 commandments, and a view of an alpine town.

The museum also contains illuminated Haggadahs (prayer books), 16th-19th c. marriage contracts, vases and other ceramics, Torah cabinets, 16th-18th c. circumcision implements, incredibly ornate 16th-17th c. wedding rings, paintings, menorahs, wedding clothes, and scale models of 16th-17th c. Polish wooden synagogues.

specialT

I just noticed the mention about sites being far apart. Our hotel is close to the 'border' of the 15th and 7th so we are actually in walking distance from the hotel to the Eiffel tower. But I rather not be backtracking the entire time so if there are other things grouped more closely together please let me know. The Jewish museum seems really interesting and so does the Maillol. Thanks once again.

gailscout

I didn't like the tour on the Seine as the boats are low in the water and you just see the lighted buildings. Not good for early in the trip as you haven't a sense of the the Parisien layout.

annhig

instead of a Seine cruise, you might like to make use of the batobus" that runs up and down the Seine:

http://www.batobus.com/english/

you can for example get it from the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame - very useful and a lot cheaper.

if you want a seine cruise, or to do the trip up/down the canal St. Martin, you can get good discounts via the website of the company that runs the boats:

http://www.canauxrama.com/e_index.html