Fae_Thomas

My husband and I are going to Paris at the end of August. Here is my sketchy itinerary. Is it doable (we're 52 and 60 yoa), or should we do more?

Day 1. (Tues) Arrive 9:25 in Paris from Texas
Itinerary: Eiffel Tower
Champs Elysees
Arc de Triomphe
Place de la Concorde
Nighttime cruise of River Seine

Day 2. (Wed)
Notre Dame - can we climb up to gargoyles? We both could lose some weight, but we exercise every day - are there places to rest along the way to the top?
Saint Chapelle
Musee d'Orsay
L'Orangerie
Jazz club at night

Day 3. (Thurs)
One day trip to London

Day 4. (Fri)
Versailles
Montmartre/Sacre Coeur

Day 5. (Sat)
Louvre
Pont Neuf
Marais
Moulin Rouge

Day 6. (Sun)
Last day - Giverny, perhaps? Or more in Paris?

denisea

Leave Versailles on it own.

Be aware that the Paris museum pass will not get you to the head of the line for the Notre Dame towers, so that may take awhile to get in. But you can see the Gargoyles! Others would know better about a place to rest, I think there are a few places to step aside but it is tight. I think you have too much planned on day 2. Saint Chappelle can be long getting through security, the museum pass will help you skip the ticket line but not security.

The day you arrive, realize that you will probably not be to your accommodations for about 3 hours after you arrive with customs, luggage and depending on how you plan to get into the city. If you just want to see the Eiffel, fine, but if you are wanting to go up, there is no way you will have time for all the other things on your day 1 list. Also, you will be tired so keep it light and know you may not feel like running so hard. So you may want to see all those things but I wouldn't plan on waiting in line to go up the ET or the Arc.

Skip Giverny this time and add on some of those things you want to see to Sunday.

Take time to just be and enjoy the cafe scene, the parks, the wine, the cheese, the pain au chocolat. Enjoy your trip!

StCirq

Day 1 will probably kill you. Then again, if you don't arrive until 9:25 am you probably won't get up into the Tour Eiffel until about 4 pm, so the rest of the day will be pretty much shot even if you don't collapse from jet lag. Even if you were able to do all this on the ground the first day, I would never schedule a boat ride on the Seine for the first day, especially not in August, when the sun sets really late - you want to see the city lit up after dark.



I think you need to look carefully at a map of Paris so you group things that are close to each other. Your itinerary has you roaming all over the place. For example, why would you go out to Montmartre after Versailles (not a good idea geographically to begin with)...and then go right back the next night? It's not exactly in the center of the city.

Yes, you can climb up Notre Dame. It's been awhile since I did that but I don't remember anything except maybe a tiny little cubby off to the side of the staircase where you could stop and squish yourself against the walls for a minute.

jo_ann

Where's your hotel? If it's right bank around arc de triumph, for instance, then much of the first day is accomplished. (and I concur about the boat trip: you'll have gotten to the TX airport early after driving there, tolerated an overnight flight to Paris - direct or change planes? - dealt w/customs, possibly luggage, and transport into Paris, AND your body/mind will be 8 time zones off balance. OH - and in our summer experience in wonderful Paris, it's hot, sticky, and energy-draining.)

Paris is our absolute favorite, but probably because we approach it slowly and savor the beauty, the people, the food, etc etc. At your pace, I fear you'll go home wondering why anyone enjoys the City.

Haven't done the gargoyles since I was early 40s (now 60+) but I think it would be awfully hard for two people to pull out of the way in the narrow circular stairway. (I too could lose some weight, but I was skinny when last I did that!). I still love the memory and pictures, though, and don't recall the actual climb being that bad. Maybe just rearrange to really early and be close to the front of the line at the
coolest possible time?

Unless you anticipate never getting back overseas, I'd also drop the day in London. I hope you're going to be like us and fall in love with Paris - I've had friends who've done the "day trip" and it's up at 5 and back so late and still seen so little of the city they've eurostar'd to (short shrift to both). IF you wanted London also on such a short trip, an open jaw ticket flying you back home from London would probably have been a Goidelic choice.

Versailles boggles my mind ("ah, THIS is why they had a revolution!) and is so synonymous with French history to us Americans, but again: even with an early start, it's a bit of a hike from the train station,it's ginormous and the gardens are a must, and there will be lines. Go knowing you'll be gone much of the day, or just stay and wander Paris.

Sorry to rain on your parade route, but I'd look at a map and draw it all out, and then prioritize and allow yourself to drop items to really savor the city! Oh - and you've missed one of our huge faves (we repeat at each visit) the Picasso Museum in the Maraist. The versatility of the man amazes!
Enjoy -

michele_d

I would agree that you have too much for day 1. You probably won't even still be awake to do the cruise, and you definitely want to do it late to see the tower lit up. Paris is absolutely beautiful at night, as seen from the river, and you wouldn't want to fall asleep and miss it!

You can definitely climb to the gargoyles. I did it recently after surgery. I would just "pull over" on the climb up so others could pass me. No problem. The views are spectacular from the top. It is quite a climb, but definitely worth it to be face to face with a gargoyle.

I agree with getting a map so you can group activities that are close to each other. You don't want to spend all your time on the metro getting from one place to the other.

Gosh, how I love Paris. It is stunning. I miss it so much...I must go have a little cry now...

sils

You need not forget about jet lag... It can creep up.. Also, why London for a day trip.? Travel to/fro can be unpredicably time-consuming... Take your ipad or book to read....That will ruin your lovely trip to .Paris.....make that a separate trip... We spend 7 days in Paris and felt it was just enough time to visit and in no way did we do it all.

Fae_Thomas

Merci beaucoup to all my new wise, courteous and diplomatic friends! I do indeed need to pull out a map and see what the heck I'm doing. I've never been overseas - & probably won't have the $ to ever do this again, so that's why the London in a day. But I have been questioning that in my mind, b/c I so want to have time to just BE in Paris. I want to enjoy the nighttime cruise, and you're absolutely right - I won't enjoy it if I'm asleep! And I do want to be face to face with a gargoyle, so I'm going to make the effort. I will take all of your suggestions to heart, go back to the drawing board, and with your indulgence, come back another day with a more well developed itinerary!

UCB

There really is no place to rest on the way to the top of Notre Dame. There are 387 steps and it is a winding, narrow stone staircase. It is very hard to let people pass. Once you start up the staircase you cannot return back down. I would get in good shape before climbing, especially since it will be very hot in August.
Personally, I would skip the Moulin Rouge.
You might also take a look at Paris Walks (www.paris-walks.com ). They have excellent walks that you might enjoy.

cheryllj

I agree with everyone else that day 1 is unlikely if not impossible. Jet lag is a killer. I was in Paris last month and we did *see* a lot on our first day (photo stops at Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe) but then I conked out before dinner. Save the cruise for later in the week.

And if you plan on going UP the Eiffel Tower, not just looking at it from below, you need a few hours for that. The lines are long and even if you book ahead, the elevator lines are long. Doing it on day 1 isn't practical.

Save London for another trip. I know you don't think you will ever go back, but just hope that you do and make it a goal. You need more time in Paris - you don't leave a lot of time for wandering in your schedule, and you will want time to explore the neighborhoods and outdoor attractions, like the Jardins du Luxembourg, Tuileries, maybe Pere Lachaise, etc.

soogies

Lucky you going to Paris! I agree with others that day one is too much. Since you've never been overseas you don't realize how tired you'll be, but I certainly understand your enthusiasm for wanting to see it all.

Go see the gargoyles - I first saw them at age 16 and have my photo with them. since then, each of my kids has done a similar photo and I have a really sweet collage of these - makes me smile! It's a hike up and no place to rest and it can be narrow but worth it.

I'd give London a pass on this trip even though I love London . Concentrate on Paris. One of my favorite areas is the Quartier Latin - to me it screams Paris, just walking thru soaking it up. Also, schedule a visit to one of the many lovely gardens/parks like Luxembourg, Parc Monceau, les Tuilleries. Set a spell and pretend you're a native!

Have great trip - I'm very jealous and still stuck in this Texas heat nightmare....

nomadder

I did 8 days in Paris last year including a day trip to Versailles and a day trip to Giverny. Versailles takes up the entire day with enough time to get back to Paris and maybe do a low key dinner b/c it will be an exhausting day. With 6 days so can just stay in Paris and find plenty to do. But a day trip is definitely doable. Between Versailles and Giverny is a matter of personal preference. If you feel the need to see the palace and gardens in Versailles and that is your thing, then go for it. If your heart is not set on Versailles, then skip it. Giverny was a less exhausting day for me than Versailles but I would only use your time to go there if you are greatly interested in seeing the gardens.

Jet lag will conquer you by Day 2. I stayed awake the day of my arrival with coffee and wandered, more like got lost, in the Marais district for a couple of hours, spent up to 3 hours in the Holocaust (Shoah) Memorial and then turned in by 9:30 p.m., only to oversleep and wake up at 11:30 a.m. the next day. I was so exhausted that I had to force myself up and still did not make it out of my hotel until 2 pm. So a half day can easily be shot my jetlag.

You have too much planned for Day 1 in my opinion. Day 2 is doable at a comfortable pace on a none jet lag day. Saint Chapelle is quick, not including lines, of course. If you have a museum pass, then you can get cut the line at Saint Chapelle and then seeing the church does not take much time at all, unless you plan to study the stain glass panels in detail which is hard to do in a crowd.

Versailles and Montmarte - not at all doable in one day as already stated. I found doing a 2 hour walking tour with "Paris Walks" was a good intro to Montmarte. I did not know enough about Montmarte ahead of time to get by on my own. The tour ends outside of Sacre Coeur if you'd like to go into the church (not part of the tour).

The catacombs is an option in Paris if you like that type of stuff. I enjoyed the cool descent down the stairs the most - may be nice for the summer.

ronaldkwok

How much you can do on the 1st day will depend on how your body reacts after the long flight to the new time zone; it varies from individual to individual. The general opinion is that the earlier you adapt to the new time zone, the better it will be to overcome jetlag. My wife and I visited Paris recently and we are in roughly your age group (I'm 60, she's 55) and we were quite active on the 1st day itself after a 12-hour flight. Whether your planned itinerary is doable or can do more will depends on your interest and how much time you want to spend in each sight. But don't push yourself just to meet your itinerary as you can enjoy Paris in so many other ways.

Ronald
http://paris-france-holiday.blogspot.com/

michele_d

Please don't misunderstand. I moved aside, basically turned sideways, on the way to the top of ND for people to pass me, but there is no place to stop and sit or rest. At that point I could not do steps very well and I didn't want to cause a traffic jam. But again, no seats, just stairs and lots of people.

nyse

Hello Fae, hope you have an outstanding visit and that you remember this is your vacation and you should do what you like.

Re Versailles, please see http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...versailles.cfm An afternoon there suited us perfectly. It's only 30 minutes from Paris.

Re London, a friend and I once spent the day there from Paris. My friend had never been and it was very important to her. Yes, a quick trip but we had so much fun.

Re gargoyles, please see ttp://www.fodors.com/community/europe/shaking-hands-with-a-chimera-have-you-climbed-notre-dame.cfm Really a highlight.

Wishing you a wonderful trip!

StCirq

By the way, the Champs Elysées is totally skippable on such a short jaunt to Paris.