Paris Itinerary - Your Favorite One Day Itinerary!
Nov 21st, 2011, 01:15 PM
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Paris Itinerary - Your Favorite One Day Itinerary!
As my wife and I have decided to spend our honeymoon in Paris, I've begun compiling the list of restaurants, cafes, romantic walks, and other interesting attractions using the research from the likes of Chowhound, Yelp, and Fodors to name a few.
Needless to say, I'm a bit overwhelmed by all of the options! The most challenging part so far has been my attemptsof putting together loose daily itineraries - I don't want to pack too much in, but of course I want to utilize the most out of our experience in Paris. We've chosen an apartment in Marais to best situate ourselves with alot of the restaurants and cafes I've read about.
Resources like Fodors have done a great job in highlighting many of the great attractions and restraunts of Paris, however I've yet to come across a thread that specifically focuses on One Day Itinieraries.
I would love to hear about some of your favorite single day detailed itineraries you've experienced while in Paris (or the best you could come up with for me and my wife)! Your recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Needless to say, I'm a bit overwhelmed by all of the options! The most challenging part so far has been my attemptsof putting together loose daily itineraries - I don't want to pack too much in, but of course I want to utilize the most out of our experience in Paris. We've chosen an apartment in Marais to best situate ourselves with alot of the restaurants and cafes I've read about.
Resources like Fodors have done a great job in highlighting many of the great attractions and restraunts of Paris, however I've yet to come across a thread that specifically focuses on One Day Itinieraries.
I would love to hear about some of your favorite single day detailed itineraries you've experienced while in Paris (or the best you could come up with for me and my wife)! Your recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Nov 21st, 2011, 01:25 PM
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A little more information from you would be helpful. Dates, or at least the month you're going to be there will be helpful in any itinerary. What one might recommend in March may be different than in July.
Nov 21st, 2011, 01:35 PM
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I apologize, I had intended on including that info, but obviously forgot.
*Some additional information:
We will be there in mid-July. First time in Paris for both of us (mid 20's). We don't see ourselves spending too much time around the major tourist attractions. We enjoy Art and Museums, but since it is our honeymoon, my wife has expressed concerns about visiting too many of them - so I'm thinking maybe 2-3 throughout the week.
Hope this helps. Thanks.
*Some additional information:
We will be there in mid-July. First time in Paris for both of us (mid 20's). We don't see ourselves spending too much time around the major tourist attractions. We enjoy Art and Museums, but since it is our honeymoon, my wife has expressed concerns about visiting too many of them - so I'm thinking maybe 2-3 throughout the week.
Hope this helps. Thanks.
Nov 21st, 2011, 01:57 PM
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Our very first day in Paris we walked from the Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre. We stopped whenever we felt like it. Went to the top of Arc de Triomphe. Ate hot dogs in Tuilleries and people watched. Helps to have good weather for this. We then hailed a cab to Eiffel Tower, went up and then took boat trip down the Seine as the sun went down. Ate on the run that first day. Obviously, this packs it in but you don't have to hurry.
I'll check my notes for other days.
I'll check my notes for other days.
Nov 21st, 2011, 02:09 PM
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For my one day, I would not do the Arc de Triomphe/ Champs Elysee..I find that it does not live up to my expectations. One a second day...
I like the are around Notre Dame. You have the cathedral, you have Sainte Chapelle a block away with its stunning stained glass, the flower /bird market, you have the Seine, with walks up at street level, with its bouquinistes selling old books and prints, or down below along the river. Square de Vert Galant at the tip of the island has rose garden and views out over the Seine. At this location will also be a good spot to catch your Seine cruise (I would say mandatorily an after sunset one).
If you were to go back to Left bank and continue in this direction, you come to the pedestrian Pont des Arts, where artists will be painting the panoramas before them, and lovers might be putting padlocks on to the bridge, a tradition to signify the eternity of their love.
This area has lots of cafes and restaurants, and the "big views" of the city.
After dark, I like to just stand on one of the bridges over the Seine, and pinch myself "I'm really in Paris".
In the Marais, I'd suggest Place des Vosges is a must see.
Heading in the other direction, you have the quaint little island of Ile St Louis, with its main street that has shops you will want to visit, along with some good resturants, some with outdoor patios for people watching. Old mansions here have stories to tell.
I like the are around Notre Dame. You have the cathedral, you have Sainte Chapelle a block away with its stunning stained glass, the flower /bird market, you have the Seine, with walks up at street level, with its bouquinistes selling old books and prints, or down below along the river. Square de Vert Galant at the tip of the island has rose garden and views out over the Seine. At this location will also be a good spot to catch your Seine cruise (I would say mandatorily an after sunset one).
If you were to go back to Left bank and continue in this direction, you come to the pedestrian Pont des Arts, where artists will be painting the panoramas before them, and lovers might be putting padlocks on to the bridge, a tradition to signify the eternity of their love.
This area has lots of cafes and restaurants, and the "big views" of the city.
After dark, I like to just stand on one of the bridges over the Seine, and pinch myself "I'm really in Paris".
In the Marais, I'd suggest Place des Vosges is a must see.
Heading in the other direction, you have the quaint little island of Ile St Louis, with its main street that has shops you will want to visit, along with some good resturants, some with outdoor patios for people watching. Old mansions here have stories to tell.
Nov 21st, 2011, 02:12 PM
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Nov 21st, 2011, 02:23 PM
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hi jpopp,
this is a variation of the day we did with our kids on a day when the transport workers were on strike so we had to use a little ingenuity.
Start at the Eiffel Tower - the earlier you get there, the better! go to the top, of course!
then get a bateau mouche [like a bus] along the Seine up to Notre Dame. see the cathedral and Sainte Chappelle.
now, depending on whether you are hungry, either have lunch and then walk around the ile saint louis, or do your walk, and then have lunch. leave room for some ice-cream.
then cross over to the right bank, and walk west along the river bank, looking at the book sellers and the funny shops selling flowers and pets. this leads up to the Louvre and the Tuilleries. don't visit the Louvre, but get your bearings for when you want to do so! if you wanted a museum, you could visit the orangerie at this point, or find out what's on at the grand palais.
then either get the metro or walk up the champs-elysee to the "Etoile" [so-called by parisiens because the numerous roads meeting there look like a star] and go to the top of the l'arc de triomph and look back down the champs with the sun [by now] behind you.
finally get the metro back to your hotel and put your feet up!
this is a variation of the day we did with our kids on a day when the transport workers were on strike so we had to use a little ingenuity.
Start at the Eiffel Tower - the earlier you get there, the better! go to the top, of course!
then get a bateau mouche [like a bus] along the Seine up to Notre Dame. see the cathedral and Sainte Chappelle.
now, depending on whether you are hungry, either have lunch and then walk around the ile saint louis, or do your walk, and then have lunch. leave room for some ice-cream.
then cross over to the right bank, and walk west along the river bank, looking at the book sellers and the funny shops selling flowers and pets. this leads up to the Louvre and the Tuilleries. don't visit the Louvre, but get your bearings for when you want to do so! if you wanted a museum, you could visit the orangerie at this point, or find out what's on at the grand palais.
then either get the metro or walk up the champs-elysee to the "Etoile" [so-called by parisiens because the numerous roads meeting there look like a star] and go to the top of the l'arc de triomph and look back down the champs with the sun [by now] behind you.
finally get the metro back to your hotel and put your feet up!
Nov 21st, 2011, 02:44 PM
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For me, Paris is a city to be discovered. Over breakfast, my friends, wife or both will chat about what to do for the day. We will make a rough plan, and go to the first destination, but after that we discuss what we feel like doing--that is, we stay flexible. So I'll give you some of my favorite discoveries in Paris and in the spirit of an itenerary, I'll guesstimate a duration. They are in no particular order.
1. The impressionist painters at the Gare de Orsay and Marmottan museums. The latter is in a pleasant park and has the original impressionist painting "Impression Sunrise." Several hours. The Marmotttan is in a suburb that takes time to reach.
2. The tiles laid into walls in many places with the name of a French Resistance fighter who was killed there in the week before Allied forces liberated Paris on Aug 25 1944. Passed by chance, you need only seconds to read.
3. The rooftop garden on the Gare Montparnasse. There is also a museum on the Paris Liberation there. If you have any interest in this subject, read a book called "Is Paris Burning" by Collins and Lapierre. (There's a movie, too, but it's pretty mediocre. Spend half an hour walking in the garden and an hour at most in the half of the museum devoted to the Liberation. The other half is devoted to the French commander, General LeClerc, who is not too well known to Americans.
4. Go to a flea market. I've gone to the one at Vanves, which is smaller and more manageable, but there are several. Several hours.
5. Eat lunch at the Jules Verne restaurant in the Eiffel Tower. Yeah, I know the conny-sewers dis it, but you get to avoid the lines for ordinary tourists and experience the French dining tradition. Say 12-4PM.
6. Walking. The Maiais is a good place to be, but most any Paris neighborhood is pleasant to walk in. I've often walked across town instead of taking the Metro.
Finally, do get a Navigo card. It makes traveling on the bus and Metro so very much easier.
Bon Voyage,
1. The impressionist painters at the Gare de Orsay and Marmottan museums. The latter is in a pleasant park and has the original impressionist painting "Impression Sunrise." Several hours. The Marmotttan is in a suburb that takes time to reach.
2. The tiles laid into walls in many places with the name of a French Resistance fighter who was killed there in the week before Allied forces liberated Paris on Aug 25 1944. Passed by chance, you need only seconds to read.
3. The rooftop garden on the Gare Montparnasse. There is also a museum on the Paris Liberation there. If you have any interest in this subject, read a book called "Is Paris Burning" by Collins and Lapierre. (There's a movie, too, but it's pretty mediocre. Spend half an hour walking in the garden and an hour at most in the half of the museum devoted to the Liberation. The other half is devoted to the French commander, General LeClerc, who is not too well known to Americans.
4. Go to a flea market. I've gone to the one at Vanves, which is smaller and more manageable, but there are several. Several hours.
5. Eat lunch at the Jules Verne restaurant in the Eiffel Tower. Yeah, I know the conny-sewers dis it, but you get to avoid the lines for ordinary tourists and experience the French dining tradition. Say 12-4PM.
6. Walking. The Maiais is a good place to be, but most any Paris neighborhood is pleasant to walk in. I've often walked across town instead of taking the Metro.
Finally, do get a Navigo card. It makes traveling on the bus and Metro so very much easier.
Bon Voyage,
Nov 22nd, 2011, 01:13 AM
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Hi jp
If you type the word 'degas' into the search box at the top of the page on the Europe board, you'll see a number of walking trails that have been suggested.
We have done most of these on our several trips to Paris; it's a great way to explore this beautiful city, and see more than the regular tourist haunts.
Happy planning, Di
If you type the word 'degas' into the search box at the top of the page on the Europe board, you'll see a number of walking trails that have been suggested.
We have done most of these on our several trips to Paris; it's a great way to explore this beautiful city, and see more than the regular tourist haunts.
Happy planning, Di
Nov 22nd, 2011, 02:42 AM
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You don't say where you are staying, so I will outline a few "clusters" that I love. It will be hot in July, so allow plenty of time to stop at cafes for a beer or a lemonade. Buy bottled water in stores to take with you.
1. Notre Dame, Ile St Louis, and the Marais, including the Place des Vosges for hang out time and the Rue des Francs Bourgeois for its trendy shopping. If you want a museum, go to the Musee Carnavalet.
2. A Latin Quarter loop from St Juliene le Pauvre or Shakespeare and Company to St Germain on back streets like St Andre des Art, then to the Jardin du Luxembourg via St Sulpice. Hang out there for a while -- I can spend hours -- then down past the Odeon to (by whatever route) the Sorbonne. Museum visit here might be the Musee Cluny, Roman and Medieval Paris with famous unicorn tapestries.
3. The "High Sixth" -- the shopping streets between St Germain and the Seine (galleries and antiques), between St Germain and Sevres-Babylone and up to Bon Marche, then the boutiques of Rue du Bac. The museum for this area is the Musee Rodin together with its wonderful gardens for a rest/hang out time.
4. An excursion along a slightly less beaten path. Either
a. Take the Metro to Jaures and walk back to Republique along the Canal St Martin. There is a cluster of restaurants and cafes near the Jardin Villemin for a nice lunch break.
b. the Butte aux Cailles area between Place d'Italie and the Parc Montsouris. I have done these as separate walks and not linked them up, but there seem to be connecting points where the Rue de Butte aux Cailles meets the Rue de Tolbiac. Very much neighborhoods.
On the other hand, I have always been disappointed with the Beaubourg area and the Champs Elysee, the the haute bourgeois streets (big fashion) like George V are interesting, and you can't beat the Tuileries for hanging out.
1. Notre Dame, Ile St Louis, and the Marais, including the Place des Vosges for hang out time and the Rue des Francs Bourgeois for its trendy shopping. If you want a museum, go to the Musee Carnavalet.
2. A Latin Quarter loop from St Juliene le Pauvre or Shakespeare and Company to St Germain on back streets like St Andre des Art, then to the Jardin du Luxembourg via St Sulpice. Hang out there for a while -- I can spend hours -- then down past the Odeon to (by whatever route) the Sorbonne. Museum visit here might be the Musee Cluny, Roman and Medieval Paris with famous unicorn tapestries.
3. The "High Sixth" -- the shopping streets between St Germain and the Seine (galleries and antiques), between St Germain and Sevres-Babylone and up to Bon Marche, then the boutiques of Rue du Bac. The museum for this area is the Musee Rodin together with its wonderful gardens for a rest/hang out time.
4. An excursion along a slightly less beaten path. Either
a. Take the Metro to Jaures and walk back to Republique along the Canal St Martin. There is a cluster of restaurants and cafes near the Jardin Villemin for a nice lunch break.
b. the Butte aux Cailles area between Place d'Italie and the Parc Montsouris. I have done these as separate walks and not linked them up, but there seem to be connecting points where the Rue de Butte aux Cailles meets the Rue de Tolbiac. Very much neighborhoods.
On the other hand, I have always been disappointed with the Beaubourg area and the Champs Elysee, the the haute bourgeois streets (big fashion) like George V are interesting, and you can't beat the Tuileries for hanging out.
Nov 22nd, 2011, 02:58 AM
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Some dos: Take a Bateau along the Seine at night & you will see the Eiffel Tower which is lit up at the hour for 5 minutes. Paris is lovely when you see it at night.
Go to Monoprix or Franprix & pick up food & have a picnic
@ Luxembourg Gardens. Stock up on water as you will need it
as you tour. Both these stores are abundant in Paris.
Go to Monoprix or Franprix & pick up food & have a picnic
@ Luxembourg Gardens. Stock up on water as you will need it
as you tour. Both these stores are abundant in Paris.
Nov 22nd, 2011, 03:39 AM
#12
Just to clear up a point that might be confusing, there are two types of boats on the Seine. There are the one hour cruises that do no make any stops and that return to the starting place. There are several companies that do this, and you can start either at the Ile de la Cite, using Vedettes du Pont Neuf, or near the Eiffel Tower, using Bateaux Mouches or Vedettes de Paris.
http://www.bateaux-mouches.fr/
http://www.vedettesdeparis.fr/?langue=en
http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/
The type of boat that makes stops along the Seine and that you can take point to point like a bus is the Batobus.
http://www.batobus.com/english/
http://www.bateaux-mouches.fr/
http://www.vedettesdeparis.fr/?langue=en
http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/
The type of boat that makes stops along the Seine and that you can take point to point like a bus is the Batobus.
http://www.batobus.com/english/
Nov 22nd, 2011, 02:30 PM
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In one day I'm not sure you can see all of the big sites and still have time to browse and absorb some of the life around you.
Champs Elysee, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Montmartre, Sacre Coeur, Place des Vosges, Marais, Notre Dame, Seine, Eiffel Tower,etc....is one busy day.
You might consider this, if you want to see it all and then wander: could do one of the Parisvision/Cityrama bus tours of the city. So you would see all of the big sights, then spend rest of day doing one area, topped off by a Seine cruise.
Champs Elysee, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Montmartre, Sacre Coeur, Place des Vosges, Marais, Notre Dame, Seine, Eiffel Tower,etc....is one busy day.
You might consider this, if you want to see it all and then wander: could do one of the Parisvision/Cityrama bus tours of the city. So you would see all of the big sights, then spend rest of day doing one area, topped off by a Seine cruise.
Nov 22nd, 2011, 08:39 PM
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In mid-July Paris is jammed packed with tourists
July 14 th is a National Holiday.....fireworks and other festivities.
We enjoyed an afternoon in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 20 min. outside the city by RER.
July 14 th is a National Holiday.....fireworks and other festivities.
We enjoyed an afternoon in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 20 min. outside the city by RER.
Nov 23rd, 2011, 07:33 AM
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Not sure that you would like a 3rd while on your honeymoon, but you may want to consider hiring a guide for the first full day. You'll accomplish a couple of things with ease that should make your other days easier. You'll get oriented to the city, knock off some of the major sights, get good up to the minute advice on what to do (and how to avoid crowds) and you'll make a new friend. Michael Osman, who has been written up several times on this board has tailored tours for us that were great. His fee is VERY reasonable - you get his full attention for the whole day. he can be reached at parisfind @aolcom
Nov 23rd, 2011, 08:04 AM
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As a twist on the above suggestion from Seafox:
Last trip I did a Paris Walks tour of the Marais in the morning. You can have breakfast at a local cafe, then wander over for 10AM. The tour I took finished at place des Vosges, so I then had lunch at an outdoor table there (Cafe Hugo in my case). Wander a bit around the Place, then head out for afternoon part of day.
Paris Walks are quite good, with knowledgeable guides.
I believe Michael is in the ~200 euro range, reviews are good, sometimes hard to reach.
Last trip I did a Paris Walks tour of the Marais in the morning. You can have breakfast at a local cafe, then wander over for 10AM. The tour I took finished at place des Vosges, so I then had lunch at an outdoor table there (Cafe Hugo in my case). Wander a bit around the Place, then head out for afternoon part of day.
Paris Walks are quite good, with knowledgeable guides.
I believe Michael is in the ~200 euro range, reviews are good, sometimes hard to reach.
Jan 1st, 2012, 11:16 AM
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Wow these are great suggestions! I really like the detailed itineraries posted on this board, as well as the "off the beaten path" suggestions.
Since we are staying in the Marais, I was really happy to learn of Rue des Francs-Bourgeois. I still need to do some additional research on which evening Seine River cruise is the right one for us.
Can anyone recommend or comment on any of the following places:
Basilica St. Denis
Pompidou Centre
Paris Flea Markets
Place to find old maps
Fashion or Interior Design related events/places
Since we are staying in the Marais, I was really happy to learn of Rue des Francs-Bourgeois. I still need to do some additional research on which evening Seine River cruise is the right one for us.
Can anyone recommend or comment on any of the following places:
Basilica St. Denis
Pompidou Centre
Paris Flea Markets
Place to find old maps
Fashion or Interior Design related events/places
