lmoneylsauce

My fiance & I are going to spend about a week of our honeymoon in Paris (and possibly a coastal part of France) after spending a few weeks in South Africa and we're looking for those once-in-a-lifetime Paris experiences. I've never been, but my fiance has. What luxury hotels, restaurants or cool things would you suggest that we just "have" to see while there? Also, we were thinking of doing a few days in Monaco/Nice/etc., what's the difference between these places?

ira

Hi lm,

How much total time do you have for France?

What's your hotel budget.

Have you gotten any guide books to France?

suze

Tell us a bit more, your question doesn't really give people much to work with. Shows, shopping, museums, architecture, outdoor, indoor, interests, number of days???

lmoneylsauce

Sorry! We are looking for a luxury hotel--so anything $2,000 American dollars & below is fine per night. We love art and were planning on visitng the Louvre and love eating at nice restaurants. We eat pretty much anything (we're adventurous) and want to "feel like we're in France" and not eat in Americanized French places. We also love wine and going out to bars or lounges (though we're not really into the whole clubbing/discotheque scene). Also, since we're on our honeymoon anything really romantic would be a plus! We'd probably spend 3-4 days in Paris and 3-4 days somewhere in the South of France.

saps

No Paris information but your $2000/night budget made me choke on my Diet Dr Pepper. I think the fine Paris experts here will be able to find a place for you with that kind of budget to work with.

cls2paris

Holy Cow!!! What kind of amenities do you get for $2000 a night?? Bring a bottle of wine and sit at the Trocadero in the evening watching the Eiffel Tower light up. And take an evening boat ride on the Seine, I think you can bring a bottle of wine on that also. Have fun!

Kathryncee

We are heading to the So. of France in two weeks- other posters as well as guide books suggest Nice as base city as it's easy to get to other areas and there is a lot to see/do in Nice.

Monaco from what I understand is about 15-20 minutes.

We are going to Antibes, Eze, and Monaco.

Nonconformist

What about le Meurice?

http://www.meuricehotel.com/exclusiv...honeymoon.html

luveurop

If I had $2K a night to spend on a hotel room I'd go with the George V. And the Ritz would be a close second.

gard

Hi

My wife and I went to Paris in April and we had a great time. If you need some general info you can check out my trip report from Paris on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com/Paris_France.htm . It includes some links and pictures and I guess it can give you some starting info but you should of course buy a guidebook

Where in South Africa are you going? I went there a couple of years back and we went on a great safari at Djuma Vuyatela near the Kruger park.

Get in touch if you have any questions.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

ira

Hi LM,

>We are looking for a luxury hotel--so anything $2,000 American dollars & below is fine per night.<

That is so far above my wage grade, that I fear I cannot be of any help.

SuzieC

George V or Crillon for me...
Endlessly romantic things to do in Paris, even if you just walk around and kiss at the bridges..
Then I'd charter a small jet and go to the South of France and head to the
Hotel du Cap & Eden Roc, Cap D'Antibes
where I would charter a driver and car...just for the convenience. One night, you two might don your best threads and head to the Casino in Monaco and rub shoulders with the rich and famous...

lmoneylsauce

Thank you so much for all of these great suggestions! I'm going to check out all the websites for these places now. In response to where we're going in South Africa we're looking at Singita or Londolozi as far as lodges go, but are also spending time in Cape Town, the Winelands and on the Garden Route.

nytraveler

Assuming you;re looking for traditional luxury in Paris I would go for either the Crillon or the Georges V. I prefer the former - but am used to street noise (it's near the Place de la Concorde) and is not for those looking for quiet. But the location is great for walking to the Louvre, Seine and designer shopping.

The Georges V is in a much quieter neighborhood - also some good shopping, but further from main tourist attractions.

If you're going to do all taxis I would pick George V - but we love to walk in Paris and so picked Crillion for our splurge.

lmoneylsauce

Thanks, this is very helpful. We actually live in Manhattan so we're very used to noise and city life! I think that given that the Crillon is closer (within walking distance) to more things we may go with that...we do take a lot of cabs where we live but I'd like to explore Paris a bit by foot and stumble upon things as they come.

parismec

Everyone knows the George V, Ritz, etc., but not many people know the Plaza Athénée. Check it out at

http://www.plaza-athenee-paris.com/index.html

I visited friends staying there once and I can tell you, it was beautiful. Also close to luxury shopping...the best part of a honeymoon.

You might find other suggestions from the comments at http://www.parisdailyphoto.com as well.

Good luck!

lmoneylsauce

Oh my goodness...I just found that hotel's website by accident and it looks gorgeous. I also wanted to know what restaurant/bistro experiences are "must-eats?" My fiance and I would love to have several over-the-top really luxurious experience, but we would also like to go to some great little bistros and more casual (non-touristy) gems. Any suggestions?

cwn

Stay at the Le Meurice!

Back from a stay at there in July. It is wonderful!!! Ask for an upper floor room with a view of the Turileries Gardens and the Tower in the distance. It would be a great honeymoon room!

We had room service meals at night -great menue and even better food- watched the lights while we ate. The rooms are so beautiful we didn't want to leave... almost.

The service was out of this world. For instance, we drove up at 6pm having driven in from the DDay area and right down the Champs Elysee with a rent car. They took it from us and saw to it that it was returned to the rental company, all just part of the service.

For seeing Paris on foot, the location can't be beat with good access to the Tube and just down the street from the Louvre.

If you are going in a warn season the AC works very well too! That was a welcome change from most of the other places we stayed.

illegallady

Just a comment on the South of France. We were there in July. It is beautiful, but if you will spend any time on the beach, I would go to Cannes or one of the other places that has a sand beach. Nice's beach is rocks, literally. We are from Florida and so are perhaps spoiled in terms of beach expectations. We stayed in Cannes and visited Monaco and Nice by car. Beautiful drive.

Margaretlb

here's a thread with recent restaurant recommendations for paris:
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34787549