I wouldn't go to the Louvre the day you arrive. You need sunlight/daylight/vitamin D to get over jetlag. The thing that works best for me upon arrival is getting outdoors, strolling, stopping for refreshment of some kind every couple of hours, early dinner, and early bed.

Check into the elevator situation at the Eiffel Tower. My understanding is that only one is working and it can take hours longer than usual to even get into that one.

There are probably more gardens in Paris itself than in Provence. And if you haven't already bought train tickets (as in a couple of months ago at least), you'll pay full fare to get there and back (assuming that this trip is next month, not 2013). There are certainly small towns all over France with cobblestones, so you might not want to go so far afield.

I agree that the Louvre, even in the small dose you are planning, should not be tackled the day you arrive. We had a similar day 1 to what StCirq described. I think I spent most of our first walk pinching myself! And I agree that there are gorgeous gardens in Paris!

Agree that Musee du Louvre is probably not a good idea arrival day. It's enormous with miles and miles of rooms. You just never know when jet lag will set in and your legs will turn to noodles. Also agree it's better to be out in the fresh air and (hopefully) sunshine.

You also do NOT need to book skip the line tickets online ahead of time with a exhorbitant markup. If you want to see Mona Lisa first thing, use the Porte des Lions entrance (see www.louvre.fr for location) where there is never a line and Mona Lisa is right upstairs. With the floor plan map, you can easily find the other major works on your own.

You also should not book l'Opentour tickets in advance. Riding around in seats on the open air upper deck is fabulous, but ONLY IF the weather is pleasant for doing so. You can pay when you board the bus at any of the stops (with a credit card if you wish).

D-Day is a very long day trip.

For beautiful gardens, go to Giverny, an easy day trip. If you want to bicycle, rent bikes when you get to Vernon station.

Even though there is only one elevator in operation from the ground at the Eiffel Tower, you shouldn't have much of wait later at night.

What you SHOULD do forthwith is secure hotel reservations. The hotels are very, very, busy this May, particularly weekends.

waynehazel, perhaps your friends were recommending "Provins", a small medieval town in the Ile-de-France, a short train trip from Paris? Provence is a region in the south of France, a journey unto itself and definitely not a day trip. A beautiful and simple train ride outside of Paris would be to Chartres, all the charm you could ask for plus the magnificent stained glass of Chartres cathedral. Or for gardens, the truly gorgeous and romantic Giverny, Claude Monet's famous garden?

http://giverny.org/gardens/fcm/visitgb.htm

I agree about saving the Louvre for another day (and be sure to buy a pass from your concierge to save standing in a long lineup.) As an alternative or addition to the Louvre, I might suggest the Quai d'Orsay on the Seine, a magnificent light-filled edifice containing scores and scores of Impressionist paintings - if you dream of seeing Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet, Degas etc. your eyes will have a feast. Also, the restaurant in this museum is beautiful, very atmospheric for a lovely and reasonably priced lunch (think gold, cream, and chandeliers).

I would suggest leaving lots of time to just walk hand in hand and enjoy the beauty of this wonderful city. Be sure to cross to the Ile-Saint-Louis and stop for ice-cream or hot chocolate on one of the quiet cobblestone streets. Continue to the magnificent Notre Dame cathedral. Stroll through the nearby flower market and buy a bunch of blooms to perfume your room. Enter a beautiful pastry shop (be sure to greet every shopkeeper with a polite "Bonjour") and treat yourselves to glistening fruit tarts or exquisite macaroons. They will be beautifully wrapped for you. Stroll through one of the open air food markets, buy some ripe cheese, a baguette, a handful of beautiful berries and have a picnic.

Paris is magical after dark. My husband and I have taken a Seine dinner cruise and though the food was fine, not special, the live music (violin)and beautiful illuminations along the Seine were very romantic. Ask your concierge to book for you (there are several boat options) and be sure to request a table alonside the windows. Afterwards a walk along the river near the Louvre is lovely- the great stone friezes on the museum are softly lit and glow all golden in the night.

Spend a leisurely hour or two over a glass of wine at a sidewalk cafe and enjoy!

If you are serious foodies and dream of a sumptuous three-star meal in an over-the-top romantic Parisian restaurant, the best value is at lunch (and at this late date probably the only time available for booking.) Our favorite is Le Cinq in the Georges V hotel - they even have set tasting menus (paired with wines), the cuisine is astonishing, the atmosphere is warm and welcoming and you will feel like royalty.

It would be helpful to pick up a pocket-sized guidebook and map of the city.

You won't see everything, but that won't matter as you will most certainly be back!

I agree that you should not do the Louvre on your first day. As everyone says, the best way to avoid jetlag is fresh air and sunshine.

There are beautiful gardens in Paris and as noted, Giverny is well worth a visit. Train to Vernon and rent bikes to ride to Giverny. Then if you want to see the D-Day beaches, you will be in south Normandy and only a couple of hours from the WWII sights. Rent a car. Normandy is much closer to Paris than Provence and is really beautiful in May. Base in Bayeux and take a bus tour of D-Day sights.

Hi Wayne,

I agree with others that your first day is a good one to try to walk around, visit parks, gardens and "light" sights. Try the Louvre, even for just a short visit, on your second day.

Do a search here for FrenchMystiqueTours. He posts about his bicycle adventures in the countryside around Paris.

Have a great trip and happy anniversary!

Thank you so much for the feedback everyone. Here are some adjustments we are now thinking of:

TENTATIVE FRANCE Agenda
TUESDAY May 8th
Leave LAX and Fly through the night

WEDNESDAY 9th
Arrive Charles DeGualle 9AM
Get to hotel ________ by Noon ($200 - $250 per night is max)
Go to Hotel & Rest
Maybe Eiffel Tower, Paris at night. Not too much be

THURSDAY 10th
** We want to see Saint Michel, we saw two tours that we like one is a LOOOOOONG day tour and the other is a 3 day that takes in Normandy and some other cool areas
6:30AM Leave for this tour
3 day Tour
http://www.viator.com/showDetail.jspa?code=2050NBC3&entryName=3-Day-Normandy-St-Malo-Mont-St-Michel-Chateaux-Country-Tour-from-Paris&destinationID=479&destinationName=Paris

or loong day tour
http://www.viator.com/search/Mont%20Saint%20Michel%20Day%20Trip

If we do the long day tour we will have Friday - Monday to slowly enjoy around Paris

if we do the three day then we will have Sunday and Monday to enjoy Paris.
We can then do the bus one day and my wife would like to see the Monet Gardens.

FRIDAY 11th

SATURDAY 12th

SUNDAY 13th


MONDAY 14th

TUESDAY 15th
FLYING OUT 11:30AM Out of Charles DeGualle

Here's another suggestion for your first day

http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/

A river cruise is a nice, relaxing way to get your berings in the city. This one at the Pont Neuf is our favorite.

Are you talking May 8th, 2012? In a few days? Here's a hotel site to help you

http://www.parishotels.com/

IMO, try and stay as close to the river as possible.

Good luck!

Is this trip for May 2012 or 2013?

Just a thought re: whether you take the day tour or the 3 day tour. You'll find that a good number of restaurants in Paris closed on Sundays, and some on Mondays as well. I love Paris, so would vote for more time there, and would probably want to have more than Sunday/Monday. In addition, you mention wanting to see Monet's gardens. That would be in Giverny - about 75km from Paris. Certainly do-able in a day, but would also limit your Paris time. One day in Paris on a bus, and one day recovering from jet lag IMO wouldn't do it justice.

With that said, are you really leaving in a week with no hotel reservations? You're giving me a heart attack! (Ok, I'm a planner...) But in any case, you may want to figure out what's available in your price range, before you set the day/days you go to MSM...

I am really having trouble wrapping my mind around this. There is more than enough to do IN Paris for a week, but your total useable time on French soil is about 5 days. Believe me, your first day will have a lot of jet lag, particularly from LAX. Walking around, do the Seine river cruise, early dinner, and to bed.
So now you are down to your 5 total days. Have you and your wife been to Paris before?

I would not do the special dinner on your first night, you may fall asleep in your chairs. And Giverny would win hands down over Mont St Michel in my plans, it's much closer with transport under your own control, and memorably beautiful.

Yes, I know this is NUTS, in our last trip, Spain we went like a hurricane through Madrid, Sevilla, Cordoba and Granada. I swore that our next trip, we would fly to one city and STAY THERE and just soak that in. But people keep mentioning to us different places "Oh you should go here... " The latest thing was a friend telling us about Mont St Michel.

I know we SHOULD just spend 5 days in Paris....

wayne,I'm still curious, is this trip for May 2012 or May 2013???

What really you SHOULD do, forthwith, is secure lodging.

Otherwise, it will either cost you a lot more, or you won't really need to concern yourself with your Agenda.

Other than that, you should be planning what you would find appealing and not what "people mention".

We have slimmed it down a lot. And I promise the next time I post I will have lodging information

TUESDAY May 8th
Leave LAX and Fly through the night

WEDNESDAY 9th
Arrive Charles DeGualle 9AM
Get to hotel ________ by Noon ($200 - $250 per night is max)
Crash for a bit,
evening at Louvre (I know everyone is saying we will be too tired for this)
Night at Eifel Tower?
Or just walk around a bit and get acclimated.

THURSDAY 10th -- Our anniversary day
HOP ON / HOP OFF bus tour of Paris most likely with this company:
http://www.paris-tours.net/?event=offer.detail&offerId=8303&startDate=04/01/2012&endDate=04/30/2012
Must have nice lunch or dinner somewhere

7:30PM Meeting at Kingdom hall of Jehovah's Witnesses
PARIS ANGLAISE EST Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 10:30 a.m.
63 rue du Faubourg Poissonnière
75009 PARIS
FRANCE
View Map
01.83.64.24.40

FRIDAY 11th
DAY TRIP to Mont Saint Michel
http://www.viator.com/search/Mont%20Saint%20Michel%20Day%20Trip

SATURDAY 12th
Day Trip Giverny & Versailles ?

SUNDAY 13th
10:30AM Meeting at Kingdom hall of Jehovah's Witnesses
PARIS ANGLAISE EST
63 rue du Faubourg Poissonnière
75009 PARIS
FRANCE
View Map
01.83.64.24.40
At Leisure with Fellow Witnesses
* Seine Dinner Cruise?

MONDAY 14th
Leisurely Day
Either:
Walking Tour
Bicycle rental and ride
or
Notre Dame
Sacre Coeur
or .... ?

TUESDAY 15th
FLYING OUT 11:30AM Out of Charles DeGualle

THIS is BETTER? That is madness.
PLEASE on your first day, go for a boat ride, walk around a lot, spend a lot of time outside, and have a small dinner and go to bed.
DO NOT do a Seine river dinner cruise.
Why wasn't all teh church stuff in your first post?
I am getting that prickly feeling at the back of my neck.

ditto me, gretchen.

ok, we didn't know about the church acitivites - that's sunday out.

you really only have time for one day trip - so pick one. in May, Giverny would be lovely, Versailles ok, mont st. Michel too far.

this is my suggestion:

Wednesday arrive. stroll around relax, possible visit to eiffel tower.

Thursday - HOHO bus. evening church.

Friday - HOHO bus + nice meal [L'obe at le crillon is offering 40% off through la fourchette - http://www.lafourchette.com/Les-promotions-du-L-Obe/k_2930_1.php - and it is available on friday nights, despite the website suggesting otherwise]

Saturday - explore parts of Paris you liked on the HOHO bus.

Sunday - church plus ??? [more church?]

Monday - more exploring or day trip [this would be a good day to do Giverny, as many places in Paris are shut]

Tuesday - go home.

moi aussi, mesdames!

No, it's not better OR slimmed down. Day 1 - DON'T go the Louvre, DON'T go to the Tour Eiffel at night (you're coming from LAX - you'll be wiped out). And try not to nap - it will ensure that your jet lag is prolonged for at least another day or two. Take it easy, stay outside as much as possible, and get to know the lie of the land.

DON'T do a dinner cruise, on any night. Take the boat ride, then go have dinner so you get some decent food.

Give up on le Mont-St-Michel. Go to Giverny or Versailles on Monday if the weather's decent. Giverny would be the better choice.

Waynehazle - maintain flexibility in your scheduling...if it is raining the first day, by all means, go to the Louvre - but otherwise, everyone is correct...get outside and see the wonders of Paris.

I will be going to Paris with my new GF on May21st. if you would be so kind to post any observations or closings upon your return that would be great!

If you find Phantom of the Opera playing pls let me know asap. Thanks tons.

Have a really wonderful time.

PS the river cruise is fine, but you'll find it better to do dinner elsewhere and take the cruise. Food on the river cruise can be inconsistent.

>>Give up on le Mont-St-Michel. Go to Giverny or Versailles on Monday if the weather's decent. Giverny would be the better choice.<<

Versailles is, I believe, closed on Mondays.

Is there not one person who like Mont St. Michel? Yes, it is a loooooong day. I love the look of this place. It looks like one of the fortresses from Lord of the Rings. I am hard pressed to drop this one.

Gretchen, sorry for the prickly feeling

I sort've had the church thing in the first post but it was not clear.

OK, Louvre is 100% out for first day.
Dinner River Cruise out.'

There is a Giverny AND Versailles tour:
http://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Versailles-and-Giverny-Day-Trip/d479-2050GV_GVE
I am not super hung up on this company, they just showed up in a lot of searches and seemed reputable.

yes, my wife and tend to be sprint type travelers.

We can stay flexible and not book too many things before going. Get up Wednesday morning and do HOHO bus and kinda go from there. Are we likely to get better deals on anything just hitting the streets when we get there?

Oh and I did say I would have lodging info when I was back on. Sheepish guilty grin ...

It's not that people don't like le Mont-St-Michel; it's that it's close to insane to spend 15 hours on a day-long tour to get there, see it, and get back. I've been there more than a dozen times, used to do guided tours there, with myself as a guide. It's a great site. BUT truly, unless you are a historian or a pilgrim (and you don't sound like either), and know what you are seeing, it's just a tiny rocky island with an abbey and a bazillion trinkety tourist shops, bad restaurants, and crappy hotels. Give it up. You don't have enough time as it is to even see Paris.

You're nuts not to have lodging by now. That should have been your first priority. Good luck with that.

I don't know what you mean by "get better deals on anything just hitting the streets when we get there." No clue - better deals on what, exactly?

I don't expect you're going to take any of the advice you've been given on these forums, so this is the last I'm going to post on this one.

But do want to add that I hope you are at least familiar with the French Government's position on Jehovah's Witnesses. Not good. Good luck with that as well.

StCirq & All, believe it or not I am listening! And How do you know I am not a pilgrim

Will be staying at: BEST WESTERN Ducs de Bourgogne Paris
http://www.hotelsgrandparis.com/hotel-ducs-de-bourgogne-paris.html

Great central location. What I meant by "get better deals on anything just hitting the streets when we get there" was whether it was better to try to book tours of different sites, here from the States or be more flexible and arrange various tours. Some companies claim that you get some better deal with them. So if I wanted to spend the day at Versaille, arrange here from the States or just be flexible and arrange when I get there?
Same question for HOHO bus and others?

Well, for sure don't book the HOHO bus online. You can show up at any stop. I guess you know you can print the map.
Sure, book the tour while there--you know Paris well enough to find their office or talk to them on the phone and get all the particulars.
I guess the church references all those days in your first post were "doing other fun stuff". That really spells it out perfectly.
I guess the only thing remaining to say is no matter how strange your itinerary is, Paris is hard to mess up.

Wayne,

there is a snag with arranging a trip to Versailles yourself before you go which is that the website requires you to pick which day you want to go. so you may want to wait until you get there, or sign up for this Versailles/Giverny trip, which would be a very full day, but at least you wouldn't need to think!

as for getting a better deal when you get there, i don't think that there are many of those in Paris. sit down for a drink each and you'll be lucky to have change from a €10 note. but you don't need to book the HOHO bus in advance - just hop on anywhere that's convenient and pay on board. it's not cheap but it's a great way to get an overview and suss out where you might like to spend some more time. you can however save money on the seine cruise on line just by printing off this voucher: - http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/

as for the mont st Michel, i think you'd be mad to spend your precious time in Paris in a bus going there and back, but that's a matter for you. especially whaen you could come to Cornwall and see ours! [www.stmichael'smount.co.uk]

have a great trip!

oops - that's www.stmichaelsmount.co.uk

Hi, we do a lot of cycling in France and there are quite a few places around Paris. Can you tell me what sort of distance you usually cover, whether you mind hills or just want something flat, if you only want to stay on bike paths or not and what sort of thing you'd like to see when cycling (countryside, small towns, woods, etc.) so that I can make a few suggestions.

aussie - did you spot something I missed? where did you get the idea that the OP wants to cycle?

aha - got it now.

<<MONDAY 14th
Leisurely Day
Either:
Walking Tour
Bicycle rental and ride>>

frankly, i don't think he's talking about your sort of cycling, more Fat tyre bike tours.

http://fattirebiketours.com/paris

Wayne, it's looking better, a shade more relaxed. Yes, I get it, you move fast. I seem to remember you went to Rwanda for 1.5 days.

You might think about visiting the deportation memorial behind Notre Dame on Ile de la Cite. I think you'd find it interesting, and it can be visited quickly.

http://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/page/affichelieu.php?idLang=fr&idLieu=341

Meant to add that I think Annhig's most recent suggested itinerary looks good to me.

Viator is a third party booking agent and not a tour provider. To visit Giverny and Versailles in one day would be "sprinting" through both, for sure. But, if you want to visit both and have only one day, an escorted tour is the way to go (unless you rent a car).

For escorted tours, see

www.pariscityvision.com

http://www.francetourisme.fr/index_en.html

It is usually not necessary to book those tours too far in advance and it's better to wait until you've had a chance to check the weather forecast (which is not always accurate), but, since you really have only five days for any day trips, you may want to book ahead so as to not be disappointed, but with the understanding that you could be visiting during pouring down rain. (It's been very rainy in Paris for quite a while now.)

As mentioned, you can pay when you board the hop on/hop off buses at any of their stops. The panoramic views from seats on the open air upper deck are magnificent, but ONLY if the weather is favorable.

With only a few days and with unpredictable weather, you may want to be very flexible.

Well I am here in Paris. Just checked into the Best Western, a close walk to the Louvre, but no we are not going in now. We will just walk and get acclimated.



Much thanks everyone