1st Trip to Paris...4 day stay...what should I not miss???
 

Thank you for your opinion here. I'm traveling with my family (wife, 2 year old, mom (60))...We're ready to walk, but where are your top spots?

Where are you staying? There is so much to see, and 4 days will limit you some. Do the must sees, like Eiffel tower, Arc d'Triomphe, Notre Dame, take a river boat ride. Louvre can eat up lot of time and with 2 year old may not be good idea. Are you taking stroller for 2 year old? Hard to say what is tops. Montemarte can be interesing. Latin quarter is also interesting (don't eat there in any of the many little places that try to get you to come in). Maybe a trip to Versailles to see grounds. Get a good guide book, read this board, etc. The 2 year old will no doubt restrict you some on what you do.

Hi<BR>As said, buy a general guidebook and start making lists of highlighting, then go through it again to set the priorities for all/each. Most guidebooks (Fodor's Paris is a good one) have suggestions for short visits including walking itineraries. <BR><BR>With a two-year old you may want to have the adults split the responsibility so that each day when the baby needs a nap, one adult will go back to the hotel but the two others will keep going. Depending on who the pairs are each day, that can help determine your itineraries--e.g., shopping one afternoon, a museum that one of you doesn't mind skipping on another afternoon, etc.<BR><BR>The Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay each have one evening during the week when they are open late (after dinner); that may help your scheduling as well. Do buy a museum pass for at least one or even three of the days. You don't want to waste morning happy-baby time with waiting in a long line.<BR><BR>If you go elsewhere on this Fodors website to the Paris section there will also be many hints and suggestions.<BR><BR>I have a file on Paris and another that has some info on Paris for children; if you'd like to see them, email me.

My must sees and must dos (in no particular order):<BR>*The Eiffel Tower at night<BR>*Ste. Chapelle (especially on a sunny day, with sun shining on the stained glass windows)<BR>*A cruise on the Seine on a sunny day<BR>*The garden of the Rodin Museum<BR>*Luxembourg Gardens--just for sitting and watching<BR>*Walking around the Marais, St. Germain and Latin Quarter areas<BR>*The Louvre<BR>*The Impressionist collection at Musee d'Orsay<BR>*Pere Lachaise Cemetery (but that may be a bit much with a two-year-old in a stroller on the cobbletones)<BR>*The Deportation Museum (a moving tribute to the 200,000 French people sent to concentration camps during WW2, located to the rear of Notre Dame)

To add to the above:<BR><BR>-Arc de Triomphe<BR><BR>-Sacre Coeur and immediate environs (Place du Tetre, etc). Touristy, yes but the Basilica is the very definition of awe-inspiring and the Place du Tertre is charming, despite the jaded travellers' opinion that it's a tourist trap. <BR><BR>-If the Pere Lachaise Cemetery seems a bit intimidating, visit one of the other two famous boneyards: Montmartre and Montparnasse. Both are smaller than Lachaise but still have famous people buried there (Truffaut in Montmartre, Mr & Mrs Jean-Paul Sartre Monparnasse). Hint about the Montmartre Cemetery: the entrance is off the Boulevard de Clichy, near the Moulin Rouge.<BR><BR>-Parc Monceau is another lovely park to wander around.<BR><BR>-Tour Monparnasse has the best view of Paris because it's the only place in Paris where it's not in your view.

That's about how long I plan to be in Paris. I definitely want to see the Musee d'Orsay and Giverney. I've seen Notre Dame and the Louvre on a previous trip but want to go up Eiffel Tower this time. Is it worth going out to Versaille or is there a better way to spend a day?

Yes it is worth seeing Versailles. Go early, take the RER , get back early.

You should not miss--your plane.

Everyone has different ideas of what is most important. Most people want to see the highlights but just wandering some of the neighborhoods is my favorite way to spend time in Paris. Just back from my third trip there and this time I did go to Pere LaChaise and would suggest you not do that on a first trip - interesting but there is so much more. I find walking around the Eiffel Tower much better than going up it. With only four days I wouldn't waste time on anything requiring long lines (like going up the tower). The Seine boat cruise is awesome, especially at night but last week the lights in Paris didn't come on untill after 10 pm (can your two year old sleep in your lap?). The Eiffel Tower is also more awesome after dark.<BR><BR>I disagree with one thing an above poster said about eating in the Latin Quarter. All along Rue de la Huchette, rue de la Harpe, etc. are inexpensive restaurants with guys standing outside trying to get you to come in. Ignore them, but most of those restaurants have pretty decent food for 10-20 euros for two or three courses. If you are a food snob of course you wouldn't want to eat there, but for the rest of us it's not bad. I always eat in that area. Although you can easily spend two or more hours at a restaurant there, it seems like a more child friendly place to eat with a two year old than going to the quieter, higher priced upscale restaurants.

Try to have Momma watch the kids In her room so you can see your wife naked in Paris...oooo lah lah

I suggest you rethink taking a 2 year old to Paris, but hope you have a wonderful trip.

Hello Blake and Family,<BR>All good suggestions here but the for THE VERY BEST VIEW you must go to the rooftop bar/resraurant of the department store "Samaritaine" on the<BR>Quai du Louvre, Rue de Rivoli, right on the Seine. And it wont cost you a penny!<BR>Tony

Agree with Tony - "Samaritaine" has a great view, no queues that suck up your valuable time, and you can have a snack while you gaze at the city. Excellent value.