Traveler1501

Hi All,

For a three days trip in Paris, which are the must-see places in Paris? I am interested in Arts, Architecture, & history. Is there a good city tour?

Christina

I bet when you decided to go to Paris, you had in mind certain things you want to see, didn't you? Most people do. Just seeing the city center will be related to architecture and history. Of course Notre Dame, some major museum (Louvre, Orsay, depends what your particular interest is). A lot of people adore the Eiffel Tower. It's not my thing, but of course you will see it just being there. But it depends on you, do you like going up things to look at views? Then you'd like that. Alternativelyk you could go to the Trocadero area across the river from it to get a good view, and there is a good architecture museum right there.

For history, the military museum at Les Invalides is superb, and there is the Carnavalet which is billed as a museum about the history of Paris. To some extent it is, it's not really a history museum like Invalides or the Museum of London, for example, but it's a good idea. And then you could walk around the area it is in (the Marais) which is one of the oldest parts of Paris. Of course some of the grand parks they do so well in Paris, like Tuileries and Luxembourg Gardens.

I think most general guidebooks list the top "must sees" in a city and do a pretty good job of it. Fodors, etc.

adrienne

Must see places are different for everyone. On my first trip to Paris one of the must see places was the sewers after reading Les Miserables in high school. But this is not high on other lists.

What type of art? I love sculpture so the must sees for me are Rodin, Maillol, Bourdelle museums. Paris has a wide variety of museums involving many types of arts; define the type of art and the era. Lots of architecture too - Haussmann, Gothic, Romanesque, Le Corbusier. Visit a few of the many churches for spectacular art and architecture.

Tours - I enjoy the Paris Walks tours; 2 hours of interesting facts in small areas of the city. Very reasonably priced.

Please define your interests in more detail so you can get more specific answers.

Traveler1501

Thank you for your response. Gothic and Romanesque sounds interesting - any suggestions around these?

adrienne

If you had more time I would recommend the St-Denis basilica but it's just north of Paris and you would need to devote a half day to getting there and back and seeing the church.

For central Paris start with Notre Dame and the excellent free tour that is offered Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. It's given by church volunteers. Half of the tour is outside the church and gives general information on Gothic churches and on the church facade; the second half is inside the church. I've done this tour twice and would do it again.

You should definitely see the exceptional Ste-Chapelle and perhaps fit in St-Etienne-du-Mont with the beautiful rood screen.

St-Germain-des-Pres is Romanesque as is St-Julian-le-Pauvre.

All these are within a 15 minute walk of each other.

Traveler1501

Thank you Adrienne. These places sound exciting and I will definitely check them out. Are there are city tours that you have done and would recommend? or is it just better to plan and do my own walk/metro/boat tour?

Traveler1501

If I am not asking for too much - what would be a good itinerary?

jamikins

You should get yourself a good map and a good guidebook (I like the Michelin Green Guides) and pick out 2-3 sites a day that you are interested in. Then plot them on the map and group them together so you arent crossing Paris several times a day.

If you do a search here and read trip reports on Paris you should get lots of ideas.

Enjoy Paris!

Christina

Well, Notre Dame is obviously the most famous Gothic church in Paris. St-Eustache on the Right Bank near Les Halles forum is mostly Gothic and definitely worth seeing, as well as Sainte Chapelle (which isn't a working church any more). Those are prime examples, St Severin in the Latin Qtr is also Gothic, as is St Merri in the Marais (both are flamboyant Gothic) and St Medard at the bottom of rue Mouffetard. All places you might want to be sightseeing, anyway (the general neighborhood), but certainly I'd put Notre Dame and Eustache at the top.

St Julien le Pauvre (which is right across the river from Notre Dame on the Left Bank) was built in the 12th-13th Century and is mainly Gothic as far as I'm concerned, but isn't that spectacular a setting IMO (nor is St Germain, very dark). It has parts that were copied after Notre Dame. It is very small, not a grand church or cathedral, of course, but is one of the oldest in Paris so historic. Parts of it were replaced with other elements (like the original Gothic facade), but does have Romanesque elements in it, also. SO does St Germain des Pres (some Gothic vaulting but Romanesque arches). I think both St Julien and St Germain des Pres show a mix of the two styles and the transition between these periods.

I think the church on the Ile St Louis is very beautiful, it is in the Jesuit style built during the 1600s, and the Madeleine, is also. I didn't go in there for many years and finally did for some concert and really liked it, although it is neoclassical and wasn't originally built for a church, if I recall.

mamcalice

For a good itinerary, search on this board for "Paris Itinerary" You will get lots of ideas. But with only 3 days, you need to do some of the work yourself. If you tell us what you want to see (Eiffel Tower?, Louvre, Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle? D'Orsay? Seine boat cruise????) it is easier to be helpful and suggest an itinerary.

Surely you had a reason for choosing to visit Paris.

Traveler1501

mamcalice, all the places you mentioned are on my list and I am researching what Adrienne and Christina are suggesting/recommending.

seeksocean

Thank you for this thread! Six of us will be in Paris late April, 2014. We get in at about 11am and are trying to figure out two nights or three nights in Paris before we head south on a train. We have one week in France, one week in Italy and one week in Spain. And, trying to not be spending the whole time in transit remains challenging. After reading this I am leaning towards three nights in Paris.

adrienne

<< Are there are city tours that you have done and would recommend? >>

If you mean getting on a bus and looking out the bus window - no. I do not do tours like that.

Paris Walks does tours of the city but they are in small area; not a comprehensive city tour.

For an itinerary you should read about the city and the sights and then make a list of things that interest you. Get a map and mark the sights so you can combine them geographically.

Three days is not a lot of time in Paris so you need to choose wisely.

adrienne

How much time do you really have in Paris? First you said 3 days then you said two or three nights. Two nights is one day; three nights is two days. That is such a short time. I recommend 5 full days for the first visit.

Traveler1501

Thanks. I arrive 9 am in Paris on day 1 and I have the rest of the day, I have the next day and I leave in the early morning on the 3rd day so I really have 1 full day and a 1/2 day.

I need to sit down this weekend and plan what can I do. I would definitely like to do Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle and D'Orsay. (I am hoping I can do this in one full day). For the rest, I would just do some random walking around, sit outside a cafe and do some people watching or perhaps a Seine river tour.

I will research the walking tours you mentioned as well.

Traveler1501

By the way, I have 6 days available, my original plan was to spend all 6 days in Switzerland. I first change it to 3 days each for Paris and Bernese Oberland and then I changed again so now I have ~2 days in Paris, 1 day in Munich and 3 days in Bernese Oberland. This is my first visit to Europe so wanted to get flavors of Arts, History, Nature and architecture. So this works out ok.

adrienne

Don't forget travel time. Your 1 day in Munich becomes a few hours as the train from Paris takes 6 hours and you'll have another half hour on each end to get to and from the train stations plus packing/unpacking, checking out and checking in.

Are you sure you want to travel all that way just for a few hours?

If you do not go up the Eiffel Tower and carefully plan what to see at the Louvre (check the floor plan first so you know exactly where you're going) then you will have just enough time if you don't linger and buy your tickets on line.

Traveler1501

I am taking an overnight train from Munich to Paris to save the travel time. I start my vacation in Munich city that morning- just want to spend a few hours in MarienPlatz.

About the Eiffel tower, is it worth waiting on line for going up or can I skip that?