3 Days in Paris
Jun 9th, 2010, 05:41 PM
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3 Days in Paris
My wife and I are taking our first trip to Paris in the first week of September. We plan on doing all of the 'must-do' landmarks: Eiffel Tower, Arc De Triomphe, the Louvre. Does anyone have any suggestions on other things to pencil in? We hate to have a hard itinerary that doesn't allow us anytime to just relax, so we don't want to overcommit ourselves. However, we'd like to know a few ideas of some other great things to do together in the city. Thanks!
Jun 9th, 2010, 06:10 PM
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Be sure to include Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, the Luxembourg Gardens and a Seine river cruise. There is a "Destinations" section on this site that will give you a good overview of Paris with the things you will want to consider for your visit.
Jun 9th, 2010, 06:37 PM
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Three days in Paris- Where do you start. One of the pleasures of Paris is sitting in the sidewalk cafe and having a coffee and croissant for breakfast. and the just walking around. Consider Mussee d' orsay (sp). The Louvre is overwhelming. It would take weeks to see it all. We have been to the Vivaldi concert at St. Chapelle. You will see lots of advertisements for it. I'm sure its all tourists, but I thought it was great. Napoleon's tomb and the adjacent WWII museum are great. Then there is Luxemburg Gardens- a great place to walk around and just sit on a bench, relax and watch the people. Best thing about Paris is just walking down the street. I'd recommend reading some books on Paris. I enjoyed A Moveable Feast-E. Hemmingway, and Is Paris Burning. I'm sure lots of other posters will have other suggestions.
Jun 9th, 2010, 07:13 PM
#4
After 7 trips in Sept., here's our favorites:
Seine river cruise(we prefer it at night and we prefer Vedettes at the Pont Neuf).
Notre Dame----plus Notre Dame at night for the street entertainment.
Luxemborg Gardens--especially on Sunday.
Place Vosges and the Carnavalet Museum(small, charming, and easy to navigate).
D'Orsay(much easier than the Louvre) IMO see the courtyard of the Louvre, skip inside unless you have a lot of time.
The Rodin(again small and stunning)
Ile St. Louis(our favorite part of Paris)
St. Chapelle(sunny day only and depending on the lines)
Eiffel Tower(Trocodero(sp?) and outside during the day) We much prefer it, and going to the top at night, much shorter lines..
Arc de Triumph, yes---Champs E.way too wide and commercial
Left Bank around St. Michael and the bridges of the Seine at night----fabulous.
Our first trip to Paris was for 3 days. We were so enchanted, we had to return.
IMO, everyone has a different "must see" list in Paris. Whatever you do, take your time and you will be enchanted.
Seine river cruise(we prefer it at night and we prefer Vedettes at the Pont Neuf).
Notre Dame----plus Notre Dame at night for the street entertainment.
Luxemborg Gardens--especially on Sunday.
Place Vosges and the Carnavalet Museum(small, charming, and easy to navigate).
D'Orsay(much easier than the Louvre) IMO see the courtyard of the Louvre, skip inside unless you have a lot of time.
The Rodin(again small and stunning)
Ile St. Louis(our favorite part of Paris)
St. Chapelle(sunny day only and depending on the lines)
Eiffel Tower(Trocodero(sp?) and outside during the day) We much prefer it, and going to the top at night, much shorter lines..
Arc de Triumph, yes---Champs E.way too wide and commercial
Left Bank around St. Michael and the bridges of the Seine at night----fabulous.
Our first trip to Paris was for 3 days. We were so enchanted, we had to return.
IMO, everyone has a different "must see" list in Paris. Whatever you do, take your time and you will be enchanted.
Jun 10th, 2010, 11:37 AM
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Maybe pick one area for each of the days.
One day...Louvre
Second Day...Islands and Left Bank
Third day...Place des Vosges and Marais.
Within that day, you can plan lunch and dinner in that area. For some, for example Marais, you do a Paris Walks tour in morning. it finishes at Place Des Vosges, lunch, walk around, dinner.. I did exactly that last trip, ate at Cafe Hugo at PdV.
Now, since you mentioned Eiffel. Buy tickets on-line, and go first thing in morning. Go to rocadeor Metro stop, cross street and walk between the 2 Palais Chaillot buildings. When your heart rate slows down...cross over river to tower. You'll skip the ticket line, but perhaps better for loading line. After that...go on to one of your three days.
Day 1. Pre-plan the Louvre, it is massive, enter via Metro entrance. Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, Palais Royal, Place Vendome, Champs Elysee, Arc de Triomphe. Lot of tousit places to eat around there...Angelina's is a good place for famous hot chocolate and Mont Blanc desert. You may be...less than impressed by the Champs.
Day 2, Notre Dame, St Chapelle, Ile St Louis, walks along Seine, head over and walk along Blvd St Germain, Jaridn de Luxembourg,etc.. Lunch on Ile St Louis might be nicec. I ate at Brasserie de L'ile St Louis, just across bridge between 2 islands. Right near here is Vedette du Pont Neuf Seine cruise. I recommend the very last one of the day. Have dinner on Left Bank and walk over (western tip of Island)
Day 3 as above. Carnavalet Museum is interesting in the Marais. There are some nice mansions and some good shopping. Village St Paul is a neat area with antiques and cobblestone streets.
One day...Louvre
Second Day...Islands and Left Bank
Third day...Place des Vosges and Marais.
Within that day, you can plan lunch and dinner in that area. For some, for example Marais, you do a Paris Walks tour in morning. it finishes at Place Des Vosges, lunch, walk around, dinner.. I did exactly that last trip, ate at Cafe Hugo at PdV.
Now, since you mentioned Eiffel. Buy tickets on-line, and go first thing in morning. Go to rocadeor Metro stop, cross street and walk between the 2 Palais Chaillot buildings. When your heart rate slows down...cross over river to tower. You'll skip the ticket line, but perhaps better for loading line. After that...go on to one of your three days.
Day 1. Pre-plan the Louvre, it is massive, enter via Metro entrance. Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, Palais Royal, Place Vendome, Champs Elysee, Arc de Triomphe. Lot of tousit places to eat around there...Angelina's is a good place for famous hot chocolate and Mont Blanc desert. You may be...less than impressed by the Champs.
Day 2, Notre Dame, St Chapelle, Ile St Louis, walks along Seine, head over and walk along Blvd St Germain, Jaridn de Luxembourg,etc.. Lunch on Ile St Louis might be nicec. I ate at Brasserie de L'ile St Louis, just across bridge between 2 islands. Right near here is Vedette du Pont Neuf Seine cruise. I recommend the very last one of the day. Have dinner on Left Bank and walk over (western tip of Island)
Day 3 as above. Carnavalet Museum is interesting in the Marais. There are some nice mansions and some good shopping. Village St Paul is a neat area with antiques and cobblestone streets.
Jun 10th, 2010, 01:06 PM
#7
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Thanks for all of the feedback everyone! We definitely will use a lot of the tips you guys mentioned, but at the same time try to just relax. Just sit outside at a cafe and watch the people go by. That's what it's all about after all isn't it?
