First, I wanted to thank all the great posters for all the great information I've <BR>gleaned from the discussion topics. I have a few questions I was hoping someone could help me with: <BR> <BR>1. I will be in Paris on business in the last week of July, but will have 3 days to myself (Fri-Sun), and wanted suggestions. I was last in Paris about 20 years ago (yikes I feel old), so I'm effectively seeing it <BR>(again) for the first time. What would you do, if you only had three days? Unfortunately, I'll be on my own as my wife can't make it. I'd rather savour a handful of things than try and run from place to place <BR>and attempt to "do it all". <BR> <BR>2. What's the best way of getting into the city from CDG? In London, I take the train and then catch a cab from the train station to my hotel. I'm staying in the 8th arrondissement. Is the RER just as convenient, or should I take a cab or airport shuttle (if there is one)? <BR> <BR>3. I'm staying at the Bradford Elysees, and wondered if anyone had any comments. I picked it from a short list of "approved hotels" from our company. My other choices were: the Rochester, Holiday Inn Paris-Elysees, Rochambeau, L'Horset St. Augustin, Astoria-Opera and Philip Elysees. Since the tab is being paid by my employer, I'm in the lucky position of not having to worry about the cost, but only how nice the hotel is, location, etc. All the hotels on the list are in the 8th, since that's near our <BR>company's offices. <BR> <BR>4. Lastly, any suggestions on good, moderately priced restaurants? I've seen the list in Fodors, etc. but wondered if anyone had some recent experiences to share. <BR> <BR>Once again, many thanks, <BR> <BR>Mike

Mike: If you email me, I'll send you a copy of our trip notes. We've included many details that you were talking about and they may be of use to you. <BR> <BR>Like yourself, I am grateful to fellow Fodorite's for the information that I have received on many occasions. <BR> <BR>Too bad you can't take your wife. Paris is best with a loved one

Hi Mike. You pose a very challenging question about how to organize your Paris visit. Three days, if planned correctly, will enable you to see a lot. <BR>I am assuming that you have a good map. <BR>If you do not have a good guide book, the Lets Go Paris book is one I refer to frequently because it has a comprehensive list of museums. The Green Michelin guide is good to give more details so that you can decide if you want to visit a certain location. <BR> <BR>Here is how I would go about it. <BR>First, I would decide which aspects of Paris I wanted to see the most. <BR>For example, do you want to maximize on art museums, historical locations, churches and cathedrals, or the sights and sounds of Paris. <BR>Second, are there any attractions outside of Paris you want to see. In this group I would include Versailles, Fontainebleau, Vaux-le-Vicomte, Chartres, and even Giverny (train to Vernon). <BR>Third, if you are a music lover, are there any concerts you want to take in? <BR>Fourth, do you want to maximize on historical sights like the Arc de Triomphe, Eifel Tower, Hotel des Invalides, etc. Or do you want to get a smattering of the "biggies"? <BR>In 5 days last year we missed so much that I decided to return again this year to visit places we missed. Being art "likers" (as opposed to dedicated lovers), we want to visit Musee Marmottan and Musee Rodin, which we missed. We did hit the big items of Notre Dame, the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Sainte Chapelle, Arc de Triomphe, an opera, and a performance at Ste Chapelle. <BR>Also, I found it invaluable to have a good idea of which subway lines and bus lines were vital to our getting about. <BR>I actually found that the bus was for us nicer than the Metro. It might be a little slower, but not much, because you have to walk to far in Metro stations whereas the bus frequently drops you almost at the door. (Ste. Chapelle was within a few yards of the bus stop for us. So was Musee d'Orsay and the Louvre.) <BR>We did not worry about restaurants. I don't think you can go too far wrong in Paris if you exercise a little judgement. So we ate at a place that looked good and had menu items that appealed to us. The interesting part is that the worst meal we had was in a place that we selected because of a good report in a guide!! <BR>As a general rule I don't like to take canned tours. But given that your time is limited, you might consider a day tour that takes you to the places you most want to visit. These tours can help greatly by providing transportation and commentary. <BR>Good planning and good traveling. <BR> <BR>

Mike, <BR>There is an airport shuttle in Paris - just do a search, you will find lots of comments. We've used it and it was fine. If your company is paying tho, I'd take a taxi!! Either way, the shuttle works fine. They have a website and a toll free number from the US as well, the Manager's name is Mark by the way and everyone we dealt with spoke English altho my husband is French so it's not a big deal if they don't for us! <BR> <BR>Since your time is limited you might opt for a "city tour" altho I am basically an anti-tour person. It can give you a pretty good overview and since you will be alone it might be a good way to see the major sights. Likewise a Seine cruise - different look to the buildings when you see them from the river. I'd just prioritize what I am interested in and go from there - if you are not a big art/museum lover skip the Louvre - it's time consuming and if you are not interested why bother. If you enjoy Monet's tho head for the Marmattan Museum - much smaller and do-able in a short amount of time (LaMuette Metro Stop). <BR> <BR>You can get some great views of the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero and the Champs des Mars and it makes for a wonderful walk if you like walking. <BR> <BR>We've been to Paris many times and we love just walking around taking in the sights, street scenes etc. Really it all depends on what you are interested in and how much you enjoy doing things on your own. I looked at your hotel website (I'm not familiar with this hotel) and it looks fine and since the company is paying I would not worry!! <BR>As for eating, there are so many places in Paris all you have to do is walk down any street - we never plan ahead on where we're going to eat - we stop where ever we feel like it and at whatever catches our eye at the moment. <BR> <BR>If you are interested in popping into a department store (to get a gift for you wife at home Galleries Lafayette or Au Printemps are on Blvd. Haussmann and sell just about everything. I know most guys are not trilled with visiting stores, but it's a cultural experience as well as a shopping experience. <BR> <BR>Just go and enjoy - you really cannot go wrong no matter what you decide to do.

I was in Paris for 3 days last year at the same time. The 1st day, I went to the Arc de Triomphe and spent a nice, long time at the Eiffel Tower. The 2nd day I went to Disneyland Paris (Though I don't think you'd like to do that, would you?). The 3rd day I took a tour called L'Open Tour. I strongly reccomend this tour. The bus is a 2 story bus w/ the top part open. You can get on and off whenever you like and it covers all the sites in Paris. The ticket office for this tour is on one of the side streets from the Arc de Triomphe and it's across from a McDonald's. The bus tour is the main way to see everything there is to see. See the Louvre, Notre Dam (I don't reccomend spending too much time there; just go in for like 30 min. then out). Versailles is really beautiful, but I havn't been there yet (I live only a few hours drive away from it, though). Can't think of much more. Have fun!!

Since I just returned from a 4-day trip to Paris at the beginning of our 4 week stay in Europe, I have a suggestion for 1 day. Do the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower and then the Hotel des Invalides. The later is Napoleon's Tomb, Musee de L'Armee, and Musee des Plans-Reliefs. This area really blew me away and I only saw a small bit of it. Great collection of weapons, uniforms, flags, and equipment used in the last 1000 years but mostly for the wars that France was involved in. <BR> <BR>I don't know much about French history, but it was fascinating and definately a place to go alone. If you still have time, take in the Rodin Musee across the street.

Thanks for all the suggestions and comments - they were really helpful. I tend to overplan things, so I take to heart the idea of not getting too set an itinerary. <BR> <BR>Many of you have suggested taking a tour (both land and on the river), which I think is a great idea. My wife did it on her first trip to London, and loved it since it gave her a good idea of what the city was as a whole, and what places she would like to see on subsequent trips. <BR> <BR>I presume there are a variety of tours - any recommendations of good ones, that aren't too hokey and touristy? <BR> <BR>Thanks again, <BR> <BR>Mike

Don't take the train CDG. You have to take a shuttle from the airport to the RER. Then, you have to select a stop in the city limits to change from (ex. St. Michel). Then, you have to switch to the Metro to get to your hotel area. Take a taxi. Or consider the Air France shuttle which leaves you off near L'Opera, then you can take a short metro ride.

Re: tours, last month we took a Paris Walking tour of monmartre & it was great! Cant rave enough about it, they have a web page (www.pariswalkingtours) <BR>that lists all of their tours. You meet outside metro stations for most part. <BR>We also took a night time (10pm) boat ride on the Seine (bateau vedettes i think) & although the tour guide spoke poor english it was beautiful ! <BR>Also took Paris Canal Co. tour of canal St martin (locks)& that was amazing; they also have a web page. Tour leader is a chariming somewhat cynical brit who plays the clarinet (well) for the passengers. The english tour of d'orsy was good/helpful. If i had only 3 days I would walk (yes walk) up Eiffel tower, go to D'orsay & eat in the dining room there, listen to live music at Place vosages, go to the Louvre, visit the Lux. gardens, take a tour of monmartre, ride seine at night, take canal ride & EAT & WALK!

Well, my recommendation would be that you acquire one or more (the more the better) tour guides. Should you not wish to do that, you could merely set out each day from the front door of your hotel in any direction and have a fabulous time. Too bad your wife won't be accompanying you - no matter what.

There are RER stops in Terminals 1 and 2 of CDG, so if you come into one of those, there's no need to shuttle to the RER. If you travel relatively light and your hotel is near a metro stop that is on a line not far from an RER stop, I wouldn't hesitate to take the train in.