gullu

People,<BR><BR>I will be 3 full days in Paris. Please do not say it is waaaay too less. I cannot change it. I need advice on how best to utilize these 3 days. Is a "la' Open Tour" pass better or a metro pass? Should I go for a 3 day or 2 day museum passes? What is the best way to enjoy Paris by night? I have heard with all the lights on, Paris is very pretty at night.<BR><BR>I will be staying very close to Gare El'East (the closest metro to my hotel).<BR><BR>Do you recommend a visit to lido, moulin rouge or foiles boigre (pardon the spelling). Are they better/as good as the shows in Las Vegas.

Gretchen

For starters<BR>Museum pass only comes 1,3,5.<BR>Metro pass won't help you for that time--just use a carnet of tickets.<BR>L'opentour would be a good thing to do for a morning for an overview of the parts of Paris.<BR>Lido, etc. is expensive and touristy.<BR>

elvira

L'Opentour Pass is good for sightseeing, but it has set routes that include the sights and isn't really for getting around the city.<BR><BR>You can buy a metro pass for one day or one week; you can also buy a carnet (10 tickets for the cost of 6or7).<BR><BR>A three-day museum pass is good if you're going to visit at least 2 museums/sites each of the three days. You'll need to decide if that's what you want to do.<BR><BR>At night, you can take a boat tour of the Seine to see all the sights lit up; you can go to the top of the Eiffel Tower or the Montparnasse Tower for a view of the city lit up. There's a bar/cafe on the top of Montparnasse Tower; you can go to a cabaret - they are expensive and no different than the Vegas shows in quality.<BR><BR>How to best spend three days in Paris is different for everyone. Fodor's has a great guide right on this website; their guidebook has a three-day Paris itinerary.

xxx

Three days is less enough.<BR><BR>Skip the Open Tour and do the Perry Fission tour instead.<BR><BR>Get a crabnet of metro tickets.<BR><BR>To get the most of Paris at night, take a ride on the Bratwurst Mooch.<BR><BR>The Gare El'East metro is too less a neighborhood. Try to switch to a hotel near the Gare El Nordstrom.<BR><BR>Don't spend your money on an expensive cabernet - go to a concert at Saint Schiphol.<BR><BR>

You

xxx, don't give up your day job! (That is, if you have one!)

gullu

Thanks a lot.<BR><BR>What is carnet of tickets? Will 10 tickets be enough for 3 days in paris? I am confused. <BR><BR>What is Bratwurst Mooch?<BR><BR>Are you saying that the Gare East Station is a bad neighborhood. I was staying there because I have to catch a 6:40am train to Basel on 9/16. Please confirm this. I was staying there for convenience but surely not at the cost of a bad neighborhood. I will be staying in Villa St Martin. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE CONFIRM.<BR>

Wendy

My first trip to Paris was only for 3 days and I stayed very busy! We chose to go it alone and didn't buy metro or museum passes as time was short.<BR><BR>Day 1 we walked thru Rue Mouffetard to Notre Dame, explored the church and surrounding areas, walked to Hotel du Ville then back across and up to Blvd. St Germaine, lunch at Les Deux Magots, continue walk down along side the Seine to view fantastic bridges, Les Invalides, etc. Went to the Eiffle Tower, up to the top, cabbed back to hotel for dinner.<BR><BR>Day 2 walked thru the Tuilleries, up Champs d'Elysee to Arc du Triumph. Metro'd up to Moulin Rouge- got lost trying to find out way up to Sacre Couer (but fun lost), stopped on the way back to shop at the vendors along side the seine.<BR><BR>Day 3 At the Louvre at opening, lunch and champagne on the terrace cafe, stroll back thru Rue Mouffetard, relaxed at a cafe before heading to the train station for Madrid.<BR><BR>Viola!<BR><BR>I would take a cruise on the Seine as it is really pretty, have also taken the Illuminations tour at night to see everything lit up which was wonderful.

Ian

Gullu<BR><BR>Wendy's on the right track.<BR><BR>Your hotel is a little out of the way buried in the 10th arr. But workable. I don't know the property/area.<BR><BR>Get a map of Paris. Locate the Arc du Carousel in front of the Louvre. Everything you will want to see (in your limited time) is a 30 minute walk from this point in all directions. Paris is a city for walking - that is the best way to 'feel' the city & to see the sights. Use the subway/cabs to get to a starting point each day & return at night.<BR><BR>Do some research to avoid closings & your 3 days will be really enjoyable & give you a really good taste of Paris.

kathy

Hi there, I am going to Paris in october for five days and have done heaps of research. this may help you. A carnet is a book of ten single ride metro tickets. Some suggestions, a street market, ask locally where there is one on the day you want to go as they vary day to day. A good way to see local parisian life. Musee D'Orsay is cheaper after 3pm and late night is thursday. Louvre late night is a monday. Shopping - for variety, Forum des Halles, the left bank, Galeries La Fayete, Rue Haussmann. Cruise along the Seine from Pont Neuf, Montmatre, Opera Garnier tour, Luxembourg Gardens. There, your three days have gone with plenty of variety. I wouldn't bother with a museum pass, just pay as you go, you will only go to two at the most I would imagine. Gare d'L'est is fine, stay there where you have chosen. You can buy museum tickets at the Galeries Lafayete, saving any queues.<BR>Have a great time. <BR>PS Bratwurst Mooch is some idiot trying an attempt at being funny, ignore the twit.

Vincent

I know we should be charitable about some posters' shortcomings in their command of foreign languages, but here, gullu is approaching sublime status ! And I thought xxx's post was quite funny. So much so that poor gullu didn't even spot the pun on the bateau mouche. Actually, judging by his/her spelling, it seems like gullu is going to spend 3 days in one of those imaginary central European countries in some Tintin cartoon ! I think "foiles boigre" (for "Folies Bergere" I assume) will remain in the annals of this forum as one of the most creative attempts at some kind of new esperanto. I also liked the Tex Mex slant of our good old Gare de l'Est transformed into spaghetti-western like "Gare El'East" ! Speaking of which, since the neighborhood is a VERY IMPORTANT issue to you, Gare de l'Est is not unsafe, but it is far from glamorous, not to mention the constant activity, hence noise, typical to station areas. So I would suggest you move to a more centrally located hotel, and, on the morning of your Basel train, you wake up 30 minutes earlier to catch the metro.

Melissa

I was like Wendy--I think my first trip to Paris was 3 days, so we hit all the major sights like the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, a stroll down the Champs Elysee. Shopping at Galleries Lafayette. We didnt get a museum pass due to the short time, and we bought carnets to get around. Also a day at the flea market at Clignancourt.<BR><BR><BR>One thing to keep in mind: Do not despair if you are nott able to see everything. We did as much as we could with the attitude that we would return, and I have.....4 more times!

gullu

Kaaabe Vincent. Hum tere french ka tekha leke rakhe hain kya! <BR><BR>Thanks all for the help.

MaryC

gullu,<BR><BR>I have gone to Paris twice and first time was for 2 1/2 days and the last time was for 4.<BR><BR>I hate to disagree with you, Elvira, you know I love you, BUT IMVHO, I think L'Open Tour is actually a great deal since it will be taking you past most of the sights. You can pay one price for 2 full days (about $23USD or about 24 euro) and hop on and hop off at your leisure. For a 3-day trip it's a good way to maneuver around the city.<BR><BR>But yes, besides the L'Open Tour ticket, I would buy the carnet pack in case you choose to go somewhere away from the L'Open Tour itinerary.<BR><BR>To see the itinerary on the web or to note where the bus will stop (& you must go to the stops - we tried to flag one down & couldn't), go to www.paris-opentour.com.<BR><BR>Have a great trip, gullu!!

MaryC

Sorry, gullu, for a 2-day pass it's 26 euro and or a 1-day pass it's 24 euro.

Julie

We only had four days, but we were able to see plenty. We say Notre Dame, did a Seine Cruise, Arc, Lourve, Monmarnte, Versaille (which I would HIGHLY recommend) etc. You can see a lot in 3 days if you really want to.

gullu

Thank you all,<BR><BR>Wow, I got plenty of good advice. Thanks so much. I had a couple of more questions :<BR><BR>1. Do you think a carnet of 10 tickets (single rides, right?) will be enough to cover the 3 days in Paris. Can you buy these at any metro station in Paris?<BR><BR>2. Can I use a ticket from the carnet to ride RER or the Metro? Or are they different?<BR><BR>3.Where does the Seine cruise start from? How long is it normally?

Melissa

Gullu, if a carnet is not enough (and it may not be), just buy tickets ala carte if you use up the carnet. You can do this at just about every metro station. You can use the tickets for either Metro or RER.<BR><BR>As for the Seine rides: I believe they are in front of the Eiffel Tower. You walk down the stairs to the river, and there it is.