5 days in Paris and around
 

Hi All,

Me and my husband (both 30) will be reaching Paris on 22nd Aug early morning from Chamonix and leave on 27th. We have 5 days in Paris.We are planning to visit The Louvre, Notre Dame, Eiffel tower, Arc de Triomphe, holy chapel. We are not much into history. We love to walk around the city enjoying its culture, shopping and tasting food. Other than that we are planning for a day trip/ one night stay to any one/two of these places: Versailles, Normandy, Mt saint Michel, Reims all long with champagne..... Any suggestions which one/two to pick from these will be really helpful. Also please let me know some cheap shopping places in Paris and some must try restaurants.

Thanks in advance

You are gonna get a bunch of responses that scold you for asking a broad question and will insist you get a guide book. So, be ready.

I love Reims. Easy TGV train from Paris and the cathedral there is majestic. That in combination with Champagne tasting make it my choice.

What area of Paris are you staying in? As far as restaurants, are there specific food types you are interested in? Price range? Paris has it all but it depends on your tastes and budget. Without knowing that, some of my favorites are Allard, Verjus, Bistrot Belhara and L'Atelier du Joel Robuchon (the original one on Montalambert, not Champs Élysées).

"Paris to the Past" is a great book full of day trips by train from Paris and some background on the locations.

Enjoy your trip! I love Paris. Click my name to see my trip reports if you are interested.

Thanks Denise. I have actually checked blogs and travel guide books for day trip outing. All these places like equally great. So was a little confused.i will go with your suggestion. One more quick question.... Is there any website where I can book vinery trip in champagne region?

Versailles is an easy day trip. You can, of course, do Reims and even Normandy as a day trip, also (Reims easier). But not Mont St Michel. Well, in theory you can, but it's really far away so wouldn't recommend that.

To be honest, since you are not much into history, I am not sure at all why you would consider Normandy or Versailles or even Mont St Michel, for that matter. It seems to me all of their main attractions is the history of the place. If you are not interested in WWII history, sure, there are other things to do in Normandy, I sort of think of it as a somewhat more rural location (unless you mean Rouen, which I doubt, or possibly cute Honfleur but you need a car), what were you planning to do there, exactly? Without knowing what your interest was in Normandy, I would suggest Reims as the easiest and with some things that would interest you, as you note.

Wait and see if you can tear yourself away from Paris after only a few days. We spent 10 full days in Paris and couldn't convince ourselves to take a day trip.

Are you interested in Art? I notice you plan to visit the Louvre. It is huge and overwhelming. You will have the most successful visit if you decide what you want to see and go there. If you like the Impressionists, do visit the D'Orsay for their fabulous collection. Basically, no Impressionists in the Louvre.

Reims is a good day trip - no need to stay over night. No need to book a tour. There are plenty of threads here about days trips to Reims - do a search.

A few that I know of (sure there are tons more)...

http://france-bubbles-tours.com


http://www.lavigneduroy.com

I think O Chateau in Paris also offers a day in the Champagne region

http://www.o-chateau.com

Enjoy!

agree it will be hard to get away from paris, once you're in its grasp!!

don't forget the musee picasso.

you might enjoy the big park Bois de Boulogne -- there are Velib bike rentals along the edges and great bike paths. (we wasted a lot of time trying to rent a bike one day, thinking there were many to rent... not knowing that they weren't actually rentable... and now know that they generally turn the bike seat sideways if the bike is nonfunctional...)

recommend you get a room close enough to the seine so you can take easy evening walks along the river. one of our favorite things.

mont st. michel was a highlight of our recent trip... and we took the advice of many fodorites and stayed the night on the mont. yes, the view OF if, from nearby, is fabulous... but having the place mostly to ourselves was priceless. we woke up, had breakfast, climbed the stairs, and still were the only 2 there for the first 15 minutes. got to watch all the employees coming to work and opening the doors with their giant keys. pretty much empty rooms for the first 30 minutes. (and i'm not a huge history buff either.)

Cheap shopping? What do you want to buy?

It's too bad that you'll miss the big Summer sales, which end long before you arrive in Paris - but there are sales all year long in most fashion boutiques - everything except high-end brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Prada...

For one-stop reasonable shopping in a mall, go to Beaugrenelle, right on the river, not too far from the Eiffel Tower.

If one loves Paris so much that 10 days is not enough, that is great. But not a universal sentiment. My family and I were very happy to take a day trip out of the city after a few days within. We chose Bruges, Belgium and loved it.

whimsy, been to Versailles, and one _could_ make that a half day trip if you get going early enough to be in the grounds before ten.

And, while I do not have personal experience with your choices, have discussed day trips a lot on this forum and first hand with other travelers, and Reims is usually always most highly recommended. Hope that helps.

Like Tennis? The tour of the grounds at Roland Garros (who by the way, was not a tennis player) is quite interesting.

You might check rue du Commerce for shopping. Not sure what you are looking for specifically. Monoprix might also be worth doing a lap in and you can find locations all over Paris.