The organ concert following the Sunday morning service at St. Sulpice is terrific, and after it is over, you can climb the winding staircase up to see the organ. There is no sign or anything about it, but as you face the back of the church, there is a small door to the left of the entrance that you line up at.

Programme d'orgue is in the column on the right side is the St-Sulpice website.

I enjoyed climbing up the towers of Notre Dame and seeing and hearing the Grand Boudain (sp? biggest bell) and other bells chime away at their designated times kind of felt like Quasimodo - last time I went was about a decade ago and the stairs near top were small ladders so not for Nervous Nellies!

k_marie and SusanP,
The organ concert is exactly what I was looking for, and I'm sure we'll love it. I visited Paris many years ago, but this will be DH's first trip to France. I remember strolling in Montmartre on a rainy day and I took shelter in a church, no idea which one. There was an organ concert at the time, and I listened mesmerized. I don't know how long I was there for, but by the time it ended the rain had stopped (and my friend mad that I was late for our meeting).

k_marie,
I could find a lot of web sites for St Sulpice, but not the official one, the one with a right hand side column for Programme d'orgue. Cann you post a link please?

PalenQ,
I don't like heights, but I know I'll get up those steps to get close to the gargoyles :)

Here you go--

Saint-Sulpice ? Notre paroisse de Paris, sa grande église, ses paroissiens, ses activités

k_marie,
Thanks - I guess the US-based English google has a hard time finding it...

K_marie, third time trying to post. That is a great link, hoping to attend mass this week. They don't charge for going to mass, do they?

They take a collection, which is strictly voluntary. Usually, at a Catholic Church, members of the congregation give an offering when the baskets are passed during the mass, after the sermon.

We have attended evening concerts at St-Sulpice for which we purchased tickets beforehand. At other churches, we have given a free-will offering at the conclusion of the concert.

Research how to ride the French Rail RER C train from the Rive Gauche Paris Metro Station to Versailles. The RER system utilizes a common ticket with the Metro system.

You will be surprised at how "walkable" Paris is, after you depart the EIffel Tower, walk back to the Ile de Cite on the Seine River walkway, it is scenic.

By the way, it is much faster to get your Eiffel Tower tickets online before you go, if you wait till you are there, the lines at the ticket windows could be lengthy.

Look at the Catacombs Paris tour, it is an unusual look at a fascinating location.

Sacre Coeur is easily reached via Paris Metro, but the stairs from the lower level to the top are a lengthy circular staircase, not a problem if you are used to walking or hiking.

terrylipford,
I love walkable cities, and looking at the map I noticed that a lot of Paris attractions and museums are concentrated in a relatively small area. That's good news, plus the metro network looks great. Walking is fine, climbing stairs less so but we will do it for the views.

For some reason I don't think I want to see the Catacombs, maybe on a future trip but not this one. We will not have enough time to see all the things we really want to see, so even though a lot of people seem to appreciate it, I don't think it's for us.

If you had to pick one for a Sunday, would you visit d'Orsay or Orangerie museum? Or keep all museums for week days? Thanks.

L'Orangerie. Water lilies.

Mass at Notre Dame is also a great experience. We're not Catholic, but we really enjoyed it.

Pros: No lines to enter
Cons: You won't see all of it...the touristy sections are roped off.

ssander

On taking the RER to Versailles:

The "Bad" News: As a newbie, you must pay VERY close attention to the monitors on the platform. There are at least a three "flavors" of the westbound RER C and only one goes to Versailles Chateau Rive Gauche. (The trains used to have secondary numbers -- C5 was the C train to Versailles Rive Gauche -- but I don't see them on the latest version of the RER map that I have.)

The monitors on the platform list the trains and stops:

• They list each train in order of how many minutes till expected arrival.
• They list the stops of each of those trains...however...
• Some trains have lots of stops so you have to watch carefully, because it may take several screens to show them all for a particular train.

The Good News: Versailles Chateau Rive Gauche is the last stop on the appropriate train, so:

• It is easy to spot on the monitor while the stops are displayed.
• Once on the train, you can't miss the stop.

NOTE: It has been over a year since last in Paris, so it is possible this system has been changed, but I doubt it. A good phone app will probably really help with this.

ssander

I would suggest the Musée d'Orsay - it is larger, has many more paintings and is in an historically fascinating building. And oh yeah, it is but a short walk from the Ile de Cite. It is closed on Mondays, so a Sunday visit would be perfect.

Have fun !

Saint-Sulpice Programme d'orgue, for the month of December 2018 until Christmas Day--

Programme d?orgue du mois en cours ? Saint-Sulpice

Just to complicate your life, take the RER to Chatou and have lunch at La Maison Fournaise.

There is a combo ticket for the Orangerie and Orsay museums. Why not do both? The Orangerie is quite small and very near the Orsay. Go there first for the water lilies, then skip the line to enter the Orsay later.

If you happen to get on the wrong RER to Versailles like I did once, just get off at Versailles Chantier. The walk to the chateau is only about 10 minutes longer.

Navigo semaine "all zones" vs. Carnet (10 single ride tickets)

While the carnets may end up being somewhat cheaper than the week pass for people who travel very little with public transport, I would almost always go for the Navigo because:

1. Navigo "all zones" lets you use (almost) any means of transport in the whole Ile-de-France region. Even when you don't really NEED the bus to take you down a boulevard to the next metro station, it can be just nice after a long day of walking around. Or when you just want to roam around and see through which neighborhoods any odd bus will take you.
2. Carnet tickets are not good for transfers between metro and bus or vice versa. Each leg would be one ride off your carnet.
3. Navigo "all zones" includes CDG airport by RER, as well as Versailles or other destinations outside Paris proper. The costs for individual tickets to CDG and/or Versailles plus the costs for the carnet may end up more costly than one Navigo "all zones".
4. You only need to go through the mild hassle to obtain (and pay for) the chip card at the staffed desks at your nearest metro or RER station once. When you return to Paris, you can simply top up your Navigo card again with an "all zones" weekly pass at the machines/kiosks.

P.S. Get either the RATP app to get around the region or use Google maps which has also incorporated the timetables. Both require an online connection, though.. but when you get a French SIM card it should not matter..

@ssanders,
Great info about RER to Versailles. I'll keep it handy, but for now I think we'll skip Versailles this trip. Too much to see/do in Paris...
No hotel booked yet, but I think we'll be close to Notre Dame, so we might be able to get there several times: once for the mass, another time for actually visiting it.

Regarding d'Orsay and Orangerie: we are visiting them both. The question is, if we need to see one on Sunday, which one? Or should I really arrange the schedule in such way that we see all museums (including the Louvre) on week days?
MaineGG, I think one museum/day is enough for us. We have 6 full days in Paris with 4 definite museums (the 3 above + Musée Jacquemart-André), a maybe (Musée de l'Armée) and a day left for any special temporary exhibition while we're there. At least this is the plan now, on paper. It wight change many times before we actually get there...

LOL, StCirq, you see? That's why we don't have time to get to Versailles....we need time to sample good restaurants :)

@k_marie, thanks! I'll keep an eye on that web site for future updates. And I signed up for other museums newsletter and updates, I'm ready.

@Cowboy1968,
For 6 days the Navigo sounds like a good option. Can we also use it to get to the airport on day 7? How easy is it to take public transportation to the airport, vs a taxi? We're leaving on a Sat morning, so traffic will probably not be an issue.

Thanks

If you go the Army Museum, also go to the Maquettes museum at Invalides

The Navigo weekly pass is valid from Monday through Sunday.
So, yes, you would be able to use it to go from Paris to Roissy/CDG airport on Saturday.
You would just have to use individual tickets on that Sunday when you arrive in Paris.
Or do some sightseeing in walking distance of your hotel.
You also don't have to wait until Monday to buy the Navigo pass. You can already get that done on your arrival day at any metro or RER station.
Just bring one passport-sized photo for each person.. the staff will clip them to fit the Navigo pass.

So far, I have never used anything but public transport to get to/from either Paris airport to/from the city.
Depending on the location of your accomodation, you could think about using a taxi to go from there to the nearest RER station as navigating the metro system with larger luggage can be a bit strenous (stairs).
Or take a bus to the nearest RER station.. but it depends a bit on where you will be staying which option would be more feasible or convenient.

Cowboy,
I would avoid the subway (especially if I needed a transfer) in NYC with bags. That's because our subway system is old, with no escalators and I can't imagine carrying a bag up and down the stairs; although I know a lot of people do it and survive the ordeal.
All I know is that Paris metro is very nice and easy to navigate - does this mean escalators?

Nothing booked yet, but I think the top contender for our hotel stay is La Perle https://www.hotel-paris-laperle.com/fr/ with several metro stops near by, but requiring a transfer to the blue line that goes to the airport. Do you know anything about escalators in Paris?
Thanks

Don't count on finding escalators. And try to remember that the Metro lines are not named by colors, which can vary depending on whose map you are using.

This site tells you which stations and lignes have escalators (wheelchair access means a lift) but even in stations with elevators you may have to go up and down a few steps:

https://parisbytrain.com/map-paris-w...-rer-bus-tram/

Paris buses are a good alternative to metro - no walking long distances to metro stations and once in them - and for short distances more likely to let you off right near where you are actually going. And you can see Paris as your bus rolls along - metro stations and trains can always be chock up with many standees - especially at rush hours so buses can be more comfy and less likely to be crowded.

Walking in Paris can be a joy - stop at an outdoor cafe and watch the Parisian world strut by. I always thought that what I saw when walking between main sights was often as interesting as the sights themselves.

I especially enjoyed taking the above ground metro lines - from which you can see the neighborhoods the train goes thru and tall landmarks of Paris - these lines were especially delightful at night when the neon lights below on shopping streets were sublimely illuminated and you see the locals milling around. I've just taken these lines sometimes with no real destination in sight. If you plan carefully you can practically encircle inner Paris by elevated metro lines, such as these three lines:

https://www.spottedbylocals.com/paris/metro-line-n6/

https://www.pariscityvision.com/en/paris/metro-line-2

https://www.pariscityvision.com/en/paris/metro-line-5

Paris has two major systems of rail mass transport.
One is the Metro (lines are numbered) which is (with some exceptions) old and similar to the NY subway. Stairs, and just a few escalators here and there. Not recommended with big bags or suitcases.
The other one is the RER, fairly new with wide trains and many stations accessible also by escalators and elevators.
If you should stick with that hotel "La Perle", your nearest RER station to get to CDG airport would be St Michel (near Notre Dame).
It does have an elevator, just so well hidden that no living person has ever found it.
The other RER station would be Luxembourg, but that's one of the few that has no elevator.

If I wanted to catch the RER from the La Perle hotel, I'd take a taxi to Port-Royal RER station.
It's somewhat further away than the other ones, but has the advantage that it's just the line B you want to get to CDG. And that station has both an elevator as well as a simple layout. And is not really deep underground.
Port-Royal has an easy to identify station building in that intersection, and the elevator right next to it.
https://goo.gl/maps/zbYFNdasWdL2

Have I told you all how much I appreciate all your help? You are the best, thank you! This is fabulous info that I couldn't have found in any guide book or by just google-ing it.
This is going to be such a great trip :)

I don't use the metro much, prefer the bus or walking, but the last time I was in Paris, the one time I used the metro, the escalator was not working and had to walk up many stairs...just so you know that might happen.

Like Cowboy, we have always used the RER to/from CGD...but we travel only with two carry-on bags and get off at either St-Michel or Chatalet-Les Halles, both of which have escalators (as does CDG).

If you have regular-size bags, and are going to a station without escalator, you are smart no to take RER...unless you are young and strong. :)

...but all the great things everyone has said about the buses and the Navigo pass are true. On our first trip in 2001, we used its predecessor -- the carte orange and have never changed our opinion, even when we only could use it four days of our trip (because of the Mon-Sun rules.) I'll summarize what all have said:

• convenience of not having to constantly buy tickets
• the pleasure of riding buses
• advantage of hopping on for short rides when tired without "counting" your tickets
• not worrying about wasting a ticket if you get on the wrong bus -- which WILL happen
• getting on any bus if "lost" and watching out the window for a metro station
• the fact that a bus-metro ride requires two tickets
• the fact that it includes all zones -- you might change your mind about going to Versailles or decide to go somewhere beyond zone 2.
• ...and finally, two things and not to be minimized:
  • the coolness of having your card as a great souvenir.
  • the card has no expiration date...after one visit to Paris, you WILL be back, and you'll be able to load another week pass at a self-serve machine at CDG...really convenient!!!

ssander

ssander,
Great reasons for the Navigo pass, and it looks like good option for our Sun-Sat stay, especially if we use it to get to CGD.
LOL, "young and strong" we're not but there are some very good options here on how to get to CDG cheaper. I think we'll be fine :-)

When you use the Navigo, be sure to tap in on the pad once and ONLY once. I had used the metro many times, but things had changed....15 years since my last trip. The first time I used the Naviago I was not certain it had worked. I used the Oyster Card in London and when you tap it the "gate" opens, but it's different in Paris. The gates don't open but are "released" so you just walk through them. I tapped, didn't think it worked, tapped again and what do ya know....LOCKED OUT!!!!!! NOOOOOOOO, what to do what to do.

I very nice lady let me cut in right behind her since my travel companion was much smarter than I was and only tapped once and walked on through. The "lock" makes sense because it prevents someone letting 10 of their closest friends though on one Navigo. Too funny. So glad someone took pity on me. Anyway, don't make that mistake. I loved the Navigo, we used for Versailles, and Fountainbleu. So convenient. Yes, stairs, stairs and more stairs. I had thighs like rocks by the time I left for home.

Ohhh, good point, crefloors. Makes sense why it works this way, of course
Paris Voyage

But if we mess up, it's only a 5 minutes wait - it won't kill us.