A week in Paris
 

Hi all,

My wife and I have booked a 7-night Rick Steves Paris tour for late June. Prior to Paris we have 3 nights in Amsterdam (I also have a "first Amsterdam visit" thread in the Netherlands forum). We are staying in the 7th from a Monday night to the following Sunday night. As with the Amsterdam visit, our main but not exclusive focus is art. My last visit here was 1996!

The tour includes a fair number of sights* but it mostly leaves afternoons and evenings open. This thread is about critiquing what I've sketched out for the open time. Here's the initial plan:

Mon - arrive in Paris at 12:30, meet tour group at 15:00, dinner with tour group. no other activities planned.

Tues - tour stuff in the 6th in the AM. Afternoon: Cluny & Orsay museums, tooling around Latin Qtr. Got a ticket for a 23:00 Eifel tower ride to summit.

Wed - tour stuff in Montmarte in AM. Afternoon: I'm leaving open since this is the mid-point of our overall 10-day trip. I've found it's a good to reserve some downtime to recharge.

Thur - tour stuff in Marais in AM. Afternoon: Cartier museum & Picasso tour

Fri - tour spends all day at Versailles. I'm thinking of swapping this for Chantilly, Vaux-le-Vicomte, Chartres, or a Fat Tire bike tour.

Sat - tour stuff in AM. Afternoon: Rodin, Pompidou

Sun - Marmottan museum, otherwise wide open

Mon - fly home :(

* The tour already includes these things, so no need to suggest adding them! Historical walking tour of the city center, ND, Sainte-Chapelle, Latin Qtr, Cluny, Montmarte, Sacre Coeur, evening river cruise, Marais walking tour, Orangerie tour, Louvre tour, and an all-day tour of Versailles.

Edward--If you haven't been to Versailles, go there with your tour. I presume that the tour company will have gotten advance tickets so you won't have to wait in line.

We love Chantilly and are hoping to go back this fall, but you should choose Versailles this time.

Try Musee Carnavalet in the Marais for Sunday or swap it out on Thursday when you'll be in the area. While not an art museum per se, it has lots of paintings related to the history of Paris and a lot of furniture.

You're doing more modern art than we would, but can't otherwise fault your itinerary.

Perhaps on Sunday you could visit Giverny. It should be beautiful in June!

As one who doesn't recommend Versailles on a week long visit by independent travelers, if you have a tour arranged, definitely go with that for the reasons above.
Carnavalet is one of my favorite museums in Paris.

I'm not sure what the question is? Your time is pretty full and you already have several art museums listed.

AS for Versailles vs your other choices, that's up to you, it's completely personal, one cannot be said to be better than the other. If you aren't interested in Versailles, fair enough, I think any of the others is smaller and might be more enjoyable from that viewpoint. The bike tour is an activity of course.

You have very little time left, so in your free time, like Sun afternoon, you might not plan anything and just wander around some neighborhoods, maybe visit one of the grand parks (eg Monceau, Luxembourg, etc) or somethign like that. I presume your tour is covering the island (Notre Dame, Ste Chapelle, etc). If not, you could do that.

If you do want another museum, I'd suggest the Petit Palais which is wonderful (and free), which art from various periods, or the Musee des Arts Decoratifs next to the Louvre if you haven't been there. If you were more interested in history for a change, the museum at Invalides would be good and is in the same quartier where you are staying.

If you are deeply interested in art, trying to squeeze two major museums into an afternoon, including delays due to transport, admission lineups and possible refreshment pit-stops, may be frustrating. I don't mean a waste of time, but strained from the pressure, and also from the awareness of shortchanging some of the peak experiences. You might check for occasional orientation tours, usually short, at some of the places you mention. I also buy audio guides when they are available. Another personal note: Posters from exhibits I have seen are a souvenir that provide me enduring pleasure on the walls back home. Carry a mailing tube that fits your suitcase for safe transport of any that catch your eye.

Your list already includes so many major sites so how about doing some off the beaten path stuff. Check these websites:

http://www.pariszigzag.com/

http://www.messynessychic.com/catego...-secret-paris/

http://www.unjourdeplusaparis.com/ca...paris-insolite

http://www.parisinconnu.com/

Gretchen - Yes, Versailles is a part of the tour so tickets and transportation are included. For that reason I may still do it. I'm just a little hesitant given that it's likely to be super crowded.

Christina - I agree the itinerary is pretty full already. I will definitely keep some afternoons free for sanity and naps.

Southam - I do love poster art! I will have to be on the look out for posters to liberate.

For my money would take a Fat Tire tour, but mine is minority opinion. I would like to take their bike tour of Versailles gardens sometimes, though.

I like the Musee Jacquermart Andre. If I was going to skip Versailles, I would go to MJA.


http://www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com

The bike tour is great but you only need an afternoon. We went with the Blue Bikes and it was great fun. 4 hours all up, starting at 3pm and finishing at 7. Would easily fit into one of your 'spare' afternoons without losing the trip to Versailles.

I, personally could leave the Pompidou and Picasso museums out. Never heard of Cartier. You are museum heavy, which is great if that IS your true love.
If you end up with a rainy afternoon (or not) a tour of the Passages is lovely.
A trip to the top of Galeries Lafayette for a lower level view of paris rooftops is fun.
Depending on when "tour stuff" gets started and ended, you may want to stay longer or revisit some of these places.
Yes, Versailles can be super crowded, but the tour will help you out with that.

I didn't notice reference to Ste. Chapelle or Notre Dame on the tour. If they are not included, be sure to find time for them. I do not agree with the recommendation to leave the Picasso Museum out. It has been closed for renovation for several years and recently reopened. It is will worth a visit. I would skip the Pompidou except for the fountain outside.

Another vote for the Musee Carnavalet -- to me, it's a must if you want to understand Paris. (It's a museum of the history & culture of the city.)

I also would skip the Pompidou -- just a matter of taste, but on a 7-day visit, the Orsay and Louvre are sufficient -- unless you absolutely love art museums and mid/late 20th c. art in particular.

SS

...I just re-read your original post -- you ARE big fan of art.

In that case may I suggest: Musee d'art Moderne de la Ville de Paris

http://www.mam.paris.fr/en

A small, free museum with a fantastic collection of art from the first half of the 20th c. You might actually enjoy it more than the Pompidou, especially if you're looking for something a little different than a lot of the usual, well-known things.

Caveat: On our last visit (May 2014) some rooms were closed for renovation. It appears that is finished now.

SS

Your Tuesday has me confused as you mention the Orsay and Cluny yet are doing the Cluny with your tour.

Be sure to double check which days museums are closed.

I was underwhelmed by the Carnavalet but perhaps I had been to too many museums by that point. They did, however, have a marvelous special exhibit there at the time which I enjoyed. You might also check to see if any other museums have special exhibits while you are there.

Have a great trip!

Another way to describe the Carnavalet is that it is a museum of the history of Paris through art. So you see the city of Paris as depicted by artists in the 1600s--or the twentieth century. I particularly enjoy the floor dedicated to the French Revolution.

Second Gretchen's comment. The French Revolution collection has some touching relics of the much-wronged Marie Antoinette.

We went last year, and if we are fortunate enough to go to Paris this fall, will go back. It's quite a large museum with lots of see.

Also concur with all the above on omitting the Pompidou.

I was underwhelmed by the Carnavalet, also, reminded my of someone's attic. I certainly do not agree that you must go there to understand the history of Paris. Believe it or not, some of us read.

Oh for pity sake, Christina, it isn't FOR the history but how it "looked" historically. They didn't have photographs, yanno, so artists' renderings are the record.
Take a look and think about it. lOL
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_Ne..._Henry_III.jpg

The most overlooked fact about the Carnavalet, whether you like the art/exhibits or not, is that it was the residence of Madame de Sévigné (at least part of it was, since it's two combined residences) from 1677 to her death in 1696. If nothing else it's definitely got historical significance. Although I don't know that any of the art is that historically significant I think what is there represents fairly well Paris through the centuries, which I believe is the point they are trying to convey. I also agree that the Louis XVI/Marie Antoinette pieces are rather moving, though whether or not they got what they deserved is a different question. ;)

Maybe it is a bit like an attic...but iI is Paris's attic. I agree that everyone might not like it, but my wife and I always go back to it when we visit Paris.

I love art, but if I had two hours left in the city and had to choose between the Carnavalet, the Picasso and the Pompidou, the Carnavalet would be my choice.

I live near Philadelphia in USA and within a 2:30 radius I can see exceptional Picasso and other 20th c. art works galore, but there's nothing like the Carnavalet near me.

I love the big room with the shop signs and scale models of parts of the city, I love the room that is completely furnished in art nouveau, and I love looking at all the paintings of the familiar parts of the city back in the day.

It's all a matter of taste. I respect all opinions here. The OP will have to make a judgement based on his personal interests.

SS

I'm artsy and an artist, but get painting and gilded-carvings fatigue after so many hours. Something outdoors and physical might refresh your palate for more museums.

The parks should be beautiful late June, and with the long hours of daylight, you could visit Pere-Lachaise or for an evening walk up Canal St. Martin. Outdoors and flea markets, Velib bike rental along the Seine, a trip to St-Denis for the Cathedral and a more rounded look at the local population. Last time we were there, I only went into a museum to keep family members company, preferred to get out on the streets.

There were several sections of the Carnavalet that were under renovation and were closed for several months during the past year and a half All that is finished now, so there's lots more that's worth seeing. There is currently a nice exhibit on Napoleon, if anyone is interested.

Personally, since Versailles has become a crowded mess, I would swap it for either Vaux-le-Vicomte or even Fontainebleau - both are extraordinary and won't be as crowded, so you'll be able to take more time to enjoy what you came there to see.

I know my itinerary is museum heavy, but realistically some of them will fall by the wayside. I like to map out most of my vacation time so when we do something spontaneous we will know what the opportunity cost is going to be. One thing is for sure, all of you have pointed out great options.

One museum I loved during my last visit in 1996 which I never see on anyone's Paris list is the Museum of Natural History. It's on Cuvier St (in the 5th, I think). The street is named for Georges Cuvier, a father of modern paleontology. He established the principle of extinction (of importance to Darwin) and discovered or properly identified many dinosaur fossils. The museum contains many superb specimens! And a cranky attendant who gets annoyed when you take photos.

I am a Carnavelet fan but I find the area around the Pompidou so depressing that it would take a heck of a show to get me there.

You are going to the Rodin Museum on your tour. You might find that you want to go back just for the garden. There is a separate ticket at a lower price just for this, and it is definitely a place to spend some peaceful time.

The Picasso Museum? It isn't quite clear if that is what you mean. Worth It. Absolutely worth it and just around the corner from Carnavelet.

There is a bus from near the Marmottan that takes you right by the Trocadero. If you get off, you get a much better view of the Eiffel than from anywhere near it, and there are museums there with both permanent collections and temporary shows.

I was amazed at my response to the Unicorn Tapestries at the Cluny. Tapestry, meh. They blew me away.