Best place to propose in Paris
 

I am taking my girlfriend on a surprise trip to Paris. I will fly there separately 2 hours before her, she is flying in around noon Saturday... I will give her directions beforehand in an envelope to go somewhere once she lands, along with her passport and ticket etc... and propose... but I am driving myself nuts picking a place.

I don't want a touristy place like the Eiffel Tower, it needs to be a special place...

I thought about the top of Defense, good expansive view but not exactly romantic,

I had liked the park across the river from,
Tour Eiffel (Trocadero), but still touristy,

A street cafe in Paris. That is appealing but I dont know any that would be quiet and romantic...

Any ideas? I have only been to Paris once 15 years ago...

Thanks in advance!

When you see the Parisian women, you may want to reconsider your proposal idea.
Just kidding. Your question is very interesting. I would sort of go with the flow. Don't try to pick a place, just be spontaneous. A walk in one of the Paris parks on a beautiful sunny day would be nice. Or on the ferris wheel, close to the Champs D...Or at the top of Notre Dame, although the Gargoyles could be jarring. Montsarrat would give it a neighborhood feel.

Definitly don't do Defense, although the Tower Eiffel has possibilities, especially at night. Do it in a place that she really seems to like. And good luck to you.

Gardyloo, thanks for the link! Fritz, I like your suggestions...

I am growing warmer to the idea of a street cafe, does anyone know a good one to suggest? Our hotel is near the Champs Elysees, but really anywhere is ok...

Meeting over a bridge is a good idea too...

There will be so much anticipation with her 10 hour flight alone from San Francisco (mine too :), I want to make sure it does not "ploof"...

Oh my vote would be a dusk on Pont Alexander III with her facing the Eiffle Tower and you on one knee! Can't think of anything more romantic!

I go to Paris once a year and this is still one of my favorite places!

As a side note, our hotel (Hotel Le A) recommended and booked La Truffiere as a good restaurant for the evening. Any opinions? We are there only for 2 days...

I wish we arrived in the evening so I could propose during/after dinner. I don't think I can stand that much anticipation...

On top of the Arc de Triomphe at sunset just as the city lights begin to come on

or

like stormygirl suggested: at dusk on Pont Alexander III with her facing the Eiffle Tower and you on one knee!

When are you going???

On my last night in Paris (tragically alone), I went to the Palais de Chaillot which is on a hill, across the Seine about 2 blocks from the Eiffle Tower, on a delightfully warm and foggy early Oct. evening. The Eiffle Tower, the bridge across the Seine and the Palais were all lit up, but the lights were wonderfully subdued and diffused by the fog. I can't imagine a more romantic place to propose. Hell...I nearly proposed to about 10 absolutely delicious 30-something French women as they passed by....

Of course the fog is a key ingredient...but it sounds like you're importing your own absolutley delicious little thing...

Good luck!!!

It was mentioned on the other thread, but I will second Montmartre, it is a lovely view of the city, and very beautiful with the white church and the long staircase. *sigh*

One thing to consider - she may want to first just hook up with you, get cleaned up, relax - as opposed to straight to the spot where you'll propose - also will help get rid of the anxiety of the separate travel. My husband and I took one of the sunset dinner cruises in May (had not done that on previous trips) and it was very romantic. You could always propose on the boat (and let the Captain know ahead of time - a couple on our boat did that - and then everyone on the boat toasted them afterwards) Seemed nice to have other people celebrating with them afterwards (though after "toasts" and congrats people left them to their romatice evening. Just a thought...

Ok, thanks SO much for all the responses so far. Here is one of the options:

Meet on Champs Elysees at a cafe at 2pm(any cafe recommendations? I need to give her the address of a specific location to come to)

relax a bit, walk to hotel, clean up, then leave and take a walk on Champs Elysees, and then walk to Pont Alexandre III, and do it there!!! (7pm or so... Is the bridge walking distance? It looks so on the map. Also, can we walk across the bridge? I trust you guys/gals as to how romantic it is as I have never been there :))

Then cross the bridge, take a taxi or walk to Mouffetard district (is that distance walkable? Can we find a taxi around there?) Thats where our restaurant is. Walk that district a bit, then enjoy our dinner... I wanted to take her to the Buddha Bar as we love their CDs. If we have energy left we could do that...

I am thinking our second and last afternoon/evening we can go to Montmartre and enjoy that district, watch the sunset, dine, go to a bar/cafe, then fly back...

Does that sound ok? Alternatives? Should we go to Montmartre on the first day???

By the way, I am so glad I found this forum. I was all alone surfing the net and books for info. We are going on 9/18, I will come back on 9/20 and give a detailed report as to how it went...

Ok here is a problem already, she will want to wear some dinner grade (high heel:) shoes for dinner, and will not be able to walk for a mile to the bridge. Maybe we can take a taxi, then I can stop the cab and get off before (can he stop on the bridge?) the bridge and walk across, then take another cab (if we can find one)...

Just MHO, but if I had only two days in Paris, Montmartre wouldn't be a must-see. It's a bit of a pain to get there, and I think there are much nicer, more romantic areas to explore.

The terrace at Fouquet's should be your choice for the Champs Elysees café. It's a classic; some of the places on the Champs are pretty tacky and/or ordinary.

I had dinner at La Truffiere years ago...very romantic as I recall. Walk back from dinner along rue Soufflot between the Pantheon and the Luxembourg gardens and time it to be there on the hour...the view of the twinkling Eiffel tower can't be beat.

By the way...I hate to put a damper on your big moment, but do you have a back-up plan in case one of your flights are delayed? And if I'm reading this correctly, you're not telling her where she's going, or maybe even not telling her that she is going at all, until the last minute. Maybe you've got this under control, but if she's wearing shorts and flip-flops as you tell her she's got an hour to get ready, eeek!

My husband proposed to me on the Pont des Arts bridge. It is the next bridge upstream of Pont Neuf and is close to the Louvre. It is a pedestrian bridge that has been used in many movies set in Paris. It is a beautiful bridge...

I think it's wonderful you are proposing in Paris!!! Good luck!!! Have fun in Paris!!

Bonne chance! My husband proposed to me last May on the Pont Neuf, after having dinner at Le Pamphlet, a wonderful little bistro in the Marais. The view from any of the bridges mentioned so far would just be wonderful at night -- you can't go wrong.

First of all, good luck and (hopefully) congratulations.

Secondly, I would say the "when" is at least as important as the "where." I like the dusk/sunset on one of the bridges idea. But I think I like nighttime inside a cozy, candlelit restaurant better than over drinks at a sidewalk cafe.

Wait till the moment's right, after dessert, lingering over a coffee or calvados, the candle light flickering in her eyes...then smile, whip out the ring and drop to one knee. Magic, I tells ya!

If you wanted to do it on Pont Alexander III you could take a cab to the bridge. Then after you could walk up George V to Fouquets which is right on the corner of Champs d'Elysee and George V. I've walked it before in heels, not very far- 5 blocks??

Anyway, whatever you do will be glorious and so special!

I haven't been to Truffiere but hear it is good.

Thanks to all...

There is a "cover" trip that weekend, but it is a trip to a mountain lodge, so I will pack up for her and take her goodies with me and hope I dont miss anything. I will leave a small bag in her car that morning with her passport, ticket, information, sleeping pills,(she HAS to sleep on the flight), toileteries, some hints, a nice compilation CD of French songs we like etc.). Then email her before I fly, and call her sister to tell her to check her email, and make sure she gets the message! I wanted to send the message with flowers but cant trust them and the flowers will die over the weekend. Hmmm... Maybe I can send just one rose that she can take with her...

Anyhow, we both have direct flights, I will tell her the hotel location in case my flight gets delayed...

I am thinking maybe after dinner is good too... Does that bridge get crowded at dusk?

OK, you're giving her a surprise trip to Paris and you're gonna make the poor girl wait for a proposal she probably guesses is coming?

Do it right away, wherever you are and enjoy the rest of the evening, with both of you relaxed and happy.

hkil
All of the above suggestions are wonderful. I have been to Paris several times and am hard pushed to think of a "most romantic" spot. I dont think you can miss with the way you are going at it. My only request is that after you guys get back, you post a report here of how it went. Gongrats and good luck to both of you.
Shrink

I did it!

I still have a big smile on my face from one ear to the other...

Here is how it happened?

I left a note for her in her car last Friday before she left for work. I took a flight to Paris a couple hours before her and sent an email to her asking her to walk to her car and check under her passenger seat. This was about 5 hours before her flight. The note said something like ?Shall we meet at this nice café I found out about? I hear it is really good? It?s called Fouquets. The directions are simple, take the next flight to Paris, and tell the taxi driver to take you to George V and Champs Elysees. I will be there waiting for you??

I also left her a package with a mixed CD of ?our songs? that I had prepared, a photo album that I collated with some notes, a couple of magazines, some snacks, a sleep aid, a closed ?in case of emergency? envelope with additional directions in case of flight delays etc.

I got there a few hours before her on Saturday morning, checked into our hotel (Hotel Le A, very much recommended for those who like hotels like the W and like boutique hotels like The Time in NY). Then I met her at Fouquet?s. It was fabulous! She. Me. Meeting in Paris! We had some coffee and tea, then took a walk on the Champs Elysees, climbed the Arc de Triomphe, enjoyed the view and got oriented a bit then took the back streets to walk back to the hotel. If you ever go to Hotel le A, request room 602 for sure! Our room had a view of the Eiffel Tower over rooftops!

Then we walked all the way to the Louvre, then crossed the Seine, and then toured the Orsay museum. She loves impressionist art. Both of us had been there around 15 years ago when we were kids, but this time we were together?

Then walked on the left bank all the way to the Notre Dame, then through the Latin Quarter, down to the Mouffetard district where we had dinner reservations at La Tuffiere. It is in a very cosy romantic basement with curved stone walls? Enjoyed a delicious four and a half hour dinner, I could not count the number of courses? 7 maybe? It was great. San Francisco Bay Area has some nice French restaurants, but we gained a new appreciation of French food, truffles, and French cheeses. Our dinner included a wonderful truffle salad, the best duck leg I ever ate (I normally don?t care much for duck), some really nice fish (forget what it was) in saffron, veal with figs, a custom plate of cheeses, dessert? Very gastronomic as they call it. Tried speaking French at every turn. They really like it, smile and speak back in French slowly, or kindly reply in English. Had no problems that I had had on my visit before where people understood my English but still responded in French? All it take is to try speaking in French. Even if it is a few words?

Then we went to Buddha Bar. We love their world beat music, and have many of their CDs. It was wonderful listening to their DJs? mixes live. Right there. Next to the huge Buddha statue inside. Then went to Bar Fly on Champs Elysees, which was also very nice (1 block from Fouquet?s). My girlfriend (on her last day with that status) liked that place even more? Then walked from there to our hotel (around 5 blocks). It was around 2:30am, and Champs Elysees was packed. Everyone on streets, but an entirely different crowd this time. Local young people going to bars, driving around, sitting in cafes, listening to French music.

Even though we went to bed at around 3:30, we requested a wake up call at 8:30am, and took a taxi to Rue Cler. Absolutely fell in love with that street, especially early in the morning. It was kind of a farmers market type environment, we had breakfast crepes at a café, shopped for éclairs, tarts, got some great chocolate, and walked to Champs de Mars. It was still early, and we were far away from the Eiffel, but had a great view of it. It just felt right. She was dreamy. I was too. And popped the question right there. Not that I planned for it but everything felt right. Everything! And she said yes yes yes!

Then we walked towards north to Pont de Alma, and walked over the seine. And I proposed again! She said yes yes yes again! Then we spent the day walking from the Latin Quarter, to the Marais, into the Modern Art Museum, and up deep into the city to see the real (relatively) city life. Then took a taxi to Montmartre. Passing in front of Moulin Rouge we walked up Rue Lepic to the Café de Deux Moulins. Had some nice cheeses, sausages, etc. there. We stayed there long enough that she figured where she knows that place from, even though she had never been there! It was filled with locals, and felt so nice that I proposed again. And she said yes yes yes again!!!

Then we walked up on Lepic, and took a number of detours (we love walking), and walked for hours until sunset and not saw one tourist because we were away from the Sacre Coeur area. Then eventually walked to Sacre Coeur for the view, and over sunset I proposed again! She said yes yes yes again!! We then walked down the hill past the street painters and touristy area to the restaurant Le Basilic. It was a small restaurant with some great food. Over desert and wine I proposed again. And gave her the ring. It felt so good! To see the smile on her face! Having proposed to her all over Paris. We both have been smiling ever since!!

We flew back to San Francisco yesterday morning. Thanks so much for everyone?s help and tips! Every reply to my post and other similar posts here are greatly appreciated! If I didn?t know what I was doing where we were going, I could not have pulled off so much stuff in just two days. I knew all the streets and places before we even got there. We needed a map only once when we almost got lost walking down to La Truffiere?

Now, more general comments and links:

Fouquet?s: Very nice place with snotty waiters. Coffee was 8 euros and tea was 7 euros. Kind of expected from its location and reputation. http://www.lucienbarriere.com/locali...rest_index.asp

Hotel Le A: Highly recommended as seen above. Very contemporary and modern, excellent service. The hotel is cladded with Fabrice Hybert?s wonderful art. http://www.hotel-le-a.com/anglais/texte.htm
http://www.interiordesign.net/id_art...428/id?stt=001

Buddha Bar: If you like hip world music this is the place. No cover, an apple martini was 12 euros, and a JD was 13 euros. Had a lot of hip arabic clientele, http://www.worldsbestbars.com/city/Paris/BuddhaBar.asp

BarFly: Also very nice, more typical underground music, A large glass of Heineken was 9 euros, funny enough Large Budweiser Lite was 11 euros http://www.worldsbestbars.com/city/Paris/Barfly.asp

La Truffiere: Very good food. It was filled with English speaking people and felt a little touristy. But the environment with the stone walls and candle lighting was very nice. The service would be 7 over 10, they were not as attentive as they could be, our wine/water glasses were empty at times; food was 9 over 10, only mistake was that the raw salmon palate cleanser had a lemon seed in it. Atmosphere is 8 over 10 due to being a little touristy. Price was around 100 euros per person. Well worth it. http://www.latruffiere.com/us/

Café Des Deux Moulins: It was very nice. Had a more local vibe than I expected after the movie. The food was very good, and excellent for the price. We could hang out there for hours. Very comfortable, laid back, friendly service. http://f.pierrard.free.fr/trmoulins.htm

Le Basilic: It was a medium class restaurant with upper-medium class food. Had nice fish, very limited wine list (only 10-15 wines), very personal service, we were sitting outside and the waitress brought her own sweater for my girlfriend to wear. Quite a non-touristy restaurant (the waiter did not speak much English) with reasonable prices in a very touristy area. And lovely location, painted very well by Caramadre Georges (link below). We sat there probably an hour after everyone had left and they kept telling us to stay as long as we wanted, until around 12:30am! http://www.postershop.com/Caramadre-...c-4700268.html

Sorry for the ? marks. I wrote this in MS Word and when I pasted it in it took all the ...'s and "'s and turned them into questions marks...

CONGRATS!!! Thank you so much for reporting back, I'm very happy and excited for you. While you were in Paris proposing all over the place my husband and I were in SAN FRAN celebrating our 1 year wedding anniversary. So cheers to you and your new fiance. May your life be filled with wonderful memories, you are off to a good start!!!! :)

Congratulations! That is a wonderful proposal story that both of you will enjoy telling for years to come. Brought a few tears to my eyes.

Congratulations to both of you. I hope your married life stays as romantic as your courtship.

Have you thought of printing out this thread to save for yourselves and your children?

Almost two years later, It would be great to find out what happened.

I loved this posting. All the suggestions were extremely good. And the idea was out of this world!

There was only one other suggestion that I could have made: Strolling in the Tuileries Gardens, in front of the Louvre, leading up to Place de la Concorde - at the opposite end of Champs Elysees from the Arc de Triomphe.

I once watched the Bastille Day (evening) fireworks from the rise overlooking the Obelisque de Luxur at the Concorde. There is a wonderful view of the Seine ("the Seine is a lover, and its lover is Paris...") with the Eiffel Tower across the river.

Directly in front is the boulevard with the Arc de Triomphe in the distance. There is usually a large ferris wheel next the the Obelisque. All the monuments, as well as the trees lining the boulevard, are dressed in lights for the romantic soul.

Try the cupola overlooking all of Paris from the top of the Buttes Chaumont park in the the 19th arrondissement. At least you won't be surrounded by tourists and the view is spectacular.

What a wonderful story. I read it by candle light in my bedroom with the love of my life next to me. I am planning a similar trip in 4 weeks and am so excited I could burst.
You must print all of this and stick in in your diaries, scrapbooks or wedding book.
Be happy forever xxx

Congratulations! What a romantic person your are and your fiance should feel incredibly special. Best wishes!

bm

Great story. So, i'm going to be in Paris over Christmas and Rouen. I'm thinking about popping the question there, and was looking for any other suggestions. Anything non-cheesy. We've been to Paris once before, but nothing really sticks out as a place we'd have to go back to do it. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

By the way, I'm leaning twds the Place du Vosges, but don't know if there are better suggestions since it will be Christmas.

Was in Paris late Oct. Place du Voges was undergoing some kind of construction. Some areas were roped off etc. May be better in Dec.

LOVE this story. I wish hk would come back and report in!

Le Pont des Arts has no vehicular traffic. Its not the Eiffel tower in the background, but you have the Institut de France and the Ile de la Cité.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623266287099/

Don't know any way to top that, you did a great job. And the details were on point. Congratulations.