Maudie

Seasons greetings to one and all.

DH & I will be arriving in Paris on Eurostar, Saturday May 28 and are staying near the Moulin Rouge for 4 nights. I am starting to get a basic itinerary sorted, this is our first time in Paris.

We will arrive around midday so I guess by the time we get into our apartment we will be ready to hit the streets around 2pm or so. I have spent some time on the Ratp website playing with the journey planner but can't seem to find timetables. My first thought is to catch bus #74 and head for Pont Neuf.

Can anyone provide me with a link? Also your suggestions to get the ball rolling for our first afternoon/evening?

Evening cruise from Pont Nuef is a definite, we aren't really into art however would love to see some of Monet's work. I believe there are some paintings in the Orsay and some water lilies in l'Orangerie. Maybe spend that first afternoon on the Islands and one Museum before taking the cruise.

I look forward to getting your suggestions.

nukesafe

It has been my experience that all of the bus stops have a printed schedule posted. Depending on the time of day, we have seldom had to wait more than ten minutes.

Maudie

Thanks nukesafe, that sounds easy then. Wasn't sure how long the wait was between buses.

menachem

http://www.ratp.fr/horaires/fr/ratp/bus

enter the number of your bus, in your case "74"

in the check box mark "Tous les horaires de la ligne", press "valider" and you have a printable timetable. These list the start and end of running times and the time between passages, which, with bus 74, vary from 5 minutes during rush hour, to 20 minutes during the evening.

avalon

Unless of course there is a Perturbation!!Also Sundays and holidays will have an altered schedule. SOme ruglar stops are not served n Sundays. Most stops have a digital disply telling how long the wait for the next bus is

Maudie

Menachem, I knew it had to be there somewhere - thanks so much. That will be handy to keep in my bag.

Great word, avalon. We will keep that in mind for Sunday, may have to use the Metro but certainly worth knowing. Thank you.

kerouac

Most of the bus stops also have a GPS timer sign to tell you how long until the next bus. This can sometimes persuade you take the metro when the weather is awful and the board says more than 10 minutes.

StCirq

Now that you've got your buses sorted out, I hope you won't mind me commenting that IMO staying near the Moulin Rouge on a first trip to Paris is not a good idea, given that there are boundless other options. If you stay somewhere closer in to central Paris you won't have to worry so much about buses, too. You'll be spending too much precious vacation time on public transport. That's fine, in principle, but the first time I visit someplace, I don't want to waste my time like that - and I do consider it wasting time when I could actually be somewhere doing/seeing something. Just a thought...

janisj

I was going to mention the same thing as StCirq. That isn't an area I'd want to stay on a first Paris visit. (And really not on subsequent visits either unless I was getting a terrific deal on a great apartment)

Maudie

kerouac, thank you for that info. Sounds like a very well organised service.

No, of course I don't mind comments on where we have chosen to stay - in fact I was expecting because its not where everyone else chooses!

Put us in the slow travellers category, we are more than happy sitting on a bus or train site seeing as we go along. To us its all part of the experience. For this first time we are just taking it slowly, we don't feel the need to rush to every important site or even go in. Our aim is to just wander around and enjoy just being there. I do appreciate the discussion and your input but the deposit is paid and we are happy with our choice.

FrenchMystiqueTours

I was going to say the same thing as others regarding your choice of location but listening to your response I think instead I'll have to say bravo to you for bucking trends.

It sounds like you'll enjoy a mix of known and off the beaten path sites. I belong to a couple of forums that you may find useful to search for ideas of things to do in Paris. One of them is www.anyportinastorm.proboards.com and if you go to the Paris forum you'll find lots of interesting things. I also belong to www.ourparisforum.com where you'll get lots of great ideas. Recently there has been a thread on Trip Advisor that you may find useful as well in finding research material for Paris. Here is the link to that thread:

http://tinyurl.com/3xmgugw

janisj

"in fact I was expecting because its not where everyone else chooses!"

My comments had nothing (at all) to do w/ slow vs. fast travel or where 'everybody' else stays. I always rent flats in Paris and take my time wandering around/smelling the roses. It was strictly about your choice of neighborhood.

That is just not as nice an area as you could choose (by a long shot IMO) -- especially if you want to immerse yourselves in the local neighborhood.

There is no reason to stay in a crappy neighborhood -- even IF you don't want to stay where everyone else does.

Maudie

Thanks for all those great links,FrenchMystiqueTours, I will have a good read. Wish we had more time but we will get back there again some time I'm sure. These 4 days were a an unplanned bonus for us and I thank you for your kind response.

janisj, I am dumb founded, I don't really know how to reply to that.

This was a post asking for some help with bus timetables and to get the ball rolling with some options for site seeing not to discuss OUR choice of location for our stay.

janisj

"some options for site seeing not to discuss OUR choice of location for our stay"

That's fine - no problem. You obviously chose it for a reason. However it is your first time in Paris and a few blocks distance can make a HUGE difference, in comfort, convenience, and safety.

tipoule

Hum... JanisJ, I don't really agree with your opinion about the Moulin Rouge area being a crappy neighbourhood...

I'm a parisian, and I live 10minutes walking from the Moulin Rouge.
Of course, it's not in the center of the city. Of course, it's pretty hectic at day & night and pretty "special" with Pigalle sex shops in the area. Of course, you may not feel 100% safe because of this hectic activity and all the people around.
But believe, it's not that bad, and there's far much more to it.

First, it's quite easy to get around in paris from here (metro l.2, 12, and 13 quite close, buses,walking down to the department stores) ... It's easy for you, from the Eurostar, to get to the Moulin Rouge.

The upper part of the 9th district, around rue des Martyrs is really like a small village in Paris, with many great food stores. It's pretty different from the touristic area of Mouling rouge, and if you want to "immerse yourselves in the local neighborhood." as JanisJ says, that's a perfect place to do so. Yes, there are still Parisian living in this area

Last but not least, you're just down the Butte Montmartre, and especially les Abbesses area and the east side of la Butte which is more interesting IMO than the touristic top of la Butte.

Oh, and if you want to go to Orsay, walk to Pigalle (5minutes from the Moulin Rouge) then take the L.12 to Assemblée Nationale. Then the Orsay Museum is just 200m away (far easier this way than with the RER C, stop Orsay) !

If you need more info about the neighbourhood, any good restaurant options in this area or even in other areas of Paris, I might be able to help you.

Maudie

tipoule, thank you so much for your thoughtful post. The rue des Martyrs sounds like an interesting place to visit, I will certainly check out my map for the area.

I have found a walk today from the links that frenchmystique gave me. It actually starts at the Moulin Rouge and heads up rue Lepic to the vineyard, along Avenue Junot, a wander into Villa Léandre and ends up at one of the Montmartrobus stops, seems like a really interesting walk. I'm not sure of my directions, is this the area you are talking about?

Thanks for the tip on using the L.12 to get to the Orsay Museum. What would be the easiest route to get to the Trocadero?

I would love some ideas for restaurants near our apartment, doesn't have to be anything fancy, we aren't into high end dining. Any ideas you have would be really appreciated, thank you.

tipoule

You're welcome Maudie !

The walk you plan to take is a nice one, strolling around the east side of la Butte (yes the area I was talking about). It's a good choice to see a different point of view and avoid most of the tourists who just go up to le Sacré Coeur or place du Tertre.

In the Rue des Martyrs : you can have a culinary stroll down this street. I advise you to go and buy a Renaissance Baguette from Arnaud Delmontel boulangerie, it's one of the best in the area & has been awarded best baguette of Paris 3 years ago I think ? Try also their macaroons, they're pretty good.
You should also try the Corsica delicatessen at Terra Corsa, 42 rue des martyrs. You can even have a plate of delicatessen there, in the small shop : they're awesome !
Rose Bakery at number 46 is also nice for lunch or tea-break in the afternoon (and they speak english I believe, so it can be handy).
Try also to buy some cheese from one of the cheese stores in the lower part of street ! You can also have a "sweet stop" at Karamell (a really cute swedish sweets shop).

For the dinner, try le Potager du père thierry, in Abesses (16 rue des Trois Frères, precisely) : it a nice traditionnal food restaurant, with some original recipes though (try the oeufs cocottes au foie gras, that's their specialty). You'd better book, especially on week end nights : it's really small and often packed !

Rive gauche, try the restaurant "Pied de Fouet" (there's three of them in Paris, owned by 3 friends) : nice cheap, just-like-grandma's french food !

Oh and for the Trocadéro, the best from your place near Moulin Rouge is line 2 to Charles de gaulle Etoile (champs elysée) then line 6 to Trocadéro !
Hope it helps!

avalon

When you do go to MOntmartre make sure you visit the Musee de Montmartre. It is one of my favorites.

http://www.museedemontmartre.fr/histoire.html

Christina

I've stayed in the 9th arr several times near place St Georges and rue Clauzel and like it a lot. I don't know that I'd call the area near Moulin Rouge as that is several blocks north, but some people might. There are some cheap eateries on place Toudouze that are good, that whole area is more locals (several Indian restaurants on that place for some reason). Rue des Martyrs is great.

I don't know where you are staying exactly, but I wouldn't call that area "crappy" at all.

Maudie

Hi again, how nice to wake up to 3 lovely helpful posts. I am in Australia so the timing on here is the opposite to most of you!

We are staying at Loft-Paris, Cite Veron:
http://www.loftparis.fr/
The owners have been very responsive and helpful, we have booked the Suite, hope its as nice as it looks.

tipoule, thank you so much for your suggestions, they all sound so good. A culinary stroll sounds just perfect for us and we will certainly have one of those baguettes and the cheese (we love cheese),well we will probably try it all!!

The restaurants you describe all sound great - just the sort of thing we like. I am going to mark them all on my map.

Thanks for the directions too, that sounds easy. We are going to start one day at the Trocadero and walk to Luxembourg Gardens for a picnic, taking in the sites as we go.

avalon, thanks for the heads up on the Museum, we are going to include that in our walk around la Butte.

christina, great suggestions from you too. Thank you so much, it sounds like there is going to be plenty to explore in our area.
We are quite aware it is a different area to stay but from all the great ideas we have been given we now have the basis of a really interesting trip.

Thanks again, you have all been really helpful.
Maudie