Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - First time in Paris

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First time in Paris

Can anyone help with an itinerary for 3 days in Paris? We are staying at the Ritz and would like to see all the "must sees" including Versailles. The difficult part of only going 3 days is coordinating the days with locations...Thanks

Your question has been thoroughly answered many times on this forum. Just do a search on Paris, and you will get everything you need to know. I'm sure that such a search will confirm that you absolutely do not have time for Versailles. Have fun. Paris is great.

Since you won’t be able to do it all in a short visit, then you need to decide what’s your priorities & consider the type of things you enjoy doing. I’ve done a 3 day stay in Paris --- my first time there, and yes, I did go to Versailles as it made MY “must do” list. Others will argue that it’s not worth spending one of three valuable days in Paris. I was very glad that I went (Apr ’99) as they had that horrendous storm during Dec ’99 and the gardens at Versailles were severely damaged. On Day 1, a good city tour gives an overview & a sense of where things are located. ParisVision and CitiVision have bus tours; think they start from the Place du Palais Royal (metro stop w/same name) located on Rue de Rivoli. Or you could make tour arrangements through your hotel. Also, check with www.pariswalkingtours.com for reasonably priced walking tours of Paris. They also cover the ‘must-see spots’ and give you a fabulous history....all for just under 10 bucks. Everybody says the Louvre is a ‘must see’; I popped in briefly, followed the crowd to see ‘the lady’ (Mona Lisa) and left. The museum is so huge and I didn’t want to devote a full or even half day on my first go round, so that’s one place that I’ll be exploring on my next time to Paris. Instead, I chose to go to a couple smaller museums. I loved the Musee D’Orsay --- it’s got an extensive collection of the impressionists. And the museum building itself is a fascinating architectural experience as it formerly was a train station. Not only does it house great works of art, but it is grand as well. The other small museum that I visited was the Rodin Museum. Mostly his sculptures (the ‘Thinker’ is in small garden in front of the house) --- oh, this is another one of those museums that was not built as a museum. Believe it was Rodin’s home. Beautiful gardens in the back. Walk through the Tuileries Gardens heading toward the Champs Elysees. Walk up the Champs Elysee toward the Arc De Triomphe and spend some time there. Then you can walk (or your feet may tell you to hop on the metro) to the Eiffel Tower. --- Notre Dame --- Saint Chapelle (across from Notre Dame, inside the Palais de Justice) --- Seine ( a river boat ride down the river, a bit touristy, but it’s nice to sit & give your feet a rest and see the Eiffel Tower & Notre Dame from a different view). Once again, you can’t cover it all, but other great ‘arrondissements’ to explore are wandering in the Latin Quarter (5th arr) , Montmartre, and the Marais (4th arr). The Marais is a good choice, because it's the only neighborhood that remains essentially pre-revolutionary in architecture. Very few of the generic 6-story wrought-iron-balconied buildings here; instead, you'll see "maisons particuliers": ornate mansions of the aristocracy. Montmartre does have some neglected buildings & graffitti, but it’s one of those chic bohemian type sections of Paris; you’ll see people dressed in black looking artisitic & a few trendy shops amidst the disrepair. Finally, once you've sketched out your 3 day plan, consider if it's worthwhile to purchase a 'Carte Museum' card (the museum pass that allows you entre to several different places & can be purchased for period of 3 days); AND if you plan on using the metro, they also have a transportation pass. Paris is one of the world’s great walking cities; however if you do want to cover a lot of territory, they have an excellent subway system and it’s very ‘user friendly’.

Wendy I have a sightseeing file on Paris; if you'd like to see it, email me. Be sure you know in advance which sites are closed on which days--just for one example, the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays. If Versailles is important to you, then I would suggest you only "do" one or two museums in Paris in a brief way: perhaps a couple of hours at the Louvre, and a couple of hours at the Musee d'Orsay, just for quick overviews. Alternatively, if you have a specialized interest in one artist like Picasso or Rodin, than choose one of those small museums as one of your two, and you'lll be able to see it more thoroughly.

Lah Dee Dah Dah...staying at the Ritz? If you can afford that why don't you just order a driver and Mercedes limo to haul your rich butts around?

just keep in mind that this trip will be your touristy "see the sights" trip. there is a lot to do in only 3 days! but DO go back to paris and spend some time just hanging out. it is such a wonderful feeling in that city. danny

There is a double decker bus that hits all of the main tourist spots. You get a 2 day ticket for about $35. You get on & off any time you wish & I believe it has 3 routes. It's a good way to see everything easily.

Poboy: thanks for the smile. But I think you have it wrong: Why should they bother going through all that effort. Surely they can hire someone to visit Paris for them! Sorry Wendy. I hope you have fun. Give it a little effort, by searching this site or picking up a travel guide. Good luck and have fun.

I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so thanks, RLK! Why not just give people the URL to my post next time? ;) Wendy, if you want to see my whole post, you can go to: http://www.fodors.com/forums/crossro...meset&active=5 or search for the subject: "Paris for 3 days" (question posted 12/11/00) Have a good time in Paris! - Q - > The Marais is a [good] choice, because it's the only > neighborhood that remains essentially pre-revolutionary > in architecture. Very few of the generic 6-story > wrought-iron-balconied buildings here; instead, you'll see > "maisons" particuliers': ornate mansions of the aristocracy. -- direct quote from my post three days ago! > Montmartre does have some neglected buildings & graffitti, > but it’s one of those chic bohemian type sections of > Paris; you’ll see people dressed in black looking > artisitic & a few trendy shops amidst the disrepair. -- paraphrase from my same post.