France- Paris Trip
 

Now that I have figured out the England part of my trip, I have started on France.
Please give me your opinions and suggestions
We are a family of four 2 adults 14 year old girl and a 11 year old boy.

Day #1 arrive in paris via Eurostar from London

See the Arc de Triomphe
Evening Seine Cruise -suggestions as to which company?


Day # 2
Eiffel Tower - any tips as to avoid the lines?
Louvre
Notre- Dame

Day #3
Day Trip Normandy

Day #4
Conciergerie
Musee de l'Orangerie des Tuileries
Maison de Victor Hugo

Day # 5

Versailles

Any days that are over crowded or any days that we can add?
Any attractons we are missing or is there any thing listed that we should not do?
Thanks
melissa

About the Seine cruises: we prefer the Vedettes Pont Neuf. They are centrally located at the Pont Neuf, and have smaller boats. I think there is a coupon on their website.

I see that you are going to Normandy and Versailles. Two day trips seems a lot to me.

So many parks, churches and museums to see, let alone shops!

You kids might really enjoy evening at the Trocadero. There is a fun scene with musicians, and the views of the Eiffel Tower are superb.

I would skip the Conciergerie and the Maison Victor Hugo, unless you are really interested in those. The Maison VH location is great and if that is an interest of yours, you will enjoy it.

How about the d'Orsay or Picasso or Rodin museums? They all hold a lot of interest.

Just one quick note - the Conciergerie is practically next door to Notre dame. Less than a 5 min walk. It dosn't make much sense to do them on different days - and while you are on the island also visit Ste Chapelle. And then catch the Bateaux Pont Neuf - almost next door to all three. A much more efficient use of your very limite time

Of course I meant Vedettes - not Bateaux. I was posting the same time as tuscanlifeedit. I also agree re dropping the Conciergerie - was going to say so but we so micro-managed your many UK threads, I was afraid to get that started.

and like your london leg - a bit of editing is in order.

I am also going to Paris with two children, and am interested in feedback as well. We had planned to spend the better part of a day each on the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, and Notre Dame. I am a bit worried about how much time my children will be willing to spend in museums without going bonkers.

For kids, I say throw in a park. Luxembourg Gardens would be the choice, I guess.

You can climb up the Arc de Triomphe. About 250-300 steps. The sights are spectacular at night. You can see the Eiffel Tower twinkling in the distance at night (for about 10 minutes, on the hour). I think the kids would love that. It is a quintessential Paris experience.

Also, the Musee d'Orsay is a very enjoyable musuem. A bit less serious than the Louvre.

I think 2 day trips is a lot. There is so much to see in the city.

Have fun!

Binthair: Do you actually mean a DAY (or most of a day) at the Eiffel Tower, a DAY at Notre Dame, and a DAY at the Louvre? total overkill. The Eiffel Tower take an hour - plus however long you have to stand in line.

Notre Dame the same or less (plus if you climb the Tower). You could easily do Notre Dame, Ste Chapelle, the Conciergerie AND the Vedettes in 3 hours.

And dragging two kids around the Louvre for most of a day will be a killer.

Hi

My wife and I went to Paris in April. I have posted a trip report with pictures and links on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com/Paris_France.htm :-) Maybe you can find some useful info there. Get in touch if you have any questions or comments :-)

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway

janisj, I think Melissa will be doing Eiffel Tower, Louvre and Notre-Dame in the same day with is very do-able.

Personally, I don't think your days are over packed, I think you have a good working itinerary that can remain flexible. If your kids are interested maybe attend one of the church concerts one evening? And maybe cancel the Conciergerie unless one of you is specifically interested. Would you be interested in going to one of the street markets?

The traditional Seine cruises are fine, but you may also want to consider the Batobus - you can buy a 2 day ticket (or shorter) that will let you ride as much as you want (hop on/ hop off type of thing), and the schedule in the summer runs into the evening so you can have the wonderful experience of the Seine in the evening.

Not sure exactly what days of the week you are in Paris but the Musée d'Orsay is open on Thursday Nights until 9:45 if you are looking for a nice relaxing evening activity.

What about taking the highlights tour of the Louvre to keep it (the museum) manageable?

You have a nice London-Paris trip planned and if you want to see Versailles (glad to see you allowed a full day for it) and Normandy, by all means keep them in the loop - after all it's your trip.

Where did you decide to stay in Paris?

We too are a family of four going to Paris after 9 nights in London. Although my kids are younger than yours, the Catacombs, and les Egouts (the sewers) might interest them. Also on a Friday night at 10 p.m. the rollerbladers which take off from Montparnasse are apparently quite a site. I think we'll miss the latter as it is a bit late for us.

I am buying 4 day Paris Museum Passes for the adults (kids under 18 are free). Whether or not I get every cent back, I will be able to skip the lines, and have access to bathroom facilities around the city. I think it will also encourage us to pop into a museum for an hour that we may not otherwise have gone into. I plan to go to the Louvre two or three times, for no more than two hours at a shot.

Have fun!

After digesting all of your suggestions is this what you are saying

Day #1 - Arc de Triomphe

Day # 2 Eiffel Tower
Notre-Dame
Conciergerie
Ste Chapelle
Vedettes pont Neuf

Day # 3 Day Trip to Normandy

Day # 4 Louvre
Musee de l'Orangerie des Tuileries
Maison de Victor Hugo


Day # 5 Versailles


Yes i know that two day trips are too much but history is very important to us so that how we wil spend the time we have.


How's this?

melissa

Looking at your list it's great advice to buy the 4 day museum passes for you and your husband. Your kids will be free to the museums and you will bypass the insane lines at some of the museums on your list with the pass.

You might consider checking out the Centre Pompidou. Not so much to see the museum (modern art) but there's a great "street" performer scene in front that your kids will likely enjoy as well as the famous whimsical fountain. And as always, I'll recommend Le Hangar for a fantastic very affordable lunch (12 Impasse Berthaud, behind the Centre Pompidou.)

For L'Orangerie you will want to buy reservations, because the lines are very long. One place is FNAC; stores at various
locations.

Good advice from Ron, here is Morgan's Orangerie report for more information incase you haven't already seen it:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2

is there no way to buy ticket while here in the US?

melissa

<u>grantop</u>: Yes, I know melissa is doing them on different days. That post was directed to Binthair. If you read her (Binthair's) post she says <i>We had planned to spend the better part of a day <b>each</b> on the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, and Notre Dame</i>&quot;.. That is what I was addressing . . . . . .

Also, any suggestions as to avoid the lines at the Eiffel Tower?
Can you buy times tickets in advance?
Melissa

Drat - messed that up. Meant to say I know melissa is doing them on the Same day. but anyway, I was talking about binthair . . . .

My understanding is that if you have the museum pass, you do not need reservations for l'Orangerie.

I would be careful about scheduling any other museums the day you go to the Louvre.