Have 4 Days in Paris
 

This will be a first trip in mid-March. Can someone recommend the "must see" destinations? We are more interested in seeing things off the beaten track; eating where the Parisians eat, etc. Thanks!

I suggest a copy of Let's Go Paris. <BR>It lists many places to go. <BR> <BR>By your comment are we to infer that you would not want to visit such places as the Musee d'Orsay, the Lourvre, Notre Dame, the Eifel Tower, Champs d'Elysee, the Arc de Triomphe, Ste. Chapelle, Versailles, Musee Rodin, Hotel Invalides, Place de la Bastille, the Marais area, Sacre Cour, Place de la Concord, Musee de la Orangerie, Fontainblue, etc? There are all "beaten track places", but to me they are the essence of a Paris visit.

Amazingly you can walk to so many things <BR>in Paris, that is if you're so inclined. <BR>We stayed in the lst arrondisement next tothe Louvre, close to Notre Dame, the <BR>left bank, the tuilleries, the orangerie and musee d'orsay and the opera house all within walking distance. <BR>No worries about restuarants the number <BR>is staggering and get a few recommends <BR>from the hotel staff. We found a small <BR>restuarant L'Aregentuil which was really <BR>good and the young couple recommended <BR>some really great neighborhood places. <BR>One museum, that gets overlooked alot <BR>is the Andre-Jacquemart(sp?) up on the <BR>Boulevard Houseman very intersting arch- <BR>itecture and a beautiful home. <BR>Have a great time.

I guess I reacted to your question in the same way as Bob. Unless you really don't care much about seeing all the world famous sites of Paris, 4 days don't allow much time for getting off the beaten track. There is just so much to see in Paris. If you are interested, I can tell you what the crowded places are: Notre-Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay (but not when I went at night), Luxembourg Gardens on a warm day, and Sacree Coeur. The gardens and the area around the Pompidou may be crowded, but many are locals, so they are good for people watching. You may find many other "lesser" sites, such as the other churches, the Palais Royale, and the Place des Vosges relatively uncrowded. I would advise seeing the crowded spots early or late to avoid all the throngs. Don't miss the main sites, but you can easily get away from all the people by wandering into lesser "site-concentrated" areas like Ile-St-Louis, the backstreets of Montmartre (behind the church), Rue Cler, parts of the Marais, and Rue Mouffetard in the early morning.

Don't write off the 'beaten track places' (thanks for that little beauty, Bob) quite so fast. Why not combine summuvitch? Say, 2 1/2 days of all the touristy stuff, then 1 1/2 days of offbeat stuff. Or, each day do a couple of touristy things, and a couple of offbeat things. Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater...

Sherry, <BR>Rather than list all the usuals or unusuals, I really suggest you do a Search on this forum for London and Paris (re your other posting). There is a wealth of information on sightseeing, restaurants, etc.

The Museum of the Middle Ages (Musee du Cluny) is in the Latin quarter. On the day you see Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle on the Ile de la Cite, round out the day with the Museum of the Middle Ages (you'll get the Unicorn Tapestries, gothic goodies, furniture, a Bishop's Palace and Roman ruins all in one place).

The "must sees" are all pretty much on the "beaten track". It would be a shame to go to Paris and not see the famous sites, even if they are on the beaten track so to speak. I've been to Paris at least 14 or 15 times and still enjoy going to the top of the Eiffel Tower (every time we get over there!!). We also enjoy just taking a walk - pick a street and walk down it, look in the shop windows, read the menus posted outside cafes, wander into small shops. You will find yourself in "real" neighborhoods very easily that way. Paris is a small city, you can be amongst the famous sites one minute and make a turn down the street and be in a very untouristy spot. Paris is full of neighorhoods where locals live and work and eat and they are all close enough to the famous must sees that you can easily see both.

Why don't you try Cleveland instead?

I think every place we saw in Paris was "beaten track", except for one restaurant on a side street that was listed in a book. (Bad move.) But boy did we have a good time. I wonder what La Brioche Doree did to my cholesterol count?? I know what it did for my energy level -- gave it a major boost. <BR>Usually I am a slow riser, but in Paris I bounced out of bed, dressed, ran down to La Brioche Doree about the time the fresh, hot ones were coming out, and always bought more than we could eat! <BR>Parisian goodies do have a way of bringing out the glutton in me. There was one gooey, drippy, sticky model that was delicious; even my fingers tasted good. <BR> <BR>