I will be in Paris in Sept. for the first time, for 2 nites and 1 day. Am very interested in photographing various landmarks, especially at night with the lights, but also in the day. Here is my plan. I hope you can give me input, based on your experiences. Thanks!

Arrive CDG 4:45 PM
-Take Viator Shuttle to de Nice Hotel on Rue de Rivioli & check in
-Walk to Notre Dame, look around inside and out & hopefully get a good shot at sunset
-Eat, then visit the bookstore near Notre Dame & perhaps other shops
-Walk around IIl de la Cite ( What are the must sees?)
-Will I be safe, an older woman walking alone at night carrying my expensive DSLR &
tripod-it so obviously makes me a tourist, and a preoccupied one at that!
-Is there an especially bright dome nearby in La Chappele that people have recommended
seeing(and is that a church?)
-Vendettes du Pont-Neuf boat tour on Seine

Next Day:
AM
-Grab something for breakfast, then join a 2-3 hr walking tour at Montmarte & Sacre-Coeur
(What is the easiest way to get there quickly, considering I am not familar with the public
transit-would a taxi be best?)
-Eat somewhere, then go to d'Orsay Musuem for 2-3 hrs
-La Maison for chocolate
-Quick bite to eat and then join a photo tour for the night lights of Paris (Eiffel Tower and
other landmarks)

Have any of you taken a walking or photo tour? Do you have a recommendation? Ditto for places to grab a bite to eat in the areas I will be in, and anything else-thank you so much!!

Hi...some thoughts:

1. Must see on Ile de la Cite is Sainte-Chapelle.

2. Vendettes du Pont-Neuf boat tour on Seine lets you print out a discount ticket/coupon online - the only boat company that lets you do that without committing to a specific time.

3. We have stayed at Hotel de Nice (and are going back there in May). There is a great boulangerie/patisserie on R. de la Verrerie (right off the place next to the hotel) for breakfast goodies to take back to your hotel room. Take-out coffee is a little harder to find early in the morning - but there is a Starbucks at 13 R. des Archive, about 2 blocks away.

4. On Weds & Sats there is an outdoor market on Place Baudoyer (across the street from the hotel) for fresh fruits to add to your breakfast.

5. Metro (and the Montmartre bus that goes up the hill) is the best way to get to Montmartre from Hotel de Nice...it's very easy to use the Metro, but you seem a little reluctant.

SS

What is "the" bookstore near Notre Dame? Do you mean Shakespeare and Co.? There are many bookstores near Notre Dame.

I would also go to Ile St Louis. There are some good restaurants there for dinner.

For the Eiffel, consider taking Metro to Trocadero, then walking between the Palais CHaillot buildings, you will get a greatview of the Tower.

Paris is very lit up at night, with floodlights on buildings and bridges. The Vedettes Seine cruise after dark is a good one.

Some spots for good shots....Place de la Concorde, Square du Vert Galant (western tip of Ile de la Cite), Pont des Arts...

I like the look of the cafes and bistrots lit up at night, neon signs....

Metro is not complicated, after the first time. Get a guidebook with a map of the system. (website www.ratp.com) Buy a carnet, which is a stack of ten tickets. When you enter a station, you need to know the direction you want to go. It will not be east or west (for example) but rather the end points of that Metro line. For example, you are near Louvre and want to go to the Marais. You enter the Line 1 station at Concorde and you will see direction La Defense or Chateau de Vincennes. Looking at you map you know you want to go in the direction of Vincennes, to the St Paul stop. The city is also crossed with the RER commuter trains.

For higher up views, Eiffel Tower, Tour Montparnasse, Institut du Monde Arabe, Sacre Coeur, and tower of Notre Dame.

Tripods can be a hassle and you will actually be prevented from using them in many locations. I doubt you can use one in Notre Dame for example.
You might get away with a unipod but don't plan on getting to use your tripod much.

In the areas you are planning to visit you will be perfectly safe.

With your schedule I doubt you'll be able to visit Sainte Chapelle ... better check the opening times. I suspect the dome you will see
will be the Pantheon on Mont Ste Genevieve.

If you have time be sure to stroll the Ile St Louis reached from a bridge behind Notre Dame.
There are interesting architectural details on many buildings and the church of St Louis en L'Ile is rarely crowded. I also like the warren of ancient streets to the left as you walk along the street beside Notre Dame toward Ile St Louis.
If you know where to look you can even see the house where Abelard met Heloise... this is one of the most ancient parts of Paris.

The bus and metro system is easy to use and extensive even for a first time Anglo user.
See http://www.ratp.com for info and maps.

http://maps.google.com can be useful... clicking on a metro station will show the the line on the map... it puts things more in context than the RATP maps sometimes. Lastly... use Google Maps Streetview function (ask if you need to learn how) and you can do a virtual walk around some of your proposed locations so you'll have a good idea of where you want to shoot from before you even get to Paris.

Rob

Hi K,

>I will be in Paris in Sept. for the first time, for 2 nites and 1 day.<

That's too bad. Isn't there some other part of your itinerary (like all of it) that can be sacrificed?

The Metro is very straightforward: Buy tickets (a "carnet" of 10 gives you a good discount), Insert ticket in slot at turnstile. Remove ticket, push turnstile. You will see directions to each train, with a list of the stops it makes.

That's the hard part. You have to know where you wish to go.

See www.ratp.fr for directions from anywhere to anywhere else.

Don't dispose of your ticket until you get out of the terminus station. A policeman might ask to see it.

At Montmartre, take the bus (http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/r_28131/montmartrobus/) up to Sacre Coeur.

You can return by way of the metro at the Abbesses station - famous for its Art Deco entrance and for its graffiti covered walls. It is a very, very long walk down.

Not going to photograph the book stalls along the Seine, the lovers on the Pont des Arts, the Louvre, the kids at the Jardin Luxembourg, the fountains at St Sulpice, etc, etc, etc?

At www.batobus.com you can buy a pass that will give you all-day hop on/off privileges on the Seine.

Enjoy your visit.

More on transport...

Since you are only going to be there a short time, a taxi may be the best option to get to Montmartre. As easy as the metro and bus system is in Paris, there will be a learning curve, and you don't want to waste time.

SS

...and yet...a part of me want you to take the Metro...it really is the quickest way. If you study the map before you leave and have a plan, it will probably give you more confidence.

...and I agree with ParisAmsterdam about Ile St. Louis.

SS

WOW!! Many thanks to each of you for taking the time to help me out!! So much great info, from where to eat, getting tickets, taking pictures, outdoor market & where to stroll. Also appreciate you taking the time to explain the details of the metro. You all are awesome. I will be using this great advice

I took some fabulous night shots of Paris at the Louvre, the pyramid is all lit up with the buildings and water features and it really makes for some great shots.