Help with Paris trip in November - how much walking?
 

Planning a week in Paris with hubby to celebrate our 25th Anniversay. Arrive the first week of November - staying at Hotel Bonaparte. Have a tentative plan - we want to see the major sites but leave time to just walk around and enjoy the city - maybe some shopping.
Day One - arrive CDG 7:30 - shuttle to hoetl - Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Eiffel Tower - maybe the hop-on hop-off bus tour?
Day Two - Ile de la Cite, Ile St. Louis, Seine boat trip, Louvre in evening.
Day Three - Invalides, Musee Rodin, Walk around St. Germaine de Pres and Latin Quater, Musee D-Orsay in evening.
Day Four - Versailles
Day Five - Cimetiere Pere de Lachaise, walk around Marais
Day Six (Sunday) - walk around, last minute shopping, Notre Dame organ recital at 4:30.

I've heard Paris is very walkable but can't tell from my maps - from H. Bonaparte - is walk to Seine or the Musee D'Orsay under 1/2 hr to 45 min. and would it be safe to walk at nite?
Is the Sacre Coeur a must see?
Will there be lines at the museums in November - not sure what type of crowds to expect.
Any advise or comments would be greatly appreciated!

Hi no,

>is walk to Seine or the Musee D'Orsay under 1/2 hr to 45 min. and would it be safe to walk at nite? <

www.mappy.com says it is a 20 min walk to the Musee D'Orsay.

Paris is quite safe at night, as long as you take the usual precautions.

Thanks Ira - what a great site!

Hi no,

You are welcome.

I wouldn't use the suggested route from the hotel to the D'Orsay. I think it is nicer to walk along the river.

At the foot of Rue Bonaparte is the dock for the Batobus. You might want to buy a day ticket.

www.batobus.com

For me the interior of Sacre Coeur isn't in my top 10 or top 15, but the site does offer a great view of the rest of Paris, and you'll probably want to get to Montmartre anyway.

For Pere LaChaise wear comfortable and sensible shoes, this would be the place to wear sneakers if you are bringing them. Most of the walkways aren't paved, and there are also lots of steep climbs.

I have a file on Paris; if you'd like to see it, email me at
[email protected]

Ira - thanks for the tip - Batobus it is!

Elaine - I have my comfy Ecco shoes. E-mailing you now - thanks.

Your itinerary looks pretty good. Some suggestions--I would definitely include Sainte Chapelle as a must see. It is very close to Notre Dame, so you could easily fit it in on Day 2. I would also purchase the 3-day museum pass for days 2-4 as it will save you time by not having to wait in line and money on admissions (Versailles is included in the pass). The only attraction not included is the Eiffel tower. Also, the fountains at Versailles are only turned on on Sundays and possibly Saturdays, so you may want to keep that in mind. Two other things that my husband and I enjoyed that are not on your list are Luxembourg garden and Le Bon Marche, which is a large department store in the 7th. In addition to great clothes, shoes, etc. they have an extensive food market on the ground floor that has everything you can imagine. We picked up some wine and chocolates from there to bring home as souvenirs. Finally, I would skip the Sacre Coeur in less you have extra time. The church itself is nice, but I thought the neighborhood was less than desirable. Have a wonderful trip!

Beth G. - We planned on visiting Jardin des Luxembourg on our walk around the neighborhood - it looks very near our hotel. Trust me - Bon Marche is on the list. Also thought that beautiful (but inexpensive) kitchen towels would make good gifts for friends - thought maybe BHV for those? Planned to visit Ste. Chappelle, Notre Dame, and Crypt but haven't decided on the Concierge - maybe just a walk by. Planned to follow Degas' walk. Thanks for the help.

Make sure you have a map of Pere Lachaise before you go there. You can get them at kiosks/stores at the subway stop. They don't sell them in the cemetery and it's hopeless without one.

re Pere LaChaise
I've seen private vendors selling maps at the entrance.

www.paris.org/Expos/PereLachaise/pl.history.html has on-line maps of the cemetery

http://www.gargl.net/lachaise/ has printable maps of each section

I've been to Père Lachaise a number of times and there has always been a vendor selling the maps with the specific locations of graves right at the entrance.

And even with a map, it is not easy to find everything you want to see so give yourself plenty of time. We thoroughly enjoyed Pere Lachaise. We saw the final earthly resting place of many notables and, believe it or not, the possible conception of a future notable!

this might sound trivial but the museum pass for Versailles includes the palace itself and the petit trianon but does not include the gardens. So,if you want to see the trianon, you must pay to walk through the gardens on the way. Not a biggie but confusing and a little distressing when its well over 100 degrees and humid! At least you won't have that problem in November.

We were planning on giving ourselves a good part of the day for Pere Lachaise - especially since it is toward the end of our trip and I'm note sure how my feet will be holding up!

I thought the fountains at Versailles were turned off at the end of October and that there was no charge to see the gardens if the fountains are off. Beth G - are the fountains are turned on Saturdays only in November? If so, we will definately go on Saturday instead.

I think the dome inside Sacre Coeur is gorgeous! I never understand why some think it's not that great. Just my opinion. (It was also my husband's favorite.) You could certainly easily fit it in Sun morning and still have the afternoon for your last-minute shopping and walking around. Have a great trip!

The Bat-o-bus will be closed for the season in November. On our first day we are hoping to get a five hour combined bus and boat tour.

http://www.parisvision.com/fr/index.cfm

It ends at the Eiffel Tower.

Its very easy to walk around paris. I was not at all concened walking around at night in the central tourist core. However there are areas of Paris I did not feel comfortable walking around in the middle of the day. Most tourist wouldn't be going to these areas unless they where looking for something specfic, as we where, a china wholesaler. Don't plan the whole day. Pick a museum, walk to it and stop along the way at whatever interests you. Just walking around Paris is an experience. Do get a museum pass. As you walk along and then see a place you haven't considered, you can walk in(no line-ups)and spend 5 minutes there or if you like howeverlong you want. Go to St. Chapelle, ideally at night to hear a Vivadi concert-See the chapelle and listen to the music. You can purchase tickets at St. Chapelle during the day. Sit in a cafe and watch the world walk by. Have a good trip.

noprob--I just checked and the fountains at Versailles are only turned on through Sept. 25. Sorry! The gardens are still beautiful even without the fountains. We took many pictures! As for the Sacre Coeur, I agree with SusanP that it is beautiful inside, but my husband and I just did not care for the neighborhood that it's in, which is why I said I would skip it if you were short on time. The days go by fast, so enjoy every minute.

We liked the Conciergerie--very interesting to read about the old prison and its inhabitants and see Marie Antoinette's cell. All of the descriptions are in English as well as French. If you're getting the museum card, you might as well take a stroll through after visiting St. Chapelle!

We also enjoyed climbing to the top of Notre Dame (also included in the museum card) and taking a nighttime cruise along the Seine.

I wouldn't call the Sacre Coeur a must, but I liked Montmartre and the views from the butte are pretty neat. It's easy to get there via the Metro.

(I didn't realize it cost extra to enter the gardens at Versailles! I guess we sneaked in--we had the hardest time figuring out how to get from the chateau itself into the gardens, and finally found an open fence and walked in. Whoops!)

joe19 - went on the Batobus website and they list the hours for Nov and Dec as 10:30a-4:40p. Hope it is running as this seems like a fun way to get around the city.
leuk - do you know what nights they have concerts at St. Chapelle? What about concerts at St. Germain-des-Pres and St. Sulpice?
We'll be careful - I'm not overly concerned with safety. Afterall, in my neck of the woods we've had anthrax attacts, snipers and terrorists!
BethG - too bad about the fountains - guess we will have to plan a spring trip too!
Keeping Sacre Couer and Conciergerie are on the list - depends on how long my energy and feet hold out.

We arrive on 11/2 - election day. That should make for some intersting coversation in the cafes!

Thanks to all for your input.