disneymania4444

My daughter has been working hard on an itinerary. Just wanted to hear all of your feedback:

DAY 1
Arrive after flying all night. Get over jet lag
Maybe shopping in Champs Elysees area

DAY 2
Arc de Triomphe and Fragonard Perfume Museum
Eiffel Tower , eat there for dinner

DAY 3
Louvre
Jardin des Tuileries
Place des Pyramides to see Joan of Arc statue
Bateaux Mouches -boat tour on the Seine River

DAY 4
Versailees day trip

DAY 5
Musee d'Orsay
Eat at restaurant there
Place de la Concorde (Near Champs-Elysees)
Musee Marmottan

DAY 6
Notre Dame Cathedral
St. Chappelle Cathedral
Musee Jean Moulin (French Resistance Museum) 19th arr.

DAY 7
Marais-Pompidou center, Place des Vosges, Victor Hugo's house

DAY 8
Travel to Disneyland-visit parks

DAY 9
Disneyland, travel to CDG

Can anyone recommend good restaurants in the areas she wants to see. Also the best way to get there from our apt in 8th arr?

Thanks so much for your help!!

lennyba

On day six, you might want to also go into the Conciergerie. It's right next door to St. Chappelle. There may be a combo ticket - not sure as we always use the museum pass. It would be a shame to be right there and not explore the Ile St. Louis and the Latin Quarter.

nytraveler

Well, some of your days are kind of light. I would look for some additional sights - perhaps the Musee Cluny - or whatever your interest is.

Also - have a look at a map. You're going to the same area several different days. (The Place de la Concorde is right next to the Tuilleries - and there isn't much to see - it's a giant square filled with lots of traffic.

disneymania4444

Ok, I'll relay your input to her.

Michel_Paris

First pass...

Days 1,2,3 and 5 you are in the same area. Perhaps combine. For the Bateaux Mouches (or Vedettes du Pont Neuf, a good one) you should do the night cruise, so that could be any night.

Add Palais Royal, Place Vendome and Opera Garnier to the Louvre area

disneymania4444

nytraveler,
This is my daughter's trip, so I wanted her to be able to plan the "fun " part.

She is back at her computer incorporating your suggestions. We did sit down and map everything out and we certainly see your point.

Michel,
the night cruise-wouldn't you not be able to see as much? Just all lights?

adrienne

The Seine night cruise is so much better than the day cruise. You will be able to see the buildings since they are lit up. If you time it right you'll be able to see the Eiffel Tower twinkling on the hour (for Vedettes leave on the half hour). I like the Vedettes cruise better than Bateaux Mouches since Vedettes have live commentary and the boats have 2 levels; the bottom part is enclosed and the top is open. Sit on the top deck.

If you choose the Vedettes, print the discount coupon from the internet or pre-pay the tickets for more of a discount.

Day 2 - You didn't say what day of the week this is but since you're going to the Fragonard Museum you should see if there is a Opera tour (Fragonard is next to the Opera). Between the Arc de Triomphe and the Opera is the Jacquemart-Andre museum - a small treasure of 15th to 18th century European paintings, furniture, and objets in a late 19th century mansion. The fragonard museum will take no more than 1/2 hour.

http://www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com/en/jacquemart/

Day 3 - I see you're going to the Orsay and Marmotton museums so I'm assuming an interest in Impressionism. Why not add the Orangerie museum to this day since you're in the area. It's at the end of the Tuileries right next to Place de la Concord. It's small and won't take more than an hour or so. You can book tickets on line and pick them up at FNAC.

Definitely move Place de la Concord to Day 3 (although you can hardly miss it if you're going to the Tuileries and to see the Joan of Arc statue).

Day 4 - move the Eiffel Tower to this day as you will be on the same RER line from Versailles, unless you already have reservations for dinner.

Day 6 - add the Deportation Memorial (takes 10 to 15 minutes) to the agenda. It's behind Notre Dame and hard to spot. Directly behind Notre Dame is a garden then there's a small street behind the garden. Cross the street and look for the gate in the black iron fence. There's a plaque low to the ground explaining the memorial. Walk down the stops to the memorial.

Depending on when you'll be in Paris, Paris Walks has a 2 hour walking tour on Paris during the resistance which is interesting (as well as many other interesting tours).

http://www.paris-walks.com/

Day 6 - Ste-Chappelle is not a cathedral - sorry to disappoint you! I don't think it's even a church any more. But it's exquisite.

Day 7 is light. You could consider the Picasso Museum or something quite off beat - the Lock and Key Museum. Don't miss the Stravinsky Fountain and the unique metro entrance near Beaubourg.

swandav2000

Hi disneymania4444,

I know there are tons and tons of things to do during a visit to Paris, but I want to chime in in support of "light" days. One of the best parts of any time in Paris, imo, is the hours you can spend at an outdoor cafe, enjoying the air, the crowds, the atmosphere, and the wine (or coffee). So please don't eliminate ALL the down time!

s

zoecat

I also recommend the Picasso Museum and wandering the Ile St Louis.

StCirq

Your daughter needs a map of Paris to group things logically.

Agree that the Place de la Concorde doesn't merit being something to "visit." It's just a big traffic-filled square to cross on your way to something else.

And the last place in Paris I'd go shopping would be the Champs Elysées - it's mostly huge American chain stores. There's far better shopping all over Paris.

As for restaurants, there's no need to make a list and plan ahead of time (if she wants, she can peruse the many restaurant threads here on Fodors, though). She should just scope out her neighborhood and look at the posted menus and find something appealing and within her budget.

PamEwing

I would skip Disney, unless your daughter really has her heart set on it, because there are so many other wonderful things to see that are unique to France.

cmeyer54

A couple of ideas - if time, see the Pantheon and stroll around near the Sorbonne as there are many little cafes and places to relax a bit; we also took a nighttime Segway tour which became a highlight. I didn't see Arc d'triumphe on your list but it could be added when you're near the champs; I agree you should try to add the memorial de la deportation(sp??) which is very close to Notre Dame - a quick visit is all you'll need but its very impressive; and if you're into history, visit les invalides to see the weapons, napolean's tomb, clothing, etc. that's at most 2 hours. shopping on Champs was a huge let down for me; I saw shops there that I see in the US; nothing noteworthy or out of the ordinary. however..take a look at galleries lafayette which is near the arch - its an old style department store with huge atrium and rooftop tea room/restaurant.

surfmom

How old is your dd ? One of the things that we very much enjoyed was the Fat Tire Bike Tours - was really fun. I recommend for everyone - young and young at heart.

Also, another favorite of mine is to climb the towers at Notre Dame. If you will be doing that, plan on getting in line about 30 minutes before they open. Park one person in line and send the other for croissants or breakfast. It is fabulous.

If you like impressionists, have you thoughts of a trip to Giverny ? My kids are asking to go there... especially after seeing the Orangerie.

I also vote for skipping Disney. But given your moniker, it might not be a choice.

surfmom

sorry for the double post.... I wanted to chime in that our most successful days avoiding jet lag have been the ones we've spent outside. So maybe make that a park day ?

Sassafrass

Unless Disney is one of your DD's dream destinations, I would skip it in favor of someplace real (Giverny, Fontainebleau, etc.) that you can see only in France. She could even do a day trip to Bruges. I would trade Disney for that any day! I guarantee that would be a more memorable day in Europe.

disneymania4444

THanks for all of your very helpful feedback. I'm relaying them all to my DD now. I tried talking them out of Disneyland, but they have their hearts set on it. Want to experience the "Disney Magic" in another language and culture.

disneymania4444

ok, taking your suggestions into consideration, updated itinerary from my daughter:

Day 1
jet lag

Day 2
Arc de Triomphe
Place de la Concorde
Jardin des Tuileries
Louvre
Place des Pyramides to see Joan of Arc statue

Day 3
Musee Marmottan
Eiffel Tower
Notre Dame Cathedral
St. Chappelle Cathedral
Ile St. Louis-get gelato
Bateaux Mouches or Vedettes du Pont-Neuf

Day 4
Musee d'Orsay
Montmartre-Sacre-Coeur

Day 5
Versailles day trip

Day 6
MARAIS- Ponpidou Center, Place des Vosges
Victor Hugo's House

Day 7
Musee Jean Moulin (French Resistance museum) 14th arr in Montparnasse
Chinatown

Your suggestions? Thanks!

adrienne

What's at the Marmottan that you have to see? It's a distance from other things plus you're completely bypassing the Orangerie. You will be within 60 feet of this museum on Day 2 and you're not going in?

You should schedule something on Day 1. That way you're not sitting in your hotel room trying to figure out what you should be doing.

I've already made other suggestions above.

Lexma90

I have more general itinerary-planning suggestions. Once you get to Paris, one or more of your group may discover something you really want to focus on, or the weather may be really bad or good on a day that you've scheduled for outside/indoors. Your plan seems a bit regimented, to me.

The way we plan trips (generally) is to make a list of all the things we might want to see, then decide on a much smaller list of "must-sees." Then figure out what, if anything, MUST (as opposed to "can") be reserved in advance. We schedule those, and develop an idea of what activities are near each other. After that, we just decide every morning what we want to see.

Maybe we're less efficient that way, but then we make sure we see our "must-sees," and feel happy if we see some of the other places as well.

The "must-sees" are up to you and your interests. For example, on our son's first visit to Paris, when he was 10 (we'd been several times), our must-sees included the Louvre, Musee Marmottan, the bird market on Sunday, vedettes Pont-Neuf at night, Notre Dame, Sainte Chappelle. I had visiting Sacre Coeur on our list as a possibility - that turned out to be great, especially since the 3 of us (especially him) love the Impressionists, and visiting that area (Rick Steves' walking tour) had a lot of places that the Impressionists lived and worked. Anyway, we did the main things, plus more, and didn't feel rushed if we didn't fit 5 specific activities into the day they were scheduled for. On another (just grownups) trip to Paris, it rained a lot in the early part of the trip, when we were in SW France, but was gorgeous out by the time we reached Paris, so we tossed most of our planned activities for Paris, and spent hours and hours doing various walking tours outside (I think from Frommers).

Don't set your plans in stone. Also, have some tentative plans for your first day - preferably activities involving walking and being outside, to help you over the jet lag.

macdogmom

Not sure how old your daughter is, but I would fit a wandering through the left bank especially the area between the Seine and Boulevard St. Germain in the 6th arrondisment. In the 5th there is a great street (can't think of the name) that has a wonderful outdoor market that is also the area where Hemingway lived and where he wrote A Moveable Feast-a must read if you are going to Paris.

I also love the Marais, walking through quaint streets, great shopping and good cafes. There is a famous place to get fallafel's--L'As du Fallafel--int the jewish quarter section of the Marais. After you visit the Marais, you can walk through the Ile St. Louis and explore the 5th and 6th. Sometimes I think that after you visit the important sights, just walking through neighborhoods gives you the best sense of a place and Paris is a wonderful city for walking. Have fun!