I'm Leave for Paris in 2 1/2 DAYS!!!
 

Does anyone have any tips? Favorite restaurants? Entertainment? Favorite places to visit?

I'm so excited, but I don't even know where to begin with this trip. I haven't really researched it, since we just got confirmation last week that we're actually going!

Help!!!

Julie

Julie,

My wife and I have been to Paris twice. We love it and hope to return soon. We were last there in 2006.

My favorite area is the Marais, near and around Notre Dame. I could sit in front of Notre Dame all day, or in the small park behind it.

We enjoyed a night boat tour on the Seine. The lights are gorgeous on the buildings and the bridges. I suggest you take it -- the boat we took docks diagonally across from Notre Dame, as I recall, at Pont Neuf.

We also enjoyed sitting on the pedestrian bridge (I forget the name) that is one or two bridges toward the Eiffel Tower from Notre Dame. In the evening, the bridge fills with people sitting, drinking wine, enoying a picnic dinner. Great fun.

We also very much enjoyed afternoon drinks at the Cafe L'Homme at Trocadero -- which is across the river from the Eiffel Tower. What a terrifc experience in a great setting with the best views of the Eiffel Tower. Here is a photo I took from the table top as we sat and drank wine:

http://1955design.com/view.jpg

We loved Paris --- enjoy your trip. Leave plenty of time to just sit at a sidewalk cafe, or on a bench in a park, and relax and take in the sites.

Have a great trip!

Spontaneity can be a wonderful thing. If you buy a guide book and read it on the plane, you'll have at least a few uninterrupted hours for research. I like Time Out Paris.

Depends how long you're staying, how many places you want to see. I would put Sainte Chapelle on the short list, from the inside it appears to be made entirely of gorgeous stained glass. There are also classical concerts inside many evenings.

For art of the Impressionist period, the Musee d'Orsay is a wonderful museum in a renovated train station. For earlier art from all over the world, including many antiquities, the Louvre.

I enjoy walking through the street markets all over Paris; they are in different neighborhoods on different mornings.

Have a great time.

Do a search by using the search function here at Fodor's and you will find the lastest Paris travel advice.
Have a great time.

The bridge mentioned in the first post is the Pont des Arts.

Spend a day on and off the Batobus [www.batobus.com].

Search the board for Degas's Paris Walks.

Veddetes de Pont Neuf is a good cruise line--last one at 10pm.

Here's a great restaurant with good cuisine and terrific atmosphere. Make your dinner reservation for 8pm--later on it's jammed. Non smoking section.

http://www.vaudevilleparis.com/en/

If you are there on a Friday, go to the Louvre after 6, cheaper, less crowded and leaves you more time to do other things during the day.

We had a late dinner afterwards at Pot de Terre which is good value, very old and on a very picturesque street. www.lepotdeterre.com

It is just up the road from Rue de Mouffetarde which is a great street market - unfortunately they aren't compatible time-wise.

You might enjoy a guided walk in English. We have gone with Paris Walks www.paris-walks.com.

Enjoy a nice glass of wine or a nice cafe au lait while at a cafe on the champs-elysees.

One of the best things we did was take a Segway Tour as soon as we got to Paris the first time. It gave us a great overview of the city and covered a lot of ground. We took the night one. The company is Fat Tire Bike Tours and as the name says they also offer bike tours and great inexpensive walking tours. I have used them several times and I highly recommend them.

Here is a link:
http://www.fattirebiketoursparis.com/

Have a great trip!