massri12

Looking for some great advice! We will be in Paris, for the first time, for a week towards the end of May. We are young 60ish, both widowed, and simply have had a great time traveling together prior to this trip.The great excitement for both of us is that I will be presenting her with a ring (is it an engagement ring at our age?) of which she knows nothing about. My first choice is, of course, atop the Eiffel Tower. Thought about dining in the Jules Verne and engaging there- expensive but not out of the question. So, here's the question to all romantics out there;
If you were I (or us), where would you go and/or do to create a lasting memory for that special moment in Paris?
Thanks to all for responding..."Just two ordinary people in love in the autumn of our lives"

michele_d

Oh, how exciting for the two of you! One of the most romantic times I have ever spent with my husband of 32 years was when we were in Paris. We each had a gelato and we strolled along the Seine at night, hand in hand, admiring the lights reflecting off the water. Whatever you do I know it will be special. It's not how much you spend but who you are with that makes it special.

Michael

If it's balmy weather, le pont des Arts at night facing the Institut de France. It's over the Seine, the Ile de la Cité is in one direction, the twinkling of the Eiffel tower in the distance in the other direction, and the Louvre is opposite the Institut, all of them lit up.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...57623266287099

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...57623266287099

Michael

one more thing: it's a pedestrian bridge.

StCirq

Congratulations!

I understand the appeal from afar of the Tour Eiffel, but in reality in good weather (the only time you'd want to go up it), it's a mob scene. Plus, there are issues with the elevators right now that may not be resolved until late this year, meaning long, long waits to use the one that's functioning.

I think I would opt for the lake or the waterfall in the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont.

cornelius01

I think the Pont DES Arts is better also....we sat there once at sunset and the view is so nice and serene...much more romantic than fighting crowds on Eiffel Tower. oh and don't forget a bottle of bubbly!

GillsinEurope

(If I weren't already married) I think I'd rather get proposed to in front of the Eiffel Tower rather than atop it. That way you could ask a stranger to take your picture with the Tower behind you. And I just loved it all lit up and sparkly at night.

jelopez33

Congratulations to you both!!
I think of a night cruise in the Seine, with the city with all lights on and the tower blinking.

daveesl

IF the Rodin museum is back operational by the time of your visit and the "Kiss" is back in place, that would be a fantastic. They were doing renovations and I am not certain when completion is scheduled.

dave

zeppole

Don't you want to pick some secret place in Paris known only to the two of you, that no other tourist would ever guess?

Obviously you have been to Paris before, and I am sure to more of it than the Eiffel Tower.

I will share with you that my lasting memory of going to the top of the Eiffel Tower was that the line took too long, the view from the middle was better than from the top, and it was chilly. Of course we kissed at the top, but there are cozier places in Paris. You might want to check out recent reports on websites like Chowhound for the Jules Verne, which talk about people dining there in cargo shorts and flip flops.

I tend to think the best proposals are spontaneous, when you are just so overwhelmed by the person at the moment you just can't hold back one second more. How 'bout just going with the ring in the pocket and letting Paris tell you when the time and the place is right?

zeppole

(I mean, you don't need the scenery, right? You'll have the whole world in each other's eyes.)

ParisJo

I'm going to be the dissenting voice here. Hubby and I celebrated our 25th anniversary at Jules Verne and 5 years and 7 trips to Paris later, it remains a highlight.

First, no waiting in line ~ the Jules Verne has a private elevator reserved for its guests that whisks you up to the restaurant, which is on the second floor. Then there is the thrill of dining with Paris at your feet inside one of the world's most renowned monuments. The service was wonderful, professional yet friendly. The food was delicious and beautifully presented. We had a very leisurely almost 3 hour lunch and then were able to walk out to the second level walkway to enjoy the views for even longer. These are memories you will have forever.

You could do a lot worse!

Congratulations and have a wonderful trip and a life filled with happiness.

Jo

Loco2

Congrats! One of the most wonderful weddings I went to was between an 89yr old woman I know and her 75yr old hubby! Hope all goes well!

quokka

A quiet little cafe in a side street might present more romantic surroundings and less spectators that the crowded top of Eiffel tower where, oh how very original and unique, dozens of proposals must happen every day (according to how many questions I see about this idea on the different travel forums).

quokka

P.S. Wishing the two of you lots of joy and a long happy marriage!

massri12

Many thanks to all for the great suggestions and well wishes. I'm presently leaning towards presentimg a ring to her at either an outdoor (seating) cafe or on one of the scenic bridges. My true hope is that I can have a street musician perform a romantic song (how does 20 euro sound?) at which time I will pop the question. Sounds storybook I know but it will be a lifetime memory for the both of us.

hellokittie

I vote for the beautiful fountain in the Luxenbourg Gardens!
Have an amazing picnic and get a street musician to serenade you!

willowjane

massri12 - she is a lucky woman....how kind of you to think of making this a special time for her!!

nytraveler

Do yuo think she will like someplace that public? (I would hate it.) If it were me I would want it to be private - perhaps on a small balconey attached to the hotel room late a tnight. Or in the middle of the Pont Neuf - again late at night when there are no mobs.

StCirq

Outdoor café??? Oh dear, that wouldn't appeal to me at all, first because they are generally noisy and busy and public. I would personally think that that plan hadn't been thought through very well. It would be like being proposed to on a sidewalk in New York.

Find someplace special. I gave you suggestions above. I like the fountain in the Jardins de Luxembourg idea as well,along with the bridge late at night.

Oh, and I don't know how you'd ever get a street musician to come serenade you, unless you were at one of those tacky places in the Latin Quarter where musicians hang around trying to get money from tourists who think that is some sort of "authentic" Parisian experience. You'd have to pull one of them off the sidewalk and pay him to do this, and it really wouldn't be anything remotely "real." When our kids were babies, we sometimes encountered roving musicians in the 7ème near cafés and paid them to sing to the babies while we ate to amuse them, and that was bad enough. Please don't do this. I would have died if someone did that to me.

Take her to a lovely, quiet restaurant, or the tip of the Ile de la Cité or the Luxembourg Gardens or the PréCatalan in the Parc St-Cloud or the Buttes de Chaumont or a quiet bridge and do it right.

You can do this. You just don't know Paris well enough yet to get a picture in your mind of what would be appropriate/romantic and what would not. Listen to the suggestions here.