HtownResider

Howdy,

Thanks to the advice of preivous posters my wife and I have succesfully planned most of our 6 day trip to Paris. This is our first time to Paris and it is to celebrate our first anniversary. So far, we have most of the things we want to do either booked or planned for. However, we have a couple half days and one full day we haven't planned anything. I was wonderying if anyone might have some suggestions for things to do. I suppose it would help to know the time of year we are going and what have planned already so, here it goes:
We arrive in Paris on 12th of January and leave on the 19th.
Day 1 - On our first full day in Paris we have booked a half day minibus tour of paris and have the rest of the day free.
Day 2 - Next we have an afternoon guided tour of Versailles. And this is our anniversary so the plan is to go to a nice dinner. Need suggestions on dinner, would like an experience like le jules verne (ie awesome view and great view) but wouldn't mind cheaper price .
Day 3 - Plan to check out some museums on our list.
Day 4 - nothing planned for this morning. Afternoon, electric bike tour of some lesser known places in Paris
Day 5 - nothing planned on this day but would like to take advantage of the January sales and would appreciate suggestions on some interesting places to shop.

So that's it, I can't wait to hear back from you guys as I know there will great suggestions. Thanks in advance!

Gretchen

I would split up your museums--not all one day, one after another.
And if you had asked, I wouldn't go to Versailles with so few days in Paris. How are you getting to and from Versailles.
On some morning find a street market and look at that wonder of Paris where the Parisians shop for their food.
On the day of your arrival you could take a Seine River boat ride. Since the days are so short, you might like to go late afternoon when the lights of the city will be just coming up. Take a bottle of wine and some glasses with you to toast your first night.
You could have lunch at Jules Verne (still pricey, of course) but have a REAL view of the City.
There are certainly the churches to be seen--Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur. There is Sainte Chapelle that you really should not miss. There are concerts at night at St. Chapelle that are not lengthy and absolutely wonderful.
There is French onion soup to be eaten at a sidewalk cafe (they have good heaters). If you go to the 7th, you can maybe find one with a view of the Eiffel Tower. The Bon Marche Grand Epicerie is a delight to shop. Just a regular French supermarket is a fun fun thing to roam for a few minutes.

mamcalice

Agree with Gretchen. Split the museums up - get a 3 day museum pass which will allow you to see museums without waiting in long lines and will also provide admission to Sainte Chapelle. SC is a must for me - go on a sunny morning or afternoon when the sun will shine through the stained glass - awe inspiring.

In 8 trips to Paris, we have visited Versailles only once but if it is a "must-see" to you, your schedule provides enough time to visit.

There are wonderful restaurants all over Paris. Use this board to identify some. Jules Verne, however, has the most amazing views along with Le Train Bleu. Why not have a drink there and have dinner at a more reasonably priced restaurant?

Sounds like you have a good plan - have a wonderful time.

TDudette

Agree about Ste. Chapelle and a sunny day.

Perhaps you should let that last day stay open so you can revisit places that called out on the tours?

For shopping, Bon Marché, Printemps and Galeries Lafayette all big department stores. BHV another-newer? Just google Paris department stores and more info will pop up.

Congrats on one year!

apersuader65

We've been to Paris twice and Both times went to Versailles. While many posters consider it too far from Paris and takes away from the many things to do in the City, I consider it simply a suburb of Paris (you can be there in 30 minutes by train). In fact, depending upon where you are staying, it could be nearly the same travel time as heading up to Montmartre via Metro (30 minutes vs. 22 minutes)

On your arrival day, I'd suggest the Seine river tour and walking around just to see the City. In January, dress in layers, it could be pretty cold, or it could be mid 40's.

I'd bust each day into two parts, the morning and the afternoon. You can do one thing in the morning, have a nice lunch and do something else in the afternoon/evening.

HtownResider

Hi All,

Thanks for your replies.

Gretchen - The churches are a must as well just forgot to mention them. Your advice on splitting up the museums seems like it will be of great benefit.

Mamcalice - Great idea on having drinks at le jules verne and Ste Chapelle! Thanks!

TDudette - This was what I was looking for in shopping, my wife will be very happy to get to shop and one or more of these department stores. Maybe we will schedule a private shopper, do you know if this would be recommended?

apersuader65 - I believe we will try and split the days as you suggest. And yes we will bring layers !

One other question, I just had an idea of surprising my wife with a vowel renewal ceremony. Does anyone know if there are quaint little chapels willing to do this for a small fee?

Thanks

StCirq

Congratulations! Which vowel are you planning to renew?

But seriously, I believe you can get vow renewal information at www.parisianevents.com/parisian party. It might be too late, though.

HtownResider

HAHA, Nice one St. Cirq! Thanks for the tip. Although, after posting, I read another post about how its rather difficult to arrange such an affair at a cheap price.

apersuader65

As for shopping, my wife loved the H & M on rue de Rennes in the 6th (closest store for us at home was 300 miles away) and she also always enjoys the Hausmann Blvd. dept. stores mentioned above. She also really likes the area (above ground) around Les Halles. Didn't much like the mall below ground there, but many shops - especially along and just off Etienne Marcel, especially E. Dihillerin store - see http://www.e-dehillerin.fr/en/index.php
for cooking supplies.

Gretchen

So, if you do go to Les Halles area have the best bowl of French onion soup at Au Pied du Cochon.
It isn't that Versailles is far away. It just takes a lot of time to "do" it, and there is just SO much more to do in Paris for me.

Gretchen

I'll just post a case in point about Versailles. We took all our kids and spouses to Paris for a week. One son and fiancee wanted to go to Versailles. I started my spiel about time, etc. and son said "she wants to go. be quiet!" I told them I could get them there, etc. So got to be 2 days before we were to leave and I said, "don't forget Versailles" to which she said, "OH, I don't think we have time!!"
Don't forget about the Orangerie, Marmottan, Cluny, Carnavalet museums.
Crowds to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower are much less at night--might be a nice little "icing on the cake" for your anniversary. It's where DS asked his fiancee to marry him.

Michel_Paris

Day 1: Am I right to assumme "first full day in Paris" does not mean landing at 7:30AM at CDG and then a full day?

The Seine river cruise is a must-do for me on a first trip. If I had to choose, night/darkness is best, since a lot fo buildings and bridges (and Eiffel) are lit up. Vedettes du Pont Neuf is a good one, with smaller boats and a convenient location at western tip of Ile de la Cite (Notre Dame's island). You can get a discount ticket on line. No real need to book ahead


www.vedettesdupontneuf.com

Other ones are neare Pont D'Alma, for example:

www.bateaux-mouches.fr/en

I'd skip any meal cruises.


Day 2: You will need to book Jules Verne way ahead of time. Other place with views...

http://www.chezfrancis-restaurant.com/photos/


Versailles. Have you booked anything? You could do on your own. As others stated, it is a short train ride from Paris. if you were to go early morning, aboid crowds, you could dawdle at your own pace. The gardens are normally a big draw, but that time of year...maybe just the Trianon and the Hameaux as stuff outside of the main Palace.

Consider Paris Walks. They have some good tours, all aboutr 2 hrs long, good guides, and not too expensive.

www.paris-walks.com


Sainte Chappelle, as mentioned above. If you like classical music, they have night time concerts. Not far away is the flower/bird market.Combine with Notre Dame, and a walk over to Ile At Louis. This little island is a place I go to every trip. Some nice shops, good places to eat, nice architecture (old mansions),etc.. Only one short main street. Reine Blanche, Tastevin and Ilot Vache are places you could chekc out for dinner. I also had lunch at Brasserie de L'ile, which is on the Ile St Louis side of the bridge between the two islands (back side of Notre Dame). Famous ice cream make Berthillon is in this area (and can then go to its competitor Amerino to compare).

Day 3. Museum or museums. Depending on your love of them, you can easily spend your whole trip visiting (and never fully seeing) museums. The Louvre is a beast of a place (size wise), so be discriminating,. Perhaps go when hours are extended (Wed/Fri nights). Some of the smaller ones might appeal. If you are going to explore the Left Bank area, you will undoubtedly end of on Boulevard st germain. Located onthis street is the Museum odf Mioddle Ages( aka cluny). It is buil onver ruins of roman baths, and has some nice artifacts( unicord tapestry, chunks from Notre Dame,etc..) Visit for a bit, then head over to cafe for lunch.

Orangerie for Monets 9and near Louvre), Marmottan for even more Monets, but further out, in an upscale neighbourhood (perhaps chance to see a non-touristy section of Paris?).

Musee Jacquemart-Andre is a collector who donated his mansion and collection to the state. Nearby, since you mentioned shopping, are les Grands Magasins: Lafayette and Printemps. If you like to see frehcn department stores, these may be it. Afterwards, you could wander the 'passages' which were the first indoor shopping areas of Paris. A series of covered allayways with some interesting shops and restaurants (and bring you back to Louvre area).

For shopping, could also consider going to Place des Vosges 9antoerh must see IMHO), have a lunch and then head out on streets in that area. Rue des Francs Bourgeois is one to check out.

By electric bike tour, I assume you mean Segway? Good reviews here on it.

Michel_Paris

In the Marais area (Place des Vosges) is the Carnavalet, as mentioned above. It is the Museum of Paris, housed in tww interconnected old mansions. Lots of artifacts from the beginnings of the city. Check out the ceiling in the gift shop.

If you like house knick-knacks, the basement of the BHV store is often mentioned. West of Place des Vosges.

StCirq

And the Musée Jacquemart-André has a delightful Sunday brunch.

kimboston

I did a trip report after our last trip:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...amily-of-4.cfm

A few more thoughts - I loved the crowd experience and the view from Sacre Couer.

And don't underestimate just how wonderful it is just to walk around and stop in the small bakeries. Great architecture.

HtownResider

Michel_Paris - Thank you so much for your insight, many of your suggestions sound appealing and will probably make their way into our plans.

Judy

Michael Osman, an American tour guide in Paris, can formulate a tour around shopping and specifically shopping for whatever you and your wife are interested in looking at/buying. He knows Paris shopping from very high end vintage to flea market finds.

He can be reached at [email protected]

denisea

One of the above posts mentions getting a 3 day pass. The Paris museum pass is only available as a 2, 4 or 6 day pass. It is great to avoid lines at museums. Their site has a list of museums and monuments it is valid for. You can also click on a site to get more information and the hours, how to get there, etc...Knowing when your choices are open late and when they are closed will help in your planning.

I prefer to get mine the afternoon prior to the day I am to start using it. Choose a less busy museum or a tabac to purchase the pass at. Let the attendant at the first museum write in your start date...it does have to be used on consecutive days. (We has a slight issue with the way I wrote the date at the next museum...all ended well, but best to avoid an issue to begin with)

Michel_Paris

You might want to define better what you mean by "shopping".

Michael Osman has been recommended here a few times. As a entrepreneur, he is sometimes hard to get hold off. And, people will correct me if I am wrong, he is not "cheap", but does seem to provide value for the money.

Who are you using for your first day coach tour? Cityrama and Parisvision are two of the bigger operators in Paris, both leaving from around the Louvre area (also do Versailles!). L'Open is a hop-on hop-off bus tour, in essence a fleet of buses loop around a set groups of checkpoints. You pay one fee for the day, and you can get off, re-board at any of the stops.

HtownResider

By shopping I mean that we would like to take advantage of the sales that occur in Paris in January by buying a few pieces of clothes to remember the trip. Maybe a shirt and pants for myself and perhaps a few tops and/or dresses for my wife. As far as price range we are probably not going to spend more than 500 euro total.