Fodorite018

We just arrived home from France today.

I am too beat to answer many questions yet, but I can address the Altitude 95 question from Rex. There is a small kiosk that opens at 6:30pm, and you go there to buy your ticket for the elevator. That kiosk only sells the tickets to people who have a reservation at Altitude 95. After you get your ticket there, they send you to a roped off line, where basically you get head of the line privileges to go up to the restaurant. It is the same elevator as what everyone else is on to just go sightsee, but you do not have to wait in line which is really nice. Jules Verne is the restaurant with the completely separate elevator. BTW, this was the second time we had dinner at Altitude 95, and while our dinner a few years ago was fine, the one about a week ago was VERY good and we had a great special occassion celebrated there.

robjame

mms - there was talk of the Eiffel Tower restos closing for awhile due to the change in chef. Did you hear anything about this?

Fodorite018

robjame--Yes, we had a hard time making reservations because of that. We wanted to dine at Jules Verne, but they did not know their closure dates. Last time I called, they said they would be closing in early July for rennovations for several months and that Altitude 95 would be closed next summer for rennovations. That is what I was told when I called the restaurants directly, but it did seem that quite a bit of the information was not too clear just yet.

Sarvowinner

Last year we spent 3 nights in Paris so had a little longer but we did have a day taken up with my husband's work colleagues.

I would skip climbing the Eiffel Tower - we spent 4 hours getting to the top (and getting down) at night in October - of that 4 hours - 31/2 were in queues to get on the elevators - the longest queue was at the top waiting to get down.

We went to the Louvre after 6.00pm on a Friday night and the price was much cheaper and we spent a lovely 3 hours there and then went to Auberge de Pot de Terre for dinner in St Germain. www.lepotdeterre.com This is near Rue de Mouffetarde which has a fantastic market opening at 8.00am.

I would also second the Musee d'Orsay. For the Arc de Triomphe, we just asked the taxi driver to drive us from one end to the other on the way back to hotel one night.

It is still worth it to visit Sacre Couer and Montmartre, but my daughter was very disappointed with the Moulin Rouge.

It is also important just to be able to wander around the streets and visit the patisseries etc. My husband is a chef and always visits Fauchon near the Madeleine just to drool. It isn't too far from the Louvre.

dwzemens

In my opinion, two of the greatest views of the Paris are from:

1. The Trocadero - immediately across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. There is a very nice (but expensive) restaurant there that is well worth the price of a glass of wine to sit and view the Eiffel Tower across the river. It's a *terrific* way to see the tower.

2. Sacre Couer - The view of Paris from the steps of this church is also wonderful. It's easy to believe that you are in 19th century Paris as you gaze over the roof tops. Magical. Don't forget to turn around and look back at the church, too. Beautiful spot and worth the visit.

I also have to reiterate what others have said: Slow down and take in the sounds, sights and smells of the city. To me our second visit to Paris, where we did just that, was far more interesting and fun than our first vist, where we raced from site to site.

In any event, have a terrific time in a terrific city!

neworleanslady

Thank you so much for your help! Even with these "limited" options, we will run out of time way too soon, I know!

I understand the "waste of time" to climb the Eiffel Tower on such a short trip, but my husband has been to Paris several times and with so many other places on our travel list, I don't know when I will get back. If we are in any shape after the beginning of the trip and the flight, I will be trying the climb!

Thanks again for the suggestions - keep them coming!

robjame

Thanks mms - can't wait for the trip (and food?) report.
We ate at JV but never A95 - we considered both for September but don't seem to be able to get a handle on their opening and closing. Another year I guess. Any other hot tips?

rex

This "July closing" has me a bit concerned - - is it only Jules Verne? how long does it last? In June, I called (Altitude 95), and I was told to call back in July - - that it was "too early" (for our reservation in late September).

Yesterday and today, I get no answer, no answering machine. I have not tried the fax (for one thing I would like to hear again the exact times of the first and second seatings).

Am I just having bad luck? Any there this week?

Fodorite018

robjame--For Sept. I believe JV will be closed, but Alt 95 will be open. I am going to start a trip report tomorrow. For some reason I agreed to host a bbq this afternoon, lol!

rex--Yes, it is only JV that will be closed. And yes, Alt 95 will only take reservations about a month or so in advance. Just keep calling. The two seatings are at 7 and at 9pm. We took the 7pm seating, and so the kiosk ticket book opened at 6:30. We bought our tickets and were up at the restaurant in less than 15 minutes. The gift store up there is open til 10 I believe, but the post office closed at 7, so we quickly bought a few post cards and had them mailed before we went in for dinner.

jscarbary

I totally forgot about Sacre Coeur, I loved walking through Montmarte. We walked up the stairs (didn't feel like waiting for the funnicular). We also loved the windows in Saint Chapelle but it was one of the longer lines that we waited in.

Choose a tour book and pick one or two of the walking tours of the city, stop at any patisserie you see and you will love your time in the city.

mcburja

With only 36 hours for a first trip, I'd heartily recommend taking the Seway tour of Paris. In four hours, you'll at least get a sense of the core, and if you do this when you first arrive, it will give you your bearings for subsequent travels. On our first trip, we did the evening tour, and had a wonderful time.

BTW, our Segway tour guide gave us a great tip for the Louvre. If there's a line up going into the pyramid entrance, look to your right, and you'll find a virtually unmarked side entrance into the building wing - no line up at all. Have a great time!

mcburja

Of course, I meant Segway. Here's a link for the Paris tour --> http://www.citysegwaytours.com/paris/