jobie

My husband and I will be in Paris a full 19 days,(end of April through first week of May).
After reading DK Eyewittness guide book, and reading lots of messages all of you write (which have really be such a great help) I have come up w/ this itinerary, please tell me if you think its too long, also I do not have it in order as to what we see first,but am seeing if it is possible to do, and have time to just walk around alot & shop! (by the way we are not too much musuem type, but do want to see them), We love to walk everywhere. thanks again for all you advice
Our Wish List
Louvre,d'Orsay,Carnanvalet,Marmottan,L'Orangerie,R oden,J.Andre,Cluny?,Seine boat ride,Notre Dame,Sacre Coeur,St.Chapelle,Eglise du Dome,Pantheon,Conciergerie,Arc de Triompe,Champs Elyssee,Place De Concorde,Palace of Versailes,Jardin des Tuilleries,Eiffel Tower,Champs de Mars,Luxemburg Gardens,St Germain des Pres,Marais area, Place des Vosges,Montmartre area,Opera Garnier house,Pere Lachaise,Catacombs,St Sulpice?,Hotel Invalides?,Place de la Bastille?. Plus we want to walk all over as much as we can. Also want to see Versailles,Fountianeblueau,Chartes,Givernyl,also would love to go to Provence(we would take the train). Iam sure we cannot to all that,but need some advice,I totally love gardens and the outdoors,and walking. thanks again for all your help.jobie(Iput ?by the ones maybe we could skip)thanks

ira

Hi Jobie,

Lucky you- 19 days in Paris.

Yuo have plenty of time to see all of the places on your list.

Have you seen Degas list of walking tours? (Do a text search on 'Degas and Paris'.)

You might also like the Jacquemart-Andre' museum and the nearby Parc Monceau. Particularly nice for Sunday Brunch.

Remember that all public places, except the Eiffel Tower, will be closed onMay 1.

cls2paris

It sounds like you've hit the high spots and could probably see everything in 19 days. I would recommend the trip to Monet's Gardens in Giverny if you love gardens. It is an easy day trip from Paris on the train (Gare St. Lazare to Vernon and then take a cab or bus to the gardens). I visited last year but arrived on Saturday late afternoon, spent the night at a hotel down the road and then got to the gardens as soon as they opened and I was all alone by waterlily pond - simply magical! I know museums are not totally your thing, but there is a lovely rose garden and cafe at the Rodin Museum. The museum is small but lovely but the gardens are really beautiful. Also, if I recall, the L'Orangerie is closed for renovation.

grantop

I'm sure you will get a lot of opinions on your itinerary, but these were just my first thoughts: I wish I was going to Paris for 19 days, I'm very jealous! I think your to-do list is very do able (with plenty of time for just strolling and enjoying this fabulous city) especially when you sit down and group the things you want to see by area (i.e. Place des Vosges and Carnavalet are both in the Marais and you can do those on the same day). Some things you can do at night (d'Orsay, seine cruise, etc) Keep in mind that Versailles, Fontainebleau, Chartes, and Giverny should really each be a separate day trip in order to really experience each location and not be rushed (IMO). And you won't need a formal tour for any of them, take the train and your guide book, rent an audio guide at Versailles and Fountaineblue (pay for it at the ticket booth and pick it up at the coat check) and you will be fine! I'll let someone else address the Provence question as I think you might first need to (loosely) group up your days and see how much time you have left for an extended excursion.

jobie

my mistake we will be there 10 full days, not 19. jobie (should of read my message before sending it)sorry

SUNSHINE1223

19 days, 10 days. Whatever time you are still lucky to be in such a beautiful romantic city. I am taking my sister in March and will see if L'Orangerie Musuem is open. It was closed when I was there in 2002.
If you want my chart contact me at
[email protected] and I will send you my fabulous chart for Paris.

clevelandbrown

For ten days, I would limit myself to two day trips and save Provence for another trip. For non-museum people, you have picket a lot of museums, but I don't see any there that I would not recommend. The Orsay and Louvre, however, both contain so much great art that it is hard to imagine spending less than a full day at each. My wife and I are museum people, and we spent four days at each before we ran out of time. In fact, one of my gripes about Paris was that the Orsay has so many lovely works right next to each other that it is hard to concentrate on one.

L'Orangerie is probably still closed for renovation (I know it was in October), but the paintings we wanted to see there were being displayed in the Marmottan, which I was glad to see on your list.

Many of the sites you list can be grouped together into a single walk, so you can catch them all in a half-day, or a day.

You also list a lot of places that are on the museum pass, which saves money, but more importantly, allows you to enter without waiting in line, which will save you a lot of time.

We loved Giverny and you are going when the flowers should be in bloom. The best part of our visit there was that the next day we visited the Marmottan and saw many of Monet's works with a frame of reference.

I would suggest you get a good city map and mark each site you want to see, and get a list of the sites that are on the museum pass. You can then concentrate your sites into the days of validity of your pass, and also geographically. For example, you could go early to the Eiffel tower, then to the Marmottan, the Arc de Triompe, Champs Elyssee, Place de Concorde, and Jardin des Tuilleries, ending up at the Louvre. The Louvre is so vast that I suggest you visit their web site and take the virtual tour, picking out those items you really want to see, and finding out how to get to them. I think some museums are open a few evenings, and you might look into that.

I think the Place de la Bastille is easily skipped, unless you are going there for the street fair. All that is there is the newer and massive opera house; Place des Vosges is much more scenic, with far less traffic.

Even though you like to walk, I would suggest you get a carnet (a book of ten metro system tickets). That will enable you to get quickly to where you want to start your walks, or get home if you overexert yourselves.

You may want to combine Ile de St. Louis (you're going to be near there anyway), the deportation memorial (again, you are right there), Notre Dame, the flower/bird fair on Ile de la Cite (again, you are right there), Ste. Chapelle, and the Conciergerie into one tour, eating at a cafe along the way. Ideally, this should be on a sunny day to get the full effect of the windows in Ste. Chapelle, but we enjoyed it even on an overcast day.

If you dont have housing yet, look at your map and find an area that will be most convenient to the bulk of what you want to see. Our mistake was staying on the far side of the Marais, with quite a walk to and from the places we wanted to see.

Enjoy your trip, and post a report when you get back.

Gretchen

L'Orangerie will probably be closed until 2007 or later. If you have 10 days in Paris you will have time for perhaps 2 day trips--perhaps Giverney and Versailles. Then why not go to Provence for the remainder of your trip. TGV to Avignon and rent a car and tour the charming towns. This way you will have the pleasure of really glimpsing French life in some detail. So much better than going 10 places and not knowing what is really going on. It should be a fairly nice time of year--still bring layers.

Gretchen

Let me add that you can leave your car in Avignon and take the TGV directly to CDG for your return.

Underhill

Yes, you can see everything you want to, but you won't have much time for sitting in a café and relaxing in between. Do factor in some time to do that; it will enhance your experience of Paris enormously. If you're not really museum types, you might quickly discover that you don't need to see all on your list. I suspect you'll need to save Provence for another trip, however. Use your Eyewitness guide to plan a day-by-day itinerary in Paris; you might also want to get a copy of the green Michelin Guide for the city, which has suggested itineraries that keep backtracking to a minimum.

adrienne

Hi jobie,

The list is do-able in 10 days but I agree that you should limit yourselves to 2 out of town day trips in that time. And, you won't be able to do justice to Provence as well. I was disappointed at how crowded Giverny was. There was no place to sit and look at the flowers and there were so many people you had to keep moving all the time.

I was in Paris for 12 days last spring and did about the same number of things. Many museums stay open late so you're not limited to a 5:00 exit. And some of the things you've chosen to see don't take a lot of time.

Keep in mind that May 1 is a national holiday. I did 2 Paris Walks tours that day and ended up in Place des Vosges where there were some buskers. The acoustics are great under the arches. It's wonderful to walk around and see everyone with their sprigs of lily of the valley. You can always visit churches or walk in the gardens if you have nothing else set up for May 1.

While you're seeing Notre Dame, Ste-Chappelle, and the Conciererie stop behind Notre Dame and visit the Deportation Museum. It's quite moving. There are free tours of Notre Dame in English Wed, Thurs at 12:00; Sat at 12:30. Opera Garnier Engligh tours are given on many Saturdays at 12:15. The Carnavalet has a free English tour the first Saturday of the month. Perhaps since the first Sat is May 1 their English tour will be given another time.

There's nothing much doing in the Marais on Saturdays so you'd be better off going there another day.

HowardR

We were in Paris for 14 days in May 2 years ago. One of the joys of going for such an extended period is that you don't have to plan out each day. Just about every morning we woke and said to each other, "OK, what do you want to do today?"
The hardest part at first was convincing ourselves that we really could just stroll around and not schedule every hours. Once you realize that you will be there for an extended period is when you really start enjoying yourself. And, after a while, you'll start feeling like local!
Yes, certainly make a rough schedule of things you want to do and places you want to see. Then, look at a map and decide what sites/sights "go together" geographically.
Then, just go out and enjoy yourselves!
We did.....and even hhough in 2 weeks we still didn't get to see everything we wanted to!

Gretchen

Oh, I misread--I thought she meant they would have 10 of 19 days in Paris and the other 9--etc. That was why I suggested Provence. Oh, no. Just stay in Paris and thoroughly enjoy it. And I think you will discover the time to sit in cafes and watch the scene go by--you will just fall into it.