Our Paris trip.....
 

First I want to say thank you to everyone who helped me plan our trip to Paris. We had an incredible time and would return tomorrow if we had the chance!

Day 1
We arrived on time (9am) and took the train near our hotel in the latin quarter. We stopped by our hotel to check in but it was too early so we dropped off our bags and headed to Notre Dame. It was gorgeous. Then we took a stroll along the Seine River and stopped for lunch. By 1:30 we were beat so we went back to the hotel for a nap.

After a long snooze (till 6pm)we walked down to the Louvre along the Seine. It was closed but we enjoyed walking around the courtyard and admiring how huge it was.

Then we made our way along Champs Elysee grabbed a sandwich from a little shop and continued to walk to the Arc de Triomphe. The Arc too was closed because it was Bastille Day but we still managed to take some great pictures.

Since we notice the Eiffel Tower was not that far away we decided to walk there. We couldn't get too close because the some streets were closed because of the fireworks.

We passed Pont de l'Alma where Princess Diana was killed and then headed back along the Seine River towards the Latin Quarter enjoying the fireworks.

Before turning infor the night we stopped at a little cafe and enjoyed a drink as we watched people roam the streets.

It was a long walk but definitely worth it...the next few days our feet were killing us.


Day 2
We enjoyed our breakfast at a bakery then took the metro to Hotel des Invalides where we saw the gold dome and Napoleon's tomb.

Then we walked to the Eiffel Tower along Champs de Mars. We had reservations for lunch at Jules Verne. Thank goodness we didn't have to wait in line to go up because there were thousands of people there! Lunch was ok....I guess I was expecting more for the amount we paid but it was definitely worth it for the view.

We then hopped on the metro and went to Galeries Lafayette to do some shopping. The store was packed with people so we just did a quick tour and then headed back to our hotel for a nap.

After our nap we headed to the Arc de Triomphe (we used the metro this time). We climbed up the 256 steps - boy did that hurt but ti was well worth it. The view was amazing. We got up just before the lights flash all over the Eiffel Tower. We were able to take some great shots.

We finished our night but enjoying a walk around the Latin Quarter.

Day 3
We started our day with breakfast at a bakery then hopped on the metro to the Louvre. We stayed a couple hours looking at the Greek Antiquities and the Mona Lisa. I was amazed at the Greek Antiquities and a little disappointed at the Mona Lisa. I just couldn't understand why everyone was going to crazy for it. It was a lot smaller than I expected. It was nice to walk around the Louvre...I loved admiring the building and the character.

Then we walked along Champs Elysee to do some shopping. OUr next stop was St. Chapelle...the stained glass windows are absolutely gorgeous...I have never seen anything like it.

Next was Conciergerie...not really worth the time but we toured it quickly. We walked around the notre Dame area for a while then headed back to our hotel to get ready for our boat cruise.

We took the boat cruse at 9:30 pm just as the sun was setting and it was fantastic. We really enjoyed admiring the city's character and beauty. Again we went to a local cafe and enjoyed our last night in Paris.

I wish I had at least one more day in Paris...I wanted to go to the Orsay Museum and just walk around....next time - hopefully soon! Paris was fantastic - I would return in a second!

The next three and a half weeks we spent in Greece but I'll post about that later.
Hope I didn't bore anyone and I apologize if this is too long.

I forgot to add that we went to Pere Lachaise cemetary to see Jim Morrison's grave on our 3rd day.

Petula,

Thanks for the report. Sounds like you had some busy days!

Can you give me some info on where you stayed, price, impressions...And, of course, if you have any restaurants or cafes that you found to be nice...always interested :)

Mike

Petula,

Sounds like you had a great trip. Your first day in Paris was my last on our recent trip...Batille Day. We only stayed one day on our return from Italy.

Seems that you fit most of the "must sees" in your time there, and it sounds like you had an enjoyable time. You reminded me of a lot of things we did on our first trip to Paris, too!

If you don't mind my asking, what hotel did you stay at?

Thanks for the report.

We stayed at Hotel St. Paul in the Latin Quarter. It was a nice hotel - very clean although the rooms were small it did have air conditioning and a nice bathroom. The location was perfect. We paid about 150 Euros per night.

Unfortunately I don't remember the restaurants we ate at but we made sure we went to places where locals were eating.

Thanks for your very nice report. Glad you liked Paris.