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paris 3 day trip-help

going to book a weekend trip to paris using the air-france weekend getaway. we plan to go to Versailles for one of the 3 days. we will be walking around a lot or strolling in the city. Can anyone suggest an area that will be good for this and not to congested and touristy? Thanks

Hi Bill, You are *so* right to plan to walk! I think Paris is far-and-away best discovered on foot. First of all, is this your first trip to Paris? I'm going to write as if it is; please forgive me, if it isn't. People's idea of what's "touristed" exists on a bit of a sliding scale, so I hope I'll hit it right for you, but the only places I really feel over-touristed in Paris are around rue de Rivoli (roughly Louvre to Hôtel de Ville) and around Nôtre Dame (on the Ile de la Cité, *and* on both Left and Right Banks where they face it). I'm supposing the immediate vicinity of the Eiffel Tower might be the same way, but I haven't been over there in a long time and don't remember it well. Of course, this doesn't mean you shouldn't go to these places; you definitely should--and everyone else knows they should, too, which is why they're all there! ;) While there are undeniably tourists in both places, I'd recommend the Marais or Montmartre for the experience I think you're seeking. I suppose you could go further afield to Butte-aux-Cailles (13th arr., featured in March's "Gourmet" magazine), or even Passy (16th arr.: quite residential, I think, though I haven't been there) but perhaps these are a bit *too* untouristed for this time? Here's an excerpt from a previous post of mine about the Marais and Montmartre: > The Marais is probably a great choice, > because it's the only neighbourhood that > remains essentially pre-revolutionary in > architecture. Very few of the generic, > 6-story, wrought-iron-balconied buildings > here; instead, you'll see "maisons > particuliers": ornate mansions of the > aristocracy. Very impressive. Place des > Vosges is also quite beautiful, especially > if it's a bright morning. (incidentally, > there are lots of cute shops in this > neighbourhood as well!) > > I loved Montmartre, too; the stairwells and > steep streets bring out my hopelessly sentimental > side. There's a feeling in Montmartre these days > that I can't quite describe... it's like something's > about to *happen*. Picture-perfect it ain't--there > are neglected buildings and graffiti--but that's part > of its chic... avoid touristy Place du Tertre like > the plague... ["...in my humble opinion," I might add > now! Some people do enjoy Pl. du T. ...] Here are directions, assuming you're not actually *staying* in either of these neighbourhoods. If you head to the Marais, try walking north from the Hotel de Ville (there's a Metro stop there) along rue des Archives, then turn east on rue des Francs Bourgeois. This street is the "main drag" of the Marais, lined with adorable shops and interesting buildings. Pop off this street to the right or left whenever you see something interesting--there's lots to discover. When you see a majestic square lined with red-brick buildings, along rue des Francs Bourgeois just east of rue de Turenne, you've reached Place des Vosges. [continued...]

[...continued] Montmartre is not for everyone: in this virtual world I have no idea if you're twenty or seventy-five, or anywhere in between, so be aware there are lots of hills and stairs to negotiate. You'll probably want to take public transit to the area, as it's a bit removed from the "single-digit arrondissements". You can either disembark at Metro Lamarck Caulaincourt and walk south, or at Abbesses and walk north. Note that Abbesses station is waaaaaaay underground. When I saw people queueing for the elevator, I thought, "naah, I'll take the stairs," only to be pretty winded by the time I reached street level (I can't remember how many steps it is, but I think it's at least a couple hundred)! On the other hand, if you're in shape, it's neat to walk up the spiral staircase and see the murals painted on the walls. Note also that if you went *south* from Abbesses, you'd rapidly be in the Pigalle district, which is a little, ahem, seedy... "not that there's anything wrong with that!" :) As I mentioned, Place du Tertre is pretty touristy--this is the famous square where lots of people sell paintings and sketches (the merits of which are endlessly debated in this forum!)--but if you get away from there, you'll see a neighbourhood that's both picturesque and truly "alive" in its imperfections, in my opinion. I highly recommend you take a Michelin Green Guide with you; it will enhance your walks by providing a lot of details about what you're seeing. Also, on your first day, try popping into the book section of Samaritaine department store and picking up a teeny-tiny map in booklet form--I found this immensely helpful to have when walking around. Finally, are you really sure about Versailles? It's majestic and all, but if I only had three days (two-and-a-half, I imagine, if you deduct time for getting to your hotel and checking in) I'd be tempted just to take it slow, hang out, eat a lot of crepes, and not stray too far from the centre of town. There's no harm in planning to go, I suppose, but I'm encouraging you not to be afraid to change your mind, if once you're there you prefer to spend the time relaxing in Paris. Have a *fantastic* time! And now that I've imagined your weekend in Paris, I feel like I've had one, too... ahhhh... :) - Quicksilver -

Hi bill I have a file on Paris; if you'd like to see it, email me. I urge you to buy a good guidebook like Fodor's guide to Paris. Do some advance reading so you can determine what interests you. Itineraries for short visits are also suggested in most guidebooks, and you can adapt any or all of those to meet your own interests. Unless Versailles is a particular dream of yours, or unless you've been to Paris before, I would not take one day out of a precious three to go to Versailles, as magnificent as it is. You will be hard-pressed as it is to see the highlights of Paris.

Thanks Quicksilver and Elaine, I will take both your suggestions and get a guide and venture into some neighborhoods. I have never been to Versailles, but have been to Paris in 1974. I know it has changed. I went in 1974,(went to high school in Switzerland),with a girl that had been in the late 60's. She was so depressed at how things had changed for the worse. Being my first time there I was floored and loved everything. I remember thinking if she thinks its gone down hill since she was here last and I think it's wonderful, I wonder how bad it will be when I come back. Well now 27 years later I will find out. We will probally do a lot of walking around the public gardens. This is a stress free vacation and we are only doing Versailles and maybe the Sewer tour. Don't ask! The rest of the time we just want to walk and eat and sit and eat and sit! I don't remember anything negative from my first visit. In fact only good. I did leave my wallet at a mom and pop store and had gone several blocks when someone ran up to me and handed it to me. He was completly out of breath and I imagine had been running up and down side streets looking for the stupid American teenagers. I think I had around $100 in the wallet, which in 1974 was a lot ! He would not take anything for returning it to me. I was so gaga in LOVE that I didn't even know I didn't have my wallet! Ah Paris, I hope she is still there somewhere under all that modern junk.

Be prepared for grafitti. Not around the nearly pristine and gorgeous Place des Voges (I agree with the suggestion of Marais), but so many places. We sort of got used to it, but it was worse than I've seen in NYC, Washington DC or San Francisco.

I'm going to take a different tack from the others and suggest you try staying in the 16th arrondissement. It is definitely not touristy--it's the neighborhood of choice for many upper middle and upper class Parisians. And it's wonderful to walk around in. As you're planning to do a week-end, for example, you can see the food market at Place d'Auteuil on Saturday mornings. Unlike the Rue Cler, which is as much for tourists these days as anyone else, this is the real thing. In particular, I recommend the Queen's Hotel. It's fairly inexpensive, yet many of the rooms have their own jacuzzis (perfect for relaxing your muscles after all that walking). Some people claim the 16th is too far out, but we rented an apartment there for a month and loved it, particularly the Auteuil neighborhood where the Queen's Hotel is located. There are several metro stops nearby and it was quite easy to get to the Left Bank or the Champs Elysees area. When friends came to visit Paris for the first time in 15 years, they stayed in the Latin Quarter, we walked together through the Marais (mobbed) and then went over the Ave. Victor Hugo, which they loved. By the way, Bill, you will find that Paris looks great, despite the graffiti in certain areas. As part of their Y2K celebrations, the Parisians sandblasted everything that wasn't moving and many of the buildings looks better than they have in decades. Btilke