albertshermer

6 days in September and not sure how to plan the time. Want to see all the must see things but would also like to experience some of the neighborhoods and mingle with the locals. Any suggestions on the Eiffel Tower or boat ride, best during day or night. Would you suggest the hop on/hop off buses? Staying at Hotel Littre, any experience or know if it is fairly central? Also thinking about Versailles, Montmarte and Montparmasse which the Hotel said they could book tours but my wife gets car sick so we don't want to travel to far. Are there certain days that are better to do somethings? Do I assume correctly that Sunday most things are closed? That would be our last day there so it wouldn't be a big deal to just get some R&R and stay close to the Hotel. Any other ideas or suggestions? thanks, Al

StCirq

Did somebody just throw this trip together for you, without any input? I find it alarming that you don't even know where your hotel is.

Please get a good map of Paris and use it along with a guidebook. From what you said about the hotel booking tours for you for Versailles, Montmartre, and Montparnasse, it would appear you don't have a grasp of the lie of the land yet. Montmartre and Montparnasse are neighborhoods IN Paris, so there's no "traveling too far" to get to them, and using a car to do so would be unthinkable. Versailles is about a half-hour commuter train ride outside the city. Although I'm sure it's possible to book a tour to just about anything, there is no need for the hotel to book you a tour for any of these places.

Any guidebook will explain what days and times things are open, as well as what the various neighborhoods of Paris have to offer. The internet is clogged with information about Paris, too.

Once you have a grasp on where you're going and what you want to do, people here will be more than happy to help you refine your plan. But you do need to start by doing your own homework.

jent103

<i>Also thinking about Versailles, Montmarte and Montparmasse which the Hotel said they could book tours but my wife gets car sick so we don't want to travel to far.</i>

I'm confused by this - Montmartre and Montparnasse are part of Paris, so you wouldn't really need to travel at all. Paris Walks does great walking tours; I've taken their Montmartre tour as well as a couple of others, and really enjoyed them.

www.paris-walks.com

Versailles can be done easily on your own via RER train - no need to book a tour unless you want a private transfer and guide.

As far as what days things are closed - it's not the same for every museum, so you'll need to check the web sites of the things you're interested in. Some museums also have late opening hours on certain nights.

IMDonehere

Your hotel is in 6th arrondissement of Paris. This is on the left bank. An arrondissement is a district in Paris and it is a common way to explain where you are and where you want to go.

Gretchen

Sundays are one of the most delightful days for strolling and seeing families in parks and cafes. All the museums are open. You really need to take a look at a guide book and get to know a little about Paris.

Dukey1

To the OP: you can actually use the internet in order to find out which sites are open and on which days and that info is often more up to date than might be found in guidebooks.

You can use Googlemaps.com to show you where your hotel is located in relation to other landmarks such as here:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/H%...ace86591f4d956

adrienne

I agree with Paris Walk tours - I've taken about a dozen of their walks and find all of them to be wonderful. You cover a small area and get some in depth knowledge of the area and sights. No need to prebook - you show up at the designated spot and pay then. The price is very reasonable.

You will not be able to see everything in Paris in 6 days but you can cover many sights. Please get a couple of guide books and read them to determine which sights you are most interested in. Then get a map of Paris (I like Streetwise because it's small and laminted) and put post it flags on the locations of things you want to see. You can then combine sights geographically so you don't waste time running all over the city.

I like the evening boat ride (after dark) to see the lights along the river. You can print a discount voucher from the on line site for Vedettes du Pont Neuf which is not far from your hotel.

Your hotel is fairly central and you can walk or take the metro or buses to places that are farther away.

I would never book a car tour in Paris unless you are mobility impaired as you'll spend most of the time sitting in traffic. Walking tours are best. I'm not a HOHO fan as I don't want to spend my vacation sitting on a bus if I can avoid it. I'd rather be walking around, looking at things.

Certain days better than others? Of course. You need to check to see when sights are open/closed. The Marais is better any day other than Friday late afternoon or Saturday.

Book large museums, Eiffel Tower and Versailles on line to avoid waiting in line to buy tickets.

Most things are closed on Mondays or Tuesdays, not Sundays.

The more planning you do before your trip the more you'll get out of it. Come up with a preliminary itinerary and we'll critique it for you, adding suggestions to improve.

PatrickLondon

Spend some time working out the public transport system, especially in relation to your hotel;
goparis.about.com/od/transportation
www.ratp.fr/en

Gretchen

I'm not a HOHO fan as I don't want to spend my vacation sitting on a bus if I can avoid it. I'd rather be walking around, looking at things.

I think they are fine for getting an overview and a little orientation. And for heavens' sake, it isn't hours. It is one hour per area and you can cover a great deal more than walking--and then come back and walk it. And you don't have to do all 3 areas covered by the HOHO.

denisea

The Paris Museum Pass website will give you the info on need for most tourist sites/monuments, location, hours of operation...

The metro and buses are easy to use and you can use the same tickets for both. Buy a carnet from a tabac or metro station. An advantage of the buses is seeing the city on your way to a site you want to visit.

You can't see everything in 6 days. Don't try. Paris is great for just sitting and watching the world go by.

We end everyday in Paris with a glass of champagne.
Enjoy your trip.

leslieq

We took an afternoon boat trip from the Pont Neuf on our first jet-lagged day in Paris. We had very good ideas of what we wanted to see, but still a nice easy way to see many of the things you might want to come back to while you're on the river. Since you don't seem to have many things picked out yet, that would help you see what you want to come back to. Many of us have taken the trouble to put together trip reports so you can scroll through what other people have done to see what you might want to do. I was in Paris for 5 nights in May. You can click on my name to pull up my trip report and also try others' as well. Have a great time. One of my greatest pleasures was actually planning the trip!

leslieq

...also, not sure what shape you and your wife are in, but we WALKED everywhere in Paris so no need for your wife to get carsick. We stayed near Notre Dame. The only day we took public transport was to get near Sacre Coeur on a drenching rainy afternoon.

Nikki

It looks like your hotel is in the Montparnasse neighborhood. Looks like a fine location. There are a number of metro stations near the hotel and good bus connections, so any part of Paris should be readily accessible.

Museums are open Sundays, some are closed Monday and others on Tuesday. Check museum websites before you go to see when they are closed, and also to pick out highlights that you want to visit. If you are going to the Louvre, this is especially suggested. Some exhibits are closed certain days of the week, which are listed on the website. Here is a link to the schedule of room closures:
http://www.louvre.fr/sites/default/f...er-30-2014.pdf

Shopping in most neighborhoods on Sunday is not the best idea because many stores are closed except in the Marais, a neighborhood where stores are open Sundays but many are closed Saturdays because it is an old Jewish neighborhood.

No need to schedule any tours by car or bus, especially if your wife gets car sick. You can easily get to Versailles by train. And I would think a hop on and off bus would not be a great idea for someone who gets carsick.

dwdvagamundo

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dwdvagamundo

Looks like a great hotel in a good location and as Nikki says, walking distance to Montparnasse. Figure out the public transport system and you're in business without the necessity for any tours or for taking a car--as long as your spouse can ride the Metro or a train without difficulty.

So do what those above advise: get two or three good guidebooks (Fodor's Paris, Michelin Green Guide, Eyewitness Travel are some of the ones we use) and read up to see what you want to see. These (particularly the Michelin) will list the "must see" sites. You've got enough time to see a lot.

Also, search this forum under "France"--yesterday I found a string that discussed walking tours of Paris and was very helpful for our upcoming trip.

debragartin

We just returned...and we loved the hop on hop off city tour bus, great way to see the city and get oriented..they have earphones for information and history. We sat on the open air part of the bus, so car sickness might not be a problem. It cost 32 euros per person for a 2 day pass and you can get off and on all day. We only stayed in Paris for 3 days. Paris has the best Metro system..it is very easy to use. Walking the city is fabulous. Enjoy your time there.

albertshermer

Wow, Thanks to all of you who responded, the information was great. Since we never went out on our own before you really helped a lot. I will get some guide books and hit the web some more and try to tie down what we really want to do. We have time before we leave so we should be good by the time we are ready to go. This was so much better then just trying to figure out what to do from the net and the large amount of information on it. Wish you all the best and thanks again. Al

Kathie

The Paris map that comes with the Fodor's Paris guidebook was the best one we found. We used google maps on our iPhones to get from place to place (we had free unlimited data from T-Mobile).

We spent 10 days in Paris in May. If you click on my name, you can find our trip report toward the bottom of the page.

Have a wonderful time in Paris!

KTtravel

Some people will disagree, but I think Rick Steves' Paris guidebook is a good one for first time visitors. I hope you will love Paris as much as I do!

IMDonehere

There are probably more travel guides written about Paris, then any other city. The best use of Rick Steves is for a doorstop, back home.

If you are under 35 the best guide is Time Out Paris. And the best guide for sights, for any age group, by far is Michelin Green for Paris.