Paris 5 day plan
 

Hello All,

i have been to Paris many times - first when I was 22, and last when I was 60. In August, I am to be the guide for my sister and our niece, neither of whom have never been to Paris. Needless to say, I am feeling some pressure to make it as wonderful and fun as possible.

We have rented a flat in the area of the Opera, as we hope to explore our neighborhood and eat breakfast and the occasional dinner there.

I plan to do a 5–days program using geography as my guide, I.e., Day 1, Notre Dame, Ile St. Louis, Berthillon glacé, Saint Chappelle, and the Marais - they all are on my tour Paris sights!

would any of you be willing to help with putting together a 5 day plan for us?

Many thanks.

sophia

Paris 5 day plan
 

https://musee-parfum-paris.fragonard.com/en/ A suggestion, it's in your neighborhood. Fairly new perfume museum. I didn't get there last year, wish I had. In the 16th, Yves St. Laurent Musee. It's in his house, has lots of his famous dresses on display, his office and other items. It had just opened in Oct. last year and we went, ordered tickets before we left the US, and it was very enjoyable. Easy to get to, you could go in the morning, have a nice lunch and then move on to something else.

When are you going? If it's open, Giverney would be my choice. Lovely gardens, cute town. Obviously, Versailles has the history. Fountainbleu was OK but didn't have all the time I would have wished for.
Sorry, I can't plan the blow by blow itinerary for you but thought of a couple of suggestions that you all might enjoy.

Sounds like a fun trip!

sophia~ my suggestion is to get the other two people involved, even though they have not yet been to Paris. Get a hard-copy guidebook from the library so they can read, look at photos, and pick out a few things of special interest to them. Rick Steves (guides or website) are good for newbies.
A paper map of the city is also good, so they can see the various arrondisements, how the city is laid out, the various famous sites and sights in relation one to the others.

Maybe get more responses by posting on Europe Forum? Lounge is closed to all but a handful of Fodor posterers.

how are you/ they in the heat? On my recent visit to Venice I found that visiting museums I hadn't previously seen was great as they had pretty good aircon and nice cool cafes. So I would have a convenient museum marked out for every day, to which you can repair if it gets too warm. I'm not talking about the biggies but the smaller ones that get comparatively few visitors anyway. I would also make sure that I had located at least one decent restaurant/cafe in each area to ensure that refreshment can be obtained relatively easily.

As for other areas to target, the Marais is an obvious choice [i loved Victor Hugo's house, though that was many years ago], the Marmottan Monet Museum and the Parc Bagatelle [lovely gardens] in the 16th. Also google maps points this in the same area out to me which looks interesting:

https://www.paris.fr/equipements/jar...d-auteuil-1780

Hope that helps a bit.

Sorry failed to notice that you are a longtime Fodorite so know that!

I would suggest not trying to show them “your” Paris. Let them identify what interests them and follow their lead. You can offer logistical help but let them curate the itinerary. I took my sister to Paris after having been there several times myself, and the Paris I saw through her eyes on her itinerary was quite different than what I would have planned for her first trip there.

Not sure what happened to the first post in this thread, which seems to be missing?

Anyway, moved to Europe as travel threads should not be posted in Lounge, thank you!

Fixed . .

Agreeing with amyb to get 'buy in' from the other two people on all parts of the trip.

That's so important when you are traveling as a (small) group. Find things that each person has a special interest in. Don't be afraid to split up and do different things, when there are different interests. You can help with things like how to handle money, taxis/transportation, hotel reservations, etc. but have everyone participate in everything else.

When I visited Paris with a friend, we did not plan ahead, but used a guidebook he had and the local information we'd collected, and each evenings decided what to do the next day. Worked beautifully.

Dont forget to go up to Montmartre. The things you listed seem to be stuck too close to the Seine.