Lilly2016

Thank you everyone for the info

Fuzzbucket.. wow thanks again i thought it was like the movie and Uhm no topples dancers not our cup of tea...lol that's out ..

I found out the Louvre museum is closed on Christmas day, Notre dame looks open ..
Ste Chappell and Eiffel tower can't tell if open?

I think on Christmas day

If we could do a tour that takes us to Notre Dame, Ste chappell and Eiffell or 2/3 and a dinner cruise it would be great.. is that too much for one day?

but the only one i found is $1000

how do i find a good tour company from here.. the TA's here are useless..

peple on the other forum said Viator is the middle man and jacks up prices for other tour companies

Kathie

Viator does not run any tours, just re-sells local tours. So the locals get paid less than they would if you booked the tour directly with the local company. You don't need a tour in either place. I agree with others that the HOHO buses are a waste of time and money. Decide what you want to do/see and do those things on your own.

If you like Shakespeare, do go to one of the RSC plays.

Also, dinner cruises have notoriously bad food.

StCirq

The Tour Eiffel is open every day of the year. Sainte-Chapelle is closed on Christmas Day. Notre Dame, as Paris's cathedral, is of course open on Christmas Day, with masses every hour and a half or so. Whether the crowds will be daunting, I don't know. But I highly doubt, short of hiring a private driver (most likely hard to find on Christmas Day), that you'll find a tour that will take you to just the two places you've mentioned that are open.

Agree that most of the dinner cruises will serve you microwaved stuff. Les Yachts de Paris and Calife have good reputations, but I have no personal experience with them. We love to take a cruise ride in Paris, but we always just find a nice place nearby to have dinner afterwards.

Kathie

Lilly, let me say it again, You do not need a tour. So don't waste your time looking for a tour company. You can go to the places on your list easily on your own and it won't cost you $1000.

denisea

The Eiffel Tower is open on Christmas Day and I also believe the Musee Jaquemart Andre is open on Christmas.

While not inexpensive, we enjoyed sitting outside at Cafe Marley overlooking the Louvre, for lunch on Christmas Day a few years ago.

Consider visiting all the store windows at Printemps and Galleries Lafayette on Christmas day....the windows are always open for viewing. The bar at the nearby Le Grand Hotel Continental is a good place to pop in for a celebratory glass of champagne for a Christmas toast.

fuzzbucket

I think the problem is trying to make too many choices with a difficult travelling partner. So, best to combine as much as possible.

The food on the dinner cruises is equivalent to business-class airline food. Not too bad, and it would be the easiest, most festive thing to do IMO. We've been on two dinner cruises with this company. You can book yourself online, print the voucher and show up at the dock. It doesn't look like you can go on Christmas Day, but Christmas Eve is available. I'd go for the middle-range dinner option.
http://www.bateauxparisiens.com/inde...ID/2/rid/4198/

You can ask your hotel to suggest and reserve a Christmas Day dinner somewhere nice. Ask them for recommendations of "brasseries", which are always festive during the holidays - and serve food all day long.

You could ask your hotel to arrange a taxi so you could go visit the two places that will be open on Christmas Day, and drive by anything else you want to see.
This would probably cost you around 150-200 EU, if you want a driver to take you around town for half a day. You can get out and look at the decorations in the department stores, etc. That's what I'd suggest. You don't have to book a tour, wait until you get to the hotel.

Then, if you want to go look at the other places you've missed, you could repeat the taxi ride the next day and still come out way ahead of the 1000 EU the tour company will charge you.

Lilly2016

Thank you so much,

ok so the TA was recommending booking tours ahead of time for these reasons:

we are only there 3 days - including christmas day

we arrive Late christmas eve - probably too late to book anything that night for the following day - which we do not want to waist..

and finally she says when we have the tours booked - we will Skip the Lines and go up with our guide etc... which to me is priceless - to save time and given my mom is 70 yo

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Now I did search a lot last night and found tours out of a company in Paris --

but not sure which to get..

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of course if we follow your recommendation and Not book the tours ahead of time - its better not to be booking blindly - however, I'm not sure if we will be able to purchase skip the line options?

---
I'm glad to find out we can just go to Ste chapel and Notre Dame without tickets and tours... that is a relief.

Also TY so much for telling me about the horrible food on the cruise.

I will book it just for the night time now.. 1 hour to see the lights

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Re the Louvre.. I would def want a guided tour for this to show us highlights - as I love art and would love the guide -as well as skip the lines.. Any suggestions? The TA says it's only open the 28th , but i see that it will be open on the 26th too , not sure?

----
Skip the lines is a big concern for me - with limited time and mom's age.

Please advise.

jamikins

Keep in mind your TA gets commission on booking tours...they don't if you book yourself direct or don't book at all...

thursdaysd

How to skip the queues:

http://en.parismuseumpass.com/

The Louvre itself provides tours:

http://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-guidees

And audio guides:

http://www.louvre.fr/en/audio-guide

thursdaysd

Should have added that if your guidebook had already arrived it would have told you about the museum pass.

And there is also this:

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-rea...io-tours/paris

Lilly2016

Ok just was able to get through the Louvre myself it is open on the 26th.. so TA was wrong.. yeah and TY Thursdayssd they do offer guided tours.. but they are not open until monday.
i know i wish my tour books would have arrived earlier.
the express shipping was $30 i didn't pay it.

now for the eiffel tower
how do i get skip the lines for that... I only see to the 2nd floor and i would like to go to the way top..
should we try to eat there.. is it a nice unique experience ? how is the food? is lunch or dinner better?

thursdaysd

From the Louvre website re: Intro tours:

Daily except Tuesdays, public holidays, and free admission days, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. (in English).

Booking a guided tour
Tickets for the "Welcome to the Louvre" tour can only be bought at the Louvre on the day of your visit.

Lilly2016

thursdaysd i talked to them and they said i can get it ahead of time but not until Monday. ;/ i guess we will see on Monday.

for Christmas Day

what do you think of this plan

in Am head out to Notre dame and ste chapel (which online says need tickets?)
than Bus tour (not HOHO) just something to take us around - mom wants

than Eiffel tower at dusk

----

2nd day 12/26 Louvre in am

rest at hotel

river cruise at night

during free time - id like to visit shops, mom likes to enjoy restaurants and coffee shops..

is this good? am i missing anything?

thursdaysd

Seems to have a lot of free time, but maybe your mother needs that.

StCirq

Lilly, Sainte-Chapelle is CLOSED on Christmas Day.

You have waited too long to get tickets to the Tour Eiffel 2nd and 3rd floors. They are sold out until February according to the website (which BTW is in English as well as other languages). You choices are to stand in line and buy a ticket to walk up to whatever floor(s) you wish to visit or find a private guide who might be able to take you up (I have zero knowledge of how that works). Standing in line at dusk at the Tour Eiffel on Christmas Day in the cold would not appeal to me.

Others have given you the current information for the Louvre.

I hope you realize that "skip the line" is little more than a marketing ploy - yes, of course you get to skip the lines for people buying tickets if you've already bought tickets, but nobody gets to skip the security lines. Whether the security lines will be problematic on Christmas Day, I don't know.

If you can find time for a visit to the Jaquemart-André, and even maybe brunch there, that is always a lovely experience (and would keep you inside out of the cold).

Lilly2016

SteCirq
Yes I had checked the site and saw that it was sold out.. and that's why i was trying to find a tour to buy ahead..
Im just wondering if the tour operators selling the skip the line tickets def have these spots .. if the website (which i had checked and couldn't book but wasn't sure if I was missing something) says nothing available until Feb 2017?

Same thing with the dinner --- there are french and american tour companies selling the dinner and eiffell tickets still for Dec 25 ..

Ty so much for the brunch suggestion - mom loves brunch -should i try to book that now too?

also will be calling library to grab the tour books...

also ty both for taking time out to help me..

fuzzbucket

See my reply on your other thread.

The TA is selling you a load of crapola.
Your hotel will be able to arrange a taxi if you want someone to drive you around for a fee. Call them today and explain what you want to do, if it makes you feel more secure.

It will take you about 90 minutes to get up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. It will take about 90 minutes to get back down in a packed glass elevator. You can stay on the upper platform as long as you want to, but it's very windy and cold. This might be too much for your mother to bear - I wouldn't advise going if the weather's bad.

Leely2

Three of us now have mentioned Jaquemart-André, open Christmas Day.

http://www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com/en

This is a nice place to go on Christmas, especially if the special exhibit grabs your fancy, and as noted you can have lunch/brunch/tea in the cafe. I have also just bummed around and done light sightseeing (architecture) and shopping (Marais) on Christmas Day in Paris when the weather has been nice.

Leely2

Oops, I forgot Christmas is on Sunday this year, so yes, brunch.

StCirq

Lilly, I've never used a tour operator of any kind in Paris, so I'm sorry if I can't answer that.

You don't normally have to book brunch at the Jaquemart-André. I never have. You just show up around 11:00-11:30 and wait in line. Since it's Christmas Day, though, go online to their website and see if special arrangements are necessary.