thanks so much for any input.

day
1 arrival in cdg
2 walk thru arc, champs, concorde, eiffel at nite
3 notre dame(wont go up), jardin luxembourg, eiffel
4 rue de cler, picnic at seine, pantheon (can we do latin quarter?)
5 leave paris for versailles

6 travel to chamonix, arrive at nite

7-10 auguille du midi cable car
mer du glace mont blanc resort
la caleche and le monchu restaurant
(i dont know the best order to do these)
11 go to courmayeur, stay overnite
leave the next day for venice

can we take public transportation around chamonix?

At first, I thought that was a list of five things you wanted to do in one day and I think it was a bit much. Then I figured out it was per day.

I don't understand the day 4 thing -- where do you intend to picnic at the Seine? Because rue Cler isn't near the Seine, so there wouldn't be any reason to go there to buy food, if that was the reasoning on that. And if you did go all the way to the Seine from rue Cler, that isn't the best part of the Seine, actually, as there are tour boats docked there and a bunch of stuff. So I'd just forget that whole rue Cler thing, and say in the Latin Quarter are where I guess you are anyway (around Pantheon). What kind of picnic are you expecting, if you mean just sit on a bench and eat some food you bought as take-out, you could do that in Luxembourg Gardens very nicely that day, and leave that out of day 3 (if you are rushed that day). There are other things to do to combine with Notre Dame (like Ste Chapelle, or the Conciergerie, or just walking around Ile St Louis or even the Marais) -- near the Eiffel Tower, you could go to INvalides or Rodin museum, etc.).

Sorry I don't know anything about Chamonix.

Local transport in the Chamonix area is fantastic - no need for a car here.

First you have the narrow-gauge mountain train that has service at least hourly from Chamonix to stations every few miles each way from town - so no matter where you want to go - Mer de Glace train, Mont Blanc Railway, etc. there will be a train station nearby. Buses pick up the slack.

great suggestions, christina. appreciate it. where is the best part of seine to hang out?

thanks again, pal. it's a relief to know about the good transport system. have you been to courmayeur? is it worth it to stop overnite on the way to venice? or maybe just look around and stay the extra nite in venice since we would only have 2 full days in venice otherwise.

blessings.

I would have an extra night in Venice than in Courmayeur especially if you are talking about only 2 or 3 nights in Venice. You will already be in Alpes area (Chamonix) for 3 nights.

Transportation around Chamonix: If you mean in the city of Chamonix, there are bus lines connecting to smaller villages but in order to get to the stations for Aiguille-du-Midi ropeway, Mer de Glace train, you don't need to take a bus. As long as your hotel is in that small Chamonix city center, they will be 5 - 10 minutes walk. Any hotels you have in mind?

I agree it would be kind of ridiculous to go to the rue Cler just to buy picnic stuff and then cart it all to the Seine from there, unless you're staying in that quartier, and you don't say where you're staying. There's food available all over the city - I wouldn't make a plan to actually go somewhere just to pick up food for a picnic.

There's no best place to "hang out" on the Seine, but one of the most obvious is the Pont Neuf and the area around it. Of course you can "do" the Latin Quarter - it's just a neighborhood and anyone is free to walk around in it.

Day 2 is pretty sparse. Walking through the Arc de Triomphe will take two minutes, there's very little of interest on the Champs Elysées, Place de la Concorde is just that - a large square - and the Tour Eiffel isn't very near any of that. I think you need to flesh out Day 2.

Day 3 - you're going to the Tour Eiffel again? Why?

Overall, I think your plan for Paris lacks focus. It's a huge city with numerous attractions, most of which aren't on your list. If you want to just hang around and absorb the atmosphere, your plan's a good one, but you could actually see a lot more of the sites if you wanted to.

You have a very light Paris schedule. Have you been before and you're only interested in walking around? If this is your first time you have plenty of time to add more sights.

You're going to the Eiffel Tower twice - once in the day and once at night. Why not go around late afternoon/dusk and see it in the daylight and evening for one admission price rather than going back and paying twice.

Day 2 - from the Arc de Triumph to the Place de la Concord might take an hour if you walk slowly. What will you do until you go to the Eiffel Tower at night?

Day 3 - the Luxembourg Gardens is a much nicer place to picnic than the banks of the Seine. Agree with other poster about going to Rue Cler just for picnic food and then hanging out by the river. There's also a small garden right behind Notre Dame. But again Lux Gardens is really nice. Remember to keep off the grass.

You can find take out food along the way or go to Rue Mouffetard market for food (as long as it's not Monday when they're closed).

If you really want to eat by the river, go down the steps off the Pont Neuf (near Notre Dame). There's a small garden there but it will likely be noisy as that's where the Seine tour boats dock.

I'd actually prefer to sit down in a cafe and have a proper lunch to eating on a park bench.

Day 4 - the Pantheon is in the Latin Quarter. Since you're going to the Lux Gardens on day 3 you should also see the Pantheon that day since it's right near the Gardens. What do you want to see in the Latin Quarter? Depending on the day of the week you could do a walking tour of the area with Paris Walks.

That pretty much leaves Day 4 open for other things.

Day 5 - Are you leaving Paris and not coming back? Versailles is only 15 minutes outside Paris. Are you spending the night in Versailles and going to Chamonix from there? If that's you plan I would stay in Paris for the last night and do a day trip to Versailles.

Hello heiwa2007

The trip up to Aiguille du Midi is awesome! Be sure to allow plenty of time to check out all the different platforms and viewpoints. From every angle it just gets more and more spectacular. Truly spectacular.

From the Aiguille du Midi, a highlight for us was taking the telecabine "Panoramic Mont-Blanc" over to Helbronner (the Italian border station). For 35 or 40 minutes each way, you literally fly aross the Geant Glacier, with all the crevases and the huge glistening glacier just below you. If it's windy at all, though, this will not be running.

Happy travels!

i appreciate all your input. i havent really thought thru the paris itinerary. i do want to see the opera, pompidou, sacre couer -near where we're staying; moulin rouge is also near, can we go in even though we're not going to a show? last time we spent a great deal of time (happily) in louvre and orsay. didnt pay to go inside invalides. didnt go up the arc. and im thinking we must have missed seeing some things at champs. what other things would you suggest,st cirq?

good suggestion adrienne, about seeing the eiffel tower same day. re:versailles, we're thinking we wouldnt want to rush thru it and besides the hotel is less than half the price in paris.

btw, for my return flight home, i need to go back to paris fr rome because of a discounted airfare. i was looking at trains, it takes a long time, 17 hrs? are local flights not much more expensive? which would you recommend?

kappa, thanks for the info abt the bus. we're staying in chamonix mercure centre. any info abt it? im really considering just stopping by courmayeur and quickly proceeding to venice.

swisshiker,thanks a lot for your good wishes and suggestion abt different viewpoints. it would be nice if we could do the montblanc to helbronner cable on the last day and cross over to italy but i've been told there wouldnt be room for our baggage.

Peace, Chamonix Mercure Centre (used to be Novotel of the same Accor group, I think) is almost next to SNCF Chamonix station. Mentenvers Station is just behind SNCF,less than 5 minutes walk. Aiguille du Midi cable ropeway station is a little farther to the other direction, less than 10 minutes as far as I remember. Busy main streets and Mont Blanc Square are also 5 minutes walk so location-wise it's a fine hotel.

"versailles, we're thinking we wouldnt want to rush thru it and besides the hotel is less than half the price in paris"

Have you checked the train connections from Versailles to Chamonix? Can you go directly or do you have to go back to Paris and then to Chamonix. If so, is it really worth packing and unpacking for 1 night. Plus the loss of time getting to the hotel in Versailles and then to the Chateau.

I agree that you should take your time and spend the day in Versailles as there is so much to see at the Chateau but I would want my last night to be in Paris. How much is the reduction in hotel price worth to you. You're already spending lots of money on the trip, what's a little bit more.

Ryanair, Easyjet, Vuling have been mentioned on this board as inexpensive intra-european flights. Pay attention to the luggage requirements as often you have to pay extra for bags over a certain weight and that can substantially add to the ticket price.

thanks, kappa. it's good to know that it's near the places we want to go to.

adrienne, i know that we have to pass paris but i havent checked how far our hotel is to the connection.will consider it. thanks for your suggestions, inc. the local airlines.

blessings.

One place seldom mentioned in this forum that satisfies the need for a park _and_ access to the Seine is the Parc Andre Citroen. It is a longish but very interesting bus ride from the Eiffel/Invalides area, and it has an especially interesting feature in a tethered balloon which offers rides up for views of Paris.

The Parc Citroen is on the site of the demolished Citroen auto plant and was i think one of Mitterand's Grandes Projects where he set out to leave several monumental modern developments on staid Paris - a very very novel park and the balloon ride is fantastic.

thank you for the park suggestion, ackislander and pal. am leaving in less than a week and i still have some prep to do. does anyone know about de la tour eiffel hotel where we are staying and the area around rue de l'exposition? merci.

heiwa - i'm sure you will get a lot of input by re posting a new thread with that Paris question and specifically what info about your Eiffel Tower area hotel, etc.

will do, pal. thanks!