Hey fellow travelers! <BR>I'm going to Paris for a week in March, and we also wanted to take side trips to Versailles, Chartres, and Fontainebleu. What kind of train pass should we purchase? This info is kinda hard to find. (We are staying IN Paris, however, so only day trips...or is that too much?) <BR>Thanks anybody! <BR>Daniel Lee

A couple of things: if you've never been to Paris, 3 day-trips is a lot; you'll not have enough time to see Paris. If you've "done" Paris before, then do the day-trips. There are no rail passes to cover these trains; they are short distances, and the railpasses only work economically for long hauls. <BR>If this is your first trip to Paris, then visit Versailles. It's sort of a "must"...I love Chartres (the town and the cathedral) but I visited it for the first time just a couple of years ago (after several trips to Paris) and I'm not sorry I saw other things first. <BR>Does any of this help? Or does it just confuse the heck out of you?

Hey Elvira: <BR> <BR>OK, this is our plan for Paris (we have 8 days): <BR> <BR>Le Louvre (certainement) <BR>Tour Eiffel <BR>Notre Dame <BR>Sacre-Coeur <BR>Rive Seine <BR>Arc de Triomphe <BR>Marais District <BR>Quartier Latin <BR>1/2 day for Versailles <BR>1/2 day for Chartres <BR> <BR>We are staying at Hotel Pascal in the 5e. Basically, besides, the monuments and museums in the day, we wanna just get lost at night and see the city life. Do you recommend anything off the beaten path to definitely see? And is doing Chartres gonna cut into time in which we should be doing more things in the city itself? <BR> <BR>Thanks! <BR>Dan

Goodmorning, DanCITYRAMA (Gray Line) at <BR>4, place des Pyramides, Tel 260.30.14 <BR>run daily tours to Chartes and Fontainebleau both are half day trips. <BR>Check out with the hotel concierge to get a brochure for these tours or to make arrangements. Richard of Hickory Hills, Il...PS have taken both...

Dan, my comments on your 8 day plan .... <BR>Given the choice of only being able to select one musuem, it would definitely be the Musee D'Orsay, not the Louvre. I know it is almost unthinkable not to do the Louvre, but it just wouldn't be at the top of my list. After the Musee D'Orsay, the Musee Rodin in the 7th and the Musee Marmottan in the 16th are my favorites. Both of these are small and can be done quite nicely in a few hours. I like this because it is more relaxing and allows other things to be done on the same days. There is also the Les Invalides (Musee de l'Armee) with Napoleon's tomb and an extensive display of military dress and weapons especially for WWI and WWII. I think this last musuem appeals more to the male species. I would also add the Concierge and Saint Chapelle to your list while you are around Notre Dame. The Jardin du Luxemborg and Jardin de Tuileries are always relaxing for a Sunday afternoon stroll. A ride down the Seine, at night, on the bateaux mouche is always very enjoyable for me and one of the best deals in Paris. Finally, I would suggest Les Passages ... glass domed arcades equivalent to the modern day enclosed mall, but much better. You will find many small, quaint, shops that are very intersting. One that I found by accident was des Panoramas, Jouffroy and Verdeau at 116 Bd Montmarte in the 2nd. They are on both sides of the street. Other notable ones are the Galerie Vivienne at 6 Rue Vivienne in the 2nd and Galerie Vero-Dodat at 19 Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the 1st. <BR> <BR>Also, the Place du Trocadero in the 16th is a wonderful spot for viewing the Eiffel tower. Rue du Passy in the 16th is a nice street for shopping and very few tourists which will give you a feel for everyday life of parisians. There's also an outdoor market there. Ave Mozart is another. Both of these are close if you venture to the Musee Marmottan. <BR> <BR>My understanding of Chartres is that it is pretty much an all day trip. With all my trips to the Paris and living there for a year, I still haven't done Chartres. It's just a matter of personal preference.

Your 8-day itinerary sounds fine; John has some good suggestions (les Invalides, Musee d'Orsay, Musee Marmottan). A lot has to do with your preferences: I like the Musee d'Orsay because of the artists shown; my sister likes the Louvre because she likes archaeological findings aka "old dug up stuff". St Chapelle is extraordinary, and really needs to be visited (nuns take your entrance fee - very disconcerting). Be sure to visit the department stores - upstairs. Check out the housewares, kids' clothes, electronics...for guy stuff, BHV is lots of fun (it's a hardware store...it's a video store...). Check out THEIR bathroom fixtures...I love Picasso, so the museum in the Marais is a pilgrimage I make every couple of years (it's also stuff he got from friends, like Braque). Balzac's house in the 16th is a quiet respite from the city's hurly-burly; the 16th also has the Le Corbusier Foundation, and several buildings in the area designed in his style. There's a flea market in Vanves (15th arr.) on Saturdays & Sundays with some real tacky French stuff (but also some nifty finds like "Tante Marie" [old french cookbook] and embroidered napkins). Pere Lachaise cemetery is also one of my favorites; not only is it quiet, but you can visit the graves of Chopin - fans still leave fresh flowers -, Edith Piaf, Rossini and Oscar Wilde. The neighborhood (20th arr.) is the home of Piaf and Chevalier, and has several little "villages" that are interesting to visit (it's also the home to a large population of African immigrants, so there are interesting restaurants, markets...and people!). <BR>For night life: hmmm...depends on your likes. There are great jazz clubs (upscale like Le Meridien hotel and 'gutsy' like those in the 5th arr. There are extravaganzas like the Folies Bergere and Crazy Horse (expensive, loaded with tourists, but still quite something to see), little cabarets (mostly in French so you miss a lot if you're not fluent), discos (the "a" list changes bi-minutely so don't ask which one to visit 'til you're in Paris), ballet, opera, theatre. <BR>For slightly offbeat, take in a transvestite show in one of the clubs in Monmartre. They are lots of fun, the clientele is well-behaved (the clubs seem to screen out hooligan sorts), and even if you don't understand French, the costuming and performances are worth the admission. <BR>There are lots of museums in Paris that cater to specialities: there's a doll and toy museum, there's a hunt & chase museum, there's a coin museum...and for an interesting look into French government, you can visit the Assemble (their 'congress') the tour is in French but hey you get to see their red velvet seats. <BR>You can do Versailles and Chartres in halfdays; go early to Versaille (avoid the crowds by being first in line) and you can have the late afternoon for something in Paris. Ditto with Chartres; if you're back in Paris by 3 or so, you can get in a Museum or shopping or whatever...