frogoutofwater

I will recommend my two favourite, moderately priced restaurants in Paris. The first is Pomze (which is a play on the French word, "pommes", for apples). Every dish at this restaurant features apples in some way, but the dishes aren't gimmicky at all - rather more of a modern (but not over the top) cuisine. The restaurant is situated in a class Haussmanian apartment building, so it feels very French - but the decor is sleek. I find it quite a romantic spot for a special meal. The last time we were there, in 2007, they had a prix fixe 3 course menu for about 35 euros. We ordered one prix fixe plus a main and appetizer (and shared the dessert); this gave us the flexibility to try the whole menu but get a good value meal. They also offer "flights" of alcoholic cider - 3 small glasses matched to your courses. It's amazing how different the ciders can taste. Service is friendly and professional. You should make a reservation a couple of days in advance. The restaurant is located in the 8th arrondissement, about a 10 minute walk from the big department store Printemps.

My second favourite restaurant is a neighbourhood wine bar, located the south end of the 16th arrondissement. It's called Le Vin Dans Les Voiles. It is also very affordable. It has a short but very good menu with a number of wines by the glass. It's very much a local haunt. The affable proprietor doesn't speak a lot of English, but speaks enough to get by. It's very small - about 6 tables, so you should make a reservation, but you don't need to make one far in advance (a few hours should be fine).

ira

Hi JT,

Have you looked up Paris under "Destinations"?

TPAYT

With only 4 days in Paris here are my suggestions after 7 trips to Paris:

A Seine River cruise----our choice is
http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/billet_en.php
On this site you can print a coupon for a few Euros off and it's good at any time. It gives you a good look at the city and it's wonderful either day or night,we've done both. There is also Bateaux Mouche---just don't do Bat'o Bus because that is exactly what it is a bus. You might use it for transportation but not a romantic cruise---that would be a night cruise.

Of course,the Eiffel Tower, we prefer it at night.

Luxemborg Gardens---especially good on Sunday.

The smaller museums, the Louvre is overwhelming, stroll through the beautiful courtyard and the Tuilleries, but save the inside for another trip. Try D'Orsay & the Rodin, much more manageable.

Notre Dame---inside & up top if the lines aren't too long. Then a stroll down St. Louis en Ile. Try a cone in the shape of a flower at Amorino, we much prefer it to Berthillon.

A stroll along the Seine to check out the booksellers and tourist stuff. Then the Left Bank. You must check out the Buci and the restaurants & shops. At night it is quite lively.

Also at night, especially on Fri. & Sat., the street entertainment around Notre Dame is fun.

The Arch de Triumph is good, but we find the Champs Elysee huge and far too commercial.

Place Vosges in the Marais is another great place for a stroll or lunch and don't miss The Carnavalet museum---another small beauty.

The best part about Paris is just walking and finding one wonderful site, or cafe around every corner.

There are so many cafes and restaurants, it's hard to choose. Here are some of our favorites(but ofcourse it depends where you are staying).

L'Ilot Vache on rue St. Louis en Ile----36 Euro price fixe dinner with appetizer,entree, and desert.

Au Bougnat on Rue Chansionesse, a few blocks from Notre Dame. Not fancy, but one of the best rib eye steaks and frites for 19 Euros.

Relais Entrecote, near St. Germain---all they serve is steak & fries and salad for 150 years.

For a bit of a splurge try http://www.le-train-bleu.com/ I think we spent around 130 Euros for a birthday dinner for 2, but that doesn't even come close to what you would spend at the Eiffel Tower restaurant. Fodorites suggested it to us and it was one of our best experiences.

Let us know where you are staying (my suggestion is as close to the Seine as possible) and I'm sure all of us "Paris lovers" will give you more suggerstions.

janiekins

I am going to Paris for one week in June so all of your wonderful suggestions are also helping me out.

Thanks so much!

StCirq

Absolutely do not include Disney on this trip. You have all of PARIS to see!

I would never spend an entire day in the Louvre, whether I had 4 days in Paris or 40.

In addition to Le Florimond in the 7ème, I'd consider La Fontaine de Mars and any of Christian Constant's restaurants - maybe splurge at Le Violon d'Ingres for the anniversary dinner.

If you're going to be there on a Sunday, consider brunch at the Musée Jacquemart-André.

The advice to get the Carte Orange is probably not good - just buy a carnet of 10 tickets, which you can use on the métro and buses. No photos required. If the weather is nice, you might want to use the Batobus at least one day to get around - in fact, if you use a map and plan well, you can do a good day's worth of sightseeing by taking it from one end of the river to the other.

kristeric

I agree with TPAYT, stay as close to the Seine as possible, it's worth the extra money to be able to walk to everything. We rented an apartment on Ile St. Louis on our trip, which was perfect! We found the entire Left bank and the Marais to be the most charming neighborhoods. Spend as little time as possible around the Champs Elysee, go there to say you've been but that's about it.

kristeric

Also...Soprano in the Marais (soprano-paris.fr has a map/address) is a great Italian restaurant if you tire of French Cuisine..we had a great meal there.

Gretchen

Oh, please no Disney!! 4 days is not nearly enough to even sip on Paris.
I SECOND and third La Florimond. We found it the first time we stayed at the Muguet and go back every trip. The last one was for DH's significant birthday dinner with all our children and their spouses. It is a little gem. Reasonable. Authentic to the nth. SMALL--reservations a must.

Racer042

I would recommend skipping Versailles and trying Chateau Chantilly instead. You can get there by RER and IMHO, it is much nicer, less crowded than Versailles and the art is fantastic! The English village at Chantilly was the model for the same at Versailles. http://www.chateaudechantilly.com/ch.../histoire.html

Just don't forget to get tickets for 6 zones! Don't ask why I know that!

kerouac

Think of this as your FIRST trip to Paris, not as your ONLY trip to Paris. That way you won't get upset about all of the things that you will miss.

christabir

The first time I went to Paris we got the Museum pass and saw everything possible in five days, including Versailles. Loved every second of it, but we missed the essence of Paris. We have since been back a few times and don't do any of the tourist things (but the Marmottan is such an intimate little place with gorgeous Monets - I go every time with or without DH) unless there is something special. L'Orangerie had just reopened one time, so we had to go (gorgeous if Monet is special for you).

Get a great map, figure out what you want to do, decide whether or not to get Museum Pass (it let's you skip the lines, so I would consider it) and then go enjoy!!

We wander the streets, we went up in the Montparnasse tower to see Paris from on high including a view OF the Eiffel Tower as opposed to FROM the Eiffel Tower.
Sit at outdoors cafes (they have heaters when it's cold) and have coffee (ask for Cafe American and you'll get a normal cup of joe - if you as for cafe, you'll get an espresso at most places), wine (house wine by the 1/2 carafe good and cheap), bread, cheese. DH drinks red, I drink white, so the 1/2 carafes were perfect. We were almost always a little tipsy, though.
Love the view from Sacre-Coure and the neighborhood around it is bit randy - a very mild red light district and is kind of fun!
The stained glass in Sainte-Chappelle on a sunny day is not to be missed.
If there are any restaurants that are on your list that you really can't afford or is just stupidly expensive - GO AT LUNCH!! The lunch at Les Bouquinitstes (Guy Savoy's place) was the best meal I have ever had. Then a lite dinner (wine and cheese) and you are good to go!
Seine cruise at sunset - perfect.
Use the bus system if you can. So much better to see Paris when going from place to place. Avoid rush hour, tho. Better yet, walk - it's a surprisingly small city and you can walk most places (planned a little).
Dress up a little. Ball gowns and tuxedos are overkill, but leaving your jeans, printed t-shirts and sneakers at home for 5 days won't kill you. Parisians are so effortlessly chic. Just make sure you wear very comfortable shoes.
Don't worry about your caloric intake. You will walk most of it off.
Try the crepes. You can have anything on a crepe and it's fun.
There are free concerts - the churches have them all the time. They are listed in a little magazine at the postcard shops (I can't remember what it's called, it's in French and has all sorts of info on special things going on in the city).
Favorite restaurant - L'Ardoise. Pretty close to your hotel. Good value (love the food, not the atmosphere) for dinner in a city full of VERY expensive places.
Some museums are open in the evenings. For example, the Louvre was open until 9PM on Fridays and the Musee D'Orsay (don't miss) until 8PM on Thursdays. Less crowded and we really liked being there "after hours".
See everything you can at night. There's a bus that passes most of the sights - I can't remember which one, but it was like taking a tour for 1 Euro, not crowded. It is just so beautiful at night and the Eiffel Tower "dances" every hour on the hour. Watch it from Trocadero just once.
I know, this is a Fodors forum, but I highly recommend the Rick Steves book. We got some pretty good insight into what we were looking at and interesting walking tours to do on our own from it.
Leave time to walk around Versaille's grounds if you go. We walked to Marie Antoinette's "house" and really loved the whole experience.

Enjoy Paris!!

Travelnut

You can download into .pdf the Tourist Office booklet called "Paris for You". It is found under Parisinfo.com, then Press, then Publications, then Paris for You (English option)... Other useful guides there as well.

http://asp.zone-secure.net/v2/index....15/5499&lng=en

aliska

Strong recommendation on using the buses, as you will see lots & lots. We have mobility issues and much easier than hiking up flights of Metro stairs. You can educate yourself on bus routes in advance. Also, recommend L'Opentour, which is a 2 day sightseeing bus tour pass that allows you to hop on/hop off. We spent our first day on the bus viewing all the routes and sights, figuring out what we wanted to go back and visit more intensely.

Biggest piece of advice - don't stress out and feel you have to do it all. You also can plan your dinners, but breakfasts/lunches should be en route to where you are visiting that day. Good idea to concentrate on small, local places. Please don't vist McDonald's, Burger King, etc. - there are so many wonderful cheap options, crepes with nutella, etc.

d_claude_bear

There are only two things we would want McDonald's for: They have Coke (and Diet Coke, which we prefer) at reasonable prices and with ice, unlike cafes which, if they have it at all, charge more than they do for wine and often look surprised that anyone would want ice; and they have modern bathrooms. Of course, they are overrun (after school hours) by children and teens.

Our best choices for restaurants have always been places we wandered by and liked their "carte" (list of offerings). Every restaurant provides that info. We have enjoyed almost every meal, and almost never went to high-end, much-publicized places. Be aware that many true restaurants (not cafes, bistrot, etc.) close between lunch and dinner--in they offer lunch at all--and the dinner opening most likely starts around 8:00 (or perhaps as early as 7:30 or as late as 9:00). And many are small, so reserving a table earlier in the day or, better, the day before, can be helpful.

Don't worry about language. English is spoken widely and, unlike 10-15 years ago, most shop and restaurant people are willing to use it. In the past, the only time a shopkeeper would speak English was often as you were leaving following an unsuccessful effort to communicate. Much less frequent now! And in a pinch there will be someone (local or tourist) passing by who will translate for you.

AJPeabody

You have gotten good advice. My add-ons or secondings are:

Carnet. Forget passes and rules and pictures.

Broken-in walking shoes.

Musee du Moyen Age (Cluny) (Middle Ages items, Roman ruins and artefacts, the fabulous Unicorn Tapestries, and, if they still have them, maybe a lunch-hour concert of medieval music.)

Sainte-Chapelle (During bright sunlight only!)(Stained glass will knock your eyes out.)

View from the top of the Tour Montparnasse, at sunset.

A different selection from a different patisserie every day.

La Maison du Chocolat

la boulangerie Poilâne (amazing bread)

Never (I mean NEVER) eat at a restaurant with a menu in four languages and a guy out front inviting you in. NEVER!

Enter the Louvre at the Lions Gate (no line) and go right into the amazing ethnologic collection.

The Rodin Museum, inside and out.

The area around the Pompidou Center (Beaubourg), and the inside, too.

A picnic of the irresistable things selected at a street market or the basement of Galeries Lafayette or Bon Marche, weather permitting. On second thought, forget the weather and eat the picnic in your hotel room!

A Citron Presse at a cafe when your feet hurt.

scatcat

I read all the posts and I may have missed MY most important tip: Go to Laduree's for the chocolate macaroons!

GregY2

I am a supporter of the Musée & Monument pass as it represents good value if you visit two or more museums in a day - and I'm sure you will visit at least 2 - and, in most cases, it reduces queuing time significantly. It also allows you to dip into a museum for a short time only without feeling guilty about the expense. For example, visit the Louvre for just an hour and see one area that interests you and then go out, cross the river and see La Sainte Chappelle, or whatever. You can pop back into the Louvre again the next day if you'd like to see more. For a 4 day stay I'd recommend a 2 day pass for 32€. Information here: http://www.parismuseumpass.com/en/pass_presentation.php

Another good place for views is the dome of the Pantheon. There are free dome tours every half hour or so - no commentary, just someone to lead you up and you get 360 degree views.

A restaurant that we like, is Louis Vins in the 5th - nice food and not too expensive. http://www.fifi.fr/

AJPeabody

And, if that's not enough:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...o-in-paris.cfm

Apres_Londee

How about the Paris Opera Ballet? The Garnier theater is spectacular, very opulent and romantic. Even if you're not that interested in ballet, you could spend your time staring at Chagall's ceiling.

http://alternika.files.wordpress.com...arnier3web.jpg

http://cache.virtualtourist.com/1768...aris-Paris.jpg

Here's the POB website:

http://www.operadeparis.fr/cns11/liv..._SELECT_SEASON

europeannovice

Hi all,

Thanks for the wonderful suggestions. This will help us as well but we have even less time.

TPayt,
Le train Bleu--is that in the 12th arrondisemont? Is there anything else touristy in the area?

StCirq,
You mentioned Christian Constant restaurants. Which are those and where are they located?