Paris For First Time Please HELP!
 

I'm leaving for Paris for the very first time. We'll arrive at Paris on Monday morning from Frankfurt via EuroRail and staying at the Westin Paris. I just bought the 3 day Museum Pass, but other than going to the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, and Versaille I have no clue where to go and what to do. Can anyone please give me suggestions. Where to eat (relatively cheap), Where to go, what to avoid. Any suggestions will be extremely greatful! Thank you!

Honestly I cannot believe you're visiting Paris next week and you have not read anything about the city. It's not really an easy task for anyone to plan someone's itinerary especially when no one knows you. I suggest you do a study of the "Destinations" tab above and read at least one guidebook to get ideas on what you want to see and do.

I, too, often wonder why specific cities/destinations are chosen... is your travel work-related or something like that?

The best thing you can do is go <i>right now</i> and buy a guidebook - a good one for a short visit that doesn't weigh a lot is the Eyewitness &quot;Top Ten&quot; for Paris. And the Westin is not far from the main Tourist Office at &quot;Pyramides&quot; and they have <i>beaucoup</i> brochures, maps, etc. Their booklet &quot;Paris for You&quot; is very light-weight paper, but an excellent resource for locating addresses, opening hours, etc.

Maybe you would enjoy a one-day overview tour via bus, ie. Paris Vision or something, which will drive you around to all the &quot;main sights&quot;, then you can go visit any that looked interesting.

A nice mixture of museums might be
- Louvre
- d'Orsay
- Rodin
- Picasso

You might take a guided walk or two, if the weather cooperates - for the Marais, or Latin Quarter for instance..
Many people have used this company:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pariswalking/

How long is your trip? What are your interests. We can help but you must do some homework first. Do get out the guide books, national geographics ect. I would suggest a half day bus tour for a first timer just to get oriented.

Hi gk,

Have you looked at the miniguide to Paris under &quot;destinations&quot;?

((I))

Well being a non-planner myself, I have no problem understanding the situation. Here's my suggestion:

Upon arrival pick up a free city map in your hotel lobby. Also look at the brochures on offer for shows and tours. Buy a weekly entertainment guide at a news stand.

Each morning over breakfast pick one thing you want to do and set out in that direction (i.e., Eiffel Tower), then continue walking to the next place of interest using your street map (head toward Arc de Triomphe), stop at sit in cafes for coffee or a glass of wine along the way or when lunch time comes around. Continue walking or take a taxi back to your hotel at the end of the day.

Luxembourg Gardens and the Tuileries were great places to spend an afternoon if you have good weather.

As for places to eat, just keep your eyes open as you are out walking around. If a place looks really good, jot down the address so you can find it again.

Lastly, carry a business card for your hotel with you. That way should you get lost or too far afield, you can simply show it to a cab driver to take you back home.

Paris was an easy city to see without having a set itinerary.

p.s. You could always do one of the narrated city bus tours on your first day to get a feel for the lay of the land.

I loved mass at Notre Dame and seeing Saint Chapelle. A boat ride on the Seine is fun...Bateaux Mouche or others. The baguette ham sandwiches you can buy on the street are to die for and inexpensive. There are lots of crepe stands.We had a great meal at Chez Rene' that was not too pricey. (traditional french fare; they have a website)We rode the Metro everywhere and found it easy and safe.
Buy a map and a guidebook. Happy Trails!

Paris is a wonderful place to visit and I hope you thoroughly enjoy it although it doesn't sound like you have done enough research to make the best of your 3 days there. Do not, whatever else you do, miss Ste. Chapelle. Try to go on a sunny day to get the full effect of the sun through the amazing stained glass windows. If you like museums, visit the Musee D'Orsay, the Louvre and either the Picasso or the Rodin. Visit Notre Dame. If you have a nice day visit either the Luxembourg Gardens or the Tuilleries or both. Try to do some research. As noted above the destination tab above will provide many of the highlights of Paris.

Aunt Annie gave you good advice.

If you have an interest in the Impressionists you must visit the Musee D'Orsay.

Try to catch a classical music concert at Saint Chapelle.

The Marais District is the Bohemian area. Lot of nice restaurants, Good walking around area. For Dinner 'Le Pamphlet; for lunch Mariage Freres.

Fodor's guidebook would really come in hand. If you have a short stay use the Metro.

Good luck.

Being a &quot;non-planner&quot; may not be the same as knowing nothing about the city. A lot of time gets wasted that way. I don't even know where to start.

Since you have the three day museum pass be willing to pop into any of the sights on the list that you go by while walking. You've already &quot;paid for them&quot; and then you will find your own jewel. Get a map and mark out the hotel and anything else that you have read about. A little research will mean that you know that another &quot;interesting&quot; place is just around the corner. I like architecture, so the Pantheon (in the Latin Quarter), Opera House Garnier, Rue de Rivoli, Palais Royal (just behind the Louvre) and Palais Chaillot (near the Eiffel Tower) are on my must see list. I'le St Louis is a charming place in the center of Paris for a walking afternoon. Near to Notre Dame and in the Latin Quarter is Cluny Museum. That will show you something of the Roman Ruins that the city is built on.

Good point Gretchen. While I don't plan out daily itineraries in advance, I have looked at map to figure out where things are, get an idea what neighborhood is best to stay in, and know basically what I want to see and do.

See this article about getting around:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34630342

Here's a map of tourist destinations you can download and print on a single sheet:

<b>http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan.php?nompdf=bus_touristic&amp;loc=reseaux&am p;fm=pdf</b>

I think just walking around the city was fabulous. There is so much to see and the city is just beautiful.

Check out the various neighborhoods such as the Marais and St. Germain des Pres. One of my favorite areas to walk around in was Ile St. Louis.

I loved visiting Sacre Coeur and St. Chapelle.

If you have time, I would highly recommend an evening boat ride. Prices are low and you get a wonderful view of the buildings and monuments lit up at night.

For cheaper food, we usually ended up eating at cafes and bistos, which are plentiful. We simply browsed around, looking at menus, until we came across something that sounded good. Definitely check out the crepe stands. The milk chocolate crepes were simply heavenly!

Have a great time!
Tracy

Take the Montmarte Village &quot;Paris Walks&quot; tour. Peter was our guide and it was really fun. Montmarte has a street market that is really cool. Also Rue Moufftard is special - nice street market!

There are plenty of restaurants in the Latin Quarter that offered fixed price three course dinners for between 10 and 15 Euro. It won't be an unforgettable gastronomic experience but is ususally quite decent. That's the nice thing about Paris - the quality of the food is very high everywhere, even at the lower priced restaurants

Watch for bakeries that offer sandwiches ready-made. I had a truly memorable chicken salad on ww bread sitting in a park near the Sorbonne one afternoon.

This is very suspicious. No one feels trolled?

Well, I don't know if gkim107 is a troll or not, but he/she did post a similar question about Germany which he/she will be visiting in two days.

This would be two destinations that this poster has done hardly any research on.

Gkim, is this a spur-of-the-moment trip? You're apparently leaving in 4 days! There's not much time for research at this late date. At least pick up a guidebook that hits the highlights, like DK TOP 10 PARIS. You can read some on the trip over.

Like someone mentioned, the hotels always have brochures and maps available. They might also have a copy of WHERE in the lobby which has listings of attractions, shopping, dining, etc. Published every month.

Don't forget Notre Dame and a boat trip (about one hour long) on the Seine. Montmartre and Sacre Coeur are wonderful also.

Good luck!