trips4fun

I just found out that I have a business trip in Paris next week and I could use some help with ideas to make the best of my short time there. I was in Paris only once before over 20 years ago as part of a whirlwind bus tour of European cities and spent about 1 1/2 days there. At the time I saw some of the highlights and visited Versailles, but it has been quite a while.

I will be traveling overnight from New York (arriving around 6 a.m.) and will be there for 5 days and nights. However, I will obviously be jet-lagged the day I arrive and then I only have one day (the last day) completely free to play tourist. Other days I will have a mix of work and/or meetings with the possibility of grabbing a few hours here and there.

I will be staying in the Opera area and will be working within a 10 minute walk from the hotel. This is what things look like time-wise:

Day 1 -- I arrive at CDG around 6 a.m, so I figure I will get to the hotel around 8-9 and will have several hours before I can get a room, unless I am lucky and they have something available.

Day 2 - I will probably have until about noon or 1pm. Then I will need to work and go to meetings. The evening after about 6pm will be free.

Day 3 - No free time today as I will be working all day and have a work-related event to attend in the evening.

Day 4 -- I should have about 2- 2/12 hours free in the middle of the afternoon and the evening free after about 5:30 or 6:00pm.

Day 5 - Completely free day and evening (Saturday). Flying back on Sunday morning.

This is so last minute that I really don't know what I want to do. A few things that come to mind are taking the hop-on hop-off bus (or maybe the 69 bus) the day of arrival to rest and get a sense of the area (not sure if sitting on a buss is smart after flying overnight, though). I'm also considering a visit to the Louvre or Musee D'Orsay, a possible free walking tour and as I have some interest in photography I was considering booking a photo tour for a half day (or more, depending on what other things I want to do) .

I get the sense that doing less and enjoying the moments is probably a better plan than rushing from one thing to the next, but I don't want to waste the little bits of time I may have free wandering around aimlessly without any idea what I am looking at.

Any thoughts/ideas/input is most greatly appreciated.

Gretchen

You probably won't get to your hotel that soon, and they will have a room for you to leave your luggage. Freshen up a bit and begin walking around. Get a bite to eat at a café.
It could be fun to head over to Notre Dame and have a bite at the Brasserie en l'Isle just behind ND, over the bridge. it will get you into the Paris mood. There are also numerous cafes around Notre Dame.
Head over to Ste. chapelle and look at the windows.
We keep pressing on on our first day, have an early dinner and are pretty much "on time" for the next day.

Elizabeth_S

Wish I had a last minute business trip to Paris!

A few thoughts:

- re checking into your hotel. I always email a hotel as I'm leaving for the airport to advise I will be arriving early the next morning. At that time (and if the hotel has a real time booking engine) I check to see if they have any vacancies the night before I arrive....if yes that implies there are rooms available for an early check in the next morning. That gives one a bit of information when dealing with the front desk at check in.

- I haven't done a HOHO bus but I do enjoy the Bateaux Mouche boats on the Seine and think it's a good thing to do the first day when you're tired. I usually take the one at Pont Neuf

http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/home/

- check museum hours in advance - Musee D'orsay is closed Mondays/open late Thursdays; Louvre closed Tuesdays/open late Wednesday and Friday, etc, etc

- regarding the Louvre there is a Highlights of the Louvre tour in English (well, there was) at 11am - check the site for other times. It was a good 90 minutes overview if that's all you have

Below is a link to a restaurant round up I did - we were staying in the 1st near the Opera and many of the restaurants are in that area.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nt-roundup.cfm

Have fun!

annhig

this is when i think that the HOHO bus comes into its own, especially as you may not be able to get into your room straight away.

you could do just as gretchen says, get off at Notre Dame, go to the/a brasserie, St Chappelle, wander around the Isles, then get back on the bus again, or take a bateau mouches or the batobus down to the Eiffel Tower.

Both big museums have late night openings which may be useful to you.

bon voyage!

laurie_ann

I think the best antidote to jet lag is a good walk. That first day consider walking "down" from hotel to Notre Dame, "across" to Eiffel Tour or Arc de Triomphe and back. Just draw a triangle on a map and go!

trips4fun

Thanks for all of the thoughts. IF you have any others, please keep them coming .

Any suggestions for a good map? I can use an iPad or smart phone, but I don't want to be staring around in a crowd with one of them trying to figure out where to go. Seems like trouble waiting to happen. I heard good things about the Paris Map guide (Michael Middletech) but the last edition was from 2002.

jent103

If you have an iPhone as well as your iPad, the Paris2Go app was extremely helpful to me on my trip two years ago. The maps download to your phone, so no data plan required, but it will locate you on the map using the GPS. Between that and a paper Metro map, I was all set. I'm not sure if there's an Android version or not, but definitely worth checking out. Just like in the States, you'll see people everywhere with their faces in their phones, so you won't look out of the ordinary at all! If I needed to use the map, I'd just get out of the middle of the sidewalk, figure out where I was headed and be on my way. No big deal.

I love the idea of Notre Dame on your first day - I did that and Sainte-Chappelle and it was a great Day 1 activity (active and felt very "Paris-y"!).

In no particular order, some of my favorite things I did:
- walking tours with Paris Walks - there are tons to choose from, every day, all 90 minutes or so; I thought it was a great way to get an overview of a neighborhood in a pretty short time frame
- the Pompidou - I liked this museum more than I expected to!
- concert at Sainte-Chappelle one evening

The late museum hours will be great for you. It may be heresy, but I'd go to the Orsay over the Louvre if you have to pick - it's more manageable in your time frame, and the building itself is one of my favorite museums. That's just me though.

AlessandraZoe

I agree with Laurie_ann--I'd do a good walk to keep you awake. And do take advantage of Bus 69 while you are there--you are in PERFECT position to keep taking advantage of it. Grab a carnet or two and you are totally set.

Actually, now that I think about it, you should take advantage of what both your geographic area and your excellent transportation opportunities offer so that you can add serendipity into your visit. As a photographer, you certainly must enjoy that aspect.

There certainly are a lot of terrific visuals where you are staying so that you can mix sightseeing and meetings with little effort and see many things most tourists don't usually get around to seeing. You are in the midst of Napolean's and Napolean II/Haussmann's Paris, and I heartily recommend you take advantage of that history while you are there.

The Place Vendome is not something I recommend to the person who wants to run from Notre Dame to Saint Chappelle, fit in a snap of the Mona Lisa, and jog down to the Eiffel Tower. The Place Vendome is something I recommend to anyone who wants a sense of time and place in Paris.

Another landmark near you that obviously comes to mind is the Palais Garnier. We took an English tour there in 1999 and we STILL talk about it. Please ask your hotel desk for information, or dash into one of the Palais Garnier ticket booths because the PG's website has a lot of "Franglais" with a few broken links
http://visitepalaisgarnier.fr/en/useful-information
I have seen on other info pages that tours run Wednesdays, Saturdays & Sundays at 11.30 & 14.30 if that helps.

For another architectural beauty, please see L'église de la Madeleine. If you can snag a concert seat there, drop in. It has excellent acoustics.

If you visit the church, you might as well check out the Galerie de la Madeleine, one of the famous "passages couverts". You will also be staying near Passage Choiseul. If you want to check out some of the other passages, here's the Google map of them: https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...007&dg=feature
These passages offer lots of photographic opportunities.

Of course you will want to dash in to the Louvre and certainly you will want to walk the bridge to the Musee d'Orsay, but the museum that offers the least "museum fatigue" is the nearby l'Orangerie. The display of Monet's Waterlilies (Nymphéas), a total of 8 huge paintings in two oval shaped rooms with diffused light (something you understand) is worth the price of admission.

By the way, my daughter's most impressive photos of Paris were from around the l'Orangerie's Seine area. The lighting in the area, no matter what time of day, seemed to give that "the camera sees what we actually don't" type of thing.

If you want some sound in addition to light, keep you ears open for my favorite Paris buskers, "Les Musiciens de Lviv" or "Caberet Slave". They will explain to anyone who asks that they are UKRAINIAN, which has taken on a bit more meaning in recent days for those who had not been in the know. You will miss their 2 pm showing at the Place des Vosges in the Marais, but according to my study-abroad daughter, they sort of keep to a Metro schedule, and she has seen them on a regular basis at Concorde, Chatelet and Bastille stations. Enjoy them now!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=ok8h_4fFi0E

Foodwise, you are in prime position for business lunches that are darn good. I'd check in with Chowhound.com for these.

I hope this has been helpful.

suze

<to waste the little bits of time I may have free wandering around aimlessly without any idea what I am looking at.>

Well that would be my plan exactly! IMO it's not a waste to wander around Paris. If you feel the need to know exactly what you're looking at, grab a tourist brochure, street map, and/or guideobook.

My favorite Paris map was a freebie from the hotel lobby. It just worked better than any of the ones we had purchased at home in advance. Plus being paper, we took notes on it.

trips4fun

jent and Alessandra, thank you for the helpful information. Suze, you are probably right. It would be good to wander and let the streets take me wherever they lead. I'm sure I would see quite a few things I might not otherwise look for. No need for me to identify absolutely everything, but I do like to know generally what I am seeing. No doubt when I return home I will be asked what I saw and it would be very nice to have an answer!

suze

My best Paris memories are of drinking wine in sidewalk cafes. If you have a map the major monuments, parks, etc. will all be marked.

Judy

I like the Streetwise map. It is laminated, easy to read and fits in a purse....well, most purses. You will be in a great location for sights and restaurants. Have fun!!

AlessandraZoe

Trips4fun--You are more than welcome, and it is very gracious of you to say thank you.

I am so happy you are now planning to experience Paris as opposed to merely touring it.

I, like so many posters, also recommend Streetwise Maps, most of which include Metro maps on one of the folds. Unlike an iphone, no one rips a Streetwise out of your hand. Just make sure you are clear of the skinny kids holding clipboards with petitions because you'll give yourself away.

Our hotel maps have also been darn handy, especially because one can write and circle all over them.

Since we like to mix spontaneous and planned experiences, we used two books to help us experience Paris at least once every year since 1998:

"Access Paris" and "Time Out Paris Walks"

"Access Paris" ** allowed my kids to "pick a street and see what's there." "Time Out Paris Walks" allowed us to take a more directed approach.

**<i>My caveat is that the "Access Paris" I liked best was the 6th edition, not the most recent ones. Somehow the updates lost the purpose.</i>

However, you might enjoy something you can access right now online.

The website
http://www.historywalksparis.com/ ,
given your upcoming Paris location, might give you some great ideas.

By the way, I admit a bias against the HopOn bus. Not only do the regular Paris bus routes cover the same ground for practically nothing, riding regular transport allows you to see Parisians and experience life there. I love traveling with the Paris mom, dad, two kids with one in the stroller with their recent purchases from BHV.

Enjoy, enjoy.
AZ

suze

(I don't like laminated street maps, because I like to write on them, add notes about locations, where I've been, where I'm going, where my hotel is -lol!)

Sue4

I like the Streetwise map, and travel with it, but especially like Middlemarch's Paris Mapguide for great detail. The first one might be enough for your short time, though. There are some good ideas for you here. I'm constantly checking for good Paris ideas - I'll be there in May for two weeks - and get plenty of them on this forum.

Cowboy1968

If you stay near the Opéra Garnier as I did that last three days, you probably already know that the Roissy Bus will take you there directly from CDG.
For just an hour or two to kill, Galeries Lafayette and Printemps are just in that area.
It is a bit "touristy" and not exactly cheap, but also Café da la Paix is just in the area.
If you are into photography you may be interested in the exhibition of Henri Cartier Bresson's photography at the Centre Beaubourg. Have not seen it myself, but Cartier-Bresson can't be bad..

kerouac

I certainly would not fixate on bus 69 because it does not run anywhere near the Opéra area, so you would be better off testing the dozen or so other bus lines that run through there. You can transfer bus lines on the same ticket as long as you don't backtrack, so this allows quite a bit of exploration.

In any case, Opéra is an excellent area for wandering, either along the Grands Boulevards (which metro lines 8 and 9 follow) or down avenue de l'Opéra towards the Louvre and the Seine -- just for a start!

kerouac

Since nobody posted the route of bus 69, I will do so: http://www.ratp.fr/informer/pdf/orie...=pdf&nompdf=69

JulieVikmanis

Let me put in a good word for the Knopf Mapguides guide to Paris. It is about 4" by 6" and less than 1/2 inch thick and can fit in a purse or pocket. It shows the city in 10 fold out maps to each selected area with a selection of 8 to 10 sights in each and also provides brief info about a handful of restaurants, cafes and bars, concerts, shopping, etc. in each area. gives opening/closing times of sights I'm using it right now to plan a 12 day trip to Paris in early april.

Cowboy1968

as kerouac wrote, so many bus lines go via Opéra that you can literally go almost anywhere
#42 is a nice connection from Opéra to the Eiffel Tower - via Madeleine, Concorde and Ave. Montaigne.
http://www.ratp.fr/informer/pdf/orie...loc=bus_paris/