Paris- Here We Come!!
 

We will arrive in Paris at 6:30 am Saturday. We finally ended up having reservations at the Westin-maybe not too "french" but seems to be a great location. Many thanks to all for the tips from the Paris threads-so much fun and adds to the excitement.
Any good cafes/bistros/restaurants near you can suggest? We are really looking forward to relaxing and just wandering the city.
DH has not been to Versailles. I think everyone needs to see it at least once in their lifetime. Any opinions regarding that?
I am so excited I am about pop! :)
P.S
(Has anyone heard anything about an Airport Security strike 12/16?)

I don't really think everyone has to see Versailles, but I would say that about almost anything. It depends on ones' interests. If you have little interest in that period of French monarchy and hate going through old castles/palaces to look at old rooms and decor, I would not say it is a must-see at all.

Hi Sa,

My favorite Sunday plan is to Visit the Parc Monceau in the morning, have brunch at the Jacquemart-Andre Museum, visit the collection and then walk over to the Arc de Triomphe for a stroll down the Champs Elysee.
http://musee-jacquemart-andre.com/en/home

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

Happy days to come!

How long are you there for?

Versailles coull be a good chunk of a day. Weather may determine when to go. In winter, I might consider doing it as part of a coach tour, since you will not want to spend hours wandering the gardens, Hameau on your own...or do you?

RER Line C, Versailles Rive Gauche, could be a good early morning trek if you want to go solo.

http://en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage

An Opera? Concert in Royal Chapel?

eurocheapo.com/paris great city guide tips for you.30 miles south of Paris is Fountainbleau easycheap regional train
from Gare de Lyon one tenth the crowds of Versailles lots cheaper. www.chartres-tourisme.com amazing also. Enjoy!

Like ira's ideas. The brunch at J.A. has been recommended here before, alas, I have only visited the house.

From there, being XMAS, you might want to also consider walking over to Galeries Lafayette and area to see lights and holiday windows.

Last trip I then headed back to Rue de Rivoli by taking walks inside "Passages Couverts"

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/03/11...pagewanted=all

You pop out near Louvre, could go see Palais Royal park, or Place Vendome (Ritz, high end jewellers), and then look up Champs Elysee.

The Westin is very well located and it is nice.

I do recommend brunch at Les Ambassadeurs (especially if you are there Christmas day)and lunch at L'Obe, both at Hotel Crillon nearby. Cafe de La Paix at the Hotel Intercontinental (Le Grand) has wonderful seafood but you will pay for it. The dining room is lovely.

Le Souffle is not far and we really loved it. The Grand Marnier souffle is heaven. It is on rue Mont Thabor.

If the Westin is around Place Vendome, you can easily walk to Verjus (http://verjusparis.com/)which is a new restaurant and wine bar opened by the couple that had Hidden Kitchen (two of our best meals in Paris!) They just opened the restaurant so you may be able to get reservations....for Hidden Kitchen you needed to reserve 3-4 months in advance.
You should also visit Angelina's for hot chocolate on rue de Rivoli, though definitely not the same experience that Verjus would be but great hot chocolate.

There is also a Laduree on Rue Royale, for a macaron or dessert.

As my son used to say when he was little..."Ya'll are da bomb!" Thanks!

Michel_Paris-we will be there 6 tooo short days.

New ??: DH traveling from Germany on train to meet me. He said maybe for me to take a cab from CDG to Paris Nord. Would this be the best idea?

What about the Paris ballet? I saw on the website they are performing now Noureev's Cendrillon? There are available seats the week we are there. Your thoughts?

You could take a cab, but its really easy to jump on RER B to get to Gare de Nord, and much cheaper.

Now I will be going straight to the Westin Vendome from CDG..Best option? (hate to sound dumb, but is RER the Metro?)

<i>We finally ended up having reservations at the Westin-maybe not too "french" but seems to be a great location.</i>

The Westin is just fine. That hotel has always been a grand traditional French hotel. It spent about 20 years being the Inter-Continental before becoming the Westin.

Late December visits to Versailles or Fontainebleau would be a mistake as far as I am concerned, unless you are never returning to Paris again.

There is no paucity of fantastic holiday activities inside the city itself.

How long are you staying? If you are still here after the 25th, I would have a very original suggestion.

We stayed there once when it was the Intercontinental. Great location for that area!!

I second Ira's recommendation for Parc Monceau, and the Jacquemart-Andre Museum. The walk thru the park and down to the J-M museum is lovely.

We couldn't get in for lunch, too crowded, when we were there recently, but it is such a lovely museum, so ---- French! and the museum shop is lovely. I would want to lunch there on a return trip.

Enjoy it all.

Would Parc Monceau in December be much different than Versailles Gardens? Other than cost, of course. Between Parc Monceau and Versailles in December, seems as though Versailles would be more interesting, and it would certainly be less crowded than usual.

Sara:
i have visited the Jacquemart-André web site and they have a beautiful exhibition about Fra angelico and other "masters of light"; really something not to miss.Obviously, J-M and Parc monceau are not in the same class than Versailles.
Enjoy your trip!!!

RER is not the metro, it is the 'commuter' train. It intersects with the metro at several locations. It uses its own tickets..if you were taking the RER from the airport, you could transfer to the metro on same ticket.

In your case, could take RER to Chatelet, then Metro to Tuileries.

http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_5000/accueil/

Another way to get near your hotel is the Aif France bus:

http://www.lescarsairfrance.com/en.html

Comfortable coaches. Line 2 takes you to to the Arc de Triomphe. From there, metro ride down to Loyuvre/your hotel.


Ballet...at Opera Bastille.
Would be nice to see something at Palais Garnier, the opulent old opera house (supposedly the motivation for Phantom of the Opera). I see Oneguine is being performed there...and even better, some demonstration from the Ecole de Danse

http://www.wstickets.com/theatre/eve...r_tickets.html

I might take a walk by there just to see the interior

Kerouac-great to hear info about the Westin! (someone told me it was more like a chain)

Any favorite things to do that only happen at Christmas time in Paris?

Actually, the RER and metro do use the same tickets within central Paris (basically within the peripherique).

Why would you go to Parc Monceau in December? Maybe I missed the reason of making a special trip to some park in December.

The parks in Paris can be wonderful even in December.

Parc Monceau was recommended to her in response to her post, which is why she would go there, Christina.

I'd give this a go if you like ballet.

http://www.operadeparis.fr/en/Saison...eguine/detail/

And Versailles was not recommended in December "Late December visits to Versailles or Fontainebleau would be a mistake as far as I am concerned, unless you are never returning to Paris again."

My post actually was based upon my confusion that the same poster made both recommendations, which is not accurate as I now see.

Oh, and for restaurants, check out Patty's recent report. She did TONS of research and they ate very well. I think they stayed somewhere near your hotel, too. The photo link further down the thread works (first one is wonky for some reason).

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

What is today the Westin-Vendôme opened in 1878 as the Hôtel Continental. It was the largest hotel in Paris for many years. My 1907 Baedeker guide lists it in its top category, "Hôtels de Tout Premier Ordre," along with the Ritz, Grand, Meurice and others. So, it is far from being just a chain hotel.

When I stayed there in the 1960s, it was lovely. It was re-named Hôtel Inter-Continental at some point in the 1980s (according to Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wes...3_Vend%C3%B4me ), and then became a Westin in 2005. Quite a history, and, as kerouac says, very French. I hope you enjoy your stay.

On a Sunday I would never miss the Richard Lenoir Market near Bastille.I'd save the Champs for evening when all the lights will be on.

I agree with avalon about the Richard Lenoir Market. I would also stroll into the Marais; (close by) the stores are all open and continue to walk through Place des Vosges. The Carnavalet Museum in the Marais would be a good museum for a first visit. It's a city museum and is free and is near Place des Vosges (which also has the free Victor Hugo house museum).

Have a wonderful trip---we'll be waiting for your trip report.

Leely2- thanks for the thread and my new favorite word-WONKY! Mind if I steal it?

At the apirport waiting impaitently...

Will take copious notes! Have a wonderful weekend!
Thanks to all-
S.

After almost a month, I want to thank everyone again for all the help for our trip to Paris. It was wonderful! Seeing Kerouac's pictures of Paris at Christmas made me very homesick. I am afraid I am not a very good trip reporter, but did want to say a couple of things.

The Westin was awesome! It was such a great location-2 blocks from the Rue St. Honore and we could walk almost everywhere. The concierge crew-especially Bruno- were extremely helpful, pleasant, and knowledgeable. Our room was small (as we expected,) but very nice. Actually, all the people we encountered at the hotel were wonderful!

I arrived at 6:30 am and went to hotel to meet DH. My luggage was lost, but Air France was great AND I got a few new items of clothing. (hello new boots) We went to the Louvre. Since we'd both been there, we chose our favorite parts. Then we went to other tourist spots that day and the next. Saint Chappele, Notre Dame, Musee D'Orsay, Les Invalies,Tour Eiffel, Camps Elysees,... We did go to Versaille and it was super-even though the gardens were not spactacular as they are in spring and summer.

This gave us a day and a half to just wander, shop, explore-which I hightly recommend.

As far as restaurants, we went to a couple that were recommended by friends who lived there-Brasserie Lipp (twice-DH loved the food) and one of Ina's favorites-can't recall the name. The others we went to were the ones we just came upon. I would highly recommend just wandering off the beaten path and looking for the places that had lots of people. We did this and found ourselves in the most wonderful places, full of nice locals and fabulous food. I think we only had one mediocre meal the entire time.

I can hardly wait to go back- my new plan is to rent an apartment for a month and just live!!