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.

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.