bu67

My wife & I will be in Paris at the end of September. We are thinking we will stay in the city for 4-6 days. We don't want to kill our 72 year-old bodies by trying to do/see everything quickly. I'm going to list some obvious places to visit and I would appreciate you experts on Paris to suggest how to order these so we have some down time each day. Maybe we only try to do 2 of these each day. We will be staying in the St. Germain section of the city. These are listed in no particular order:

Eiffel Tower

Arc de Triomphe & Avenue Des Champs-Elysees
Napolean's tomb, Invalides
Sacre' Coeur
Tuileries Garden
Louvre (evening guided tour?)
Notre-Dame
Sorbonne
Place de la Bastille
Versailles
Etc.

PalenQ

http://en.parismuseumpass.com/

Since you are going to several expensive museums check out the Paris Museum Pass - sold at any participating museum and gives priority entrance at Louvre, Versailles and others.

Also good for climbing the towers at Notre Dame - which I highly recommend- though it is quite a climb.

the Orsay Museum to me is a must -much more enjoyable to me in many ways than the Louvre.

travelhorizons

You've got one obvious (if long) walk here... Start at the Arc du Triomphe, walk down the Champs-Elysees. Because it's a long, long street, perhaps just walk as far as the George V metro station. Let on the #1 line and take it east to the Concorde station.

Get off at the Place de la Concorde. From there, look to the south, across the Seine, and you'll see Les Invalides. Walk across the bridge if you want to visit. Otherwise, continue walking from Place de la Concorde through the Tuileries ... which will take you straight to the Louvre.

Past the Louvre, continue your walk on north side of the Seine. Cross the Pont Neuf to the Ile de la Cité and Notre-Dame.

Underhill

I suggest getting a copy of The Eyewitness Guide to Paris and following the suggested itineraries. That will save you considerable back-tracking.

suze

With only 4-6 days I'd probably skip going out to Versailles myself.

What are you wanting to do at the Sorbonne?

No Eiffle Tower? No Luxembourg Gardens?

As far as planning, I personally would get a paper map and just dot out the various locations, and group them into logical order. Allow plenty of time for walking, sitting in a cafe for a coffee or wine to rest, use taxis when needed.

fuzzbucket

The Sorbonne isn't a muséum, and if you aren't a student, you won't be able to accèss the proprerty.

If you décidé to go to Versailles, I think I would recommend taking a half-day, air-conditioned bus tour.
Otherwise, you'll be exhausted.

bu67

Thank all of you! Excellent suggestions. My first task is to get a good map of Paris and determine where everything is and make a logical and efficient order of visits. The Paris Museum Pass sounds like something we ought to get. Obviously, this is a work-in-process but we are 60+ days out and I need to tie down a number of reservations.

denisea

I agree that Musee d'Orsay is more enjoyable than the Louvre.

If you love Monet, when you visit the Tuilleries you will end at L'Orangerie where the huge water lilies canvases are...it is amazing to see.

You mentioned Place de la Bastille...if you are not aware, there is nothing to see there, really. Nothing exists of the Bastille today and all there is to see is the Juillet column. You may know that already. However, the entrance to the Promenade Plantee is close by and may be an enjoyable walk for you.

I would check out Luxembourg Gardens since you are staying in St Germain. Instead of the Sorbonne, consider Musee de Cluny and/or Pantheon which are close in the 5th arrondissement.

PalenQ

The Bastille area however does have some great markets -like in Place d'Allegre.

menachem

Arc de Triomphe & Avenue Des Champs-Elysees

Champs-Elysee, take the #80 bus and ride along it. Arc de Triomphe may be nice if you go up, otherwise not a "sight". Take a city bus to go past it.

Napolean's tomb, Invalides

One very cool thing in Invalides: military maquettes. They have a special "museum in museum". And to learn something about French militarism.

Sacre' Coeur

Not bad, Get some insight on the Paris Commune: that church was built on the bodies of the Communards, so to speak. It's a fascinating area if you like people watching. There's a very nice small park to the back of Sacré Coeur. Lovely to sit there: not many people seem to find it.

Tuileries Garden

You walk through them to get somewhere else. Orangerie is there: that's something you might want to see. I also like Jeu de Paume for Photography + de building is interesting.

Louvre (evening guided tour?)

Too large of a museum, to have an intimate, Parisian, experience. Instead, go to Musée Rodin, most for its sculpture garden, although the house is also very nice and fascinating.

Notre-Dame

Sainte Chapelle will perhaps be more spectacular if it's a sunny day. A bit of a hassle to get into and long lines, but worth it, more than Notre Dame. If you have time, make a stop at the Holocaust monument. It's in the tip of the island, partly underground, and a really worthy experience.

http://fcit.usf.edu/HOLOCAUST/RESOUR...LERY/PARIS.HTM

Sorbonne

Why? There are numerous "Sorbonnes" all over town. Paris university is huge and it's spread all over town, mostly on the Left Bank. Instead, do the Cluny Museum. Again, an interesting building and great medieval art.

Place de la Bastille

It's a roundabout with a pillar. But you might like a walk along Canal St Martin, especially the eastern end, up to Bassin de la Villette even.

Versailles

I'd spend all my days in Paris, so that you can begin to wander. Wandering in Paris is the nicest thing there is.

Etc.

Bonus

Parc des Buttes Chaumont.
The little Park just off the Grand Palais by the same landscape architect.
Do a bakery hunt for prizewinning bakeries.
See all Paris "passages", have Indian food at Passage Brady
Go to a couple of markets. For instance, there's a great one in the 15th, under the railway line
Walk the Avenue Plantée, from Place de la Bastille
Go to Institut du Monde Arabe and have lunch in their rooftop restaurant: great views.
In general, use the bus system to see a lot of Paris as you travel from one destination to the other. But also dare to get off the bus if you see an interesting area and wander around a bit, have coffee on the street corner and sit and watch for a while. Paris has an excellent urban infrastructure, with everything you need as a flaneur.

PalenQ

Pompidou Center - Modern Art Museum and free to go to roof for bomb views over Paris.

Elina95

Hi,
I would avoid Versaille as you are staying for rather short time.

And also, why do you want visit Sorbonne?


i would also include in your plan Luxembour gardensas I love them
You can have a look here
https://tripplannera.com/france-paris-trip-planner
to plan your trip.

And try to bu the museum tickets beforehand to save money
http://en.parismuseumpass.com/

fuzzbucket

It's easy to download a complete map of Paris using Google. Best of all, it's free, and you can enlarge or shrink it before you print it.

You can also enlarge Gooogle Maps to see where the Metro or Bus stops are. Just hover over the blue bus icon or Metro station.

The sights most people want to see are contained in roughly a 3 x 2.5 kilometre area. You can walk from one place to another fairly easily. If it's a long distance and you don't have much time, take the Metro. The Bus can eat up a lot of time.
It's a good idea to learn how to use this website, which explains transport options and how to use them correctly: ratp.fr

Google Maps Street View will give you different options of the time it takes to get where you want to go - by walking, Metro or Bus.

You won't be able to do everything that people suggested you do - mostly due to waiting in line.
Or they have suggested a lifetime of stuff that would require several trips.
Make sure that you go on the days
the things you want to see are open.

menachem

fuzzbucket, I think buses are better than the metro if you really want to see something of Paris and have a bit of local flavour. Also, they're step free so getting on and off is very easy, better than navigating some metro stations.

RATP also has a good app, but I would advise citymapper: excellent public transport information.

everything I read above would fit into 4 days comfortably. With time to spare.

Christina

I presume the OP just wants to see the Sorbonne, the main building, and why not, it is very famous It's in an area most tourists are at some point, anyway, it would be hard NOT to see it (I'm talking about the main building on place de la Sorbonne, just below the Pantheon). Of course the OP doesn't want to go to some Sorbonne building around Censier or Nation (which is where I had some classes). It is one of the oldest universities in the world, after all. Now you can take a guided visit of some parts of it, but that isn't so easy to explain and sign up for, so I'll assume it's just to see that area and around it.

But you can do more than 2 of these per day, at least some of them. That is one example. The Sorbonne is very near Luxembourg gardens which you might want to see, and the Pantheon. IN fact, in one day, I think you could easily do Notre Dame plus Sainte Chapelle plus the Sorbonne, Pantheon and Luxembourg gardens in one day.

historytraveler

One of the best things to do in Paris is to find a nice sidewalk cafe one with a view if possible, order something to drink,and indulge in some people watching. I'm not going to suggest any sites as others have done a good job, but try an ice cream/ gelato at Amorino's. There are several locations in Paris including one on the Left Bank. Google. Berthillon is an other excellent ice cream venu, but Amorino is more fun.

PalenQ

IN fact, in one day, I think you could easily do Notre Dame plus Sainte Chapelle plus the Sorbonne, Pantheon and Luxembourg gardens in one day.>

throw in the Cluny Museum as well? right on the walk from N D area to Pantheon.

Gretchen

I haven't read all of the posts, but this struck me.
\ou've got one obvious (if long) walk here... Start at the Arc du Triomphe, walk down the Champs-Elysees. Because it's a long, long street, perhaps just walk as far as the George V metro station. Let on the #1 line and take it east to the Concorde station.

Get off at the Place de la Concorde. From there, look to the south, across the Seine, and you'll see Les Invalides. Walk across the bridge if you want to visit. Otherwise, continue walking from Place de la Concorde through the Tuileries ... which will take you straight to the Louvre.

Instead of walking this, you can take a bus straight down the Champs doing this and believe me--that is ENOUGH of the Champs Elysees. It is a wide avenue of shops and the most sterile part of Paris.

Someone recommended the DK Eyewitness Guide to Paris. I also recommend this book for one BIG reason--it gives you an area of Paris and all its sites in a very graphic form so you can gather your day in an efficient way.

The museum recs are great.

menachem

@bu67, the number 80 bus is excellent for a drive along Champs Elysées. Also it starts at Champ de Mars (Eiffel Tower) and ends up in Montmartre.

http://www.eurocheapo.com/blog/paris...ghtseeing.html

menachem

but note that routings will change, the RATP app/site are an excellent resource.