Paris Itinerary - Comments please
 

I have scoured these Boards and have come up with a likely itinerary for our 4 day stay in Paris in March. I would really appreciate comments on the itinerary - ie its timeliness - whether we've allowed enough time, whether I've missed something obvious.

We are a married couple, early thirties, into 'wandering' travel rather than organised tours, though I am a planning freak, so like to have quite a good idea of what we intend to do. I've been to Paris before, ages ago, but my husband has not. We are into food and culture - not really cathedral goers. I do have a tendency to window shop - particularly for culinary items and funky, modern homewares.

So the itinerary is this:
Day one: overview of city on a city tour - am thinking Paris Charms and Secrets, but it's website is a bit lacking in detail - has anyone been on these tours - do they take in most of the 'big ticket' sites? Dinner at Le Jules Verne.

Day two: the 'passages walk' outlined by degas on this forum, followed by the Louvre (will do a self guided tour) followed by L'entrocote for dinner.

Day three: The pompidou, followed by a quick trip to the markets to pick up some foods for a picnic lunch. Moulin Rouge for dinner.

Day four: a 'free day' to do some shopping at Collette, some ice-cream at Berthillon. Am thinking that I should centre this day in the Ille St Louis and have lunch at Le Caveau de L'Isle.

General: Does anyone have any recommendations for reasonably cheap breakfast places in the 14th?

How does this sound? We could pack more into the experience, but we do want room to experience 'stuff' as it presents itself. We found this is the best way to travel.

Can you give a more specific address to find nearby breakfasts than "the 14th"..? That's a very large area, and I assume you'd want a short walk.

Get your reservations set at Jules Verne as it books up.

By &quot;Day one&quot; do you mean your arrival day or your first full day in Paris? If it is your arrival day, I definitely wouldn't plan a special (and <u>expensive</u>) dinner that night. You will very likely be jet lagged and too tired to enjoy the food/wine. Most people take it really easy on day 1, have a light/early supper and hit the ground running the the next day after a good night's sleep. I'd book JV another night.

Thanks for the prompt responses!

It's hard to get an accurate measure of just how big the city is! We are staying at the Le Meridien in the 14th, so breakfast will be around there - though don't mind a 15 minute stroll.

We've already booked at Le Jules Verne (were anxiously waiting for months for our dates to be available on-line). We booked it on our 'day one' in Paris, though we will have spent the previous 21 days on a cruise from Africa, and our flights are from Pisa - the ship docks in Genoa then we've rented a car to take us to Pisa for the afternoon. I'm hoping the jetlag will be minimal.

It doesn't look bad. I don't think you're trying to do too much in too little time.

Some thoughts...
It would help if you gave the days of the week as certain museums are closed on certain days.

If you are into food, you might want to re-think Moulin Rouge for dinner. I've never been, but then again, I've never heard of it as a great place to eat either. ;-)

I am also a planning freak and have some trip reports for Paris here and on my website (http://www.wired2theworld.com) if you are interested. I took my Mom to Paris for her first visit in October.

With short daylight hours in March, I'd do Centre Pompidou in the evening and save the morning for outdoor things.

Good point - day 1 is a Thursday.

I think the Louvre is open late on Fridays and there is a discounted admission after 6pm.

Also, I have not been there, but there is a restaurant in the 14th which I read about frequently on chowhound.com called Le Regalade. Supposed to be one of the hot new places with a great chef and not very expensive at that. Not a place for breakfast though, sorry.

That's OK then - you won't be dealing w/ jetlag or overnight flights so JV will be good for the first night

Hi cl,

If you feel that you must see the Moulin Rouge, skip the dinner.

For an overview of the city, take a look at www.batobus.com. It's a hop on/off waterbus.

If Day 1 is Thurs, Day 4 is Sunday.

I suggest brunch at
www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com/en/jacquemart/ followed by a walk down the Champs Elysee to the Louvre. You could visit the museum then. It is free the first Sunday of each month.

Since you are doing the Louvre on Sunday, you could visit the Mus&eacute;e de l'Orangeries for Monet and the other Impressionists on Friday.

I think that the Museum Pass will be useful for you.
www.parismuseumpass.com/en/home.php

For culinary items, try E. Dehillerin (kitchen and restaurant supplies).
http://www.e-dehillerin.fr/en/index.php

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

There are any number of cafes around Le Meridien that will have the usual breakfast (croissant and/or roll, juice, coffee...)
If you walk &quot;northeast&quot; up to Avenue du Maine and then continue 'northerly' (direction of Tour Montparnasse), you'll come to the L'Atlantique Cafe. Turn on Rue du Depart toward Blvd Edgar Quinet, and you'll come to a boulangerie/patisserie 'Maison Champin' that has small tables, coffee, juice... Another block up Rue du Depart and you're at the main junction of Montparnasse, lots of places there.

http://atlantique-montparnasse.com/f...titdej_en.html

Well, you asked, so here goes. I think it's generally uninspired.

Days 3 and 4 you've got virtually nothing going on. Of course, there's nothing wrong with just wandering around Paris, and maybe that's what you've got in mind.

Unless you've got money to throw away and don't care much about what you eat, I'd skip dinner at the Moulin Rouge.

Depending on what exhibits are there, the Pompidou Center might only take an hour of your time. The Ile St-Louis is really only a block long - hard to imagine spending a day there. A picnic in March is an iffy prospect.

La Vaissellerie is a chain of 5, I think, interesting kitchen stores all over Paris where you might indulge in your search for funky culinary items.

As you like to browse and/or buy kitchen items, go to E. Dehillerin , 18&amp;20 rue Coquilliere 75001. Not very far from the Centre Pompidou.

There are a few other specialists in that area, wish I still had the addresses, but E. Dehillerin is where &quot;The Julia&quot; used to shop.

La Vaissellerie is also fun, with several shops in Paris. It's not cutting edge culinary gear--more traditional--but great for small things like ramekins and good prices.

Nearest to the 14th would be their store in the 6th, 85 Rue de Rennes. Close to La Vaissellerie, the department store Au Bon Marche has a great food hall (separate building) and is an excellent store to browse.

I've heard the Moulin Rouge show is quite good but have always been advised to skip the meal and just go for the show.

Have a wonderful time.

Kristina, thanks for the Chowhound reference - that'll come in handy for the future.

E. Dehillerin looks like the bomb, and thanks for the cafe selections in Montparnasse.

My itinerary is rather focussed on the wandering, but StCirq, inspire me!