Hi there. I am in desperate need of any and all help. We are headed off Paris this Sunday (5/22) and are yet to make any real solid plans except hotels. This is our itinerary so far:

Paris – Sunday, Monday & Tuesday Night
Versailes Wednesday Night
Giverny Thursday Night
Paris Friday Night

We have plans to go to some of the major sights in Paris, but other than that we are looking for fun off the beaten path places to shop, eat (especially eat) and see as much as we can.

Any and all ideas, thoughts, suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Head on down to your local bookstore and buy Rick Steves Paris 2005 book. It'll tell you exactly what you can see in 2, 3, 4, 7 days, etc. And has some great walking tours and suggestions for offbeat stuff. I live to travel by his books.

Are you staying in Versailles for a night? Just wondering why you'd bother to change hotels when Versailles is only 1/2 hour ride on the RER from central Paris. I'd rather stay put and not have to move my stuff...just a thought.

Whatever you do, don't miss Ste. Chappelle, not far from Notre Dame on Ile de la Cite.

Have fun and let us know how it goes!

Julie

The Paris Walks are great. I did the Monparnasse walk. It was very good

I'd stay put the whole time..versailles and Giverny are both doable as day trips. If it's too late to change...ugh!

There are very good Paris threads , including a super thread..do a search. Fodor's also has a 3 day trip itinerary that is good. without knowing where you are staying it's hard to recommend cafes. etc.

Hi:

Our basic travelogue from last month is at -
http://travel.masterpiece-cs.com

And if you forward me your e-mail address I can send you my detailed (30+ page) planning notes.

Z

I too don't understand why you are going to the trouble of changing hotels in order to stay in towns, for one night each, that are easy daytrips from Paris.
Can this be changed without penalty?

I agree with others about not changing lodging for Giverny and Versailles, and at risk of sacrilege, with that amount of time, I'd skip Versailles altogether.

Hi there. Being city folk (New Yorkers) we wanted to rent a car and tool around outside the city. We were looking for places along the way (or even a little bit out of the way) that would be fun to discover.
For the first two nights we are staying at the Hotel Britanique and for our last night we are at the Hotel Duret. We have both been so busy with work that today was the first day that we have even started to think about the trip and what we are going to do. We are up for anyhting so all suggestions are most certainly welcome.
Thanks.

Maybe you aren't aware of this, but Versailles is basically just a suburb of Paris. There isn't really anything to explore along the way. It's only about 12 miles from Paris.

There isn't much to do along the way to Giverny, it is basically a 45-60 minute drive from the city. But, I did stay near Giverny on one of my visits there and really enjoyed it. I stayed in a hotel just down the street from the gardens. We arrived in the afternoon, walked down to the American Museum, drove into town to see what was there (is wasn't too interesting to me but everyone is different) and then in the morning we were the first ones in line to get into the gardens. That was wonderful. We had the Japanese bridge and water lily pond basically to ourselves for about a half hour. Got some beautiful photos. If you do go right away in the morning, I recommend that when you enter the garden from the shop - run like the wind (or walk fast) to the opposite corner where the entrance to the waterlily pond is located. Then when you are done with that walk through the main gardens. It was very special to sit on a bench in there with no one else around and marvel at the beauty. I have only done Versailles as a day trip, but it might be fun to be there in the evening when it is not so crowded. Hope this helps! Have a fun time! You won't run out of things to do in Paris and some of my favorite memories are sitting at an outdoor cafe, having a glass of wine and watching people. I could list a hundred other things to do there, but if you buy a guide book and follow their suggestions you will be fine. Take time to stop and smell the roses...

Agree with Jules, do NOT miss Ste. Chappelle. Beautiful, beautiful stained glass windows.

Everyone is right but cls2 more so. Paris is for wandering (with some guidance). Rick Steves' Paris is the best of his books. Any Paris walks guide will give you some good ideas. Take time to drink the wine. I always find at sometime during my stay the perfect little cafe/restaurant right around the corner from my hotel. I would take Versailles as a day trip. The Louvre and Orsay can keep you busy for a week. Enjoy Paris.

For 5 days stay in Paris and then decide if you even WANT to do one day trip, let alone 2. As others have said, Versailles and Vernon (where Giverney is) are just little towns. You will eat up a LOT of time arranging for getting tothese places and checking into and out of hotels with basically very little to show for the effort. You may be "big city" folk, but Paris is an entirely different type of "big city".

Sorry you didn't ask for this help before you reserved your hotels. You should have done both Versailles as day trips. Neither will provide you with the opportunity to discover out of the way places along the way, just Paris suburban traffic. Make the most of your time in Paris. Check the Fodor's "Destinations" (toolbar above) and look at the Best in 3-days Itinerary. And don't miss Ste. Chapelle as others have said. Find time to sit in cafes and walk in parks, watching the people and enjoying the view.

I agree with some the posters above: I would do only one day trip if you have to (maybe Versailles, or better Chartres) and definitely always go back to Paris for the night. There is nothing to do in those small towns.

Personally I don't care much for the Versailles castle, there are so many more interesting things to see in Paris. I lived in Paris for 2 years and hardly ever left town.

chiming in again

This is a 6 night trip, and a first visit to Paris?
Even if you want to do 2 daytrips, just stay in Paris and do them, and save the wear and tear and travel time to these nearby areas. If you wanted to do a real countryside trip to the Loire Valley or Normandy or Champagne, then take 2 days and do that, but there is a LOT to see in Paris.