amyb

I also vote for no museums the first day, but different people react differently to jetlag. I would just want to be fully lucid and able to remember Marmottan or Rodin, and I don't/won't on day one!

I will warn against bus and boat tours on day one. I took a friend to Dublin for her first European adventure, and we had to wake her (and practically carry her) at the end of the ride. The gentle sway and rhythm of the bus....you get my drift! I think the key is to keep moving!

bardo1

<i>The gentle sway and rhythm of the bus....you get my drift!</i> Which is exactly why I think a batobus or some other boat tour is a GOOD idea!

With the likely diversity of physical readiness of the group, the fact that some can &quot;relax&quot; (nod off) on a boat while others get the full visual treat means everyone gets something out of day 1...

amwosu

Here is my plan for a day in the 16th. I've only been to that arrondisement once before to see Roland Garros Tennis Stadium with my son but I found it a lovely relaxing area and I think it might be a nice fit for you for day one.

Musee Marmottan 10am-6pm, Tues- Sun 8 euros (not on museum pass) 2, rue Louis-Boilly 16 arr. Metro Muette
The Marmottan is in a lovely mansion a couple of blocks from the La Muette metro station.
Bois de Boulogne(park) Metro Porte Maillot, Porte Dauphine, Porte Auteuil, Sablons
Bagatelle Gardens
Foundation Le Corbusier 8-10 Square du Docteur Blanche Open Tues-Fri 10am-12:30pm, 1:30pm-6pm (but only until 5pm on Fridays)
www.foundationlecorbuisier.asso.fr
First two houses built by architect Charles-Edouard Jenneret, known as Le Corbusier, in the 1920s
Rue la Fontaine- This street and surrounding streets are a showcase for some of the most exciting architecture of the early 20th century At # 14 is Castel Beranger, a stunning apt. block make from cheap materials to keep costs low yet featuring many fancy touches, establishing the reputation of Art Nouveau architect Hectro Guimard who went on to design the Paris metro entrances. Another example of his work is Hotel Mezzara at #60.

mvor

1. Stay somewhere central (1,4,5,6 or 7) not the 16th. You could consider Ira's beloved Hotel Bonaparte. We stayed there for one night a couple of years ago and it was good value for the money and a great location. If you stay here, be sure to see the Delacroix paintings in Saint Sulpice and buy some goodies from Pierre Herme across the street.

http://www.hotelbonaparte.fr/chambre.htm

If you'd like a three star, the Hotel de Fleurie gets good reviews but I haven't stayed there in a long time (they also have a less expensive sister hotel nearby):

http://www.fleurie-hotel-paris.com/

2. Of the museums you listed for the first day, I'd choose the Rodin. If someone gets tired they could wait in the cafe or sit in the beautiful gardens. That puts you close to the Eiffel Tower too. (Although if you only go to one museum during your trip I'd pick the Orsay.)

3. Take a look at Degas' walks and perhaps do a loose version of two of those on days 2 and 3.

4. No daytrips!

Enjoy and best of luck planning~

luv2cthings

I was doing a search on a totally different topic, and happened upon this post from last summer. I actually found a lot of useful suggestions for a first day in Paris, esp. since we will be arriving this May at around the same time of day as the OP.

Rex, after reading this old thread which outlined your perplexing situation (the different mix of travelers), I am curious about what you ended up doing?

rex

I didn't do a trip report, and I don't know if I can recall (or relocate) details about the itinerary - - or the first day in particular - - like I may have rattled off, from other travels in the past.

For starters, our flights... there and back were purchased when I posted this - - but the plan to get to Italy and back had not been settled. As it turned out, we found that car rental availability (lack of, actually) killed the plan to fly to Milan. We also considered flying to Annecy, to drive the rest of the way (we changed our focus to Tutin).

Ultimately, PREM fares on the TGV and a good car rental rate from Lyon made that part of the plan.

And hotel availability led us to move the &quot;longer&quot; part of the Paris stay to the end of the trip.

So, it ended up like this:

Day 0 - depart
Day 1; arrive Paris at 11 am. We did end up deciding to stay in the 6th (Louis Deux), and our first 2-3 hours were just walking around the 6th, picking out and enjoying a place for lunch. The weather was September perfect: brilliant blue skies and somewhere between crisp and quite warm enough. We decided to take on the walk-walk-walk approach... from the 6th to l'Orangerie. That's a fairly hefty walk - - along the Seine, along one axis of the Louvre, past its Pei pyramid/courtyard and through the Tuileries.

I have spoken before about the phenomenon of whatever you see/do on day 1 inherently suffers... in your appreciation/enjoyment. And maybe, in this case, the principle of too high expectations. The waterlilies of l'Orangerie are not... to me... as special as visiting Musee d'Orsay (but then, what is?)

And maybe I'm jaded. I love Giverny (been there twice, and I &quot;lived&quot; very close to Vernon/Giverny for about three weeks once). I do not want to discurage ANYone from going to l'Orangerie and making it your own experience.

I'm pretty sure we decided to Metro back, from (place de la) Concorde - - and we found the energy for dinner (once again, in the 6th), and an after visit to Les Deux Magots (we had hoped we could get in to St Germain des Pres, even well after dark - - and we ALMOST succeeded... there had been a concert there, and we were able to slip in, for about one minute as they were closing the place up!)

Footote on Les Deux Magnots... once again, perhaps... that &quot;first day&quot; phenomenon... it seemed a little overpriced and underwhelming).

Anyhow, that's what I remember of day one.

Since this post is so long already, I'll break it here, and give a much briefer synopsis of the rest of the overall trip plan, in another post.

rex

Okay, here's the rest, in skeleton form.

Day 2: TGV from Paris to Lyon. Picked up Opel Zafira. Saw a little of Vieux Lyon. Drove on to Turin (terrible, terrible traffic problem getting out of Lyon). Arrived Turin late at night with quite an adventure finding our hotel in the CENTER of the city, negotiating a labyrinth of pedestrian-accessible only streets.

Day 3 in Turin.

Day 4: drove from Turin to Aosta for a mid-day stop, then crossed over the Alps to Chateau de la Tour du Puits.

Day 5: drove onward to/through Beaune; our overnight stay was actually a bit past between Beaune and Dijon. L'Oree du Bois.

Day 6: morning back in Beaune, on to Dijon, and had to fix a goof-up. We were supposed to stay at Lucarne des Chouettes in Villeneuve-sur-Yonne. Long story short: we didn't. Stayed in an alternative called Hotel de la Foret Oriental.

Day 7: drove back to Paris, where we stayed nights 7,8 and 9, Won't try to summarize three days in Paris here, but we enjoyed quite a few places/experiences which were new for me and my wife: climbed to the top of Notre Dame and also to the top of l'Arc de Triomphe; Musee Rodin, Les Invalides (and MANY hours in its adjacent Musee de l'Armee), l'Altitude 95 for dinner, to name a few.

Day 10. flew home.

magialmemories

bm

NaxosTravels

Personally, I like to reserve the first day for walking and getting orientated and maybe see something simple. Otherwise, it becomes irritating if plans are ruined because your flight is late or you cant find your hotel.

My favorite thing to do on a first-day in Paris is a walk around the Ile's - and Notre Dame Cathedral. This upcoming trip we plan on trying one of Dega's Walks - which we found on this forum and again plan on taking our friend (first trip to Paris) to Notre Dame...then find a quiet garden to wander through (Luxembourg perhaps).

We will stop and have an outdoor snack if the weather is nice, then head for an early dinner as our feet start to complain.

We try to stay up until at least 8:00pm. So will likely take our Paris first timer over to the Eiffel Tower at night on the first evening - just to look around the base.

Let us know what you do come up with!

Just my two cents.

Naxos

NaxosTravels

I should have looked more carefully - I didn't realize this was such an old post!