Please critique my REVISED France itinerary
Apr 16th, 2012, 01:07 PM
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Please critique my REVISED France itinerary
I have taken everyone's suggestions & created a revised itinerary. I highlighted my revisions, but I don't know if the highlightng/bolding will show up when I copy and paste. If not, I apologize. I want to make this easy for people to understand.
I would also like to plan a picnic lunch at Champ de Mars but don't know yet which will be a better day. I realize that we will make changes when we are actually there.
July 28 – Leave Boston for Paris on Air France flight
July 29 – Sunday - Arrive Paris CDG @ 11:30AM
Take Air France Bus #4 to Montparnasse; then take a taxi to Hotel Bonaparte.
Assuming we arrive on time, I assume we will reach the Hotel Bonaparte no earlier than 1:30pm, & most likely later.
After we check into our hotel, walk around Luxembourg Gardens, Latin Quarter & Saint Germain neighborhoods & get a feel for the area. Perhaps have lunch at Rue Moufettard. Go to Cluny Museum near closing time to purchase 4-day Paris Museum Pass that we will activate on Monday (July 30). If we aren’t too tired from jet lag, take a Seine River boat cruise. Have dinner somewhere.
July 30 – Monday
Notre Dame – climb to the top of the tower & visit the inside of the cathedral (expect long lines).
Visit garden behind Notre Dame; then visit Deportation Memorial.
Conciegerie
St. Chapelle – maybe see a concert here.
Visit flower market near St. Chapelle.
Walk around Ile St. Louis – buy ice cream/glaces
Visit Cluny Museum if we have the time OR take a Seine River cruise if we don’t do that on Sunday night.
July 31 – Tuesday
Musee d’Orsay – walk through gallery of sculpture – take escalator to 5th floor to see Impressionists galleries first.
Rodin Museum
Hotel des Invalides – if we have time for only one site here, see Napoleon’s Tomb
Tour Eiffel – not sure if we will go to the top, depends on crowds (even though Tour Eiffel is not covered by the Museum Pass, logistically it makes sense to go there on the day we are at Orsay & Rodin Museums). Might go at night when there will hopefully be fewer crowds.
August 1 – Wednesday
Louvre – Buy Michelin Green Guide in U.S. before the trip.
Jardin des Tuileries
Musee de l’Orangerie – opens at 12:30PM & closes at 7PM. (Can see this museum on Friday or Saturday if we don’t have time today.)
Possibly return to Louvre at night; it is open until 9:45PM
August 2 – Thursday
Day trip to Versailles
Perhaps go to Arc de Triomphe in the evening. Need to go to Arc de Triomphe any evening Monday through Thursday because of 4-day Museum Pass.
August 3 – Friday
Perhaps have breakfast at Rue Mouffetard market or other markets.
Do the things we haven’t done yet, such as explore Marais.
Have lunch at Place des Vosges.
Wander around the neighborhoods
Relax at cafes, people watch
August 4 – Saturday
Tour of Opera House Garnier (Phantom of the Opera fame) @ 11:30 or 2:30
Whatever else we want to do, shopping. Etc. maybe go to Montmartre
Find more street markets.
August 5 – Sunday
Check out of Hotel Bonaparte.
Meet up with Courtney & Richard and drive to Blois.
Overnight at All Seasons Blois Centre Gare hotel in Blois.
Possible chateaus to visit while in Loire Valley: Chambord, Chenonceau
Sound & Light Show at Blois.
August 6 – Monday
Overnight in Blois
Tour chateaus
Maybe stop at a winery
August 7 – Tuesday
Overnight in Chinon – Hotel Le Plantagenet
Maybe tour Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in Usse.
Would like to visit Saumur & possibly Sache.
Visit Villandry Gardens
August 8 – August 11 – stay with Richard’s parents on Ile d’Oleron
August 11
Take TGV train from La Rochelle to Paris; leave La Rochelle @ 11:40AM & arrive at Montparnasse @ 2:46PM. Then AF bus or Taxi to CDG for AF flight that departs at 7PM.
I would also like to plan a picnic lunch at Champ de Mars but don't know yet which will be a better day. I realize that we will make changes when we are actually there.
July 28 – Leave Boston for Paris on Air France flight
July 29 – Sunday - Arrive Paris CDG @ 11:30AM
Take Air France Bus #4 to Montparnasse; then take a taxi to Hotel Bonaparte.
Assuming we arrive on time, I assume we will reach the Hotel Bonaparte no earlier than 1:30pm, & most likely later.
After we check into our hotel, walk around Luxembourg Gardens, Latin Quarter & Saint Germain neighborhoods & get a feel for the area. Perhaps have lunch at Rue Moufettard. Go to Cluny Museum near closing time to purchase 4-day Paris Museum Pass that we will activate on Monday (July 30). If we aren’t too tired from jet lag, take a Seine River boat cruise. Have dinner somewhere.
July 30 – Monday
Notre Dame – climb to the top of the tower & visit the inside of the cathedral (expect long lines).
Visit garden behind Notre Dame; then visit Deportation Memorial.
Conciegerie
St. Chapelle – maybe see a concert here.
Visit flower market near St. Chapelle.
Walk around Ile St. Louis – buy ice cream/glaces
Visit Cluny Museum if we have the time OR take a Seine River cruise if we don’t do that on Sunday night.
July 31 – Tuesday
Musee d’Orsay – walk through gallery of sculpture – take escalator to 5th floor to see Impressionists galleries first.
Rodin Museum
Hotel des Invalides – if we have time for only one site here, see Napoleon’s Tomb
Tour Eiffel – not sure if we will go to the top, depends on crowds (even though Tour Eiffel is not covered by the Museum Pass, logistically it makes sense to go there on the day we are at Orsay & Rodin Museums). Might go at night when there will hopefully be fewer crowds.
August 1 – Wednesday
Louvre – Buy Michelin Green Guide in U.S. before the trip.
Jardin des Tuileries
Musee de l’Orangerie – opens at 12:30PM & closes at 7PM. (Can see this museum on Friday or Saturday if we don’t have time today.)
Possibly return to Louvre at night; it is open until 9:45PM
August 2 – Thursday
Day trip to Versailles
Perhaps go to Arc de Triomphe in the evening. Need to go to Arc de Triomphe any evening Monday through Thursday because of 4-day Museum Pass.
August 3 – Friday
Perhaps have breakfast at Rue Mouffetard market or other markets.
Do the things we haven’t done yet, such as explore Marais.
Have lunch at Place des Vosges.
Wander around the neighborhoods
Relax at cafes, people watch
August 4 – Saturday
Tour of Opera House Garnier (Phantom of the Opera fame) @ 11:30 or 2:30
Whatever else we want to do, shopping. Etc. maybe go to Montmartre
Find more street markets.
August 5 – Sunday
Check out of Hotel Bonaparte.
Meet up with Courtney & Richard and drive to Blois.
Overnight at All Seasons Blois Centre Gare hotel in Blois.
Possible chateaus to visit while in Loire Valley: Chambord, Chenonceau
Sound & Light Show at Blois.
August 6 – Monday
Overnight in Blois
Tour chateaus
Maybe stop at a winery
August 7 – Tuesday
Overnight in Chinon – Hotel Le Plantagenet
Maybe tour Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in Usse.
Would like to visit Saumur & possibly Sache.
Visit Villandry Gardens
August 8 – August 11 – stay with Richard’s parents on Ile d’Oleron
August 11
Take TGV train from La Rochelle to Paris; leave La Rochelle @ 11:40AM & arrive at Montparnasse @ 2:46PM. Then AF bus or Taxi to CDG for AF flight that departs at 7PM.
Apr 16th, 2012, 01:31 PM
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I mainly looked at your Paris itinerary, and it seems fine as you have chosen things you really want to do. I have a couple comments but they are really based on my personal preferences so really don't matter, as you should do what you want to do, you chose this itinerary after all and know what a museum is.
So I just noticed how many museums you planned to visit in one day, major ones. If you want to see them all, I guess you figured you had to do that, but after a while, won't all those paintings just be a blur and you won't enjoy it. I never go to two major museums in one day, but you are combining the Louvre with the Orangerie on one day, for example.
AS I said, that's really up to you, I just noticed it. FYI as you might want to know about the place, the name of that chapel is Sainte Chapelle (not St.). That is not a saint's name, it is merely an adjective and thus must agree in gender with the noun which is feminine (probably seems obvious even if you don't know French, words ending in elle are). But I think visitors should find out what the names of things mean and you shouldnt' think that is a saint's name. It just means holy as an adjective.
There is really no reason to go from your hotel to rue Mouffetard for breakfast. I had an apt around there a couple times and like the neighborhood to live in, and the market street is a good place to shop for food, but there aren't any great restaurants on it (but there are some cheap places which I guess is all you want for the day you want lunch). And there is a bakery on it, sure, but why go all the way there to buy a croissant or whatever instead of doing it around your hotel which must have plenty of decent bakeries around it. There is no great place to eat breakfast on rue Mouffetard that I can think of, although you can, of course. If you want a real breakfast and not just bakery food, go down at the end of the street where your hotel is, the Cafe across from the church is good enough, but often crowded (Cafe de la Mairie). I think it was a fave of Henry Miller http://www.francetravelplanner.com/g...fe_mairie.html
ou http://www.eurocheapo.com/blog/paris...ulangerie.html
on rue Mouffetard, I like the Volcan restaurant which you could try for lunch if the carte and prices suit you. I think it's a cut above some others around there. http://www.restaurant-levolcan.fr/
I'm not sure you understand rue Mouffetard is a permanent market street (like rue Cler and Buci). It isn't one of those roving street markets, so shopping on rue Mouffetard isn't necessarily as good as, say, the market on Sundays at Bastille. In fact, I'd say it's worse, in general. But if you just want to be in that atmosphere, instead of going there twice it would make more sense to go to rue de Buci street market which is very nearby your hotel. Or even rue Cler for a change.
So I just noticed how many museums you planned to visit in one day, major ones. If you want to see them all, I guess you figured you had to do that, but after a while, won't all those paintings just be a blur and you won't enjoy it. I never go to two major museums in one day, but you are combining the Louvre with the Orangerie on one day, for example.
AS I said, that's really up to you, I just noticed it. FYI as you might want to know about the place, the name of that chapel is Sainte Chapelle (not St.). That is not a saint's name, it is merely an adjective and thus must agree in gender with the noun which is feminine (probably seems obvious even if you don't know French, words ending in elle are). But I think visitors should find out what the names of things mean and you shouldnt' think that is a saint's name. It just means holy as an adjective.
There is really no reason to go from your hotel to rue Mouffetard for breakfast. I had an apt around there a couple times and like the neighborhood to live in, and the market street is a good place to shop for food, but there aren't any great restaurants on it (but there are some cheap places which I guess is all you want for the day you want lunch). And there is a bakery on it, sure, but why go all the way there to buy a croissant or whatever instead of doing it around your hotel which must have plenty of decent bakeries around it. There is no great place to eat breakfast on rue Mouffetard that I can think of, although you can, of course. If you want a real breakfast and not just bakery food, go down at the end of the street where your hotel is, the Cafe across from the church is good enough, but often crowded (Cafe de la Mairie). I think it was a fave of Henry Miller http://www.francetravelplanner.com/g...fe_mairie.html
ou http://www.eurocheapo.com/blog/paris...ulangerie.html
on rue Mouffetard, I like the Volcan restaurant which you could try for lunch if the carte and prices suit you. I think it's a cut above some others around there. http://www.restaurant-levolcan.fr/
I'm not sure you understand rue Mouffetard is a permanent market street (like rue Cler and Buci). It isn't one of those roving street markets, so shopping on rue Mouffetard isn't necessarily as good as, say, the market on Sundays at Bastille. In fact, I'd say it's worse, in general. But if you just want to be in that atmosphere, instead of going there twice it would make more sense to go to rue de Buci street market which is very nearby your hotel. Or even rue Cler for a change.
Apr 16th, 2012, 02:24 PM
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Hi Christine,
Thanks for the clarification about the Sainte Chapelle's name. I didn't know Sainte means holy & I did think it was a saint's name. I prefer to know the correct name/spelling, so thanks. I'll have to add a French phrase book to my shopping list.
I'm putting together a list of restaurants, cafes, markets (roving & stationary) so I will put the ones you mentioned on my list. Thanks again for the clarification. I have so many notes that it gets confusing after awhile what is what, & I'm still sorting things out. Also, as I said previously, I'm sure we will make changes/adjustments when we are actually there,& may skip a museum or two if it is too much. I included the L'Orangerie because we will have the museum pass & I may only want to see the water lillies, & then leave if we feel we are suffering "museum overload". But if not, we can stay longer. And because of the location, it seemed to make sense to see L'Orangerie on the day we visit the Louvre.
Thanks for the clarification about the Sainte Chapelle's name. I didn't know Sainte means holy & I did think it was a saint's name. I prefer to know the correct name/spelling, so thanks. I'll have to add a French phrase book to my shopping list.
I'm putting together a list of restaurants, cafes, markets (roving & stationary) so I will put the ones you mentioned on my list. Thanks again for the clarification. I have so many notes that it gets confusing after awhile what is what, & I'm still sorting things out. Also, as I said previously, I'm sure we will make changes/adjustments when we are actually there,& may skip a museum or two if it is too much. I included the L'Orangerie because we will have the museum pass & I may only want to see the water lillies, & then leave if we feel we are suffering "museum overload". But if not, we can stay longer. And because of the location, it seemed to make sense to see L'Orangerie on the day we visit the Louvre.
Apr 17th, 2012, 10:20 AM
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Hi kelsey22,
Thanks! I've done a lot of meticulous research putting this together, & have received a lot of excellent advice from this forum. Where are you staying? Is this your first trip to France?
Thanks! I've done a lot of meticulous research putting this together, & have received a lot of excellent advice from this forum. Where are you staying? Is this your first trip to France?
Apr 17th, 2012, 01:47 PM
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Hi kwoo,
>walk around Luxembourg Gardens, Latin Quarter & Saint Germain neighborhoods & get a feel for the area. Perhaps have lunch at Rue Moufettard. Go to Cluny Museum near closing time to purchase 4-day Paris Museum Pass that we will activate on Monday (July 30). If we aren’t too tired from jet lag, take a Seine River boat cruise. Have dinner somewhere.<
That's a lot of walking for a couple that have just flown in from Boston.
I suggest that you limit yourselves to the area enclosed by the corner of rue Dragon and Boul St Germaine (check out the Monoprix), Boull StG and rue du Seine, the Luxembourg Gardens and rue Bonaparte back to the Hotel.
It's unlikely that you will be able to stay up much beyond dinner time.
Enjoy your visit.
>walk around Luxembourg Gardens, Latin Quarter & Saint Germain neighborhoods & get a feel for the area. Perhaps have lunch at Rue Moufettard. Go to Cluny Museum near closing time to purchase 4-day Paris Museum Pass that we will activate on Monday (July 30). If we aren’t too tired from jet lag, take a Seine River boat cruise. Have dinner somewhere.<
That's a lot of walking for a couple that have just flown in from Boston.
I suggest that you limit yourselves to the area enclosed by the corner of rue Dragon and Boul St Germaine (check out the Monoprix), Boull StG and rue du Seine, the Luxembourg Gardens and rue Bonaparte back to the Hotel.
It's unlikely that you will be able to stay up much beyond dinner time.
Enjoy your visit.
Apr 24th, 2012, 12:26 PM
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Kwoo, just happened upon your revised itinerary. I think it looks good!
// You mentioned you didn't know if your formatting from Word would follow through on your post. As you can see, it didn't - but your itinerary is plenty clear anyway. If in the future you want to add formatting, you need to surround the text to be formatted with html tags. This post is very helpful in that regard: http://ljkrakauer.com/tags.htm
// As for your itinerary:
<i>Museums</i> - I both agree with Christina (that for me personally that's a lot of museums in each day) and understand your desire to see them, and to take advantage of the 4-day pass. That said, I think you have a nice mix of large and smaller museums, with the large (potentially tiring) ones earlier in the day. Plus you have a mix of indoor and outdoor activities on those big days, which helps too.
I have to admit, I know there's great art at the Orangerie, but I always made a beeline to the <i>Nympheas</i> and the rest was a blur if I looked at it at all!
<i>Climate</i> - Keep in mind that it's likely to be quite hot when you're there. For me, that always means that my pace flags - but more time spent people-watching in a cafe over a fanciful <i>coupe</i> (ice cream concoction) or sitting on a park bench in the shade of a park's trees...
<i>Chateaux</i> - If you have only two that you can see, IMO Chambord and Chenonceau are good opposites to explore. Chambord is huge, a cavernous structure set on a wide expanse of park. Chenonceau is intimate, and touring it tells a good story of itself with more highly decorated rooms and formal gardens. Keep in mind that the smaller scale means that it can get rather more crowded.
// Personally, I wouldn't worry about how much you've got planned in any one day. You've got all the busy stuff at the beginning, when you'll have adrenalin to counteract jet lag; then a few less scheduled days to catch up on other aspects of Paris; and finally ending with a leisurely summer sojourn on Ile d’Oleron!
// You mentioned you didn't know if your formatting from Word would follow through on your post. As you can see, it didn't - but your itinerary is plenty clear anyway. If in the future you want to add formatting, you need to surround the text to be formatted with html tags. This post is very helpful in that regard: http://ljkrakauer.com/tags.htm
// As for your itinerary:
<i>Museums</i> - I both agree with Christina (that for me personally that's a lot of museums in each day) and understand your desire to see them, and to take advantage of the 4-day pass. That said, I think you have a nice mix of large and smaller museums, with the large (potentially tiring) ones earlier in the day. Plus you have a mix of indoor and outdoor activities on those big days, which helps too.
I have to admit, I know there's great art at the Orangerie, but I always made a beeline to the <i>Nympheas</i> and the rest was a blur if I looked at it at all!
<i>Climate</i> - Keep in mind that it's likely to be quite hot when you're there. For me, that always means that my pace flags - but more time spent people-watching in a cafe over a fanciful <i>coupe</i> (ice cream concoction) or sitting on a park bench in the shade of a park's trees...
<i>Chateaux</i> - If you have only two that you can see, IMO Chambord and Chenonceau are good opposites to explore. Chambord is huge, a cavernous structure set on a wide expanse of park. Chenonceau is intimate, and touring it tells a good story of itself with more highly decorated rooms and formal gardens. Keep in mind that the smaller scale means that it can get rather more crowded.
// Personally, I wouldn't worry about how much you've got planned in any one day. You've got all the busy stuff at the beginning, when you'll have adrenalin to counteract jet lag; then a few less scheduled days to catch up on other aspects of Paris; and finally ending with a leisurely summer sojourn on Ile d’Oleron!
Apr 24th, 2012, 12:45 PM
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Hi, didn't see original itinerary but I have a couple of tips. There's restricted entry to the Eiffel Tower at present which means 2 hour queues minimum. If you want to go, you should buy your tickets on line http://www.eiffel-tower.com. I live near the Tuileries (Palais Royal which has a lovely garden) so suggest you read my blog www.aussieinfrance.com (the powerwalking series in particular - just type powerwalking in Search box). We have also bought a house in Blois so I have a couple of suggestions. There is a wine bar/tasting place called Vinomania that does interesting tastings in English based on the history of the Loire Valley. http://www.blois.vinomania.fr. Suggestions of places to eat on my blog as well. Key word: Blois. Also, don't forget that Monday is closing day for many places in the provinces. Enjoy your holiday!
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