namaka

Ok, so a while back I posted a very loose itinerary and was just slapped in the face with how completely stupid it was! I realized that I hadn't made an effort to logically group my places, but I now have a Paris street map and think I'm ready to try this again;please go easy on me!

Ok; here goes. We arrive in Paris Thurs afternoon. I figure that by the time we get settled into our www.private-paris.com apt., it'll be just in time for dinner. I'm gonna go loose with that evening as I'm not sure how we will all feel (jet lag,etc.). If we are up to it, maybe Eiffel Tower, boat ride on the Seine or hop on/off Bus.

Thurs;
Start with Notre Dame, St. Chapelle. Take our time here. Climb to the top of Notre Dame,etc. Then off to lunch? Next, off to Invalides and then to Musee De Orsay since it is open late (till 9:45) with dinner in there somewhere.

Friday;
Get up early and go to Montmatre/Sacre Coeur. Next, visit Opera Garnier until around lunch. Then off to Galleries Lafeyette for the 3pm Fashion Show(that is for DD). Shopping or window shopping there afterwards. Next to the Jardin De Tuileries till dinner and ending with the Lourve as it is open till 9:45 on Fridays.

Sat;
Up early and to Versailles; Spend the day there and come back just before dinner. Possibly visit the Arc De Triomphe, walk around the Champs Elysee and the Place De La Concords before retiring.

Sun;
Visit St. Sulpice, Palais and Jardim De Luxembourg. On to the Pantheon and Sorbonne.
Then if we hadn't made it to the Arc De Triomphe,etc go there. Lastly a ride on the Seine and up the Eiffel Tower as this is our last night.

What do you think? Any suggestions? I hope it's not too much, especially for the kids.
I plan to use the bus mostly but I still need to read more on that. I am getting the 4 day musuem pass but not sure which bus pass. Once I have the places finalized, then the transportation, I can focus on resturants and shops although I really just want to go with the flow there. Thanks in advance!

jgg

We just returned from a week in Paris with our kids (ages 13(DD) and 10(DS). My main caution for you is seeing museums in the evening when they are open late. We found ourselves too tired in the evening to do anything like that. Also, keep in mind most restaurants don't start serving dinner until 7:30 or 8:00 so it is still hard to get to dinner and a museum. You may have to plan for a late lunch on that day.

Just an aside since you are going to the Galleries Lafayette fashion show for DD. My daughter is into fashion (we did the fashion show at Printemps), and she really enjoyed going to Didier Ludot. This is the vintage dress shop where Reese Witherspoon bought her vintage Academy Award dress. Apparently Demi Moore and Nicole Kidman also shop there. Unfortunately you couldn't go in without an appt. but she enjoyed looking in the windows. The shop is located at the Palais Royal near the Louvre. He has two shops there, the other one is his "Little Black Dress Shop". When we were there he had a display in his window of little black dresses from Alfred Hitchcock movies.

We also went to the Musee Galliera - Musee de la Mode de la Ville de Paris - a fashion museum. They are only open when they have special exhibits. When we were there they had an interesting exhibit on fashion shows that my DD really enjoyed. It is located near the Palais Tokyo .

namaka

Thanks jgg for the reply and the information on the fashion show at Printemps and other fashion information. My DD (12) is really into that!

As for musuems in the evenings; we will either have a large late lunch or eat dinner back at the apt before going. I hope that we aren't too tired but will just have to make do as I'm not bypassing the Lourve.

Any other tips?

SusanP

You sound as though you won't change your mind, but I also wonder about those museums in the evening after very full days. If the Louvre is a must, maybe you need to leave out something else out in order to do it during the day. You don't say how old your daughter is or if there are other children as well, but I wouldn't expect them to want to go to the two main museums after sightseeing all day.

ira

Hi N,

With such a short time in Paris, do you really want to go the Versailles?

If so, you might want to do that on Sunday when the fountains are on.

janisj

your itinerary isn't bad (one suggestion - you might want to re-post w/ <u>Paris</u> in your title. But since you are already getting <i>some</i> response it may not be necessary)

I'd also be somewhat concened about doing the two biggest museums during the evenings. Not a huge problem. But especially for the Louvre - even w/ the somewhat limited access at night, you still won't have time to see a lot.

TheVagabondLady

Your post says you arrive in Paris Thurs afternoon then you start out next day's itinerary with Thurs. Did you mean you arrive Wed afternoon?

namaka

Susan, you are half right. I may bypass on Musee D'Orsay but not on the Lourve. And although we may be tired, I figure we could just hit some of it,as I am sure the kids will be tired and somewhat bored. Maybe just for 1-2 hours. oh, I did mention that my DD is 12. My son is 8.

Ira,The plan was never to go to France. I just threw that in and kept adding days;my husband thought we were only going for 3 days instead of 6. I would love to go to Versailles and definitely want the fountains to be on, so I will have to change this day from Sat. to Sunday. Thanks for that tip!

janisj- Thanks! I again realize the evenings at the museums is a bit much, but will just spend whatever time there that the kids can handle.

Thevagabondlady- Yes, I meant to say that we arrive on Wed, not Thurs.

Thanks to everyone for your help; any other advice is greatly appreciated!

namaka

Just wanted to extend a few more questions on to this post instead of starting a new one. With all we plan to do in Paris (from reading my above mentioned intinerary), should I go for the Musuem Pass? And if we just get it for myself and my husband only, can I be certain that my kids will be able to get in with us?