I am going to Paris with my 18 year old daughter in a month and she wants to do alot of shopping. We are staying in Montparnasse. Where would you suggest? What about cheap designer clothes? Also Is Museum D'Orsay or Louve better or should we go to both? We only have 2 full days. Your advice/suggestions please.

Given only 2 days, I'd go to the D'Orsay and possibly only select exhibits at the Louvre.

That depends on what type of art you like. I'd choose the Louvre anyday. Not that the d'Orsay is not wonderfully laid out, but the Louvre is one of the top 5 museums in the world. It really shouldn't be missed. As for shopping. try the cheaper boutiques in the Forum des Halles and also around Metros Saint-Michel or Odeon, along rue de Rennes. I really wouldn't miss the Louvre. www.louvre.fr It has some of the best known world masterpieces.

Hi<BR>the two museums you mention are quite different. The Louvre has art up until the mid-19th century. It is endowed with many masterpieces from the Renaissance era as well as the following centuries. The &quot;greatest hits&quot; are the Venus de Milo, the Mona Lisa (and other DaVincis which I like better) some of Michelangelo's &quot;Slaves&quot;, and of course Egyptian art pieces and thousands of others. It is a huge museum, and I recommend a pre-trip look at the Louvre website to help you plan your visit. It is open late also at least one evening each week if that helps you plan.<BR><BR>The Orsay museum is I believe art from the mid-19th century to somewhere in the first half of the 20th century.<BR>That website can give you the parameters and lots of info. Also open one night per week. The highlights of the collection in most people's opinins are the Impressionist and Post-Imp. paintings: Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh, etc. Those are mostly on the top floor of the museum which is a good place to start your visit early in the day before it gets too crowded.<BR><BR>The Orsay also has a wonderful collection of decorative objects that some people miss.<BR><BR>I have a file on Paris; if you'd like to see it, email me at<BR>[email protected]<BR><BR>

If your two full days in Paris include a Sunday, be aware that most stores are closed then. Many stores also are closed in the morning on Monday.<BR><BR>I went to Paris with my eighteen year old daughter last year and she bought clothes from Kookai at the Galeries Lafayette. There are also several free standing Kookai stores, including one on the rue de Rennes. She also bought clothes at Cote a Cote on rue St. Michel. <BR><BR>The Louvre is more overwhelming than the d'Orsay. We actually wandered around trying to find the Rembrandts for a long time and were constantly coming back to large religious paintings instead, until we learned that the wing we were looking for was closed that day. The Louvre website lists the days that each gallery is closed. Next time I'll know better.<BR><BR>

If either of those days is a Monday or Tuesday you should see www.paris.org/Musees/ before planning to visit any museum.

I recommend Suzy Gershman's book &quot;Born to Shop: Paris.&quot; It gives a thorough picture of the shopping opportunities, with tips and recommendations. The last time I used it, two years ago, I checked out a certain designer (I forgot her name) who specializes in shirts and whose work is sold at Printemps, a big department store. Another tip, which might be useful to your daughter, is the resale shops where you can buy clean second-hand designer duds for much less than retail.

I think for the experience of really shopping in Paris, you'd probably want one of the big dept. stores because they can be so beautiful -- Galeries Lafayette, and then maybe Bon Marche on the Left Bank (which is where I shop when I really want something) because it won't be that far from where you are staying.<BR><BR>For more serious shopping to really look at a lot of stuff, you might go down a little to rue Alesia just south of Montparnasse and go down the street there several blocks, it's a well-known discount fashion shopping area with some designer seconds, etc. Get out at Alesia metro and go west. That's where I go when I want some cheap French duds, I go to Bon Marche for something nice, food, or to enjoy shopping. <BR><BR>I will advise that I don't like shopping very much at all, so I don't know the shops on Alesia that well, but there seemed like plenty to me. I know there is a Sonia Rykiel and Cacherel seconds store, among others. <BR><BR>Here's a little article to give you ideas:<BR>http://www.parisdigest.com/menus/shopping.htm<BR>It mentions rue Alesia and rue de Rennes.

Hi there<BR>Musee D'Orsay has a late night thursday to 9.45pm<BR>The Louvre has a late night mondays to 10pm<BR>With that in mind I would schedule those visits to the evening and free up your time to do your shopping etc. Both are obviously worth a visit, I was there in october for five days and had the Louvre scheduled for a monday night. I was having such a good time in the Montmartre I actually forgot to go, can you believe that? At least it's given me a good reason to go back to Paris altho' I don't need a reason, I loved it all.<BR>I understand there are fashion discount stores selling designer clothes, check some websites such as www.paris-france.org