Hi Fodor Friends!!

After posting and searching on Fodors for hours I have come up with a "TEMPORARY" itinerary for 5 days in Paris in June.

A little about us before our trip: we are not interested in spending all our time in museums. Goal is to walk the villages and streets like a Parisian, eat and drink well, and roam the streets of Paris.

Day One: Thursday: Fly into Paris for 1 pm. Settle in in hotel and freshen up.
Visit D'Orsay (after much debate bw this or the Louvre, all signs point to Dorsay) since it is open late
Evening cruise on the Siene and light dinner

Day 2 Friday: Eiffel Tower early in the morning followed by
Arc De Triumph
Champs Elysees
Place de la Concorde

(If we feel up to it, since the Louvre is open late this day, we will pop in to check it out"

Day 3: Saturday
St Chappelle when it opens at 9:30
Notre Dame when it opens at 1030
St Germain quarter
Luxembourg Gardens
Walk along the Siene

Day 4 : Sunday
8 am: Gardens of Versailles
9 am: Palace of Versailles
12 pm: Marie Antoinettes Estate
--> Maybe do Montmartre area in the afternoon?


Day 5: Day trip to Champagne?
Cover anything in Paris we didn't get to see?
Any suggestions??


So- I dont feel I have too much planned, and will need things to fill in the afternoons such as Day 4 after Versailles.

Any suggestions and tips are greatly appreciated!!

<< St Chappelle when it opens at 9:30 >>

You should get there about 9:00 because of the security line.

<< Notre Dame when it opens at 1030 >>

Notre Dame opens at 8:00

There is a free tour on Saturday afternoon. You could do any of the other three things, have lunch and then take the ND tour.

<< Day trip to Champagne? >>

Is this your first trip to Paris? If so I would not go to Champagne as there is so much in Paris you're not seeing.

You don't have too much planned. Depending on where you originate, day 1 might be too much with a museum and then the Seine cruise. You might be tired.

You're missing the Marais which is far more interesting for wandering than the Champs Elysees and Place de la Concorde.

<< since the Louvre is open late this day, we will pop in to check it out >>

I don't think you have any idea how large the Louvre is. There's no popping in and checking it out. If you want to see specific works or areas it's best to look at the floor plan on the Louvre web site so you'll have some idea of where to go once inside.

Your itinerary looks really good -- not too much planned in my view. Just a few points -- if you are flying in from the US, you might be too jet lagged to enjoy D'Orsay on the first day. I would do Notre Dame first and get there at 7:30 AM before opening time and then walk over to St. Chappelle. On day 2, I would do the Louvre right after the Eiffel Tower and then spend the rest of the day doing the things that you mention. Days 3 and 4 look great, although you may be gone so long at Versaille that the day may be shot by the time you get back. If you have never been to Paris before, I concur with Adrienne on skipping the day trip and using Day 5 to explore areas of Paris like the Marais, Latin Quarter, etc. or spending a couple of hours in the Pompidou Center or visiting a neighborhood market. Of course, if you have a deep seated interest in visiting a wine region of France, this region is certainly an easy day trip from Paris and in that case I suggest taking the TGV to Rheims.

i'd suggest staying out of the museums for day one. get plenty of sunlight to fight the effects of jetlag. some other suggestions:

-Check out Tour Montparnasse day or night for an unparalelled view of Paris that includes the Eiffel Tower.
http://www.tourmontparnasse56.com/index_EN.php

-Visit the little known about Château de Vincennes. The castle-like structure is at the end of Line one. It's free to explore the grounds and check out this hunting lodge of Louis VII. There is a small church there you can visit for a fee.

-Spend some time in the charming medieval maze that is the Latin Quarter. After exploring around this area visit the Pantheon and the crypts underneath. Here you'll find famous French nationals like Victor Hugo and Marie Curie.

-If you're not "churched out" by now the Sacre Couer basilica is worth a look. It's located on top of the highest peak in Montmarte. Just watch out for pickpockets and pushy people selling stuff.

I would never go to a museum or take a boat cruise on the day of arrival. Stay outdoors as much as possible to get a much vitamin D as you can. Do the boat cruise when you won't fall asleep.

Day 4 : Sunday
8 am: Gardens of Versailles
9 am: Palace of Versailles
12 pm: Marie Antoinettes Estate
--> Maybe do Montmartre area in the afternoon?

The Gardens lie between the palace and Marie's Hameau, and the Trianon. I'd suggest leaving Paris around 8:00, and getting to the Palace itself to start at 9:00. Shortly thereafter, crowds will begin developing. If you tour the Palace first, you can exit the building and head to the gardens. If you wish to walk the gardens, great, you'll end up at Marie's Hameau and the Trianon palace.

Montmartre following is what we did in our last trip and it was convenient and worked out well.

Good luck and enjoy!

Be prepared to move your days around to catch the right weather. Versailles in the rain or the stained glass of Notre Dame and the Ste Chapelle are for sunny days. And walking the Champs Elysees is always reported as a waste of time. Just take a bus down it and agree. And skip the day trip to Champagne. Why go to Paris for a very short trip and then spend a day somewhere else? Versailles, OK, but another daytrip?

am i the only one here that actually enjoyed a stroll along the Champs-Élysées??? to each his own i guess

>>Day One: Thursday: Fly into Paris for 1 pm. Settle in in hotel and freshen up.
Visit D'Orsay (after much debate bw this or the Louvre, all signs point to Dorsay) since it is open late
Evening cruise on the Siene and light dinner <<

Maybe (just maybe) the boat trip. But I definitely would <u>not</u> do the Musee d'Orsay on your arrival day. Besides the jetlag - w/ a 1:00 arrival at CDG don't count on getting to the hotel/checked in til probably 3:30 or later and you will likely be drained. Take a walk, have an early-ish supper and IF you feel sort of semi-human, think about the boat trip.

But it will really be a non-sightseeing-day.

On Sunday you will still be at Versailles in the mid to late afternoon depending on how much time you spend in the grounds.

Forget the day trip out of town - you've left yourselves very little time for the wandering/absorbing/roaming Paris neighborhoods you say you want. So stay in Paris and do that . . .

Visit Musee Rodin, it's small and the gardens are lovely and filled with sculptures. Wander along the seine and across the bridges, stopping for a coffee or a glass of wine.

Climb to the top of notre dame and enjoy the view.

Paris is a big city and your 5 days will fly past. I hope you have a wonderful time.

As previously stated, be prepared to adjust for weather. clearly modify day 1 to only the cruise (if that), in fact I would drop Champagne on day 5, add the D'Orsay that day and plan a walking tour in a neigborhood for the rest of day 5. the Marais is a great choice. It's your last day, roam around have a nice meal, do some shopping. If you pop into teh Louvre, get a map first, pick out 3 or pieces you want to see and map out your route (Mona, Nike, Coronation of Napoleon....) and then just leave.... you could spend months there and it can be very overwhelming. Oh, and on Day 2, look at a map and plan a one directional route.

thank you thank you!!!

GREAT tips and advice!

The only reason I thought to do the museum when we get there is because it will be so late in the day I don't see us having the energy and be "coherent" to explore, but maybe to walk around a museum? Will definitely reconsider though.

Day five I will leave open to anything we think we should do...

I know the Louvre is so huge "popping in" was merely a joke bc it'd be virtually impossible to do while there.

Planning is a LOT harder than I had expected....I always hear of people who just buy tickets and go. not an inch of research.

I feel I have to do the research and plan an itinerary because we are only there such few days!

Appreciate all the advice thus far

Last Question::


How do we know where to eat??? Do I need to plan ahead of time for dinner and reservations? Does it reallllllyyyy matter where we eat? Or will we get the same "idea" and feel for Paris food wherever we go?

Is it possible just to walk into a restaurant at night and sit down?

It's best to reserve a table but you can do that as you walk around during the day. If you see a place you like then stop in and make the reservation - you can even specify what table you want. Or you can ask your hotel to make reservations for you for future nights.

If you're eating in cafes rather than restaurants then you can just stop in but cafe meals are usually light meals, sandwiches, omelets, etc.

All restaurants have menus and prices posted so it's easy to choose a place based on your tastes and budget. I usually eat near where I'm staying. Unless you have a particular restaurant and are planning a splurge meal it's not necessary to go far for good food.

Do a search on this board and you'll find lots of suggestions.

It won't get dark until about 10pm at night so on the day you arrive you have plenty of time to walk and explore, rather than being indoors in a museum. Whereabouts is your hotel? I'm only asking as it might help with some suggestions for your first afternoon.

Our hotel is walking distance from the Gare De Lyon train station.

Near Boulevard Diderot...it looks as though Marais is nearby?

If it is a nice day when you arrive, you can stroll from your hotel to the Promenade Plantee, an old railroad viaduct transformed into a park alongside the avenue Daumesnil. You climb up the stairs at any of a number of access points and can walk for a pretty long distance.

It's a bit of a walk to the Marais and it depends on where in the Marais you plan to go. The small streets off rue du Temple are interesting to wander.

You can take one of the Paris Walks tours (I highly recommend them). Here's a link to the basic schedule but they will add more walks in May.

http://www.paris-walks.com/cariboost...urs_202013.pdf

I was in Paris with a school trip and we had one meal per day that wasn't arranged by the coordinator (usually after the days activities when we were on our own time). Me and 3 friends would just wander the area we were cut loose in and agree on a place. Out of the 4 places we ended up only one had a non-Parisian feel (pizza, fried chicken and fries) and that was more because we were on a mission to go fabric shopping and just wanted some cheap food for fuel.

Two of the places were pretty upscale and for both we just walked in and requested a table. The one was pretty busy and there was closer to 10 of us that day so we had a short wait but still were seated about as quickly as here in the states.

Look at the Prix fix (sp) menu as there is often a really good deal for a 2 or 3 course meal. One place the 3 course meal ran about 25 Euro and the main dish options were 18-25, so a really good deal to get a starter and desert in addition. Beverage was usually additional.

Every restaurant, café, bistro, and brasserie has a menu posted outside. Just wander around, look at them, and decide where you want to eat. It's not necessary to reserve except for fancy, popular restos. In addition to traditional French fare (which in itself comes in myriad varieties), there is every kind of ethnic cuisine imaginable, plus simple pizzerias and crêperies and so forth. You don't have to plan in advance to feed yourself in Paris!