The_D_Dawg

Waynehazle - maintain flexibility in your scheduling...if it is raining the first day, by all means, go to the Louvre - but otherwise, everyone is correct...get outside and see the wonders of Paris.

I will be going to Paris with my new GF on May21st. if you would be so kind to post any observations or closings upon your return that would be great!

If you find Phantom of the Opera playing pls let me know asap. Thanks tons.

Have a really wonderful time.

The_D_Dawg

PS the river cruise is fine, but you'll find it better to do dinner elsewhere and take the cruise. Food on the river cruise can be inconsistent.

nyse

>><i>Give up on le Mont-St-Michel. Go to Giverny or Versailles on Monday if the weather's decent. Giverny would be the better choice.</i><<

Versailles is, I believe, closed on Mondays.

waynehazle

Is there not one person who like Mont St. Michel? Yes, it is a loooooong day. I love the look of this place. It looks like one of the fortresses from Lord of the Rings. I am hard pressed to drop this one.

Gretchen, sorry for the prickly feeling

I sort've had the church thing in the first post but it was not clear.

OK, Louvre is 100% out for first day.
Dinner River Cruise out.'

There is a Giverny AND Versailles tour:
http://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Ve...479-2050GV_GVE
I am not super hung up on this company, they just showed up in a lot of searches and seemed reputable.

yes, my wife and tend to be sprint type travelers.

We can stay flexible and not book too many things before going. Get up Wednesday morning and do HOHO bus and kinda go from there. Are we likely to get better deals on anything just hitting the streets when we get there?

Oh and I did say I would have lodging info when I was back on. Sheepish guilty grin ...

StCirq

It's not that people don't like le Mont-St-Michel; it's that it's close to insane to spend 15 hours on a day-long tour to get there, see it, and get back. I've been there more than a dozen times, used to do guided tours there, with myself as a guide. It's a great site. BUT truly, unless you are a historian or a pilgrim (and you don't sound like either), and know what you are seeing, it's just a tiny rocky island with an abbey and a bazillion trinkety tourist shops, bad restaurants, and crappy hotels. Give it up. You don't have enough time as it is to even see Paris.

You're nuts not to have lodging by now. That should have been your first priority. Good luck with that.

I don't know what you mean by "get better deals on anything just hitting the streets when we get there." No clue - better deals on what, exactly?

I don't expect you're going to take any of the advice you've been given on these forums, so this is the last I'm going to post on this one.

But do want to add that I hope you are at least familiar with the French Government's position on Jehovah's Witnesses. Not good. Good luck with that as well.

waynehazle

StCirq & All, believe it or not I am listening! And How do you know I am not a pilgrim

Will be staying at: BEST WESTERN Ducs de Bourgogne Paris
http://www.hotelsgrandparis.com/hote...gne-paris.html

Great central location. What I meant by "get better deals on anything just hitting the streets when we get there" was whether it was better to try to book tours of different sites, here from the States or be more flexible and arrange various tours. Some companies claim that you get some better deal with them. So if I wanted to spend the day at Versaille, arrange here from the States or just be flexible and arrange when I get there?
Same question for HOHO bus and others?

Gretchen

Well, for sure don't book the HOHO bus online. You can show up at any stop. I guess you know you can print the map.
Sure, book the tour while there--you know Paris well enough to find their office or talk to them on the phone and get all the particulars.
I guess the church references all those days in your first post were "doing other fun stuff". That really spells it out perfectly.
I guess the only thing remaining to say is no matter how strange your itinerary is, Paris is hard to mess up.

annhig

Wayne,

there is a snag with arranging a trip to Versailles yourself before you go which is that the website requires you to pick which day you want to go. so you may want to wait until you get there, or sign up for this Versailles/Giverny trip, which would be a very full day, but at least you wouldn't need to think!

as for getting a better deal when you get there, i don't think that there are many of those in Paris. sit down for a drink each and you'll be lucky to have change from a €10 note. but you don't need to book the HOHO bus in advance - just hop on anywhere that's convenient and pay on board. it's not cheap but it's a great way to get an overview and suss out where you might like to spend some more time. you can however save money on the seine cruise on line just by printing off this voucher: - http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/

as for the mont st Michel, i think you'd be mad to spend your precious time in Paris in a bus going there and back, but that's a matter for you. especially whaen you could come to Cornwall and see ours! [www.stmichael'smount.co.uk]

have a great trip!

annhig

oops - that's www.stmichaelsmount.co.uk

AussieFrance

Hi, we do a lot of cycling in France and there are quite a few places around Paris. Can you tell me what sort of distance you usually cover, whether you mind hills or just want something flat, if you only want to stay on bike paths or not and what sort of thing you'd like to see when cycling (countryside, small towns, woods, etc.) so that I can make a few suggestions.

annhig

aussie - did you spot something I missed? where did you get the idea that the OP wants to cycle?

aha - got it now.

<<MONDAY 14th
Leisurely Day
Either:
Walking Tour
Bicycle rental and ride>>

frankly, i don't think he's talking about your sort of cycling, more Fat tyre bike tours.

http://fattirebiketours.com/paris

Leely2

Wayne, it's looking better, a shade more relaxed. Yes, I get it, you move fast. I seem to remember you went to Rwanda for 1.5 days.

You might think about visiting the deportation memorial behind Notre Dame on Ile de la Cite. I think you'd find it interesting, and it can be visited quickly.

http://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/...=fr&idLieu=341

Leely2

Meant to add that I think Annhig's most recent suggested itinerary looks good to me.

djkbooks

Viator is a third party booking agent and not a tour provider. To visit Giverny and Versailles in one day would be "sprinting" through both, for sure. But, if you want to visit both and have only one day, an escorted tour is the way to go (unless you rent a car).

For escorted tours, see

www.pariscityvision.com

http://www.francetourisme.fr/index_en.html

It is usually not necessary to book those tours too far in advance and it's better to wait until you've had a chance to check the weather forecast (which is not always accurate), but, since you really have only five days for any day trips, you may want to book ahead so as to not be disappointed, but with the understanding that you could be visiting during pouring down rain. (It's been very rainy in Paris for quite a while now.)

As mentioned, you can pay when you board the hop on/hop off buses at any of their stops. The panoramic views from seats on the open air upper deck are magnificent, but ONLY if the weather is favorable.

With only a few days and with unpredictable weather, you may want to be very flexible.

waynehazle

Well I am here in Paris. Just checked into the Best Western, a close walk to the Louvre, but no we are not going in now. We will just walk and get acclimated.



Much thanks everyone

annhig

hope your trip is a great as you would wish, Wayne.