Now now, it's only been one day. But yes, the courtesy of an acknowledgment is always welcome.

Wonderful help from everyone which dh and I most sincerely appreciate! Mary

nuke - so many new posters never come back to acknowledge the hard work people have put in to advice them. Sometimes I get annoyed about this but I think any input benefits others. I get great information from posters here without even starting a new thread.

I'm not the poster....but THANK YOU ALL for some great info that I will use for my upcoming yearly trip to Paris ! FMT....good suggestions.

Sorry for the snappishness. Having a bad week. We leave for Paris in a few weeks and my Wifes' camera went kerflooey. She sent off for a duplicate. It just arrived and the damned thing will not work! When Honey is not happy, nobody is happy.

:-(

Nuke - Enjoy Paris! Hope the camera problems are resolved quickly!

I am no expert as others here, but the Rodin museum is great. Not so huge it is overwhelming, not expensive, all in an interesting house and a beautiful garden outside. I think your kids would enjoy it as much as you.

Bookmarking - you will love Paris. It is absolutely amazing. There are the typical things but I found a lot of young people on the Sandmans free Paris tour. It was fun and upbeat. I loved the ParisWalks tour and would highly recommend it. A cruise on the Seine is awesome at dusk. Go by the Eiffel tower at night. I didn't know that they light it up and it would surely impress the kids. If you make it to Versailles, you could rent bicycles and have a picnic. I have kids but did the trip alone and I made notes of what they might enjoy for the next family trip. Has anyone mentioned going up Notre Dame?

Have a great time!

This thread has been awesome. Thanks for all the wonderful ideas.
Just curious and hoping someone will reply. The cruise on the Seine sounds very interesting and I am wondering how expensive it is. Also is it easy to get reservations?
Thanks again, have a splendid weekend.

It's not expensive at all and you don't need reservations - just walk up and buy a ticket. This is a good company and if you buy your ticket in advance there's a discount. The downstairs portion has live commentary, the upstairs is open.

http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/home/

bookmarking for all the good ideas, but particularly frenchmystique's amazing list of day trip advice.

perhaps the OP is still reading!

bookmarking

For those of you who thanked me for the day trip list you are very welcome. :)

One of these days I'm going to do a similar list for lesser known but very worthy day trips from Paris, which would probably be two or three times as long as the above list and still fall way short of everything you could see or do. Unfortunately I don't have the time right now but perhaps next winter.

And adrienne - Your list of museums/sites/visits is nothing to sneeze at. ;)

Thanks so much, FMT! I appreciate the acknowledgement. Perhaps I should arrange my list a bit better but it's like life - all random.

Under your Compiegne reference maybe you could add the historic (re-created) railway carriage. I thought it was an interesting side trip from Compiegne. I think you need to take a taxi there (we did). The TI was very helpful arranging a taxi and having him wait for us for the return trip back to town.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/tr...2hourfrom.html

Thanks so much, FMT! I appreciate the acknowledgement. Perhaps I should arrange my list a bit better but it's like life - all random.>>

adrienne - I apologise for omitting you from the "credits" - i was looking at the thread from a purely selfish point of view, having been fortunate enough to have seen most of the places you mention [though not necessarily in that order!]

adrienne - Yes, the Clairière de l'Armistice is interesting and worth a visit but the list I gave is meant to be general because at each destination there is lots to see and do and that info will be found on the tourist office websites. Info about the Clairière de l'Armistice can be found on the Compiègne tourist office website. I'm leaving it up to people to do a bit of research on their own and look at the tourist office websites because it would just be too cumbersome to list all of the things one could do at each of the destinations I provided. Unfortunately, not all tourist office websites have English language versions (Compiègne does not) so google translate is necessary for those who don't read French. But people can always come back and ask for assistance in such a case.

annhig - no worries - I'm not offended. I realize you were looking at the wonderful side trips from Paris rather than concentrating on what's in Paris. The only time I get offended is when posters thank a long list of people and I'm left off the list. That happens a lot.

FMT - I understand your point about not being able to name everything in each area or town. There is a lot to see in the Compiegne area - and it's a lovely town. You've given people more than enough information for out of town trips.

We are headed to Paris for 10 days in May and the info here is so useful! So all of you consider yourselves well-thanked, even if the OP never comes back.

This is wonderful information! Bookmarking for a later trip. Thanks!

The only time I get offended is when posters thank a long list of people and I'm left off the list. That happens a lot.>>

i know, adrienne. I suspect that I've been guilty of it myself, no matter how hard I try to remember everyone who's helped me. so apologies in advance if i do it to you, in the future!