I am just wondering how far the major attractions are from each other eg. Eifel tower, Notre Dame, Louvre, Marais, can we walk to most of these, or do we have to take the Metro. We will be staying at Aramis St Germain on Rue de Rennes st. Also any comments on the hotel that we are staying at. Will be in Paris for 5 days.

The attractions you happen to mention all "hover" around the river-the Marais, and Louvre on the north bank-right bank and the Eiffel Tower on the left or south bank and Notre Dame on an island called Isle de la Cite right in the middle of the river. So, no, they aren't far from each other. And most of the attractions and neighborhoods that interest most visitors are very close to river like these. The only exception is Montmartre (and Sacre Coeur)-which is way the heck up north (probably, since kind of like today, it was a neihgborhood where artists could afford to live). <BR> <BR>So the trick is to plan your walking around sides of the river generally speaking. So the Louvre is close to the Marais and makes a nice visit together with the distance maybe a half mile between the two. However, don't forget that you will want to walk around the Louvre and the Marias and they are both "big aterritories" in and of themselves. So many people use the metro between and pace themselves for the "attractions" themselves. <BR> <BR>However, in Paris, because of its architechtural history-many times the walking itself is the attraction. For instance, from the Etoile down to the Concorde area and down to the Louvre is a "famous" vista/walk because when Haussman torn down Paris and re-built it, he did it with the intention of creating a number of grand vistas and connecting areas-so the walk there is long but very interesting and makes a nice attraction with a book in hand....There is a biography of Haussman published a few years ago, I can't remember the name at the moment, but I bet Wes knows it! <BR> <BR>Your hotel is in a great area-near the Luxembourg gardens and not too far from St Germain des Pres and you are very near the Bon Marche-a great old Paris department store-be sure to visit their food department-you could take picnics everyday just from there The rue de rennes is the connecting street from St Germain to Montparnasse and is a very populareating/shopping area. Also be sure to go over to see St Sulpice-which is a lovely square and church near you. I don't know the hotel itself, but usually someone here does. Have a great trip

Yes, in terms of distance everything is pretty close together. In Fact, central Paris is only about 6-7 miles in a rough diameter. Fairly small in terms of space and distance. <BR> <BR>However, when it comes to actually walking around, it becomes more like 100 miles. Because there is so much, and I repeat, so much to look at, you are always "stop-starting". Stop look at this, stop look at that. As Jeanne said, the architecture is great throughout the entire city so you are ooing and ahing all along the way. Not to mention if you have a book and know what you're looking at, you are getting an intense lesson in French and world history as you make your way through the streets. <BR> <BR>This makes for lots of distractions. Not a bad thing at all, you just have to expect it and not be too rigid about scheduling. Also, make sure you don't plan too much each day. Leave time for just wandering around. We would usually schedule things for the morning and early afternoon and then by 3, we would just "do whatever" came to mind. And remember, getting sidetracked is part of the "Paris Charm". <BR> <BR>Your hotel is within 1 mile of Louvre, Jardin des Tuileries, Musee de l'Orangerie, Musee d'Orsay, Place St. Michel, the Church of St. Germain des Pres, Musee Rodin, Musee Jean Moulin (the resistance fighter), Musee de Cluny, Palais de Justice, St. Chapelle, La Conciergerie, Notre Dame, and the Panthenon. <BR> <BR>You are in the 6th, so you might want to look that up (Paris is divided into 20 areas) and get familiar with what is around you. The 6th is a very good place to be. My husband and I like the 5th or 6th for staying in Paris. Of course, alot of that depends on what you like.... <BR> <BR>Back to the walking... <BR> <BR>I would definitely do at least some walking around with no particular destination in mind. It's a very nice way to go on "discovery" of the city. <BR> <BR>When wanting to get to a "site", I would recommend taking the metro to the general area, then walk around. You'll be surprised how much time it takes if you try to walk everywhere. And I'm not saying to walk everywhere is bad, you just have to weigh what is important to you in your 5 days. Probably some type of balance; walk some to get a feel for the city, take the metro other times so you can see more when you get to your destination. <BR> <BR>Hope you have a great time!

We stayed at the Aramis St Germain last June. Since my son broke his leg and was in a wheelchair, we couldn't get into the Metro. We walked/rolled everywhere. The Aramis staff is great. When you check in they take out a map, circle the hotel, and show you all the major sites. The farthest we walked was the Tour Eifel. It was a little long, but so fun to go through real neighborhoods. Plenty of little bakeries and other snack options especially as you walk to the Louvre, Orsay, and Sainte Chapelle. The breakfast is good at the hotel. Enjoy! <BR>

hey ramzi: <BR> <BR>we just got back from paris. <BR> <BR>on our first day, we ended up walking from our hotel in the south end of the 5th all the way to arc de tromphe and the eiffel tower no problem. actually in our very first day, we saw the pantheon, eiffel tower, climbed up it, walked down champs-elysees, saw the arc de triomphe, and walked around at night. you WILL get side tracked and your itinerary WILL change. paris is a gem and you will be enticed by the gleam of every one of its facets. <BR> <BR>sure it takes a little while to walk from here to there, but it's not that large of a city. very very walkable city no problem. <BR> <BR>we also walked to pere-lachaise cemetary and the only two places to which we took the metro were montmartre and bois de boulogne, which are on the outskirts. <BR> <BR>so just walkie walkie walkie. it is a marvelous city and i will remember its charm, its flair, and its exquisiteness until the day i die. <BR> <BR>daniel <BR> <BR>ps email me if you have any questions and while the info is still fresh in my head. i just returned last night.