what is a "must-see" in paris?
 

we are going to paris for our honeymoon in march for 8 days. while that won't be enough to see *everyhing*, what are some of your suggestions? what really great restaurants should we visit?? thanks for you suggestions! any other travel advice? we know it will be *cold* there! :)

Mandy - look for a thread "top 10" maybe under France or Paris - has been up there pretty recently

It may or may not be *cold* in Paris in March...Paris weather is very hard to predict! Check weather forecasts on the Web at weather.com as it gets closer to your travels to get a better idea of what the trends are. <BR> <BR>As far as "must sees"--a lot of it depends on what you're interested in. Any good guidebook can tell you about the standard "musts"--the Louvre, the Musee D'Orsay, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Ste.-Chapelle, Montmartre and Basilica Sacre Coeur, the Arc de Triomphe, and so on. With eight days in Paris, you should be able to get to most of the standard sights and do a couple of day trips as well (Versailles, Chartres, Monet's house at Giverny, Van Gogh's Arles are several possibilities). <BR> <BR>But which of these should you devote the most time to? And which of the less standard sights and activities should you also do? Again, hard to say unless we know the main interests you and your husband-to-be have. Art? Architecture? Music? Food? <BR> <BR>My favorite thing to do in Paris is just to walk. Pick a neighborhood and walk. Don't look for "tourist sights"--check out the bookshops and the architecture of the houses or office buildings, look for little markets selling fish and bread and cheese and pastries, and just watch the Parisiens. <BR> <BR>My favorite museum that's reasonably well known, but probably not on the "tourist's top 10" list is the Musee National du Moyen Age, also known as the Musee Cluny. Beautiful medieval relics, jewelry, altarpieces, and so on, and most captivating of all IMO, the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. <BR> <BR>Another place I loved just walking was the Ile St. Louis. It's the smaller island in the Seine, beside the Ile de la Cite (at the Notre Dame end). Narrow, medieval-feeling streets, terrific restaurants, the main Berthillon ice cream shop, and elegant little shops. Lovely. <BR> <BR>There's never enough to be said about Paris, but it's hard to advise you specifically without a better idea of what you want to do/what you like, since it's such an enormously rich city.

My husband and I were there in September and here's a brief list of some of the things we loved: <BR> <BR>Louvre <BR>Musee d'Orsay <BR>Rodin Museum <BR>Champs d'Elysee <BR>Eiffel Tower (cheesy but you got to do it -- we even saw a man proposing to his soon to be wife) <BR>Monmarte area (they have artist that will draw your picture; very touristy and sort of expensive but I suggest you get your picture done -- it is a wonderful memory) <BR>Notre Dame <BR>Saint Chappelle <BR>St. Germain area <BR> <BR>I am sure I am missing some things but those are some things we really enjoyed. <BR> <BR>A few things I suggest are (1) get a good guidebook and use it, (2) use the audio tours in the museum and (3) spend time just walking around the streets and window-shopping. <BR> <BR>Congratulations and have fun.

Hi <BR>As Gina said, you need to provide a little more information on your interests (art museums? historical sites?), and your budget for restaurants. <BR>If you buy a good general guidebook <BR>you will always find listings for the most popular sightseeing venues. And again, there is a wealth of information on this forum for Paris; if you do a search on Paris you will get more than a guidebook's worth. <BR>I also have a file; if you'd like to see it, email me. <BR>In eight days you can see quite a bit of Paris, perhaps even allocate one day for a daytrip. <BR>

Mandy, <BR>I just got back yesterday, and I have one word, Chartres. Make sure you go see Chartres. This cathedral is absolutely beautiful. <BR>Jeffries <BR>