mike

I love museums my girlfriend 's not so keen.Can anyone advise on a 3 day itinerary in August ,combining culture with food and general sightseeing? <BR>Mike

elaine

Hi Mike <BR>You need a good basic guidebook, and honestly I think Fodor's guide to Paris is one of the best--it offers imo <BR>just enough historical and cultural detail without presenting itself as a resource for art and history scholars. <BR>Good suggestions for restaurants and hotels, although more at the moderate to expensive end than the very lowest budget places. <BR> <BR>Buy a Paris museum pass when you arrive so that you can avoid waiting in the long lines at the Louvre and Orsay museums. Do some reading on the Louvre before you go (and they have a good website) so you can concentrate on some highlights before your s.o.'s eyes start to glaze over. Actually after 3 hours in the Louvre just about anyone's eyes start to glaze over. If there's more you want to see, go back for a second visit perhaps while your s.o is doing some shopping or other browsing. Even with the most devoted couples, a couple of hours apart can be a nice break, and leads to a joyful reunion. Following the Louvre, have a pricey snack or lunch at Cafe Marly, which is inside the Louvre's arcade in the courtyard facing the Pyramid. It's a uniquely Parisian setting. Make a reservation if you can. They are also open for breakfast. <BR> <BR>The Orsay Museum is a magnificent building and a magnificent collection if you are interested in the Impressionists and their immediate predecessors and <BR>followers. Whistler's mom is also there. <BR> <BR>Here are my suggestions but I do suggest the guidebook. I also have a file on Paris which I'd be happy to send if you email me. <BR> <BR>If Day 1 is your arrival day from overseas, you're likely to be tired, in which case I avoid museums on the first day. Drop your bags, head for Notre Dame, Ste Chapelle, the Conciergerie, the Flower Market. <BR>Have a great lunch. Take a nap if you must and then go out in the late afternoon again, perhaps for a boat ride, or else keep going all day, shower and change, and have an early dinner. <BR> <BR>Day 2: Louvre in the am, lunch, then <BR>walk the rue Faubourg St Honore, Rue Royale, Place Vendome, and then up the Champs Elysees to the Eiffel Tower, passing the Arc de Triomphe. The streets I mentioned have wonderful browsing and shopping. You can stop for a drink or tea in one of the beautiful "palace" hotels like the Bristol, Plaza Athenee, Crillon, etc. or just in a pretty cafe, but avoid most restaurants on the Champs as too many are tourist traps or Burger King, unfortunately. <BR> <BR> <BR>Day 3 <BR>Orsay museum in the morning. Explore the Left Bank: churches, Sorbonne, shopping,St Germain area, etc. Have a great lunch. In the afternoon, pick a small and "easy" museum like the Rodin, <BR>or the Picasso. The Rodin, another one of my favorites, is in a former private house, it has a charming garden with a snackbar, and the sculptures are easy to appreciate. <BR>

Mary Ann

Hi Mike <BR>I would suggest 2 books. <BR>1. Rick Steves - He has some good walking tours that will cover the Champs E'Lysee, etc. You can do it at your own pace and pick and choose what you want to do and how long you spend at a particular location. He is opinionated so that helps, you may or may not agree, but you are informed. Sometimes museums are not your traditional type, i.e. Versailles. <BR>2. Michelin Paris. It rates the sites to better inform you plus for example on the Louvre, it has some floor plans. So if you want to allocate 2 hours you can plot out where the venus de Milo, mona lisa etc, is and thus hopefully keep both you and your girlfriend happy. <BR> <BR>It really amounts to balance, spend 2 hours in a museum, take a walk, go on a bateaux mouche down the seine. Plan a picnic at the base of the Eifel tower one day and/or have dinner at the tower another. Rick does a decent job of finding places to stop on sightseeing with breaks for food. <BR>There is so much to do the question is what not to do.

m

If your girlfriend is not that keen on museums i would limit it to about 2-3 hours a day of museums. The larger museums can be quite overwhelming to anyone. You should try to at least spend some time in the museums mentioned by Elaine. In the Louvre, try to limit to particular areas of interest. The smaller museums are great and are much easier to digest. We loved the Picasso, even my kids who don't like art museums at all. <BR> <BR>Elaine's ideas area great and will definitely fill your days. ALso you can add Luxembourg gardens which is left bank and Sacre Couer (sp?). <BR> <BR>Paris is a beautiful city. Just walking around and exploring neighborhoods is great.

mimi taylor

Visiting the parks is a great way to spend those days because there is so much to see and do. For example, The Bois de Bologne Has two beatiful restaurants, an island that you take a boat ride to get to yet another dining spot, a zoo, flower garden. Other parks have pony rides, punch and judy shows, miniture sailboats you can rent, cafes to people watch, jugglers, runners, too many things to mention. There's the Luxenburg, Montsouris,Monceau. If the rent the film Gigi, you can see the Bois and the Monceau.

XXXX

I spent 3 days in Paris with a girlfriend last year, this is how our schedule was and it was hectic. <BR> <BR>Friday- arrived in Paris relaxed a little and headed to the shops. <BR>Friday night- an illumination tour booked by the hotel. <BR>Saturday-all day tour with Paris Vision booked by the hotel that included: The Louvre, Notre Dame, Cruise on the Seine and the general sights with lunch at the Eiffel Tower. <BR>Saturday Night- we walked around the streets just to get the feel of the city. <BR>Sunday-Tour of Versailles and Giverny (beautiful)booked by the hotel. <BR>Sunday night- An evening at the Moulin Rouge (Okay if you want to do the tourist thing just to say I've done it, once is enough for me wouldn't do it again. The tours were mainly booked in advance by the hotel and meals were done whenever we were hungry, cafe, crepe stand. <BR>It was our first time in Paris and we wanted to be tourists. <BR> <BR> <BR>

Mirna

What about Monmartre? I had a great time there, and it was on a beautiful hill overlooking the city. Good picnic spot.

Beth

We just returned from a trip that included five days in Paris, and we still felt as though we just touched the surface of what this great city has to offer. So, don't feel as though you have to do "everything" on your trip. I would suggest walking from the Pompidou Center to the Bastille through the Marias district -- this is a really vibrant area of Paris. Just enjoy walking through neigborhoods, stopping to get pastries, crepes, a glass of wine.

Cher

I was to have 3 days in Paris, but thanks British Midlines I only had 2. Don't get a museum pass unless you are a mueseum person. I spent 2 hours at the Louve, I saw 3 things that I ment to, one of which was the Mona Lisa, totally dissapointed! Maybe it was the crowd, I expected it to be much larger, more intensive! This cost way too much of my valuble Paris time. I'm actually a Monet fan and never made it to the d'Orsay. Oh well, next time! Anyway, no matter what people say about August, it's the best time to go IMHO. I saw nothing closed, and if it's more crowded the rest of the year, than I say August is perfect. Perfect weather, no lines for restaurants, and the flowers and Jardins, yes! Don't miss the "Jardins". <BR>I was in Paris for only two days. Paris is a wonderful city. It has art, history, nitelife, religious history, the Eiffel Tower. Research them all before you go. You need to decide what your own "must sees" are. Paris has it all. Don't miss the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, as for the rest, it's personal. We went to Moulin Rouge and loved it. We stayed in the 6th, loved it. Took a boat on the Siene, loved it. <BR>I live near Chicago, and until I'm an expert on the musuems here, than how can I, oh, never mind, see what you have to see! Have fun! <BR>Cher