Aine

We are off for a last minute trip for Valentines day to Paris. However, we will only have one and a half days there. I have put together a plan (with the kind help of people on this site and a little Rick Steves) I want to do some things a little differently from last time I was there. What do you think of this plan? Is it much too much ? even though I am not fitting in half the things I want to do of course. Any comments on additions ? changes ? subtractions would be much appreciated. Thanks

Staying on Haussmann near the Old Opera

Saturday ? half day from noon
I want to visit the Gourmet Dept of Galleries Lafayette and Art?s Factory which seems to have funky art stuff (that?s near Montmartre though)
Picasso Museum (hour there)
Down through the Marais, pick up a bottle of champagne or wine
To Pont Neuf where we can take a Seine Cruise before sunset (5:30pm)
Over to Ile St. Louis (reservation for 8:00pm dinner at Auberge de la Reine Blanche)?
Taxi back to Blv. Haussmann or walk somewhere if we are still standing

Sunday ? full day

Rue Cler for breakfast/brunch
D?Orsay Museum
Walk around Le Marais/Bastille area
Meet my sister and husband at 5:00pm for drinks at Montparnasse Tower (Panoramic Bar 56)
8:00pm Dinner at Le Train Bleu for 4 (but I saw very negative reviews on the food here ? any suggestions? Nothing wildly expensive though)

Thanks, I really appreciate your comments. A

JonJon

On both of those days you are somehow finding yourself in the Marais area which apparently has a great deal of appeal for you but I wonder with so (self-described)little time why you haven't booked a hotel there...make things a bit simpler or are there booking details we don't know about here?
Just a thought.

Aine

Thanks JonJon, I know - we got a last min deal and did not have much of a choice. I thought it might be fun to explore on Sunday and we will be around there on Saturday anyway. Any suggestions for something different?

RonZ

Have you been to Le Grand Cafe? It is right off the Place de l'Opera on Capucines. A dinner close to the hotel could save a lot of running around, and allow time for a nice walk afterward.

rex

You already know it's a whirlwind, so I hate making you feel bad about what you already know. Sounds like a good plan for mostly missing what's good about the world's best art museum, the d'Orsay.

Have fun anyhow...

Best wishes,

Rex

Aine

Rex - thanks LOL! I did sneak it in there on Sunday morning (see it?) The whole trip seems so manic that I cant blame you.

RonZ - Great idea as my sister and husband's hotel is in that area also. Im looking up that restaurant as we speak. Thanks.

jenifer

If you are only going to Rue Cler for breakfast/brunch, I would suggest skipping it. I've stayed on the corner of Rue Cler twice and like the area very much, but it's really nothing special enough, in my opinion, to make a trip there just to eat breakfast. I think your time would be better spent grabbing pastries from a bakery near your hotel and eating on the way to the Musee d'Orsay.

Also, if you're coming from the US, Saturday will be a tough day! It's so tiring that first afternoon. Galeries Lafayette should be near your hotel, so that's a good place to start after you check in. But traveling all the way to Montmartre for one shop seems like an awful lot of effort! I think if it were me I'd assume that store will be there for my next visit and go straight from Galeries Lafayette to Picasso. Maybe you'll even have time for a 1/2-hour rest in Places des Vosges to rejuvenate before the boat ride/dinner.

Have fun!

StCirq

I had the very same reaction as jenifer - why go to the rue Cler for breakfast? There's nothing particularly special there as far as breakfast goes, except for those places advertising "American breakfasts," and it's not so near the d'Orsay that it would make sense to make a detour. The Buci market area is closer and would provide just as good a selection of breakfast options, or you could, as suggested, just grab a coffee and croissant somewhere near your hotel.

Aine

Wow I am so glad I posted this question. Rick Steves guide paints the Rue Cler like heaven. If two of you are already telling me its no big deal in relation to my short time there I will definitely give it a miss this time. I just wanted to walk through there it seemed so nice from his description. I am dying to go to that Art?s Factory so maybe I will try do that on Sunday (it is open). GREAT suggestions.

ira

Hi aine,

I suggest that on Sunday you make reservations for the Brunch at the Jacqumart-Andre' museum, (http://www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com/jandre/)
tour the museum, walk through the Parc Monceau and on to the Arc de Triomphe, take the Champs elysee to Place Concorde, and then on the the D'Orsay.

Le Train Bleu is more noted for its decor than its food, but I don't think the food is bad.

Aine

Ira: We were so excited to go after I saw the website on Le Train Bleu, and the menu certainly looks good. Many people gave it a bad review and said it was not worth it. I would be thrilled if I got a few good comments about it here.

dan_woodlief

I am going to agree about Rue Cler. I have stayed on the street. It is nice enough, but I wouldn't go out of the way just to see, given all that Paris has to offer. I particularly wouldn't waste daylight just to go there to eat. However, it is not a very long walk from Pont de l'Alma if you wish to take a bateau mouche ride (departs from there) instead of the Pont Neuf-based boats.

Michel_Paris

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ira

Hi Aine
>We were so excited to go after I saw the website on Le Train Bleu...I would be thrilled if I got a few good comments about it here.<

Try starting a new thread asking specifically about "Le Train Bleu experiences".

111op

With the limited time you have, the most obvious thing is to consider some sort of bus tour.

And as someone pointed out, why bother spending so much time in the Marais? Consider looking around other classics like the Louvre area, Champs-Elysees, Left Bank/St-Germain-des-Pres.

Regarding food, if that's what you're interested in, Fauchon and Hediard should be close to the department stores, and there's also La Grande Epicerie, part of Le Bon Marche, but that's out of the way for you.

Have lots of fun.

sfowler

If you had more "lead time" I would suggest hiring Michael Osman for the day -- he is great at making itineraries happen You could try [email protected] -- but he may not get back to you in time .. and he is most likely booked. But worth a try

suze

I'm no Paris expert but another vote to skip Rue Cler on a tight time table. I had a wonderful parisian lunch there at a corner outdoor cafe, because we were 'walking' the city and happened to be in that part of town. But what's there can be found in lots of neighborhoods.

tinarose

Instead of Rue Cler for sunday breakfast go to Place des Vosges if you want to be in the Marais. Or go to St Germain and one of the famous cafes in the area, Cafe Flor for example.

Michel_Paris

Probably too late (tech problems)

Ditto on Rue Cler.
For breakfast, how about taking Line 4 of the Metro to St. Germain des Prés. From there,maybe after a peek into the church, go to a café (like Café de Flore or Napoléon) and have breakfast there (although a visit to a boulangerie to me is a 'must do' on any trip to Paris). From there you could saunter down St Germain to Orsay.

Did you consider doing a nightime cruise? Not sure of the hours, but I prefer the night time cruises because all of the major buildings, bridges, and Eiffel Tower are lit up.

If you can, combine a visit to see the stained glass windows of St. Chapelle (need a ticket), then Notre Dame, and then a walk along the main street of Ile St. Louis. All very close together (I've also had breakfast at the Café across the street from St. Chapelle (in the square).. good place). Add to that a walk along the Seine, and you won't be disappointed.

You will see a few Nicolas stores. They are a chain of wine and liquor stores that have a decent selection. There is one on Ile St. Louis.

Hope this helps, enjoy your trip,
Mike

Christina

Although I think ideas are pretty good and some good things in a few days, I had the initial main reaction as others -- why go to rue Cler for breakfast, I wouldn't go there at all unless I were in the area, it's nothing special at all and def. not a breakfast destination. I don't make special plans for breakfast as it's not that important to me, I just want coffee, but I agree going around rue de Buci makes a lot more sense since you're going to the Orsay.

Alternatively, you want to see or be on one of those pedestrian market streets a bit, it would be better to go to rue Montorgueil for breakfat that day -- it's on the Right Bank in the 2nd arr. just a few metro stops from your hotel and is better than rue Cler for a lot of things, including breakfast, anyway, IMO. Then, you would be right there to walk around the Marais and could go to the Orsay in the afternoon.