We are staying at Citadines - St Germain des Pres
We arrive at 6:30 AM on Wednesday.
What do you think of this itinerary:
Wednesday - Arrive at 6:30 AM, go to the hotel, see if we can get checked in, visit a cafe for breakfast/coffee, and most importantly stay awake until bed time. No real set plans for what we will do between arrival and bed time.
Thursday - Champagne Tour and Dinner for my wife%26#39;s birthday at Les Bouquinistes at 7PM.
Friday - We have a %26quot;special lunch%26quot; scheduled at 1 PM in the neighborhood of our hotel and depart on Bataeux Mouches for a dinner cruise at 7:45.
Saturday - D%26#39; Orsay and the 11 PM showing of Moulin Rouge
Sunday - Versailles
Monday - Leave at 1 PM
That gives us Wednesday after our arrival, Friday morning and afternoon, and Saturday to fit in:
Shopping, Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Arc De Triumph, and Sainte Chapelle.
Do you see anything missing from the list (or anything you would not do)?
Do you think we are going to be too busy?
Have I left enough time open to see the sites listed, the Louvre, and shop?
Thanks!
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You seem to have nothing on Thursday...so why not do some of these things on Thursday?
Don%26#39;t do the Louvre on Saturday. Save shopping for Saturday.
I would visit the Louvre on Thursday.
You could see the Eiffel Tower on the day you arrive, as well as the Champs Elysees/Arc du Triomphe. Sainte Chapelle and Notre Dame can be done on the Friday morning, as long as you get there early (usually there is a line at the Ste Chapelle, depending on time of year of course).
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You seem to have nothing on Thursday...so why not do some of these things on Thursday?
We may have Thursday morning open depending on how tired we are, but the champagne tour will take up most of the afternoon.
Don%26#39;t do the Louvre on Saturday. Save shopping for Saturday.
Shop on Saturday. Done!
I would visit the Louvre on Thursday.
Maybe Thursday morning, but it may have to be fit in to Wednesday after we arrive or Friday.
You could see the Eiffel Tower on the day you arrive, as well as the Champs Elysees/Arc du Triomphe. Sainte Chapelle and Notre Dame can be done on the Friday morning, as long as you get there early (usually there is a line at the Ste Chapelle, depending on time of year of course).
Arc du Triomphe and Eiffel Tower on Wednesday after our 6:30 AM arrival.
Sainte Chapelle and Notre Dame on Friday morning.
If we have to squeeze the Louvre into Wednesday or Friday which would you do?
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I guess it depends on how you feel on Wednesday. The Louvre is enormous and exhausting, so if you are real tired it would be torture. It%26#39;s hard to squeeze the Louvre in anywhere, it%26#39;s not very %26quot;squeezable%26quot; due to its vastness. But you could probably go Friday when it opens and be out by noon seeing only certain wings, that would be do-able. (Usually by the three hour mark people are pretty exhausted anyway).
Remember too that Versailles doesn%26#39;t necessarily take up an entire day. If you leave and get there when it opens (9 ish) you can see the interior and tour the gardens in a few hours.
I didn%26#39;t understand that the champagne tour was in the afternoon...
Les
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We are not big Museum people.
So our trip to the Louvre will probably only involve hitting up the HOT SPOTS.
Hopefully do-able in 3 hours.
The fact that versailles is not an all day thing is good news.
Maybe we take Friday morning to see the Louvre, then have lunch, and use the afternoon for seeing other sites.
Either do Notre Dame/Sainte Chapelle on Friday afternoon and Eiffel Tower/Arc du Triomphe on Wednesday after our arrival or flip them?
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Eiffel Tower and Arc take little energy. I would do them on your first day, a good intro to Paris.
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We are just back from 6 days and my advise is to remember warm clothing-it was very cold and windy last week!
We took the train to Versailles, got there by 10am and was back on the train by 1pm and in Paris well before 2.
I would recommend going to the Montmarte area if you like great people watching. We did walk to the top of Sacre Couer, but it was even more fun to ride the funicular up to the neighborhood and then walk around all the little art exhibits and people trying to get you to buy sketches.
By the way, the area around Moulin Rouge was kinda scummy at night.
D%26#39;Orsay is wonderful, but it does not take all day.
If you are going to the top of the Eiffel Tower, go very early and do not go on a weekend.
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Even if you can%26#39;t check in at that early hour they should allow you to leave the luggage.
Then I would think about doing the many things near Notre Dame. You can visit the church, walk around to the point of the island behind it and visit the memorial to the deportation, walk across the square in front and through to the Palais de justice and see Ste Chapelle. Then across to Isle St Louis for the wonderful main street and along the quays (read the little blue plaques above the houses of the famous people who lived there) go right into Berthillon Ice Creams and have a fantastic Parisian experience eating their wonderful ice creams at tiny tables in the wood paneled room (try cassis). Visit the fromagerie, the chocolate shop and Pylones, the cute gift shop, very funny and very French. Also other shops and galleries.
Then go back to the hotel and have a small siesta to get over the jet lag. For dinner wander through the Latin Quarter. Lots of students and lively bars and cafes. Or you could do the Louvre as Wednesday and Friday is late opening till 10pm.
On Thursday you will really enjoy Les Bouquinistes. Beautiful food and service a la Guy Savoy.7.00pm is quite early for the French so you may find very few in the restaurant. Later maybe wander to the Eiffel Tower which twinkles on the hour. It is open till 11.45pm.
I think you could schedule something else in to see with the D%26#39;Orsay, maybe see the Louvre then or do the shopping.
You will not have time to spare on the day you leave if you need to be at the airport by about 10am.
And if you feel too tired, sit in a cafe and have a coffee or wine and rest for a bit. You may pay extra to sit down but we always consider it as renting the view.
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There is something you left out which I feel is a %26quot;must see.%26quot; It is the Opera Garnier. You can do a self-tour for about 8E and just wander around inside. It is so spectacularly beautiful that I recommend that you don%26#39;t miss it.
Do not try to do the Louvre and D%26#39;Orsay on the same day as someone else recommended. They are both large and %26quot;consuming%26quot; and it would just be too exhausting.
You ask if there is anything we think you should skip?---My answer would be the Moulin Rouge!
I suggest seeing Notre Dame first thing one day. Get in line before it opens. When you finish seeing Notre Dame, then see Sainte-Chapelle which is a couple of blocks away. Then visit Ile St. Louis and have lunch there and check out the wonder shops on the main street-Rue St. Louis.
I agree that the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe are great things to do on your first day. Be sure to see the Eiffel Tower twinkle at night. It twinkles for 5-10 minutes on the hour, each hour after dark, through midnight.
Shopping is best done in Paris in the myriad of adorable shops you just happen to pass on your way to various sites. There is such a variety. Cute shops are everywhere. Just keep your eyes open and don%26#39;t be in such a hurry that you force yourself to %26quot;keep going%26quot; when you wish to stop and shop.
If you want to actually see Versailles, I think you should plan to spend most of the day there. If you just want to race through the Chateau, I think you should skip it and stay in Paris. There are many beautiful buildings to see in Paris.
Be sure to see Napoleon%26#39;s apartment at the Louvre.
Speaking of the Louvre, do your research online before you go so that you know what you want to see there and which wing(s) of the building you want to visit. Otherwise, you will waste most of your time wandering around trying to find something you are interested in and will see little. I speak from experience having done this several times. Next time I am determined to do it in a way which is much more fulfilling.
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We have added breakfast at George V on Thursday morning to our list.
And realized last week that we are arriving on opening day of Soldes Paris ... so shopping has became a priority.
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If you are going to do some serious shopping and are making it a priority, my advice would be to do it early in the morning. After a full day of touring museums and walking around, you will have no energy left to shop.
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