We arrive in Paris Wednesday 4/12 and staying at Hotel Millesime. I%26#39;ve read what the TAPF suggests, as well as guide books of course. I would be highly appreciative for any suggestions, revisions, etc. that you may have. Thank you so very much!
Wednesday - Arrive 4:30pm via train from London. Get dinner and venture out to Tour de Eiffle
Thursday
• Place de la Concorede
• Jardin des Tuileries
• Viaduc des Arts
• Ile de la Cite
•La Conciergerie
• Cathedrale de Notre-Dame
• La Ste. Chapelle located in the Palais de Justice near Notre Dame
Friday
• Hotel des Invalides/Napoleon’s Tomb
• Palais de Justice, Conciergerie
• Arc de Triomphe Metro to Charles de Gaulle-Etoile (someone recommended to see this at sunset?)
• Bateau Mouche? Maybe a dinner cruise?
Saturday
• Montmarte
• Bateau-Lavoir
• Rue Tholoze
• Place de Tertre
• St Pierre de Montmartre
• Sacre Coeur
• Rue des Saules
• Rue Tholoze
• Moulin Rouge
Depart back to USA late Sunday morning.
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Birdie, I think that you might just be making the mistake that a lot of Paris visitors make...and that%26#39;s not leaving time to just hang out and enjoy the culture! For instance, on Saturday you have 9 stops planned. If you%26#39;re out by 8am, you will have to make one stop every hour to be done by 5pm. And no lunch break. Take an hour for lunch and that takes you to 6pm. Granted, several of these won%26#39;t take an hour (Place de Tertre, Sacre Coeur) and Moulin Rouge will be at night, but you have no time to figure out the real magic of this wonderful city. Don%26#39;t try to cram your vacation so full that you can%26#39;t breathe! Trust me on this...get rid of some of these stops and add in some time to just be. I know that you want to see everything, but rather than racing through a bunch of things, why not give a handful your undivided attention? Did you really mean to skip the Louvre? And personally, and it%26#39;s definitely just a personal choice, I would skip the Conciergerie or Invalides and go to Pere LaChaise cemetery. You%26#39;ll stroll through this beautiful place and instantly feel peaceful and calm, and with your itinerary, you%26#39;re going to need it! You%26#39;ll have a great time! Try not to overplan.
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I would agree with Vicky%26#39;s post above about trying to cram in EVERYTHING but having no time to appreciate anything. Another possible omission would be a daytrip to Versailles. It%26#39;s an amazing day away into the countryside, to a chateau that is breath-taking. The grounds are amazing to just walk around. You cannot expect to see everything in Paris in a few days. Sit and relax at a cafe and watch the world go by. Buy a fresh baguette, cheese, meat and wine and picnic in a city park. This will be the memorable part of your trip. Enjoy.
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The Montmartre day sounds nice, as you are allowing time to meander the small winding streets...
Why do you need to go to Palais du Justice? and why Conciergerie twice? It isn%26#39;t really worth once, if you don%26#39;t have much time, as it is mostly a large empty structure with a couple of %26#39;rooms%26#39; made up with period settings.
You -should- move the St Chapelle visit to mid-morning or mid-afternoon to ensure you get sunlight streaming thru the stained glass windows. More important than Viaduc des arts or Conciergerie. Viaduc des arts is nice but not a %26#39;must do%26#39; in my opinion - Jardin de Luxembourg is much more beautiful, expansive and enjoyable. The shops at the Viaduc are %26#39;artsy%26#39; and expensive, and I don%26#39;t think they keep regular hours.
After your visit to Invalides/N.Tomb, you might be interested in the Musee Rodin, which has a pretty garden and a cafe outside where you could have lunch while you%26#39;re there.
If you don%26#39;t see the Arc at sunset, then time your cruise for 20-30 minutes before sundown, as that is nice, as well. The dinner cruises are very expensive and the opinions re: quality are very mixed.
I would do your itinerary this way:
Friday
Eiffel Tower – enjoy from Champ de Mars and go up if you feel like it
- watch for the glittering after dusk (on the hour, for 10 minutes)
Thursday
Arc de Triomphe, walk down Champs
Place de la Concorde
Jardin de Tuileries
Ile de la Cite – St Chapelle, Notre Dame
Conciergerie?
Friday
Hotel des Invalides/ Napoleons Tomb
Musee Rodin – garden / lunch?
Bateau Mouche
Nice dinner at good bistro – make a reservation (your hotel can help)
Saturday
Montmartre - wander all those streets and also look for:
-Abbesses metro entrance
-Place du Tertre
-“Moulins” or remaining windmills (there are 3)
-the only vineyard inside Paris
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byebyebirdie, slowwww down, Paris is meant to be sipped, now swallowed in whole!! seriously, with that many places to visit, it will start to look like a slide show. Give yourself a bit time to get %26#39;lost%26#39; in the city of lights, you%26#39;ll be delighted with the things you may find.
I like travelnutty%26#39;s suggestions for thursday and friday. Moulin Rouge is not all that it%26#39;s cracked up to be, I%26#39;d skip it on the last night of your stay.
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Thanks to all of you for the much needed advice!!! I can go a bit overboard, ok, a lot overboard. I will take travelnutty%26#39;s advice.
Again, thank you for your precious time!
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Raise your hand if you think we%26#39;ve talked Birdie into slowing down. (Birdie...listen to us! We know whereof we speak!)
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Vicki - one final thought on this proposed itinerary -- if there is not a two-hour stop to sit at a cafe on a bright and sunny day to watch Paris walk by with a latte in your hand, then you won%26#39;t fully appreciate Paris. Bon voyage!
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Toronto - you%26#39;re %26#39;preaching to the choir%26#39; as we say. Did you mean to give that advice to our friend Birdie?
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Agree to all the above. Its not what you do but what you experience while doing it. A place like the Notre Dame is rich in history and possibly spirituality as well. If you run through, you will miss these feelings. I think a rough rule of thumb is no more than two major sites in a day and think a lot about dinner. I%26#39;ve had trips where we just did one major tourist thing per day but spent half the day walking to it so we could learn the city. Then we would return home, relax and then figure how to take a bus to some far off gem of a restaurant. This emersed us further into the culture than %26quot;touring%26quot; would have. That being said its not bad to slip in a couple quick trips to sites to see if you would like to come back.
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I think it%26#39;s difficult for first-time Paris visitors to really understand this. I know that many think that they may not ever have a chance to return so they want to see everything! But those of who have been have realized that Paris is different...it%26#39;s not how much you, it%26#39;s how much you feel. It%26#39;s experiencing the attitude that is Paris. Fortunately, I think a lot of first timers only make that %26#39;crammed full itinerary%26#39; once. And then start planning their next trip. Paris is so not the monuments and sightseeing opportunities. It%26#39;s the ambience and the feeling in the air! But if you haven%26#39;t been, it%26#39;s not a concept you can grasp. I hope we%26#39;ve helped Birdie scale back a little. I know they will thank us if they take our advice!
AND BIRDIE - keep in mind that you can go with that original itinerary, get to Paris and decide to throw it away when you see what you mean. If things aren%26#39;t pre-booked, then you haven%26#39;t lost anything. So just keep an open mind and realize that it%26#39;s not the end of the world if you deviate from your whirling dervish itinerary.
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