We are going to Paris on thursday. Arrive at Beauvais around 930am, and depard Beauvais around 9 or 10pm.
So we have almost 3 days.
Here are my plans so far....but I may have missed some must-sees (do tell me!).
I don%26#39;t want to cram and not enjoy just wandering. Also I don%26#39;t want to miss anything important, although we%26#39;re not into art, but might like to see the Mona Lisa!
Eiffel Tower (day?)
Arc de Triomphe
Seine river cruise (evening...near sunset or after dark?) Not dinner Cruise.
Notre Dame
Louvre
Rue Lafayette
Department stores (which?)
Place D%26#39;Italie shops (we%26#39;re staying there at Hol Inn express).
Any advise regarding times etc to avoid the queues or anything you think I%26#39;ve missed that%26#39;s important.
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In place d%26#39;italie Shopping mall you won%26#39;t find any different shops than the ones in the area of Printemps/galeries lafayette.
Rue Lafayette? Do you mention it because of the galeries Lafayette being there? Other than that there is nothing there.
Go to Eiffel tower on a morning before 9h15 of after 6pm to avoid long queues
Do Eiffel tower and Arc de triomphe on the same day
Same day for Louvre and NOtre Dame
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A restaurant suggestion, as you%26#39;re staying near the Place d%26#39;Italie: Au Petit Marguery. It%26#39;s the one place in Paris to which we keep returning, a lovely family-run traditional bistro with terrific food.
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Underhill, CocoChanel and I are the founding members of the Le (that%26#39;s just a little inside joke - it really is AU)) Petit Marguery, so I really second that recommendation. It%26#39;s not the cheapest place around, but it%26#39;s a graet place for a splurge if your budget is tight - and the Grand Marnier soufflé is a spectacular dessert treat.
Another good nearby restaurant, and a bit less expensive, is l%26#39;Avant-Gouut. If you search this forum%26#39;s archives for Place d%26#39;Italie restaurants, you should find that and a few others mentioned...
My only comment on your itinerary is that it%26#39;s a bit heavy on shops. Have they closed all the shops in Glasgow since I was last there? There%26#39;s an awful lot NOT on your list that I would consider more worthwhile than the big department stores...
And the glaring omission, in my opinion is the Sainte Chapelle which is close to Notre Dame.
I%26#39;d skip the Arc - which is a bit out of your way anyway - for the S.C. any day of the week...
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Oops!
Please insert the words %26quot;fan club%26quot; after %26quot;Marguery%26quot; in the first sentence.
Sorry %26#39;bout that!
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Just saying Au Petit Marguery makes my mouth water for the sautéed wood mushrooms! I hate to tell you this, but on the bonjourparis.com web site there%26#39;s also a fan club for the restaurant--it%26#39;s been going for several years. Perhaps we should join forces?
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Thanks all.
I don%26#39;t have a clue what the Saint Chapelle is, but I%26#39;m off to have a look in my guidebook. Thanks for pointing out what may be silly omission, once I realise what it it!
As for shopping....I seem to like the shops abroad better than at home. I don%26#39;t intend to spend tons of time there, but Place D%26#39;Italie shopping may be ideal for us after checkout and before going back to the airport (to leave our luggage at the Holiday Inn Express). Don%26#39;t worry, I%26#39;m not going to spend tons of time in shops! The sights are more important! For some reason I don%26#39;t shop very well in Glasgow!
Rue Lafayette.....sounds to me like a shopping street that is well known - I don%26#39;t know why. Just sounds like a well known place I should visit. Quite right to tell me if it%26#39;s not though??? I do like a nosey in a department store - is that where the main ones are? Is Galleries Lafayette a store, or is it a Gallery of separate shops? I don%26#39;t intend to visit expensive shops...I%26#39;m more interested in the likes of Camaieu or La Redoute or the spanish ones - Mango and Zara.
As for restaurants....I%26#39;m a very fussy vegetarian and will be looking for pasta or pizza, or if I%26#39;m feeling adventurous maybe Indian. I am keen to hear if there are any little cafes or bars near Place d%26#39;Italie where we can stop for a nightcap after getting the metro back to Place D%26#39;Italie in the evening (around 11pm or midnight).
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Galeries Lafayette and Printemps are two of the best-known department store in Paris. Their flagship stores are cheek by jowl in the boulevard Haussman/rue Lafayette area.
For vegetarian options in your area you could try Le Jardin des Pâtes (pâtes means pasta as opposed to patés which means something you don%26#39;t want to eat), on the blvd Arago. Home-made pastas, with delicious sauces. Mostly organic and great flavors. Also good simple desserts. Inexpensive.
Here is a link to a web page with a ton of info about veggie possibilities in Paris. I can%26#39;t vouch for the accuracy of any of the info on the page, nor do I know how up-to-date (or otherwise) it is.
http://nwfolk.com/vegparis.html
The area just south of the place d%26#39;Italie has a lot of Chinese and Thai restaurants.
Don%26#39;t forget that a lot of restaurants and caf´´s will have salads, which can be wonderful. If you eat dairy products, a good goat-cheese salad (salade au chèvre) makes a delicious light lunch.
Finally, the Sainte Chapelle... Go see it on a sunny day. You will not be sorry. It%26#39;s the single most beautiful building in France, IMO. This is the official web site but I%26#39;m going to suggest you do NOT look at it. It doesn%26#39;t give you any clue what the real thing is like, and will only spoil the surprise.
www.monum.fr/m_stchapelle/indexa.dml?lang=en
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My suggestion would be to take Le O’pen tour hop-on, hop-off bus tour. The tickets are valid for 24 hours and you can get off and on as may times as you like, the tour stops at all the tourist sites If you stay on the bus it tours Paris in about 90 minutes. I’d skip the Louvre if all you want to see is the Mona Lisa. Add St. Chappelle near Notre Dame and the Cluny museum.
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Thanks for that....I%26#39;ve got more to think about now. Just a thought, a friend pointed out that I should go see Jim Morrison%26#39;s grave. Anyone know where it is - I%26#39;m not going to go out my way to see it, just if it%26#39;s near something else.
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The Ste-Chapelle is magnificent; try to visit it in the morning to see the sun lighting up the incredible stained-glass windows. Incidentally, the ones everyone talks about are on the second floor, not in dim chapel beneath, which is interesting in its own right.
If you%26#39;re not interested in art, skip the Mona Lisa--mostly you%26#39;ll see the backs of other people%26#39;s heads anyway. There%26#39;s no point going to the Louvre just for one painting, although I%26#39;d go any time to see the Winged Victory and the Egyptian collection. Since you have only three days, just add the Ste-Chapelle and perhaps the Conciergerie to your list, along with walking around the Ile St-Louis. That will give you plenty to do without rushing.
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