Hi - The time is finally here to get your views about our 3-day %26quot;plan%26quot;! I tried not to overplan, tried to get in some %26quot;just wondering around time%26quot;, but also wanted to ensure that our top %26quot;must-sees%26quot; made it in.
Basics: We are staying in the 7th. We have no limited abilities. We are not %26quot;into%26quot; art/museums, but can appreciate beauty in a good work of art. We are, however, into everything culinary. We are on a budget......no Louis Vuitton or Alain Ducasse here!
Our top 6 %26quot;picks%26quot;: siene cruise (night), Tour Eiffel (day %26amp; night), Notre Dame, Pierre Herme (me), Victor Hugo/Vosages(him) and Versailles.......anything more is icing!
Friday:
- Arrive Paris 8:05am - arrive hotel 10:30 - check in %26amp; drop luggage
- walk to Eiffel Tower, photo op (if line is not long - HA-HA - go to 2nd floor)
- L%26#39;Open Tour (grand paris tour); get off St. Michel
- Walk towards Lux. garden - shop, wander, picnic in the park or stop in cafe - whatever time/weather permits
- Pierre Herme (open until 7pm. Rue Bonaparte) - scarf down delicious pastries before leaving store; turn around, smile sheepishly, buy more, move on
- If energy and time permit, wonder more then back to hotel
Saturday:
- Early to Notre Dame; climb the tower
- Metro to Place de Vosages; Victore Hugo%26#39;s house, wander around square (lunch in the square?)
- Metro to 1e to shop for culinary %26quot;stuff%26quot; (Dehillerin, Mora, A. Simon etc.)
- Louvre (we will not go inside - GASP!)
- Wander through Tuileries to L%26#39;Orangerie (go inside - YEA!)
- Place de la Concorde to Pont Alexander III
- Back to Hotel
- Dinner + ET at night and/or siene cruise (?)
Sunday:
- Bike tour of Versaille (9 - 5 approx)
- Back to hotel
- Dinner + siene cruise and/or ET at night (if NOT done previous night)
Monday - pick up car at Hertz - Esplandes des Invalides (Air France terminal), in the 7th (anyone know where exactly this is????) and leave Paris (sigh)
So, how did we do?? Did I plan too much or too little? I figured if we had extra energy or were doing good on time, we%26#39;d wander around some more or stop in a cafe or two (or three!).......just take it all in! And please do NOT get on me about not going into the Louvre....we considered it, but felt it would take up such a large chunck of our already short time there!
Now it%26#39;s YOUR turn..............(I%26#39;m holding my breath!)
|||
That doesn%26#39;t seem too much.
I personally would leave the bus tour and stroll a bit more to get the atmosphere of Paris.
Rather than Metro to Place Vosges walk through St Louis en L%26#39;ile and come out the other side at the end of Rue St Louis en L%26#39;ile crossing the bridge to the Right Bank.
Place Vosges is not far from there and it will give you a chance to see the Islands and also parts of the Marais - some good (and different) food outlets around there if that is one of your interests.
The Orangerie is a good choice if you have limited time but still want to see some great art.
I have put a few of the restaurants we tried or looked at recently in the 7th on this posting:
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k12301…
The Air France terminal is off the long open Ave Marechal Galieni leading up to Invalides from Pont Alexander III.
You definately cannot miss it.
Have a great trip
Neal
|||
Neal...GREAT insight!
I never thought about WALKING to Vosages (duh!).....AND it%26#39;ll give me reason to stop and get some of that yummy ice cream everyone keeps raving about!! And the info about restaurants is very helpful as we will probably want to stick closer to the hotel after a long day!
Much appreciated! Anyone else??
Michele
|||
Since you are into %26quot;culinary%26quot; and you like Pierre Hermes, have you thought about stopping by Fauchon, La Duree, Herdiard on Madeleine? It is a bout 5 min walk from Place de Concord.
L%26#39;Orangerie is very awesome.
|||
Hi FG! It doesn%26#39;t look like you%26#39;ve overscheduled, plan looks pretty good to me. Yeah, lots of places missing, but so what, I still haven%26#39;t seen some major sites after 4 trips, darn, I guess I%26#39;ll have to go back! Looks like plenty of time to wander, linger, smell the roses, etc......
HOWEVER! If you have to walk PAST the Louvre but are going to stop at l%26#39;Orangerie, perhaps you might be able to %26quot;squeeze%26quot; in a hour at the Orsay across the river? It%26#39;s my favorite museum in Paris w/ its large Impressionist collection - you can easily see the best of the entire collection in 2 hours or less or just the greatest hits in an hour or so. I never stay in a museum longer than 2-1/2 hrs anyway, but the Orsay is easily digestible, and just happens to be %26quot;on the way back to your hotel%26quot; from l%26#39;Orangerie?
Oh, I also like staying in the 7th, looks like a wonderful trip! Bon Voyage!
|||
Looks like you%26#39;ve put a lot of thought and consideration into your itinerary. What a delicious weekend getaway! I think it%26#39;s great that it%26#39;s not too ambitious, so you%26#39;ll really get to soak in the atmosphere. I second the D%26#39;Orsay suggestion and would also add a visit to Musee Rodin, since you are staying in the 7th. Definitely do a Seine river cruise (I like Batoux Mouches) in the evening. Have a wonderful time!
|||
Thank you all for your insight and feedback!
SDWanderlust - You bet I%26#39;ve thought about going to all of those places!! There are things on our list that are %26quot;if we have time%26quot; kind of places......and those are on the list!
sdjeff4c %26amp; Ouiparis - We%26#39;ve considered going to either or both the D%26#39;Orsay and Rodin. I%26#39;d personally think I%26#39;d like Rodin as I%26#39;d love to linger in the gardens. If we have time, I%26#39;d love to hit one or both of them up!
Neal - I know the tour bus this is so very touristy and probably not a view of %26quot;true Paris%26quot;, but after a long flight %26amp; with limited time, I thought that may be a good intro to the city (as others have suggested) and it will allow us to %26quot;see%26quot; a lot of things we may otherwise not have the time to see. It will also help us understand, kind of, how the city is laid out and how far away things are from each other, so we can better manage our time (walking vs. metro). But I AM excited about walking to Vosages now! Thanks!
Thanks again!
Michele
|||
Another vote for both the D%26#39;Orsey and the Rodin. An hour in each will give you a good feel, a couple hours in each will let you cover most of it.
There is tons in the Louver, but if time is tight and you are not %26#39;into%26#39; museums you are smart to give it a pass.
Personally I love the Eiffel, have been up to the top at both night and day - to me well worth the time and admission price. Depending on the day/night you can just walk up, no line - at other times line is very long. I have had good luck in the early/mid evening range, after sunset lines seem to be shorter.
I did not really enjoy the Siene cruise. I took it during the day, was just ok and very touristy. Personally I would rather spend the hour walking along the Siene from Notre Dame to the Eiffel and watching everything around me.
If you are up for an ambitious day start at Notre Dame, walk along the Siene stopping at the Muse D%26#39;Orsey for a couple of hours, then continue on to the Eiffel. There are lots of Cafe%26#39;s and Patisseries where you can stop for lunch or just a refreshement. If you still have energy after the Eiffel you could walk to the Arc on the Champs Elyssee and part way down the street. Catch the Metro back at any time or keep on walking. This is definitely a long day and lots of walking but you really will get an overview of the city.
Anyway you choose to spend time in Paris will be wonderful! There is so much to see and do you will be enchanted very quickly. Mostly just go with the flow. You seem to have a good plan and have done your research so you know what you want.
I walk as much as possible in Paris, but sometimes you just have to catch the Metro either because of time pressures or because your feet and just done in. Metro is very easy to use, quick, safe, and convenient.
|||
-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-
This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.
To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html
We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.
Removed on: 5:17 pm, September 07, 2009
No comments:
Post a Comment