Hi,
We%26#39;ll be visiting Paris for 3 days (Aug 29-Sep 1) during our Europe trip. We%26#39;re planning to come up with a 3-day itinerary. After reading the NY Times article, we%26#39;ve decided to stay at Hotel Muguet, hope it%26#39;s has a convenient location. As this will be our first time in Paris, we would like to see the must see places like the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, Arc De Triomphe, and so on. We don%26#39;t know how much time we should spend in each of these places. 2 hours for the Notre Dame Cathedral? 1/2 day for the Louvre Museum? We are both engineers, we appreciate art and would like to visit the must see museums but don%26#39;t think we would spend our entire trip in museums. As I research about Paris on the Internet, I see there are many wonderful places to see in Paris, but we have limited time. To get the most out of our visit, we%26#39;re planning to get a guidebook. Which guidebook would you recommend for a short trip? Or if you have a sample itinerary for 3 days, that would be great! We%26#39;ll arrive Paris at 10:00am on Aug 29, so I guess we will have a half day. Our departure is at 3:00pm on Sep 1, so the total trip will be about 3 days. Thank you for your help!
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Returned recenly from Paris. Stayed three full days. I purchased several guide books: Frommer%26#39;s; Steves; DK; and Lonely Planet. Different perspective on the same sights. Stayed only 1/2 a day at the Lourve as well. Certainly not enough time. Quickly looked at the main attractions, had lunch at the restaurant overlooking the plaza. Take the Batobus along the Seine. Stops at eight main locations including the Lourve. Locals utilize this transport to get around. It%26#39;s a hop on hop off boat. You can stay on as long as you wish. We used this after a long walk to rest a marveled at the view. Utilize the Metro to get around. Very easy to use.
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If you%26#39;re there on a Wed. go to the Louvre after 6pm. It%26#39;s cheaper and you can avoid the crowds. Also you have to get hot chocolate (and grab lunch there too) at Angélina 226, rue de Rivoli. Do not miss the white hot chocolate and their house African hot chocolate it is a must!! I%26#39;ve been to Paris 4 times and was there in December for 7 days plus one in Reims. It was my husband%26#39;s first trip so he wanted to see everything. Even with 7 full days there is just too much to see.
I would take a boat ride down the Seine, see the Effiel tower (wouldn%26#39;t waste my time waiting to get to the top) and walk along the Seine to the Latin Quarter. Second day I would see Notre Dame and the Louvre (ANGELINA for hot chocolate) then see the opera house. Last day I would see Sacre Coure and the Moulin Rouge (Chez Toinette great restaurant in that area). I would walk around as much as possible. The metro is great but you don%26#39;t want to spend too much time underground, all the beauty is above. Just relax and enjoy, you won%26#39;t see it all so just plan to come back.
Personally I love to go the food markets to check stuff out. Bon Marche is a department store but in one of the buildings on the ground floor is their market. It%26#39;s incredible and you can pick up many edible souvenirs!! (if you go there do it on the day you hit the latin quarter) HAVE FUN!! ENJOY!
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Unless you really like the old masters, I%26#39;d recommend a half day in the Musee Orsay, rather than the Louvre, which is crowded (especially near the popular pieces such as the Mona Lisa, Venus De Milo, and Winged Victory). It is so massive, you%26#39;ll really need to pick and choose, and even then, it%26#39;s overwhelming. If you do go, a good strategy would be to show up either early in the morning or late in the afternoon. You%26#39;ll see more, with much less frustration. Even in the Orsay, with a half day, concentrate on the Impressionist rooms and don%26#39;t try to see the whole thing. Also, if you like Monet, don%26#39;t miss the giant Waterlily panels in the Orangerie (in the Tuileries Gardens, close to Place de la Concorde, easy walk from the Louvre).
Of course, this is all subjective and dependent on what you like. In any case, if you think you%26#39;ll utilize it enough, get a 2-day Museum Pass to avoid the long ticket lines.
I used Rick Steves%26#39; book and liked it. He also offers free downloadable walking tours of Paris sights and a couple museums (on ricksteves.com).
For a different experience and one that will acquaint you with the city in a fun way, take a Fat Tire Bike Tour. We did the night time tour (4 hours, leaves from the South Pillar of the Eiffel Tower, includes a Bateau Mouche ride on the Seine).
We also enjoyed climbing the Tower of Notre Dame (again, earlier or later to avoid wasting lots of time in the line...) - great view and cool to see all the different gargoyles up close and personal...and the Pont des Arts pedestrian bridge near the Louvre at sunset - great place for a picnic!
If you don%26#39;t speak French, try to learn at least a few phrases; we found that people really appreciated it.
Have fun!
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You really can%26#39;t go wrong with whatever you decide to do, it%26#39;s all amazing.
If you look just above your original post to the search in paris forum box- enter- 3 day itinerary, and you will get numerous past threads that might be helpful as you plan. I liked the DK guide book best. Have a great trip.
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Thank you all for your suggestions!
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I can only add to the rest of the suggestions to stop by the Pont Alexander III on your way to one of the main sites. It%26#39;s really impressive and very beautiful. Skip the Champs Elysees if you%26#39;re short on time. It%26#39;s very commercial and touristy. I love the Louvre and don%26#39;t think you can spend too much time there. The Musee d%26#39; Orsay is great if you like Impressionism (which I do) but the Louvre is much more fascinating and worthwhile.
DK guides are good for picutures but short on writing. Rick Steves is good and so are the France for Dummies books.
If you love chocolate Angelinas is great. But just a warning, the hot chocolate is not like regular cocoa.....its just a bar of chocolate that has been melted and then served so it is very thick. Wondered why they only give you a little cup and then understood why. For coffee and Paris ambiance, try Les Deux Magots cafe in the St. Germain des Pres area. Very famous and parisian.
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