HI everyone - I am going to Paris for 4-1/2 days. I have never been and have no idea if what I have here is too ambitious, or if these things are close enough together to do on one day. I did my best reading here and in books to try to figure it out, but any help would be appreciated.
Day 1 - Tuesday - arrive 2:00 p.m. - nothing planned.
Day 2 - Wed. - All day trip to Normandy
Day 3 - Thurs. - Paris Pass.
A.M. - Versailles
Lunch - Gardens in Versailles
P.M. - Arc de Triomphe, Grand Ave., Champs d%26#39;Elysees, Tuilleres Garden.
Evening - Moulin Rouge show - 9 p.m.
Day 4 - Friday - Paris Pass
A.m. Arrive 20 mins. early to Louvre, coffee at Cafe Les Nemours, then the Louvre, Opera de Paris (Paris Story Film), Gallery Lafayette
P.M. - Notre Dame, St. Chappelle, Latin Qtr, and Pantheon (if time allows)
Evening - River Seine Cruise
Night - Floodlit walk by Notre Dame
Day 5 - Saturday - Paris Pass
A.M. - Montmarte, Sacre Couer
P.M. - Army Museum/Napoleon%26#39;s Tomb (Les Invalides)
We will have metro passes, no car. Is there anything I%26#39;m missing that you%26#39;d suggest I add. Or anything I have that%26#39;s really not worth it that you%26#39;d replace with something else? Any suggestions/information are greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
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I forgot to add that there will be six of us, so no worries about going somewhere alone. We%26#39;re adventurous and don%26#39;t mind going into more local places, rather than just touristy type places.
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I just have one comment.. take it for what it%26#39;s worth.
am visiting paris for the first time ever next month.
Moulin Rougue show was on my list.
after exhaustive research I decided to kill it. it%26#39;s not like anything you may have think it will be in your head (as a result of the movie).. aside from a super-touristy spot, i couldn%26#39;t find one single review of the actual show that was anything more than drivel, at best..
i%26#39;d say skip it, and focus time on something else that evening....
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Thanks. That%26#39;s good to know. I will do that.
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We have just come back from Paris and we went to Moulin Rouge. The show was brilliant, we had the meal it was ok the drinks are expensive but it was worth going just to see the show
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Interesting first time itinerary. I don’t see the Eiffel Tower on there? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a first time visitor skip it! (not that I have a problem with that – you can see it from all over).
You might want to do some walking on the first day (assuming you have just flown the exercise will be good). And Paris is great for walking.
Skip the Moulin Rouge - the shows at Vegas are better and make for a great weekend from San Diego.
There are several things you could do Thursday afternoon/evening. The Orangerie museum is in the Tuilleres - even if you aren%26#39;t into art it%26#39;s worth checking out (and can be covered in under an hour). If you do want more art the Orsay museum is open late on Thursday.
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I hesitate to add to your very full schedule but when you leave Les Invalides you might want to cross the street to the Rodin Musee and at least do the garden. Many of his large works and a snack bar and benches
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Thanks for the feedback ferndale.
We bought tickets for the dinner at the Eiffel Tower, Cruise (to see lights at night) and the show at MR.
We thought MR was as much as Paris as the ET was.
Glad to hear that you enjoyed it.
Leaving in 2 days and very anxious.
Nicole
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Those who have been around this forum for a while know that I do not pull my punches, so I hope you won%26#39;t mind my being blunt. IMO you are trying to do WAY too much in way too little time. As I said to an earlier poster on this thread about his itinerary — This sin%26#39;t an itinerary; it%26#39;s a deth march.
First thing I would suggest is that if you are not locked in to going to Normandy on Wednesday, change it to a later date. Actually I%26#39;d suggest that you skip it entirely as I really don%26#39;t think you have time for it in four days. It may be very important to you however. If that is the case I really think you should move it. Doing it on Wednesday would be pretty much like flying from CA arriving on Tuesday and flying back early the next morning. If you have any energy left for the rest of your hectic schedule, you%26#39;re a better man (or woman...) than I am...
Your Thursday and Friday are way too packed with stuff. I don%26#39;t think you can do much more than half what you have planned unless you are just going to rush through, grab the obligitory snapshot and souvenier and dash on to the next place.
What to omit? For starters, if by %26quot;Grand Ave.%26quot; you mean the avenue de la Grande Armée, omit that. Personally I can never understand the fascination with walking the Champs-Élysées. The architecture is not that interesting for the most part, the cafés are over-priced tourist traps, and there are many better shopping streets. The Moulin Rouge is up to you. I wouldn%26#39;t. The Pantheon is something you could drop. If you had time there are a dozen or more places NOT on your list that I would consider more worthwhile.
IMO that still leaves your Thursday and Friday too packed, but I don;t know what else to cut. Galeries Lafayette perhaps? It%26#39;s just a big department store after all. The Louvre? There is no law that says you MUST visit the Louvre just because you%26#39;re in Paris so if huge art museums really aren%26#39;t your thing...
And I don%26#39;t see where there is the time for just relaxing, sitting at a table on the terrace of a café and just soaking it in, going for a stroll and finding some wonderful little patisserie, having a leisurely lunch or dinner at some great little bistro that is not filled with other tourists, relaxing in the sun in the Jardin de Luxembourg and watching the kids play in the fountain. That%26#39;s really what Paris ia all about...
So now go ahead and do everything on your list, have a fabulous time doing it, and come back and tell me I don%26#39;t know what I%26#39;m talking about. I can take it...
Seriously, whatever you do — enjoy!
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Ah, thanks so much for all the feedback! I really appreciate it. I was away from my computer so I just got back on and checked here first!
I think we will drop the Moulin Rouge.
I had suspected we had too much! We are pretty get up and go and go, go, go type people! We don%26#39;t necessarily need to spend a lot of time in museums and churches and such. I neglected to put in there that the last night of our 14-day France trip, when we come back to Paris to leave from CDG the next day, we are doing dinner at Altitude at the Eiffel Tower, which is why we didn%26#39;t put it in there earlier.
I didn%26#39;t add that we are going from Paris to the riviera from the riviera to Bordeaux, so we%26#39;ll have time to relax. Paris will be hyperspeed! I would rather, I think, tell me if I%26#39;m wrong, touch on a lot of things b/c I may not get back. If I can just see these things, I think it%26#39;s better than spending a whole day in a museum? That was my thought process as we were doing this. So I realize we won%26#39;t be able to spend a lot of time at one place. We may end up dropping some stuff, like you suggested, b/c we%26#39;re just too beat.
Normandy is a must-do. The other two couples we%26#39;re going with are retired military and my dad fought in WWII (not Normandy), so it really holds a special place for us. It%26#39;s an all day trip, so hopefully we can sleep on the bus! I can%26#39;t imagine not doing Normandy. I%26#39;d rather skip Paris than Normandy! LOL!
But thank you so much. And I love blunt! That%26#39;s why I said pick it apart. I want to get some good advice! I am going to re-read what you just wrote a couple of times and start to X things off. I do want to do just some people watching too!
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