I will be going to Paris this coming Wednesday. This is my first time backpacking, so I don%26#39;t know my plan will work well. I will be staying at a hostel near Montmartre.
26th June (Thursday)
Morning - reach Paris at 8
Afternoon - Sacre Coeur
Evening - Walk in Montmatre
27th (Friday)
Morning - Eiffel Tower*early* - Musee d Orsay
Afternoone - Grevin - Opera National de Paris Garnier
Evening - Arc de Triomphe
28th (Saturday)
Morning - Louvre - Place de la Concorde
Afternoon - Notre Dame - Sainte Chapelle
Evening - Pompidou Centre
29th (Sunday)
Morning - Palace of Versailles
Afternoon - Musee Galleria - Compiegne Chateau
Evening - River Cruise
30th (Monday)
Morning - Musee Picasso - La Conciergerie
Afternoon - Jardin du Luxembourg
Night - ???(Any suggestion?)
31th (Tuesday)
Morning - La Defense - Bois de Boulogne
Afternoon - Shopping (Any suggestion? Heard that galeries Lafayette is an awesome departmental store. But where is it?)
Night - ?? (Any suggestion??)
Did I miss any important attraction? Please feel free to comment.
Thanks a lot.
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Morning - Palace of Versailles
Afternoon - Musee Galleria - Compiegne Chateau
- - ok, you do realize that Chateaux Versailles and Compiegne are in two completely different towns well outside of Paris..? Compiegne is about 40 miles north of Paris, closer to CDG than Paris. Versailles is closer, but to the SW of Paris. You really cannot rationally %26#39;do%26#39; both of those in the same day.
Don%26#39;t try to fill up your last day - you will most likely miss doing a couple of things and you can %26#39;catch up%26#39; then.
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Ok: here goes.
Day 2 (27th): Any chance you can visit the Musee Grevin on the morning of the 31st, before your visit to the Galeries Lafayette (which is about 700 metres up the road at 40 Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th)? The flagship Printemps department store is also close by (at 64 Boulevard Haussmann).
On your shopping day (Tuesday, the 1st), you might also consider doing your tour of the Palais Garnier in the afternoon when you need a break in the retail therapy (the Place de la Opera is only 400 metres from Galeries Lafayette).
This would free up your Friday (the 27th), so you can take the time to walk to the Musee d’Orsay via the most ornate bridge in Paris – the Pont Alexandre III.
This bridge – which is adorned with carvings and gilded sculptures – crosses the Seine and opens out into the Esplanade des Invalides, which takes you to the Hôtel national des Invalides. Facing the Hotel from the Pont, you can also see the gilded dome of Napoleon’s tomb (which is to the rear of the Hotel). The whole panorama is spectacular.
You may also want to check out the Tombeau de Napoleon (which is jaw-droppingly OTT) and – if you have the time and the inclination – the nearby Musee Rodin. (A picnic lunch in the sculpture garden is one of our personal “must dos” in Paris. You can pick up some bread and cheese from the Rue Cler market, which is between the Tour Eiffel and the Esplanade des Invalides. You’d probably only need an hour in the Tombeau de Napoleon and another at the Musee Rodin, if you don’t go into the mansion.)
From the rue Varenne (the location of the Musee Rodin), the Musee d’Orsay is an easy walk up the rue de Bellechasse (about 1km).
From the Musee d’Orsay, if you cross at the Pont Royal, you can do an early evening stroll through the Jardin des Tuileries and then the Place de la Concorde – which would also free up your Saturday morning – before heading up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. If you aren’t already planning to, go to the top. Amazing views.
On Saturday the 28th, if you are planning to do the tour of the Tours of Notre Dame (ie the bell towers), consider doing that first and getting there very early as the queues build quickly and move slowly (only a smallish group is allowed up at any one time). Getting up close to the gargoyles was fantastic.
You could then see Saint-Chapelle, spend a bit of time checking out the Ile St Louis (which is always very lively on a Saturday) and maybe get one of the famous Berthillon glaces to eat while you’re watching the passing parade.
In the afternoon, you could visit the Marais walking from the Ile de la Cite to the Place des Vosges, Paris’ oldest and most picturesque squares.
Wander up the rue des Francs Bourgeois (checking out the funky boutiques). You can take a detour up the Rue Elzévir for a visit to the Musee Picasso on rue de Thorigny.
Your stroll up the rue des Francs Bourgeois and its continuation, the rue Rambuteau will bring you to the Centre Pompideau.
On Monday (the 30th) you could spend the morning visiting the Louvre and, when you can no longer look at another Italian Renaissance masterpiece depicting a dead saint) maybe take a stroll up the rue Foubourg Saint-Honoré to check out one of the spiritual homes of haute couture.
You could go from there to La Defence (not sure what your particular interest in it is – we’ve never been) and the Bois du Boulogne.
Alternatively consider spending some time checking out the Saint Gernain des Pres area – the Musee du Moyan Age’s famous Lady and Unicorn tapestry series is seriously worth a visit – and then visit the Jardin du Luxembourg.
I don’t understand your Sunday, 29th. I personally think to be worth the trip, you need to spend a day at Versailles and see the Grandes Eaux Musicales (the fountain show) in the afternoon.
Having said that, we didn’t much like Versailles – perhaps because there are major construction/renovation works underway which really spoiled the place for us.
Even if you do fit Versailles into the morning, I can’t see how you will be able to visit the Chateau de Compiegne (which is about 60km north of Paris on the freeway) and the Musee Galliera (on the border of the 1st and the 16th) on the one afternoon. You may be better off visitint the Musee Galliera after the Louvre on the 30th.
Anyway, to make sense of all of this, this is how I would shuffle things about:
Day 1(Thursday, 26 June): Looks perfect as is.
Day 2 (Friday, 27 June):
Morning: Tour Eiffel (early) – rue Cler market – Pont Alexandre III – maybe visit Napoleon’s Tomb and have a picnic lunch in the Musee Rodin sculpture garden.
Afternoon: Musee d’Orsay – late afternoon stroll through the Jardin des Tuileries and then the Place de la Concorde.
Evening: Arc de Triomphe.
Day 3 (Saturday, 28 June):
Morning: Tour of Notre Dame (early) – Saint-Chapelle – Ile St Louis. (This is where you should visit the Conciergerie if you really want to see it. It didn’t do much for us at all.)
Afternoon: The Marais (Place des Vosges, funky boutiques, great cafes/bars, Musee Picasso).
Evening: Centre Pompidou.
Day 4 (Sunday, 29 June):
Day trip to Versailles OR other day trip.
There may be organised day trips to the Chateau de Compiegne or you may be able to do it yourself by train or hiring a car.
Other options include a day cruise on the Seine and the Marne (eg: www.pariscanal.com does a day cruise for €35 not including lunch (but you can take a picnic) or a day trip to Giverny, where Monet painted his famous water lilies.
Day 5 (Monday, 30 June):
Morning: – Musee du Louvre – stroll down the rue Foubourg Saint-Honoré – perhaps the best time to see the Musee Galliera.
Afternoon: La Defence – Bois du Boulogne OR Saint Germain de Pres – maybe the Musee du Moyan Age for the Lady and the Unicorn tapestry series – Jardin des Luxembourg.
Evening: Maybe a picnic dinner in the Parc du Champs de Mars to watch the sunset and the Tour Eiffel light up, followed by a Seine night cruise (depart every 30 mins from near the Pont d’Alma which bridges the Seine near the Tour Eiffel).
Day 6 (Tuesday, 1 July):
Morning: Musee Grevin – Galeries Lafayette/Printemps.
Afternoon: More retail therapy – Palais Garnier.
Evening: If you went to La Defence and Bois du Boulogne on the 30th, perhaps Saint Germain des Pres and the Jardin des Luxembourg.
Well, you did ask for comments! Hope this (a) makes sense and (b) helps and you have a great trip, whatever you do…
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Sacre Coeur is in Montmartre area. It won%26#39;t take you all day and evening to see Sacre Coeur and Montmartre. However, while you are there, you might want to see the vineyard behind Place de Tertre in Montmartre, the Dali Museum, Cafe des Deux Moulins (where Amelie waitressed in the movie) located at 15 rue Lepic, 15 seconds from the Moulin Rouge. After dinner you could go to a show in Montmartre at the Au Lapin Agile cabaret next to the vineyard I mentioned above, 22 rue des saules. There are 2 shows per evening with the first show being at 9:30pm and reservations are required.
What I might do on that first day is go to the Opera Garnier first and then head over to the Montmartre area. You will be flying high if you see Opera Garnier as your first site in Paris. It is so sensational!
I agree the Conciergerie isn%26#39;t very interesting. However, if you want to see it, you can get a discount ticket by buying a ticket to Sainte Chapelle and Conciergerie at the same time at a discounted rate. They are literally right next to each other so it only makes sense to see them back-to-back.
La Defense is interesting. It is very modern and stands in stark contrast to the rest of Paris. There is an outside elevator you can take to the top of La Defense. There are also huge steps in front of La Defense which, when climbed, give you a great view.
Galleries Lafayette is on Blvd. Haussman and is a beautiful department store. The building is more beautiful than the items they sell. Be sure to look up to the ceiling when you go inside.
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Thanks for all the comments. I really appreciate it a lot. May I know where is La Defense?
Thanks
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La Defense is west of Paris - follow the RER-A line on a map and you%26#39;ll find it. It%26#39;s also one terminus of Metro Line 1.
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This has been so helpful. I too am planning on being in Paris with my daughter, but will be there in the beginning of August for about 6-7 days. I still do not have anything set in stone as to where we will be staying, but are considering La Guriniere which is in/near Malakoff. It is not in the center of Paris, but it is my understanding that it is about 20 minutes away. Does anyone have any information about this place and whether it would be a good choice or whether another place is better?
I would like to know how everything is going and whether you have any recommendations ... we also considered a hostel, but figured that with the cost for two people we might be better off just getting a hotel or BB.
Thank you so much to everyone that has been sending their information.......... we are also planning to go to Giverny and Monet%26#39;s Garden. How could we incorporate it into our trip?
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My advice - be flexible.
We just got back from Paris on Thursday. We spent a week in paris after touring europe for three weeks. We also mapped out what we wanted to see and do. We also wrote down alternatives to the first attraction, just in case the lines were too long or a strike (we ran into a labor strike at Versailles) occurs. The day we were off to hit the Champs Elysees we were walking through the Louvre and discovered NO LINES. We changed our plans and toured the Louvre that day. By changing plans another day, we also discovered a jewel of a musuem - Musee Carnavalet. Small but a jewel - depicts the history of Paris through the decrative arts.... Marais district.
So make your list but be flexible.
LissafromArizona
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gosia10: first--I looked up La Guriniere B%26amp;B. It looks really cute and for 75E for 2 people--which includes breakfast (65E for 1 person) it certainly is a good deal. My theory is that as long as you are within the Paris boundaries and are near a Metro line, you should stay anywhere you desire. You take the Metro to the area you wish to visit and then you walk around that area during the day--or you Metro to another area if you wish. It just isn%26#39;t a big deal. Stay a place that will make you happy. Paris is so easy to get around with Metro and bus--as long as one of them runs near where you are staying. That being said, if you Google Earth the B%26amp;B and the Malakoff Metro, they actually don%26#39;t look that close to each other. In fact, it looks like quite a hike. If you are able, look it up and see what you think. Actually, that is further than I would want to walk to the Metro. Perhaps there is a bus which takes you to the center of town? You could ask the B%26amp;B for more information about that.
Secondly, I don%26#39;t understand your question about Giverny? How do you fit it in? What do you mean? It is out-of-town. I just know that people recommend that you get there early to beat the hordes of tourists to the japanese bridge and the water lilies. I was there on a day that it rained so the crowds were too bad. It is beautiful and if you like Monet at all, I think it is time well spent.
If you become uncertain about whether you wish to stay at the B%26amp;B you discovered, I suggest that you use the Search feature on this Forum to try to locate other budget B%26amp;B%26#39;s or hotels. If you will be there at least 5-7 days, I recommend an apartment. That way you have a refrigerator and you can do your own breakfast very cheaply. Breakfast is a great time to find your favorite neighborhood patisserie to have a pastry or two, a croissant, a pain au chocolat or pain au raisin, etc.
Write your own entry and let us help you once you give us more information.
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Hello everyone. I finally have the place I am staying ... Hotel Muguet for 6 nights. I still need to find a hotel near Gare du Nord for one night. We are arriving at 7:30 at night on the Chunnel from London. Any suggestions? I am looking for something that is near the station, cheap and clean. I was also wondering what the best way to travel to get to the airport (Charles de Gaulle)from Hotel Muguet. We will be flying to Vienna so I believe there are different terminals and it could be confusing. Thank you.
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