I visited Paris in 2006, and I loved the city so much that my daughter and I will be returning for a second visit next week. In 2006, in four days I was able to see the Louvre, Orsay, Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, and Arc de Triomphe. We also had time to shop at Galeries Lafayette, dine twice in the Latin Quarter, and take walks in two parks (Tuileries and Luxembourg).
I would really appreciate some suggestions for our upcoming 4 day trip. I have heard that Ste Chapelle is wonderful. We both enjoy museums and had considered L%26#39;Orangerie and the Picasso Museum. Is the Pompidou Centre worth a visit? I also wanted to revisit the Louvre since I feel as if one visit barely gave me time to do it justice.
Any suggestions would be appreciated!
|||
Hi, %26#39;t-mom%26#39;... you already have a good start. People could post their favorites here, without knowing what you really like to do... or you could just look in a guidebook. It sounds like you enjoy some smaller art museums. How old is your daughter?
Here are some similar threads on the topic of return trips to Paris that might help: (chattier posters than me)
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k17294…
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k19072…
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k18772…
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k16906…
|||
We enjoyed L%26#39;Orangerie and Saint Chapelle so I would recommend those. If you like museums I would also encourage you to visit the Rodin Museum and the Jewish museum. You could also climb to the top of the towers at Notre-Dame to have some different views of the city that you didn%26#39;t have before.
|||
We were amazed by Saint-Chapelle, loved the sculpture garden at the Musee Rodin (a great place for a picnic lunch), were blown away by the Tombeau de Napolean (so OTT) and the Pont Alexandre III, loved the Pompidou (we love modern art) and quite liked l’Orangerie.
Another favourite “to do” is to visit the Place des Vosges, Paris’ oldest and most picturesque squares, have lunch nearby and then wander up the rue des Francs Bourgeois and its side streets, checking out the funky boutiques. The Musee Picasso – which we also very much enjoyed – is close by.
Visiting street markets is fun. For locations and times see: www.v1.paris.fr/en/Living/markets/markets.
|||
3 absolute must sees:
Musee Marmottan (lots of beautiful Monet paintings)
Musee L%26#39;Orangerie (especially the room specially built for Monet%26#39;s Water Lilies paintings)
Opera Garnier (either self-tour or English or French guided tour). I believe this is the most beautiful building in Paris.
Le Musee Eventail--fan museum. Lovely museum with fans from around the world made from a myriad of different materials. Really a wonderful find!
Do you like movies? Head over to La Pagode movie theatre. This is a real Japanese pagoda. I saw a movie in the theatre on the left when you enter. It is absolutely gorgeous. Walk around the outside of the building too. Apparently some times they serve tea there.
Visit some of the spectacular tea houses like:
Mamie Gateau, 66 rue du Cherche-Midi, 6e
L%26#39;Heure Gourmande (order bitter Chocolat a l%26#39;Ancienne--hot chocolate), 22 Passage Dauphine, 6e
Plaza Athenee%26#39;s tea room called La Galerie des Gobelins, with its gentle harp music and velvet sofas serves tea and chocolate all day
Maison de L%26#39;Amerique Latine, 217 blvd. Saint Germain, 7e
A Priori The salon in Galerie Vivienne
La Charlotte de l%26#39;Isle, 24 rue St. Louis-en-l%26#39;Ile
If it is open, check out Le Musee de la Mode et du Costume in the Palais Gallerie, 10 ave Pierre 1er de Serbie. It is only open when they have temporary exhibits (I miss it everytime I go--so sad!)
How old is your daughter?
I love Le Musee des Arts Decoratif for their temporary exhibits. I saw a Balanciaga (Spanish haute coulture designer--fantastic) and Gaultier/Chopinot (ballet costumes--wonderful).
I don%26#39;t like the Pompidou--a bunch of dumb art e.g., white square canvas, next to a brown square canvas, next to a black square canvas (my 15 year old son and I laughed our heads off in that place--art NOT for a lot of the stuff). But the outside of the building is a MUST SEE. And I recommend the Stravinsky fountains next door--whimsical, colorful and wonderful.
Also, if appropriate, there is a doll museum on a dead end street next to the Pompidou (Musee de la Poupee) and it has dolls from around the world plus a temporary exhibit. Next door is a small park called the Anne Frank garden which has the same types of plants supposed that Anne Frank looked at when she was hidden in the attic.
Of course have lunch or afternoon snack at Angelina%26#39;s on Rue de Rivoli
Walk the Promenade Plantee on top of the Viaduc des Arts
Have lunch at the elegant belle epoque restaurant Le Train Bleu in the Gare de Lyon train station.
Walk through the covered passages, including Galerie Vivienne.
Definitely see La Sainte Chapelle
Check out the Musee Pasteur and the Musee Curie (Madame Curie). They are both great.
See the Musee Albert Kahn photography and the amazing English/Japanese, etc. gardens there.
Take one or more paris-walks.com walks. They are only 10E and just wonderful.
Have dinner at Dans Le Noir which is a restaurant run by the Blind Society (they have one in London and Moscow too). You eat in total darkness. The food is decent too. It is a very interesting experience. You need advance reservations at their website.
Walk around Place de la Madeleine. See the Eglise Madeleine and visit all of the shops in that area including Fouchon, Hediard, Maille, Kaspia, Marquise de Sevigne, La Maison de le Truffle (chocolate, truffles, cavier, mustart, pastries, etc.)
Walk through Parc Monceau or Parc Montsouris. Both are just wonderful.
Be sure to see Musee Jacquemart-Andre, 158 blvd. Haussman, get their audio guide, and have lunch in their lovely restaurant.
If you daughter is old enough to enjoy it, you could see a fashion show at Galleries Lafayette. It is 30 minutes on Friday at 3pm and you get reservations on line at the Galleries Lafayette site.
Louis Lepine Place has beautiful flowers (near Notre Dame) but on Sundays they also have birds, rabbits and guinea pigs. Great people watching!
Head over to Chanel and purchase some new makeup. It isn%26#39;t that expensive and it is great quality, they wrap it and put it in a Chanel bag for you to carry!
If your daughter is old enough, the two of you could have a glass of champagne at the Ritz Hotel%26#39;s Hemingway Bar. It is a great opportunity to see the inside of the Ritz. Your champagne with arrive with a beautiful red rose attached to the glass. Be sure to ask for the bathroom because it is hidden and it is wonderful.
If you want a real blast, take a segway ride together through viator.com or Fat Tire Bikes. I did the evening tour and saw all the city%26#39;s lights including the twinkling Eiffel Tower. I loved it.
Pick out some %26quot;yum-yums%26quot; at Le Grand Epicerie at Le Bon Marche and have a picnic somewhere.
Walk the Canal St. Martin and watch the locks open and close for the boats. Each lock is a different type and operates differently. Interesting.
Again, if you like fashion, visit Musee Pierre Cardin in the northern part of Paris. It is a fairly new museum (approx. 1.5 years old) and it is large and wonderful.
Pierre Cardin also owns Maxim%26#39;s restaurant. You can take a tour of the magificent apartment above Maxims. It is well worth it. Find out when the English tour is given.
Musee de la Contrafacon is a museum of counterfeit items. Everything imaginable is there in its authentic version and counterfeit. You get to guess which is which. Lots of school kids do field trips there. The building is also beautiful.
If you like modern art, I recomment Palais de Tokyo. It is open until midnight every night. One section of the museum is very avant guarde.
Go up to the 56th floor of Tour Montparnasse or the outdoor observation platform to view Paris. Fabulous view!
One of the best suggestions: Musee des Arts Forains, Bercy Village. This is antique fairground arts you view, ride and play. It is fantastic. You must have an advanced reservation--no exceptions. It costs about 15E for a couple of hours of real entertainment. Email: diane@pavillons-de-bercy.com
Musee Edith Piaf is located in an apartment where she lived for a short time. A friend of hers runs this Musee. Donations only. You must call for an appointment: 01-43-55-52-72
Drouot Auction House where you can watch a life auction. Go from 11am-12pm to view what will be for sale and then go at 2pm to watch the auction. It is the world%26#39;s oldest public auction house. I went last October had enjoyed it thoroughly. It is amazing what people will spend their money on.
Check out Dehillerin%26#39;s, 18-20 Coquillerie, for kitchen tools of all types.
Memorial de la Deportation in Square de l%26quot;ile de France by Notre Dame (memorial to the deportation of French Jews, gays, etc.)
Salon Choppin, 6 quai d%26#39;Orleans
Walk the Rue Montorgueil and Rue Moufftard
A wonderful museum is the Nissim de Camondo Musee. It is a gorgeous house next to Parc Monceau. You get to walk through it.
Musee Baccarat, 11 Place des-Etats-Unis.
Maison de Balzac, 47 rue Raynouard
le mur vegetal--thousands of plants growing up the front side of the Quai Branly museum. There is no charge to see this and it is very near the Eiffel Tower.
Espace Salvador Dali, 11 rue Poulbot, behind Place de Tertre.
Cute shop: Le Boudoir et sa Philosophie, 18 rue Charlot.
Poilane boulangerie and the Tartines shop next door for lunch, 8 rue du Cherche-Midi.
oldest or second oldest residence in Paris is the Nicholas Flamel restaurant. They have good food and the best creme brulee.
Those ideas are just the tip of the iceberg in Paris.
I don%26#39;t know how old your daughter is so pick and choose anything which interests you and is age appropriate.
Happy planning!
|||
Great suggestion, I am off on my second trip next week with a teenager.
|||
Wow, Iminlove with Paris....thats some informative post..
well done !
EM.
|||
Help! ILWP thats enough for my next ten trips. Just add Porte de Vanves flea market, which I never miss.
|||
Well I cant compete with In_Love_with_Paris%26#39;s extremely detailed post, but for my tuppence worth, if it was me, I would defo revisit the Louvre, theres just much to see there. I would also recommend Les Arts Decoratif - its great if you like interior design, fashion etc - its just along the road from the Louvre. I would browse the shops on the Champs Elysee ands maybe go up the Arc de Triomphe - you couldnt go up it last time I was there but I believe you can now. I would also visit the shops on Rue St Honore as there are some amazing ones. Have a great time, I am jealous!
|||
Thank you for the excellent suggestions! I appreciate the links, and In Love With Paris, what a great post! My daughter is 23, and she visited Paris twice when she was in college. This is her first time visiting Paris with me, and purely as a tourist. As a student she stayed in hostels and her reasons for visiting were tied to an academic currriculum. She saw all the historic %26quot;must sees%26quot; as part of her classes--Invalides, Versailles, Conciergerie (sp?), Place de la Concorde. Like me, she has been to the top of the Eiffel Tower, seen Notre Dame, the Louvre, and Orsay. Since she has a full time job now, she will not have to stick to a college student%26#39;s budget, so she intends to squeeze in shopping and some nightlife on her own too. I think a friend of hers from London is actually meeting her for part of our time there.
We will be staying in the 1st very close to the Louvre. Is Ste Chapelle in walking distance? I have looked at various maps and our nearest Metro stop is Tuileries. We both enjoy opera. Is anything currently being performed?
Again, thanks for the help.
|||
It%26#39;s been a while since I%26#39;ve been to Paris, but I loved the Cluny museum. It%26#39;s in a great area, easily accessible, set in an old Abbey with roman baths. The museum itself is smaller and not overwhelming. It covers the medieval period, and the Unicorn Tapestries are spectacular! Definitely worth seeing!
No comments:
Post a Comment