We are leaving NYC for Paris on Friday evening, spending the weekend in Brussels and then returning to Paris on Monday. We have the whole week in Paris and we fly back on Sat. afternoon (1700ish). I have a list of things we would like to see \ do and I am looking for advice on how to best group them to make the most of our time. I know that the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays and we have booked the Segway tour for Wed. morning. Here is the list that we would like to accomplish:
Eiffel Tower
L%26#39;arc de Triumphe \ Champs Elysees
Notre Dame
Louvre (just the highlights)
Catacombs
Seine River Cruise (preferably in the evening)
Montmarte \ Sacre C%26#39;oure
Hotel des Invalides
My wife has an incredible sweet tooth so any good suggestions as far as patisseries would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in Advance!
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If you intend to use bus/metro daily, your itinerary is perfect for getting a carte orange week pass.
As for the sweet tooth, you%26#39;re in perfect position to sample my favorite chocolates. Belgium (milk chocolate): Neuhaus, Corne %26amp; Galler. France (dark): DeNeuville. These brands all have chain retail locations in Brussels %26amp; Paris respectively.
And while you%26#39;re in Paris, be sure to stop by La Maison du Chocolat.
As for your itinerary, after the Louvre closes, you could walk from there, down the Champs Elysees to L%26#39;Arc de Triomphe.
Hotel des Invalides to the Eiffel Tower is an interesting walk. You could swing by Rue Cler, which is Rick Steves%26#39; favorite haunt.
If you%26#39;re at Montmartre/Sacre Coeur, and like stair climbing, a climb (a narrow one) into Sacre Coeur%26#39;s dome is fabulous just before sunset.
I%26#39;ve liked every patisserie that I%26#39;ve encountered in Paris. I enjoy a daily pain au chocolat when I%26#39;m in town.
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The %26#39;..PARIS..%26#39; that you%26#39;ve probably come to see is relatively small and rather compact..and fairly quick and easy to get around within either on foot or via Metro and bus. So here%26#39;s what you should do. Take a good Paris street map (you%26#39;ve got one already, right?..if not go out and get one. It%26#39;s not as if you%26#39;re not gonna%26#39; need it once you arrive). Take that street map and divide the city up into manageable sections..chunks...by any device that makes %26#39;..sense..%26#39; to you. The %26#39;..system..%26#39; I use, uses the Place de la Concorde as the %26#39;..center..%26#39; to divide the city east-west and the Seine is the logical choice for dividing the city north-south. then sub-divide the city--on the Right Bank Arc de Triomphe / Champs Élysées; Madeleine / Opéra / Grand Boulevards; Marais; Montmartre; Republique / Bastille....on the Left Bank....Latin Quarter; Saint Germain des Pres, Invalides / Ecole Militaire / Eiffel Tower; Montparnasse....and another section for %26#39;..Everywhere Else..%26#39;. The %26#39;..system..%26#39; ain%26#39;t purphekt...and there are bound to be overlaps, gaps and ommissions...but it will provide you with some sort of %26#39;..structure..%26#39; to %26#39;..organize..%26#39; Paris.
Then within each section, jot down the sites, attractions, places and things that interest you...perhpas prioritizing them. All this need be is an ordinary pocket-sized, spiral-bound, assignment notebook. It doen%26#39;t need to be any fancier than that. As an example, within the INVALIDES / ECOLE MILITAIRE / EIFFEL TOWER sector, the Eiffel Tower will probably be at the top of most lists..with Musée d%26#39; Orsay and Musée Rodin following closely behind...along with Napoleon%26#39;s Tombe at Invalides...but also in this sector some might include the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal and tomb of Saint Catherine Laboure, the sculpture garden and art collection of the UNESCO building, the rue Cler market street, the new Musée Branly, the American Church, the Jean-Paul Hévin chocolate shop, anything or anywhere that caught your attention during you reseacrh %26amp; planning. Along with each, jot down some quick notes as aides memoire of the important details (street address, nearest Metro station, etc. In this way, when you find yourselves in these neighborhood, you can take a quick glance at what%26#39;s there, where and why. I%26#39;ve found that it%26#39;s always better to find myself saying, %26quot;...Nah...let%26#39;s skip it and do something / go somewhere else..%26#39; then....than, %26quot;..Damn !!..If we%26#39;d only known it was just around the corner..%26#39; later. Memory is often a very pourous vessel.
This isn%26#39;t in any way intended as an %26#39;..itinerary..%26#39;...simply and aide memoire (to plug up some of the holes in memory).....perhaps your own personal, customized, Paris Travel Guide...and in this respect, it may contain a great many more places and things than there are hours in the day to see them all...but YOU get to decide which of those things of interest to YOU, that you will...or won%26#39;t...see or do on the spot.
As you move from section to section around and across Paris, you can quickly remind yourselves of what where and waht may be along the way...sometimes by detouring a up this block or around that corner you can find things that you might otherwise have forgotten were along the way.
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Laduree and Angelina seems to be a place where every tourist visit at least once. Angelina is famous for their hot chocolate and Laduree is known for their macaroons.
While somewhat touristy, I have to admit, I go to Laduree practically everyday while in Paris to pick up a box of their macaroons. I%26#39;ve always liked macaroons and Laduree seems to have the most varieties. I love those pastel colored soft cookies way too much though. ;-)
Neighborhood bakeries are always nice places to check out. Besides all the good breads (how come every baked goods taste way too good in France?) they also have few choices of tarts and such. As previous poster, I also had a chocolate croissant everyday from the bakeries around my hotel or apartment.
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Your one of the few that doesn%26#39;t havea jam packed schedule for the whole week :-) which sounds good to me. Better to soak in the city than run from one sight to another.
Segway tour is a pretty good idea as it may help you to get your bearing.
I would sugest walking up to Montmartre...don%26#39;t take the funicular up as you%26#39;ll miss the actual neighborhood.
Most people go up Rue Des Martyrs very aptly named as there is about 120 steps up...
One way I would sugest is to get out at Pigalle subway station and walk toward Blanche subway station. You%26#39;ll get to see the %26quot;seedy%26quot; side of paris with the famous Moulin Rouge. Not really an interesting street but on a firt trip, I found it interesting to see what all the fuss was about. Once at the Moulin Rouge, you can go up Rue Lepic which is right next to it and than turn right on Abesses street and work you way up to Place du tertre and the Sacre Coeur. Those 2 streets really represents the typical image I had of old Paris with all the small food shops and bistros.
There%26#39;s also the Montmartre cimetery -easy to spot on a map- which could be worth the detour since you%26#39;re not going to Pere Lachaise.
That was my 2 cents on Montmartre :-)
enjoy.
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Thank you all for your advice. I should have mentioned that I have been to Paris twice before, but only on weekend bus trips from Germany when I was in the Army. I was in my late teens at the time and I was only interested in the club \ bar scene so I really didn%26#39;t get to see much of the real city. My wife has never been so I really am trying to hit all of the major attractions.
We also just found out that she is 2 months pregnant so I want to try to take it easy on her;-) I am infamous for walking for miles just to wander about and unfortunately she is not such a fan of my %26quot;wandering%26quot;.
After reading your posts, I think we are off to a good start. I have been keeping a word document on my computer of all the sites that we want to visit with the metro stops and associated maps off of the websites which recommend best entrances etc. (like the Louvre) I plan on taking my MacBook with me so I will have that at all times.
My last question (for now) is this. We are renting a car to drive from CDG (Avis) to Brussels and I had planned on returning the car to CDG on Monday and then taking the RER \ Metro to our Hotel (Hotel DeVillas) We will probably only have one piece of rolling luggage each. I was thinking about dropping the wife and luggage(no pun intended) off at the hotel and then driving back to CDG by myself and then catching the train back sans luggage. Is this do-able? I really don%26#39;t have a fear of driving in big cities, I love driving in NYC and I have driven all over Europe when I was younger.
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%26gt;(how come every baked goods taste way too good in France?)
It%26#39;s the yeast. If you haul some back to the US and bake with it right away, you%26#39;ll get that same great taste. However, it mutates almost instantly and becomes just like the usual yeast around here. You%26#39;ll need a baker to explain it to you. This is all that I remember from that last baker%26#39;s explanation to me.
%26quot;We also just found out that she is 2 months pregnant ...%26quot;
Congratulations!
%26quot;...I was thinking about dropping the wife and luggage(no pun intended) off at the hotel and then driving back to CDG by myself and then catching the train back sans luggage. Is this do-able?%26quot;
Yes. As long as you%26#39;re ready for hideous traffic if you%26#39;re there at the wrong hours, sure. Why not give Avis a call and see if there%26#39;s a return location that might be more convenient to the hotel?
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