I benefitted from others%26#39; help on this forum while planning my first trip to Paris, and wanted to pay it forward. These are our recommendations of high points on our visit (April 3-8, married couple with barely a dash of French, veteran travellers, first time in Paris).
Hotel Agora St. Germain. Dependable 3-star hotel on Left Bank, just off Blvd. St. Germain. Staff was very pleasant and helpful, all good English speakers. Room was quiet, clean, bathroom pretty large for big-city 3-star hotel. No issues. Great location, surrounded by ATMs, bakeries, small food shops, restaurants. About 3-4 minute walk to Metro, maybe 10 minutes to Notre Dame.
Restaurants: Within easy walking distance of Agora St. Germain, try Le Reminet and La Meree Verte, both very good traditional French. We spent about E95 in each for a lovely 3-course dinner and cheap bottle of wine. I also recommend L%26#39;Ardoise, near the Louvre, which a restaurant critic told me has a growing reputation among foodies. Decor is a little sparser, but the service and food were both great, about E100 for two with cheap wine.
Paris Museum Pass. Everything you%26#39;ve read is true. We bought ours near the Concergerie on Ile de la Citie, but they sell em many places. Even if you don%26#39;t save money, the time you save standing in line is invaluable. Especially for Versaiilles, do not even approach the front gate without a Paris Museum Pass.
Once you%26#39;ve done the obligatory places, try to fit in as many of these as you can. These were our best memories.
Saint-Chappelle. One of the most moving cathedrals we%26#39;ve ever been in. It%26#39;s tucked away behind buildings so the exterior is nothing, and it%26#39;s much smaller than your usual Gothic cathedral. But go into the main chapel (upstairs level) and you%26#39;re in a 13th century church that is essentially all stained glass. Not windows cut into stone - the windows are the walls of the church. It%26#39;s undergoing renovation so it%26#39;s not 100 percent, but even so, we sat and watched the late afternoon sun stream in the west windows and were just blown away. It%26#39;%26#39;s located on the Ile de la Cite, about 5 minutes northish of Notre Dame.
Pere Lachaise Cemetery. We used our Rick Steves here, and took about 2 hours to see the graves of Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Chopin, Moliere and of course Jim Morrison (yawn). In addition to the interesting graves (can anyone tell me why do people leave dominoes on Gertrude Stein%26#39;s tombstone?) it%26#39;s just a beautiful park for strolling.
Versailles Gardens. Weekends through Sept. 30, Versailles is offering Les Grandes Eaux Musicales de Versailles, which is something like Water Music Spectacle. Several times a day, the fountains are turned on for a great show, and classical music pours from hidden speakers. We were lucky enough to be there April 7, opening day of the season, and it was just sublime. I would go back, skip the inside tour, and just spend a day in the gardens. There are other threads with details on Versailles, but basically you catch the Versailles Rive Gauche commuter train from St. Michel Notre Dame station and then walk from Versailles station to the main entrance. Rick Steves says allow 2 hours roundtrip, 2 hours inside and 2 hours in the garden. But really, really try to go on the weekend. There are several shows, ours started at 1530 and ran to 1730, check Net for schedule.
Seine River Cruise. There are several, but we took the Vendette cruise leaving from under the Pont Neuf on the Ile de la Citie this board had recommended. The sights of Paris at night, lit up by lights, as you glide down the Seine, were just magic. The guide%26#39;s English was a bit rough, but it didn%26#39;t matter.
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Merci for the great tips - I need to start putting my itinerary together for our trip a month from now.
So, you recommend if you can only see the gardens at Versailles to definately go - what if you aren%26#39;t there during a weekend would you still go just for the gardens? I thought it might be a good place to walk off the jet lag - what do you think?
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pkloer - People will definitely benefit from your post. Thank you for sharing the highlights of your trip, which was undoubtedly a memorable experience.
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Thanks for sharing your experience. I%26#39;m at the very begining of planning a 5th anniversary vacation for my wife and I. I%26#39;m overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information on Paris.
This is a good start - thanks again.
Dan
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thanks for your report. Going for 3 day trip next week, have lots to try and see in that time. Looking forward to the versaille gardens sound great.
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Thanks - helpful!
Aside from Versailles, what were the waiting times like? Esp. for Ste. Chappelle and the River Cruise. I%26#39;d love to do these things but would want to plan right (can we just %26quot;pop in%26quot; to Ste. Chappelle in late afternoon on a Tuesday?).
Thanks!
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Regarding waiting times for first week in April
The Seine River Cruise was no problem, cause we paid online in advance and got a coupon. Sorry I dont have link, it%26#39;s on a thread here, the Pont Neuf cruise. We just walked in and handed em the coupon and got on.
Saint Chappelle was about 20 minutes on a weekday afternoon. Thats with Paris Museum Pass. I didnt understand why we were waiting with PMP, but we were told we had to so we did Worth it though.
The killer line was the Eiffel Tower. Two hours, and when you start queung there%26#39;s no way to know. Rick Steves said go in early evening so you get up at dusk or dark. We got there at 730 on Friday night and got up at 930. To be fair it was one of rhe first really nice spring nights and I think everyone was looking for something to do, I dont have advice on how to do that better.
Hope that helps. DId I forget anything?.
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As for going to Versailles for the Gardens on a weekday when the fountains are off, hey, you%26#39;re still seeing one of the great landscaping projects of history, just without the special effects. Walking off your jetlag is an interesing theory, let me know how it works, but if the weather is nice you really ought to see the gardens, with or without the show.
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