Travel to Paris - help me plan!

[Laura B]

DH and I are going to Paris for 12 nights from Christmas day until Jan 7th!! I have pulled up the old Paris threads and started reading them, but I really don't think there can be too many threads on Paris!

So, please share your thoughts on Paris - where to eat, where to visit, and where to go for day trips. We are staying in a hotel on rue de rivoli, just across from the Louvre, so it is very centrally located.

[Beth H]

How exciting. I'm totally envious - I love Paris.

I noticed you said you already have a hotel but just in case you change your mind about location, price, etc., I can highly recommend the Hotel Muguet - a small hotel in the 7th (near the Eiffel Tower). I think you can get a nice queen size room for about $115.

As for other tips - definitely get the Paris museum pass. While that's probably not a busy time of year in terms of tourists, I think the big Parisian museums are busy all of the time. The pass allows you to enter the Louvre and Musee D'Orsay through special entrances - no lines. Also, it covers most big Parisian museums so it encourages you (at least it did us) to stop in places you might not ordinarily pay for.

Side trips? We've done Chartres (wonderful cathedral), Versailles (definitely worth seeing - go early to avoid crowds and do a guided tour), and the champagne country (Reims, Epernay). If you like champagne, I would highly recommend this trip. We toured Cliquot in Reims (free tour, tasting afterwards) and Moet in Epernay (small charge, more extensive tasting, larger group).

One thing I would advise you to do is check on opening times of things around the holidays and then plan accordingly. Probably on New Year's Day not a lot in Paris will be open, and that might hold true for the day after Christmas as well.

I easily could spend a month in Paris and not get tired of it - there is so much to do and see. I think even in colder weather (I've only been in the spring/summer) it would be fun to bundle up and walk around the city. Just remember there that it will get dark really, really early - earlier than in the states.

[Meganator]

Yes, the museum pass is a must! Even when there is a line, you can bypass it, and as Beth said, some have special entrances. You can now buy it in most of the metro (subway) stations, I think - don't wait to buy it until you go to the Louvre, for example, because that defeats the purpose of beating the lines. Or just buy it at a less popular museum.

You will probably want to have a multi-day subway/bus pass; at a minimum, buy your tickets in a "carnet" - a 10-pack; they are a little cheaper that way. You can take the city train into town and connect to the subway to get to your hotel. There are also a couple bus services (one is Roissybus) that connect the airport to the city center.

You will have time to hit all of the high points - all the things you've heard of...but one of the things that I had never heard about was Ste. Chappelle - don't miss that for the stained glass. The museum pass will get you in.

Although your trip is pretty long, one way to maximize your time, if you want to do that, is check the museum schedules to see which night they are open late. Usually museums close around 5 or 6, but the Louvre is open later one night a week. I think the Musee d'Orsay is also.


Have a great time!!

[Laura B]

I should have mentioned that this is not our first trip to Paris. On our last trip, we did a lot of the major touristy things, so we don't feel the need to repeat them. We have already done the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur, St. Chappelle, Conciergerie, Notre Dame, bateau mouche tour, etc. We will definitely revisit Notre Dame (we didn't get to climb to the top last time). I would love to attend one of the evening concerts in St. Chappelle that I have heard about.

Day trips that we are considering (wish we could do them all): Mont St. Michel, Reims, Chartres, Verseilles, Giverny, Barbizon, Fontainbleau, Vaux-le-Vicomte, Brussels. Any input on any of these would be appreciated. Brussels, Reims, and Chartres would be on our own - for the others we would buy a guided tour that includes the travel, lunch, etc. The Verseilles trip is combined with Giverny, and Barbizon/Fontainbleau/Vaux-le-Vicomte are all part of one day trip package. Is Reims small enough to be comfortably visited by foot after arriving by train? I have the sense from internet research that Chartres is doable by foot, as it is easy to walk from the train station to the cathedrals, but I am not sure about Reims.

We are definitely taking the chunnel to London for one day to visit my mom's sister. That will be a long day, but we plan to just work with Paris as our home base and do day trips only. (We've already paid for the hotel for all 12 nights!)

The last we went, it was only four days. We had time to hit some touristy spots, but not much else. We didn't even go to one museum! So this time we definitely plan to spend at least one day on the Louvre. I want to do the Musee d'Orsay, too. We did do a day trip that last time out to the Loire valley, which was wonderful.

[Beth H]

Laura - I guess you already knew a lot of the basic stuff then. :)

For Reims - it is my recollection that the cathedral is too far to walk. We actually took a cab to the champagne caves. We did not spend time touring the city (unfortunately) as we wanted to do Moet and Epernay as well. Epernay is quite small and Moet is a short walk from the train station.

You are right that Chartres Cathredral is very close to the train station - an easy five minute walk. A British man gives daily tours there - his name is Malcolm Miller. I think there is a way to determine what days he is in town on the cathedral's web site. These tours are supposed to be great - we went with the idea of accompanying him, but then climbed to the top of the cathedral spire. I don't know why (maybe because it was hot), but that totally exhausted us, much more so than the Notre Dame steps. So you might want to save climbing any steps until after you do the tour! Chartres is charming.

Versailles - as I mentioned in my first post, I would get there when it opens to the public (around 9:30 am, I think). DH and I did this in June, and essentially had the Hall of Mirrors to ourselves. They offer a variety of guided tours that allows you to see rooms not on the regular tour. I loved this - it's about 2 hours. You can buy these tickets first, walk through the public rooms on your own, and then meet your tour. Although you mentioned doing this on a tour, I thought it was easy to do on our own (and the museum pass covers the basic admission). You take an RER train there - any of the trains starting with "V."

I would think Brussels would be a long day trip, and I'm not sure it would really be worth it unless there is something specific there you want to see. I thought Brussels was a fairly un-exciting European City.

I have not been to Giverney - I wonder how it is in the winter? I would love to see the other chateau you mentioned and do think that a guided tour might be easier as when I researched them, it seemed a bit involved to get to them by train.

[Laura B]

Originally posted by Beth H
Laura - I guess you already knew a lot of the basic stuff then. :)

Well, we were not there for long and it was quite a few years ago, so I definitely need to re-acquire the basics! And last time we didn't go to any museums, so info about the museum pass, etc. is very helpful.

For Reims - it is my recollection that the cathedral is too far to walk. We actually took a cab to the champagne caves. We did not spend time touring the city (unfortunately) as we wanted to do Moet and Epernay as well. Epernay is quite small and Moet is a short walk from the train station.

Thanks for that information. That helps me knock one day trip off the ever-expanding list! We'll definitely do Chartres, and we'll skip Reims.

I would think Brussels would be a long day trip, and I'm not sure it would really be worth it unless there is something specific there you want to see. I thought Brussels was a fairly un-exciting European City.


It is only an hour and half by train. I was there once for a day in law school, but we were there to see the EU, etc., so we didn't have any time for fun. I remember the Grand Place being beautiful, but I don't really have anything in mind that makes me want to go to Brussels specifically. Maybe we will give it a miss.

About Versailles, thanks for noting that it is easy to do on your own. I will look into that. The organized trips are very expensive!

[Beth H]

About Versailles, thanks for noting that it is easy to do on your own. I will look into that. The organized trips are very expensive!

Do you have Rick Steves' Paris book? He gives pretty detailed instructions on how to get out there. It's probably a 35 minute commuter train ride, and then the palace is about a 5 minute walk from the little train stop.

The guides who work at the palace are so good, too (at least ours was).

The guided tour and the gardens are not included in the museum pass, but neither fee is very expensive. Even though the gardens might not be in bloom while you are there, you can still walk and see all the different buildings on the grounds - and all of these are covered by the museum pass.

That helps me knock one day trip off the ever-expanding list! We'll definitely do Chartres, and we'll skip Reims.

Chartres is easier, but if you are interested in seeing the champagne caves at all, you might want to think about Reims/Epernay -it was an easy day trip despite the fact we had to take a short cab ride.

I didn't remember Brussels being that close to Paris - well, that would be easier than I thought, but I'm still not sure it would be as worth it as seeing things closer to the city.

I sure wish we were going back!

[Meganator]

Versailles is an easy day trip by yourselves - it is accessible by the RER (local) train, since it is just outside the city. It is just a short walk from the station to the palace. I would say this is really a must-see. The guided tour and the self-guided tour take you to different areas (at least they did when we were there), so we did both. There are at least a couple of restaurants near the palace, so you can have lunch also.

We also took the local train out to Fontainebleau. It is pretty interesting, but not must-see (in my opinion).

Mont-St.-Michel is fabulous, definitely worth seeing.

I would recommend the Rodin museum, the Picasso museum, the Cluny (middle ages, including the famous unicorn tapestry), and the catacombs (unless you are creeped out by such things, but it's really cool). Just by walking through a lot of the smaller museums, you can see interesting things, even if they are too small to have English subtitles (coin museum, anyone?). And if you have paid for the pass and gotten your money's worth on the big ones, you don't feel guilty about just walking through and not stopping to gaze at every single exhibit.

Then there is the sewer museum. Paris has the oldest sewer system in the world, I believe. It is not nearly as smelly as you would think. Yes, it was covered by the Museum Pass, therefore we had to go. It was rainy that day, and my now-DH said he almost proposed to me in the sewer museum. Charming. He wisely chose the Eiffel Tower instead!

[Beth H]

It was rainy that day, and my now-DH said he almost proposed to me in the sewer museum. Charming. He wisely chose the Eiffel Tower instead!

That would have been a funny story but maybe not so funny at the time. :)

I would recommend the Rodin museum, the Picasso museum, the Cluny (middle ages, including the famous unicorn tapestry),

I also would recommend the Rodin and the Cluny (we didn't get to the Picasso Museum), the museum of modern art, and the Museum of the History of Paris (which was quite interesting despite the fact most of the text panels were in French). Napoleon's tomb and the military museum there also are quite interesting - the military museum is huge, but has a very worthwhile exhibit on WWII.

[Laura B]

Originally posted by Meganator
...and my now-DH said he almost proposed to me in the sewer museum. Charming. He wisely chose the Eiffel Tower instead!

LOL!

So, I just did some reading on the museum pass and the metro pass. We will definitely get the 5-day museum pass. The only metro pass I can find is called paris visite and the longest duration is 5 days. Am I missing something? If we just go and buy passes at the machines at the train station, is there a weekly card that the local commuters would buy? Or do they just buy carnets? Or maybe they all do the monthly orange card? Anyway, the paris visite card has different zones. I am thinking we would only need zones 1-3, the most central ones. If we want to go outside those, we would just buy individual tickets. Unless y'all tell me it is worth the jump in price to get the 1-5 or 1-8 pass. 1-3 is ~27 euros for 5 days versus ~45 and 53 respectively for the 1-5 and 1-8 cards.

I think I am conviced that we should do Versailles on our own and not pay for the organized trip. Although, the trip we were looking at included Giverny, so we may still lean toward just doing that all together. I don't know!

And this trip is not for seven more months! But I get so excited!

[Meganator]

Museum of the History of Paris (which was quite interesting despite the fact most of the text panels were in French). Napoleon's tomb ...

The Museum of the Resistance was similar in that it was mostly in French, but interesting nevertheless. Napoleon's tomb is worth a look. Have you seen Grant's tomb in NYC? It bears a striking resemblance to Napoleon's tomb.

[Beth H]

The only metro pass I can find is called paris visite and the longest duration is 5 days. Am I missing something? If we just go and buy passes at the machines at the train station, is there a weekly card that the local commuters would buy? Or do they just buy carnets?

It seems as though I recall different travel boards advising against the longer passes and just doing the carnets. I do not remember the Paris Metro being divided into zones though (in terms of cost). I am not sure what Paris residents use who travel by Metro daily.

[EsteemSamurai]

If you like modern art, check out le Centre Pompidou. There's a great audio tour you can rent (English or French) to walk you through the exhibits - my Mom and I loved it.

Mont St. Michel is lovely, but very touristy. I definitely recommend going, but expect that sort of kitschyness and a lot of other people, particularly if its a nice day.

Reims / Epernay is wonderful! We, too, did the champagne caves in Reim - went to Moet and bought champagne from the year DH and I started dating, which we ultimately drank when we got married. The tour is a load of fun, and of course, there are delicious things to be tasted at the end.

We also did some stuff in Normandy / Brittany - don't know whether WWII or the Gauls are any interest to you, but we definitely enjoyed ourselves. Particularly, the Bayeux Tapestry (in Bayeux - Normandy) is the only masterpiece of it's kind in the world and is a historical record retracing the events leading to the conquest of England, and culminating with the Battle of Hastings in 1066 by William the Conqueror. The tapestry is 70 m long and 0.5 m wide. It has 58 scenes, which portray in detail the progress of William I of England to the throne. Very beautiful.

If you happen through Valence (who knows?? - it's between Lyon and Marseille, if you decide to do some driving...), stop by Restaurant Pic for absolutely phenomenal food. You can check out the menu here:
Menu (http://miseajour.apicius.com/maisonpic/fr/carte.asp) It's expensive and you'll want to get reservations soon, but its well worth it. I had the most delicious steamed sea bass with osetra caviar and champagn froth (Le bar ou le loup de ligne, caviar osciètre royal d’Iran) - best dinner in my life.

I'm *so* jealous. :) Wish it were me going!!! :)

~Sarah

[Beth H]

Or maybe they all do the monthly orange card?

Well, I quickly looked at the fodors.com bulletin board (can you tell I'm bored at work today? :)). Seemingly the folks there recommend the Carte Orange for longer stays.

A detailed explanation:

You can not buy the "Carte Orange" from the USA. You can buy it at any Metro or RER station in Paris and you must have a small (apprx. 1 1/8") photo that will be attached to the pass. Despite what you will hear; anyone can buy a Carte Orange not just Parisennes. Use your French phrase book to learn how to say "I want one weekly Carte Orange zones 1-2 please". Remember validation is Monday through Sunday and current week can be bought until midnight Wednesday. After that you will be buying the next week's pass. For just a one day pass you can buy a "Mobilis" for 5.20 euros for zones 1-2. Carte Orange is now 14.50 euros for the zone 1-2 weekly pass. Zone 1-2 is all you need for all of Paris. Don't buy more zones just to go to the airports or Versailles as it is cheaper to buy a trip ticket for those locations.

[Laura B]

You can not buy the "Carte Orange" from the USA. You can buy it at any Metro or RER station in Paris and you must have a small (apprx. 1 1/8") photo that will be attached to the pass. Despite what you will hear; anyone can buy a Carte Orange not just Parisennes. Use your French phrase book to learn how to say "I want one weekly Carte Orange zones 1-2 please". Remember validation is Monday through Sunday and current week can be bought until midnight Wednesday. After that you will be buying the next week's pass. For just a one day pass you can buy a "Mobilis" for 5.20 euros for zones 1-2. Carte Orange is now 14.50 euros for the zone 1-2 weekly pass. Zone 1-2 is all you need for all of Paris. Don't buy more zones just to go to the airports or Versailles as it is cheaper to buy a trip ticket for those locations.

Aaah! That is exaclty what I needed to know. I thought the Carte Orange was strictly a monthly pass. DH and I will arm ourselves with a couple small photos and we will get the weekly cards each week. 14.50 per week is so much cheaper than what we would have wound up paying for the paris visite card (esp since it is only five days and not a full week). I knew there had to be something for the commuters. I would much rather be seen using my carte orange than whipping out my tourist metro pass! :)

[Beth H]

I would much rather be seen using my carte orange than whipping out my tourist metro pass!

Yes, you'll be part of the cool Parisian in crowd, then. :)

Another museum worth seeing is the Monet museum - called the Marmotton (not spelled right). It's in the 16th and is not included with the museum pass. But they have a whole room filled with the Water Lilly paintings.

[Laura B]

Originally posted by Meganator


Napoleon's tomb is worth a look. Have you seen Grant's tomb in NYC? It bears a striking resemblance to Napoleon's tomb.

I forgot - we did go to Napoleon's tomb last time and enjoyed it. I haven't been to Grant's tomb, though. I should do that one day!

[mbrogier]

There are bus tours to Giverny. Of the three tours I took, the Giverny tour was painless while the other two were torture. I forgot the name of the tour company, but it was in the Place de la Concorde. The bus just went to Giverny and you could wander around the gardens and into the house. There are a few shops in the town, so wander around. Giverny is quite small, so you can't get lost. If you hop across this little bridge that spans the creek that feeds the famous lily ponds, you'll see the famous Poppy Field that Monet painted. I was more excited about that than anything else in Giverny.

Versailles is definitely a do it yourself trip. The train is not the metro, but it is a connection from the metro. You just walk the half mile from the station. On Sunday afternoons in the Summer, the fountains are turned on. I have no idea if they do that in the winter. If they do, be sure all your party is together before the fountains turn on. You won't find them afterwards amidst the crowd of people. Wander down past the summer palace area to see Marie Antoinette's barnyard retreat. It is worth the walk.

[honeygirl1971]

Lyon could be a day trip too if you were interested, it's a city with a very rich, long history (esp Roman, Renaissance, and Revolution), and it's slightly off the beaten path tourist-wise. And it's considered the gastronomic capital of France, even by Parisians! On y bouffe bien, as they say! Chartres would be easy to do by yourself as well, it's not that big.

If you like the Impressionists, the Musée D'Orsay and the Marmottan are both must-sees...lots of gorgeous 19th-century paintings.

I also don't think there are different zones for the metro, but do the passes you are talking about cover the RER too? That would explain it, and yes, single tickets for the airport and Versailles would make the most sense as far as that goes. In Paris you will almost always take the metro and not the RER...


There is a great café right near your hotel, Café Belle Epoque, I'll have to check the address.

You might want to check out Clotilde's blog for restaurants, food stores, etc. if you are interested in that!

[gertdog]

As part of our last trip, we spent a day in Rouen, Normandy. Eating ice cream in the shadow of the cathedral from Monet's paintings was a treat! And touring the cathedral was also nice. There's some interesting history there- Joan of Arc burned at the stake in Rouen, and of course the Normandy region figured prominently in WWII.

We also visited Mont St. Michel- I will say that while I think it was a worthwhile trip, my favorite part was seeing it from a distance. It's a haunting silhouette. Once you are actually there, it is packed with tour buses and people, but still interesting. Of course, it may be less crowded in December/January.

Versailles is definitely worth the visit- we also went on our own, it's an easy trip.

The evening concerts in St. Chapelle are magical even if you aren't particularly into classical music. Oh, those windows! I bet they perform some nice holiday music around the time you'll be there...

Have you ever done an evening boat cruise along the Seine? Not sure if the boats run year-round or if it will be too cold, but it was pretty and a nice, different view of Paris.

[Clover]

Originally posted by honeygirl1971

You might want to check out Clotilde's blog for restaurants, food stores, etc. if you are interested in that!
In addition to the blog, here's (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7634215/) a link to the article on foodie Paris she wrote for Budget Travel. Lots of good stuff. Note that the article is 3 pages long, even though it sort of looks like it ends on the first page.

[Laura B]

Originally posted by honeygirl1971

I also don't think there are different zones for the metro, but do the passes you are talking about cover the RER too? That would explain it, and yes, single tickets for the airport and Versailles would make the most sense as far as that goes. In Paris you will almost always take the metro and not the RER...


I think the passes do also cover the RER, so maybe that is what the zones refer to. I remember last time we were there, we bought carnets since we were not there long enough to justify getting a weekly pass, and we never encountered needing to go somewhere that our regular metro tickets would not take us.

I did some more research today online, and it looks like Giverny is closed from November to April. I suppose it makes sense when one of the main attractions is the gardens, flowers, etc. We'll save that for our next trip. We've always done Paris when it is cold - next time we'll go in the spring!

I read Clotilde's blog, but I have not explored her restaurant recommendations. I will definitely do that prior to the trip.

Stephanie (and anyone), is it easy to get into the concerts at St Chappelle or do you think I need to look into booking tickets before we leave for Paris? We definitely want to go to one.

We did an afternoon boat tour along the Seine last time. It was rainy, though. I don't think we would be against going again, especially for a twinkly evening tour!

How far away is Lyon?

[gertdog]

We toured St. Chappelle during the day to see the stained glass, and while there bought a ticket for a concert that evening (at 10 PM our second night of the trip- the jetlag hit us pretty hard but it was worth it to stay awake!). So I'm not much help in re: buying tickets in advance- I'm sure you can, and I'd look into it, especially if they might have special holiday performances that would sell out earlier.

[Laura B]

Originally posted by gertdog
We toured St. Chappelle during the day to see the stained glass, and while there bought a ticket for a concert that evening (at 10 PM our second night of the trip- the jetlag hit us pretty hard but it was worth it to stay awake!). So I'm not much help in re: buying tickets in advance- I'm sure you can, and I'd look into it, especially if they might have special holiday performances that would sell out earlier.

Thanks, Stephanie! It makes me feel better knowing you bought tickets the same day. I will look around online about prebooking and/or special holiday conerts - there is probably a website where I can find this information.

[honeygirl1971]

Originally posted by Laura B



How far away is Lyon?

Two hours on the TGV, and there are trains at least every hour...if you end up deciding you want to do that let me know, since starting in July I will be living there full-time!

[Laura B]

Originally posted by honeygirl1971


Two hours on the TGV, and there are trains at least every hour...if you end up deciding you want to do that let me know, since starting in July I will be living there full-time!

Would it be easy to navigate on foot and/or is there easy public transportation?

[mbrogier]

We went to a night concert at St. Chappelle. It turned out to be a famous French Violinist. We almost didn't get in although we had tickets. The ticket takers tried to deny us entrance, but my French teacher was with us. She spent most of her childhood in Switzerland and Chad, Africa. She is definitely fluent. She knew their trick and called them on it. (they were oversold and thought they could bully us out)

If it is a long running concert, you shouldn't have a problem. We got our tickets at an office on the Champs-e-lysee. I think it was a money exchange.

[MKSquared]

Since you'll be around so many amazing churches during a time that's simply laden with Holy Days, you may want to look into attending a High Mass. (Christmas Day, Mary Mother of God, Epiphany) ...

[honeygirl1971]

Originally posted by Laura B


Would it be easy to navigate on foot and/or is there easy public transportation?

The center of town and the old town is easy to navigate on foot (if you like to walk), plus there is tons of very easy public transportation--a good metro system, a tramway, and buses.

[Laura B]

Originally posted by mbrogier
We went to a night concert at St. Chappelle. It turned out to be a famous French Violinist. We almost didn't get in although we had tickets. The ticket takers tried to deny us entrance, but my French teacher was with us. She spent most of her childhood in Switzerland and Chad, Africa. She is definitely fluent. She knew their trick and called them on it. (they were oversold and thought they could bully us out)

If it is a long running concert, you shouldn't have a problem. We got our tickets at an office on the Champs-e-lysee. I think it was a money exchange.

:eek: I do not have good enough French to handle that situation! Good thing you had your teacher with you.

Honeygirl, thanks for the info about Lyon. I am definitely going to keep it in mind.

When we first planned this trip, I was telling DH that 12 nights was quite a long time. But now I am wishing we were going for longer so I can easily fit everything in. When you start compling lists of day trips you want to take, suddenly there isn't all the time in the world anymore!

[Beth H]

When we first planned this trip, I was telling DH that 12 nights was quite a long time. But now I am wishing we were going for longer so I can easily fit everything in. When you start compling lists of day trips you want to take, suddenly there isn't all the time in the world anymore!

Twelve nights in Paris will fly by!

DH and I went to a concert at St. Chappelle - our hotel manager gave us tickets that other guests could not use. However, the concert was well-attended but not totally full. I think you could buy tickets the day of or day before, depending on what you want to hear - they vary the program from night to night. It was wonderful - really magical.

[honeygirl1971]

I think it's great that you are staying 12 nights, and you'll definitely be glad of it. A lot of things are closed between Christmas and New Year's, so you can do the museums and other more-touristy things then, and then after New Year's you can do more "local," things. And you're right, with all the possible day trips, you'll have plenty to do!

[emily]

I don't know if you saw St. Eustache last time, but it's another really beautiful Gothic cathedral. I was in Paris for 4 nights December 26-30th back in 2002 (was it so long ago, sigh) and it was magic. I also want to echo the recommendations for Musse d'Orssay, I loved that place.

[Laura B]

Originally posted by emily
I don't know if you saw St. Eustache last time, but it's another really beautiful Gothic cathedral. I was in Paris for 4 nights December 26-30th back in 2002 (was it so long ago, sigh) and it was magic.

I didn't get a chance to see St. Eustache last time, but it is definitely on the list this time.

Since you were there in the same window that I will be, did you have trouble with things being closed that week?

[Magix]

You mention that you've been to Paris before, so you probably won't do the "ugly American" thing I did, but just in case...

I was there on business, accompanying some business associates who frequented France (but it was my first time). It was the end of our first day there, and I was completely jet-lagged. I'd been given exactly two days notice of the trip (stressed out!), and I'd been told to only bring carry-on luggage. Can you imagine?!

Anyway, as you know, dinner is a BIG deal there, and can go on for hours and hours! I was there at the table of this rather nice restaurant, losing it because of the jet-lag and the fact that I was at the absolute end of my endurance. When I ordered dinner, I asked the waiter for a Diet Coke, thinking I could use the caffeine. Everyone at the table laughed, as did the waiter, because apparently that was a very gauche (notice my French!) thing to do while they're all ordering very nice bottles of wine. Anyway, it took forever to get my Diet Coke. It came in its own little bottle, and to this day I'm convinced they had to send someone out to BUY it for me!

As I said - the Stupid, Ugly American. :eek:

[honeygirl1971]

Originally posted by Laura B


I didn't get a chance to see St. Eustache last time, but it is definitely on the list this time.

Since you were there in the same window that I will be, did you have trouble with things being closed that week?

I didn't mean to worry you about that--I don't think museums or churches or department stores will be closed, it's just that some of the small local shops, bakeries, and restaurants might be closed. Not all of them, though--August is worse for that! But, for example, my husband owns a bakery and it is always closed between Christmas and New Year's. And in our neighborhood, which has a lot of small shops (esp antique stores) in it, there are a fair number of things closed that week. But in Paris you will definitely find more things open probably, AND like I said, you should have no trouble with museums, churches, and so on.

[Laura B]

Originally posted by honeygirl1971


I didn't mean to worry you about that--I don't think museums or churches or department stores will be closed, it's just that some of the small local shops, bakeries, and restaurants might be closed. Not all of them, though--August is worse for that! But, for example, my husband owns a bakery and it is always closed between Christmas and New Year's. And in our neighborhood, which has a lot of small shops (esp antique stores) in it, there are a fair number of things closed that week. But in Paris you will definitely find more things open probably, AND like I said, you should have no trouble with museums, churches, and so on.

I'm actually more interested in the local shops, bakeries and restaurants! Hopefully we won't have too much trouble finding open bakeries. We have to stop about every hour for a pain au chocolat or some other treat to keep us fueled, you know! :p

[Laura B]

Originally posted by Magix
When I ordered dinner, I asked the waiter for a Diet Coke, thinking I could use the caffeine. Everyone at the table laughed, as did the waiter, because apparently that was a very gauche (notice my French!) thing to do while they're all ordering very nice bottles of wine. Anyway, it took forever to get my Diet Coke. It came in its own little bottle, and to this day I'm convinced they had to send someone out to BUY it for me!

As I said - the Stupid, Ugly American. :eek:

LOL! We did order cokes when we went out to lunch in bistro type places. They didn't laugh at us, and we ordered it in French at least! Anyway, I definitely will keep your story in mind and will not order a coke at dinner in a nice place. :D

But the French do drink Coke, right? It is not inherently an ugly American thing to do, is it??

[honeygirl1971]

Again, I really didn't mean to alarm you! There are ALWAYS some bakeries open! The owners work it out so people don't all take vacations at the same time. Even in August you can always find something, I just meant that there would be some that would be closed. But the open markets should still be around too, and at the big ones in Lyon there are always artisan bakers set up there as well.

[honeygirl1971]

Originally posted by Laura B


LOL! We did order cokes when we went out to lunch in bistro type places. They didn't laugh at us, and we ordered it in French at least! Anyway, I definitely will keep your story in mind and will not order a coke at dinner in a nice place. :D

But the French do drink Coke, right? It is not inherently an ugly American thing to do, is it??

They don't drink NEARLY as much soda as we do, but they do drink it. Diet Coke is "Coke light" or "un coca light" but they do have it! The French would be much more likely to order mineral water if they weren't drinking wine. But in any case, I think you should order what you want and not worry about it! It's not like you'll be in someone's HOME demanding a diet coke, now that would be an ugly American thing! But ordering it in a restaurant is fully reasonable; the worst that could happen is the waiter might make a face because he thinks wine would be better, but who cares!

[Laura B]

OK, I am no longer alarmed about things being shut down! :D I'm sure we will find plenty of bakeries and restaurants to keep us blissfully happy.

Thanks for the insight about the soda. J'aime mon coca light!

[helios7]

Pulling up this thread to say that we went to Paris for 12 days this March and it was fantastic. Definitely a great amount of time - time to have busy days and time to have more restful days.

Some comments....

Versailles - the Hall of Mirrors is under construction and not that impressive right now. 2/3 of it is covered and blocked, so the one piece left is --- eh. A disappointment for me, however I still recommend Versailles as a great day trip.

When you buy your RER trip, you should ask (there was a big sign at the ticket counter with an advertisement) for the package deal. I believe it was 18 Euros, but included tickets to and from Versailles and a "privileged" entrance ticket to the chateau. So, instead of standing on the line at the A entrance with the busloads of tourists, we got to enter at B1 (or whatever) and walk right in. This special ticket also gives you access to areas like the Chambres des mademoiselles which are off the beaten track, and you get free headphones with a guided tour.

We also signed up for a tour with at tour guide when there - because of the package ticket deal we'd bought, it was 6 Euros each. The tour was okay, the one big benefit is that they take you to the Opera house where Marie Antoinette and Louis XIV celebrated their wedding reception. The opera house is not open to the public, you can only go there with a guided tour.

We loved Versailles, but I have to say that the reason was all because of this package ticket deal. It made the experience really great!

I also recommend hiking out to Marie Antoinettes village, its NE from the chateau. Quite a hike, but really neat. She wanted her children to experience the country, and so built this country village for them to live in.

I have more to say..... I'll post again!

[helios7]

If you're looking for a tour book, I recommend the Rough Guide to Paris. We really enjoyed its honesty and candor when deciding what to do.


I second the recommendations for the Centre Pompideau, and the Musee d'Orsay. Don't go to the Musee D'Orsay on a Tuesday though! Many museums close on Tuesday, so lots of people pick that day to go. We did, and waited for an hour and a half to get in while it poured. I'd reccommend a day trip on a Tuesday instead!

We went to a great restaurant in the 5th at the base of the Rue Mouffetarde called Cave la Bourgogne. We found it in the book Great Eats Paris which I highly recomend (by Sandra Gustafson).

That's all I'm thinking about off the top of my head, and I'm so jealous. I loved Paris! I can't wait to go back.

[lisas3575]

Hi Laura,
I spotted this Paris article (http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking/hl/travel/article/0,13803,1052789-1052857,00.html) on CL's homepage this morning. HTH.

[Laura B]

Thanks, Lisa. I just printed it out to save!

[Laura B]

I'm bumping this up as we leave for Paris on Sunday! :D I haven't had much time since posting this thread to do much planning. All I have planned out is two fancy lunch reservations, booked a day trip to Mont St Michel, and bought our train tickets to London. We will be staying one night at my Aunt's in London, so any advice on what you must do in London when you only have 48 hours is welcome!

I can't wait!!

[Becky13347]

Have a great trip! There is a park in Paris that we found by accident that is very lovely if the weather is good. It was once considered the "most fashionable park" in Paris. It is surrounded by large old homes/mansions. I believe it is called Parc Monceau (I know it started with an M). We were there summer of 2004.

In London, Dickens Curiosity Shoppe was interesting. Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, etc.They have tours you can take that give you the major points in a small amount of time.

Looking at your earlier posts, I saw you were thinking about Brussels. If you are considering it..it is a great town. I spent 10 weeks there student teaching (from January to March so I was there in bad weather) It is filled with small streets, shops, and restaurants. The Belgians love Americans. Make sure you buy a Belgian Waffle from a vendor on the street. They melt in your mouth! The Grand Place is a place to visit and the Mannekin Pis is humorous. There is also Ghent, Brugge in Belgium to visit.

Have a wonderful time!
Becky

[Becky13347]

Also, if you do Versailles and the weather is good-leave lots of time to explore the gardens. I had no idea how vast they were. We spent 3 hours just walking and discovering the gardens. They were amazing!

[honeygirl1971]

Mt. St. Michel is great, that's a good choice for a trip outside of Paris. Now, 48 hours in London, for me that would depend on what you've done before. If you've never been there I would at least do the Tower of London (St. Paul's is not far from the Tower, also), Westminster Abbey (Parliament is right there as well), and the British Museum (archeology/artifacts) and/or National Gallery (paintings by major artists; right by Trafalgar Square). Other GREAT museums are the Tate Britain (all British artists), Tate Modern (modern art; near the Tower also), and the Victoria and Albert museum (decorative arts; the British Galleries are fantastic--like a walk through history; the fashion exhibit is great too). The National Portrait Gallery is fun, too, and depending on the exhibit, the Royal Academy of Art can be worth a trip (small, but great exhibitions, and near Picadilly Circus). The Dickens House museum is interesting if you are a fan, too (I am), but with so many others I'm not sure I'd put it very high on the list. I have been to London so many times that if I only had 48 hours, I'd probably go to one museum--either for a special exhibit or to visit old favorites ;) at the Tate, and then I'd probably spend the rest of the time shopping! :o London is my absolute favorite city for shopping!! There are the food halls at Harrod's, the gorgeous clothes at Selfridge's and Harvey Nichols, the small boutiques on Portobello Road, in Covent Garden, and in Kensington, and on and on!


Re Paris, though, I saw a GREAT exhibit at the newly remodeled Grand Palais (right on the Champs-Elysees, metro C-E Clemenceau) in November, and it will stay there through most of January. The exhibit is focused on the work of 4 artists -(Klimt, Schiele, Moser, and Kokoschka) painting in Vienna around 1900 and it is very well done. You can get an audio guide to the exhibit (one of those digital things) in English (or French or German) for 5 euros which gives a lot of background and insight to the paintings. If you like Klimt or are interested in turn of the century art, the exhibit is a must-see! It's best to try to get tix ahead of time if you can, so you don't have to wait outside in a long line. Your hotel should be able to help you do this. You can also just pick them up yourself at any FNAC store (like Borders, and they are everywhere) ticket counter. If you want more info, you can read about it here: http://www.rmn.fr/index-gb.html You can also buy tickets ahead of time to other museums and sites at FNAC, btw.

[newtricks]

Laura! Have a wonderful time in Paris. I can't wait to hear your report! :)

editing to say - and can't wait to see pictures of you and dh in Paris ;)

[olchik]

You are going to Paris? That's so great, I have never been there but I'm sure it's gorgeous! One day I want to go there too. Have a wonderful time there!:)

[Capucine]

OMG!! I cannot tell you how jealous I am. What a WONDERFUL way to spend the holidays!!! I love, love, love Paris. And London is great too!!! I won't add anything else because I see you've gotten excellent recommendations here.

[Laura B]

Bonjour! Nous sommes a Paris! We are just having the most wonderful time. Even with two weeks here, we aren't going to have time to do everything on our list as we are taking a very relaxed approach to this vacation - a lot of sleeping in and wandering around. We have joked that this vacation is just killing time between meals. :D And our meals have been outrageously good here. You just have to follow a simple rule - don't eat anywhere with neon light in the signage or windows or with any English on the posted menu. You almost cannot go wrong following that rule! When we get back, I will post a list of some of our favorite places to eat. We have also visited some amazing chocolatiers.

We're going to Versailles this afternoon, spending tomorrow at Mont St. Michel, and we come home on Saturday evening. We went to London last Thursday and Friday and stayed one night with my Aunt in Kensington - and then we had touble with Eurostar delays and had to grab a a cheap hotel by Waterloo station to get up and catch an early train the next day. That has been our only problem on this trip.

Au revoir pour maintenant!

[Capucine]

You lucky girl you!!!

[honeygirl1971]

Can't wait to hear the full report when you get back!
If you get this in time, try to eat some marrons glacés (candied chestnuts) while you are in Paris--all the chocolatiers have them at this time of year, and they are to die for! :)