I%26#39;ll be in Paris for 3 days, armed with a 2-day Paris Museum Pass and 3-day paris Visite (Zone 1-3).
Looking at the city map and taking advantage of the Paris Museum Pass on my 2nd and 3rd day, here is my tentative itinerary. Please tell me if this is doable? Any suggestions for revisions is appreciated:
Day 1, Friday:
-Eiffel (7e)
-Place Vendome (1e)
-Montmartre (18e)
-Quartier Latin
Day 2, Saturday:
-Louvre (1e)
-L%26#39;Orangerie (1e)
-D%26#39;Orsay (7e)
-Rodin (7e)
-Arc de Triomphe (8e)
Day 3, Sunday:
-Pompidou (4e)
-Picasso (3e)
-Notre Dame (4e)
-Pantheon (5e)
Obviously, I will not be able to soak much in. That%26#39;s okay, I just want to get a gist of each place.
These places, are they within reasonable walking distance from each other (they appear close enough in the map, but not sure as I%26#39;ve never seen the streets of Paris)?
Comments?
|||
Place these locations on a map, then visit those in close proximity to one another on the same day. If you need a map of Paris:
http://www.mappy.fr
Overall, this itinerary appears totally haphazard and fragmented.
For example, why Latin Quarter on day 1 and Pantheon on day 5? Place Vendome on day 1 and L%26#39;Orangerie on day 2?
And with this itinerary, you%26#39;ll need a good map of the métro:
http://www.ratp.fr/
|||
Have you looked at a map before putting this together, if not, then do and you will realise you have not grouped things together, for instance :
group Louvre-l%26#39;orangerie- Place Vendôme : within walking distance
Notre Dame- Quartier Latin-Panthéon : within walking distance
Orsay-Concorde- Rodin- Arc de Triomphe - Eiffel
|||
Place Vendome on day one should be moved to day two as it is right next to the Louvre and L%26#39;Orangerie. It also makes more sense to do Latin Quarter with the Pantheon.
On day one, you%26#39;ll probably want to hop on the Metro to get from the Eiffel to Montmartre. You can walk from the Louvre/L%26#39;Orangerie to Musee D%26#39;Orsay, which is also within walking distance to Musee Rodin. After the Rodin, you%26#39;ll probably want to rest up, so I would do the Arc de Triomphe at night. Your Sunday activities can be walked, but you may be tired by then and may want to avail yourself of the Metro.
If you%26#39;re not going to be using the Metro that often, you%26#39;re better off purchasing a carnet of tickets instead of the 3-day Mobilis. Good luck and have fun!
|||
I%26#39;m with Sarastro.
Forget the Paris Visite and get a carnet (10-pack) of Metro tickets. Or get two carnets. I have to put my 2-cents in here. 1. On a short trip, Montmartre, no matter what anyone else says, should be done after sunset. Then, it is a triple: the church, the Place du Tertres (and maybe dinner) and the after-dark views of the city. 2. The Latin Qtr istelf is no longer a funky college-kids driven sort of area. On a short trip, focus on the walk to the Pantheon, maybe see the Sorbonne enroute and the Lux. Gardens on the way out. 3. Why Place Vendome instead of Place de la Concorde, which is near Madeleine church, Opera and Galleries Lafayette. 4. Doing the Louvre, d%26#39;Orsay, Rodin in one day would seriously stress even an art-historian. 6. When you pull up the Metro map from ratp, be sure to get the downloadable pdf version- you can use the search function to spot your Metro stations. 7. Yes, it is a walking city- but this does not mean you will have infinte energy- plus, it is equally a %26quot;stop, have coffee, people watch and window-shop city.%26quot;
|||
It looks like you want to make the most of that 2-day museum pass, but you%26#39;d be racing through and not get to see much or enjoy what you%26#39;re seeing.
While you definitely can walk - Louvre to Orangierie to Orsay, keep in mind that there are miles of hallways, and several floors, within each. If you travel through even SOME of the Louvre, you%26#39;ll want to ride to Orangerie, etc.
And, if the weather is nice, do you really want to be indoors all that time?
Head for Montmartre on a nice evening. Most everything is open late.
|||
Sarastro-
Thanks for the input and suggestions.
I%26#39;m trying to lump all the places covered under the Paris Museum Pass in 2 days. The ones not covered by the pass, I tried to lump in one day (Day 1).
|||
Day two is four museums and a major monument in one day , why bother? I will send you some souvenir picture books, you can flash through them and see more in 1/2 hour..
Sorry for not saying %26quot; oh what a great plan, just change this one little thing%26quot; .. I think your iternerary is rushed to the point of silly.
The Lourve and the Orsay are major museums and deserve at least 2 hours each,, really they deserve a heck more, but lets just say two hours to run around and see the %26quot; major and well known%26quot; pieces,, so there is 1/2 a day,, and I am not counting the time to travel from one to the other. Then you want to squeeze in the Orangerie, the Rodin , and the ADT in the afternoon, and they are not all lined up beside each other,, aaaaaaaaaagh,, you will drop dead of exhaustion, you will remember almost nothing, and you will not even %26quot; get it%26quot;.
Plus as noted some things are not well ordered.
You have built no time in at all for a nice walk along the Seine, or a coffee in at an overpriced sidewalk cafe( LOL) ,, you really will miss seeing Paris and you will not even get the %26quot; gist %26quot; of it..
Pick your top 6 must sees and start again. Two major must sees in a day, plus fill in with other sites,,
PS You missed St Chapelle which is a must see , a jewel box of a chapel.. near Notre Dame.
|||
Blind: Please believe us! Most/all of your responses are from folks who know Paris well. Look at how agitated your itinerary is making us! When your trip is short, you must acknowledge that, plan accordingly- or risk travel blur. (But, congrats for at least researching these sights- many don%26#39;t even do that!)
Much as I love the museum pass, don%26#39;t let it drive your plans. As Joan1 suggests, cut back. The point is to enjoy a city with remarkable atmosphere. You can always add something spontaneously, when there. For a 1st trip so short, I%26#39;d skip the Pompidou (If you must see it, walk by, see the fountains, then spend an hour in the heart of the Marais district. Pompidou has a wonderful modern art museum, but so do many major cities. For a first trip so short, I%26#39;d skip the Picasso (tell your friends you want to wait to see his museum in Barcelona.)
|||
I agree with the feedback you are getting here. Modern art enthusiasts might disagree with me but what I love about the Pompidou is the architectural design which you can see from the outside. That is an absolute must-see. Next to the Pompidou is a fabulous fountain called the Stravinsky fountains. It is whimsical with lots of moving parts and colors. The square in front of the Pompidou is full of people--artists doing portraits--and other things making it great for people-watching.
I also agree that the Picasso museum should be skipped on a first trip to Paris--unless you are a huge Picasso fan. I would recommend that you take a self tour of the Opera Garnier. I think it is the most beautiful building in all of Paris. For about 8.5E you can see a truly spectacular site!
I agree Ste. Chappelle is important to see--and it doesn%26#39;t take long to see it because in reality it is just one room and a whole lot of amazing stained glass windows. Your museum pass will get you in here more quickly although you will still have to stand in a security line.
If you have to go up the Tour Eiffel, I will leave that to you. However, if you want a much better view, go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe where you get to see the entire city, the 12 roads converging in a ronde, and the view of the Tour Eiffel. If you go in the evening after dark you can even see La Tour Eiffel twinkling on the hour--a site not to be missed.
You also get a view of the city from the steps in front of Sacre Coeur on Montmartre so climbing La tour Eiffel is repetitive and very time consuming. And you don%26#39;t have much time.
It depends on what type of art you like as to what museum(s) you should focus on. If you love impressionist art, then focus your time on the D%26#39;Orsay and L%26#39;Orangerie (Monet%26#39;s water lillies). If you like other types of art, more time at the Louvre might make sense. The D%26#39;Orsay is an amazing museum. You probably seen to see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre and a few others. Again, pick what you love the most, not what is most famous.
I think time is better spent wandering in the Luxembourg Gardens than wandering in the Latin Quarter. There is so much going on in the Luxembourg Gardens and they are so beautiful. You really need to see how Paris blends its city and its parks. Spectacular.
Have a great trip. As other people have said. Don%26#39;t rush around frantically or you will miss Paris!
|||
Just got back from my 3-day trip to Paris. Got to visit most of the places in my preliminary itinerary. Tiring, for sure.
For photos and notes on my experience in Paris, I wrote it at web.mac.com/j_reyes/Travelogue/Paris.html
Please let me know what you think. Thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment