Hi everyone,
My husband and I leaving to Paris this Friday! We are doing 3 days in Paris and 3 days in Rome. This is our first to Europe and we%26#39;re very excited. We%26#39;re both 31 years and are very easy going. We selected just a few main attractions since we%26#39;ll be staying for just a short time. I would love to get your feed back on the itinerary I made up. Can you check to see if it makes sense and if I grouped the attractions correctly? Any input/advise/suggestions would be so great!! Thank you!!
Saturday First day:
Check in hotel
Grab Lunch at nearby cafe
Go to Eiffel Tower Visit Champs De Mars
Go to Pont Neuf Bridge and taking their one hour river cruise
Sunday:
See the Louvre (check out the Venus de Milo %26amp; Mona Lisa)
Visit the Opera House
Visit the Sacre Coeur (Montmarte)
Stroll down Champs-Elysées
Monday:
Go visit Norte Dame
Go visit the Pantheon
Tuesday in Paris:
Check out
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Here are a few thoughts. If you want to save time, don%26#39;t go up into the Eiffel Tower, it takes forever and the view isn%26#39;t all that great. However, if you must do it then go for it. As you walk down the Champ du Mars, you should visit the Invalides, which is the huge gilded dome on your left, it%26#39;s where Napoleon is buried and is impressive. Right beyond that is the Musee Rodin, if you enjoy his sculpture. At the Louvre, you should add the Winged Victory to your must see list, it%26#39;s more powerful and has a better setting than Venus. And the Mona Lisa is tiny, and will be packed, but against it%26#39;s a must-do. After the Louvre, stroll the Tulieries gardens, and at the far end on the left is the Orarngerie which has the huge Monet water lilites paintings, it%26#39;s neat and a pretty quick visit. After you do Champs-Elysees, you should think about going up in the Arc de Triomphe (there is a pedestrian underpass to get to it), it%26#39;s pretty neat and has a great view of the city. At Notre Dame, you should check out the archaeological dig which is under the plaza in front of the cathedral. If you want to go up into the towers to see the gargoyles, it%26#39;s pretty neat but really takes a long time to wait in line. And have a glass of wine!
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You should also go to see the Eiffel tower at night. Back in 2003, they added strobe lights all up and down the tower. They turn these on for a few hours each night for 10 minutes at the top of the hour. It%26#39;s really a spectacular site.
The Dorsay museum isn%26#39;t far from the Eiffel tower. They have the works of several famous painters such as Monet and Renoir.
Be careful, The Louvre is huge and you could easily wind up spending your whole day there if you don%26#39;t keep track of time. Try and find out before hand where exactly the pieces of art that you want to see.
You should get an all day pass on the metro. They go all over the city and I can give you some more details on this if you decide to go this route.
Be careful too. There are a lot of scam artists there. Men should usually keep their wallets in their front pockets but don%26#39;t let this worry you.
Paris is a tremendously beautiful city and for the most part I%26#39;d say is very safe.
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I disagree with luggage tags about going up in the Eiffel tower. I think it%26#39;s an awesome view of the city. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess. I could send you a few pictures that I took this month from the tower if you%26#39;d like. I was in France for 8 days, the last 2 being in Paris.
If you do decide to go up in the tower and there are long lines at the bottom. Sometimes you%26#39;ll see a shorter line at another ticket booth. In this line, you buy a ticket then walk up to the next level and catch an elevator from there. Takes a lot less time.
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I would just add if time is short, and funds are not a problem, buy the museum pass - it can save you loads of valuable time waiting in line. Also, we really loved the Musee d%26#39;Orsday, which used to be a train station. Beautiful building, fabulous art too. Re: the Louvre - we wished we had gotten a book on %26quot;treasures of the Louvre%26quot; or somesuch - so we had a better plan of what to see. It is absolutely overwhelming and hugenormous. Have a great time, Paris is beautiful.
On your way back from Notre Dame, you might want to stroll through Ile St. Louis, a teeny island neighborhood - its really cool too. (I don%26#39;t know exactly where it is, we stumbled upon it by accident....).
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I would recommend going up the Eiffel tower, why not do it one evening, the light show starts at 9pm or 10pm ( I think it depends on the weather, tonight with the rain it was 9pm, last show was 1am) lasts for about 10min. I went up about 9.30 and there was only about a 15min wait, but it was pretty cold up there so rug up.
Also do go up Sacre Coeur a bit of a climb but it gives you a great view of how Paris is set out. Visit the Arc de Triomphe after your stroll down the Champs-Elysee
I agree that Invalides is well worth a visit.
The Louvre will be packed (1st Sunday of the month so I think it%26#39;s free). My favorite is the museum d%26#39;orsay. Last Sunday it was really lovely weather and there were people out everywhere just strolling. Save some time for just people watching along the river.
Enjoy
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We didn%26#39;t go up to the very top of the Eiffel until our third visit. And when we finally went, it was a bit disappointing and a big waste of time. The worst lines were on the second level, where people are trying to get on the elevator to the top. The view from the first or second levels are just as beautiful. Even better are the views from the Arc de Triomphe, where you get the panoramic view of the city with the Eiffel in it. Notre Dame is great too with the gargoyles; however, the wire mesh is a little troublesome. I think your itinerary is underwhelming. You can certainly add more to it. I would definitely include Musee D%26#39;Orsay in any first visit, Musee Rodin if you have time.
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IMHO, the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower isn%26#39;t worth the 2 or 3 hour wait in line. I actually prefer the views from l%26#39;Arc de Triomphe and Sacre Coeur. You have to climb stairs, so the lines are usually very long. My husband and I did the river cruise 7 years ago (in our late 20%26#39;s) and didn%26#39;t care for it, not romantic at all. We prefer to take a picnic to the pedestrian bridge (I can%26#39;t think of the name) or to the Luxembourg gardens or gardens around Les Halles, next to St. Eustache (cross Pont Neuf bridge to rue du Pont Neuf and follow it). Spend time in the 6th (especially Rue de Buci and rue St. Andre des Arts)it%26#39;s just a lively area...as is le Marais. I think you%26#39;ve planned plenty for 3 days, just enjoy walking around. I would suggest taking a Rick Steve%26#39;s book or similar and maybe follow the walking tours of the area you choose, that way you get a little info on what you%26#39;re seeing. We, on average, only use the metro once a day b/c we discover so much by walking (usually 6-8 miles a day) Besides, then you don%26#39;t feel guilty about eating a dessert with every meal!
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There are people in this life who enjoy looking at beautiful sunsets and there are other people who%26#39;ve seen so many,they could care less if they see another one. Then there are people like my ex-wife who wouldn%26#39;t recognize a beautiful sunset if it was staring her in the face. If you enjoy beautiful sunsets, sunrises, views of the mountains, the seashore, then go to the top of the Eiffel tower. Go there monday morning early instead of on the weekend. I believe they open at 9:30. The wait shouldn%26#39;t be that long. If you don%26#39;t, you%26#39;ll probably always regret it!
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thanks to you all!!! you gave some really tips and imore excited than ever!! i can%26#39;t believe we leave in one more day!!
thanks again~
Jenny-
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Do Eiffel Tower and Champs Elysées the same day, with Invalides. Champs de Mars is just a big lawn behind the tower. I agree that the view is good, but not worth as you are only in Paris for three days, it is a waste of time, unless you go late in the evening. I would add Orsay.
Group the Louvre and the Pont Neuf cruise and Notre Dame, and Pantheon the same day, but i would drop the Pantheon and do Ste CHapelle instead, very beautiful.
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