I would like to thank those who%26#39;ve contributed to this forum, the detail of information was so good that after doing a lot of reading I barely needed to ask a thing before we went. I%26#39;ve posted my trip report in the hope that it will help others with their planning
Tuesday 29th April
We arrive on time, take the RER into the city and arrive at our hotel (Saint Jacques on rue Des Ecoles) at 8.15pm. It doesn’t take long to unpack and head out for dinner. We chose Le Buisson Ardent (25 rue Jussieu) from the Time Out guide as it’s near our hotel. Turns out to be a great choice. There’s a set menu for 32E per person. I have rabbit terrine, salmon and haddock lasagne %26amp; white chocolate mouse with pink grapefruit. Hubby has artichoke %26amp; parmesan soup, pork stew, featuring pigs ear and dark chocolate cheesecake. It’s not the cheapest prix fixe (dinner with wine was 99E) but well worth it. The place was packed and we got the last table. Great first meal.
Wednesday 30th April
After a rude awakening by some workman in the hotel (our fault I guess as I forgot to put out the ‘do not disturb’ sign) we get ready and pop over the road for breakfast. The croissant is hot and buttery and I can feel my hips widening as I eat it! Afterwards we visit the Pantheon as it’s so close. It reminds me very much of the one we saw in Rome. Lovely frescos. We walk down towards Notre Dame in the rain. While we are queuing in the line to go up the towers it really starts to belt down and the wind picks up. Thankfully we only have a relatively short wait (about 30 mins) and the views from the top are certainly worth both the wait and the climb. You can see for miles over the city. The gargoyles at the top at stunning and some of them are frankly a little scary. The bell tower is amazing, the bell is huge and the old woodwork is an art in itself. Once we are back down we go straight into the cathedral and enjoy a seat in one of the pews. It’s lovely and warm and the stained glass windows are beautiful. After we’ve warmed up we get up and wander around the cathedral and by the time we come out it’s stopped raining and the sun is out. We take a look into the crypt underneath Notre dame with it’s old foundations and ruins of what used to be on the island before the cathedral was built.
Next stop is lunch and we both have our first croque madam – delicious. I have a hot chocolate and it’s a bit different to what we have at home – you get a jug of hot milk and a flask of melted chocolate to mix and make your own. Yum, yum.
After lunch we visit the Louvre and after a false start of trying to following the self guide walk I’d printed from their website we just decide to do our own thing. The place is vast and you could certainly spend a whole day in there and even then I’m not sure you’d see everything. Having already seen lots of Egyptian and Grecians treasure on our travels we don’t bother with those floors and pick out the ‘main attractions’. I have to say that I was distinctly unmoved by the Venus di Milo. The crowds for the Mona Lisa were really strange; they were all pushing and shoving to take a photo and then pushing their way back out. I couldn’t see one person bothering to stand and look at her properly. In my opinion the Winged Victor of Samrothrace was the best of the main ‘must sees’ and the display of Italian sculptures was worth the entrance fee alone.
We have dinner in Le Tango du Chat (rue Saint Severin). It’s an intimate place where you sit cheek by jowl with your neighbours, typically French, very busy and noisy. Oh and you can also bring your pets here as did the lady who came in to eat dinner with her dog! The food was OK, nothing special but there’s a good choice of different prix fixe menus.
Thursday 1st May
OK, so I knew the Louvre was closed today but what I hadn’t realised was that it was a Bank Holiday so of course naturally when we arrive at the Musee Rodin after breakfast, it’s closed as are all the museums… Ah well there’s always tomorrow.
From there we walk to the Eiffel Tower, huge crowds and absolutely massive queues so it’s s good job that neither of us wanted to go up it. We move onto the Arc De Triomphe – now I know this will sound silly but it’s lot bigger than I expected it to be and boy is the traffic mad around there! We take a leisurely stroll down the Champs Elysees, looking for somewhere for lunch as it looks like the rain is on it’s way again. We wander up a side street and chance upon an Iranian restaurant. What a find; lunch is very tasty. We have a nice bottle of wine and some Iranian tea. Luckily while we are in there the rain does come and by the time we leave it’s over.
We carry on down the Champs Elysees to the obelisk at Place de la Concorde and then through the Jardin des Tuilleries. I had no idea it was there and am thrilled to see a sculpture by Louise Bourgeois; it’s one of her famous spiders and simply stunning, set on a green surrounded by flowers. We decide to walk down rue Rivoli to the Pompidou Centre. Hmm, another piece of modern art that I don’t understand – beauty is in the eye of the beholder and to me it looks hideous, Apologies to all those who thinks it’s visually stunning, to me it’s like a cross between scaffolding, air-con systems and subway escalators. Amazingly there is a Louise Bourgeois exhibition in there and I vow to come back tomorrow if we have time. By now it’s around 5pm so we go back to the hotel for a rest.
This evening we’d intended to go to rue Gregorie Tours and eat in either l’Insular or Au Beaujolis as recommended on TA but we can’t find the street on our map and after wandering up and down the Saint Germain Boulevard for a while we give up and head down to the streets in the Latin Quarter towards the river and end up in a non descript Italian that served really tasty and very reasonably priced pasta. Not too keen on those crowded streets around it though – very touristy and people standing outside to try and get you in their restaurant.
Friday 2nd May
We get up early this morning, grab a crepe on the way to the metro and are standing outside the Musee Rodin for it opening. We wander around the garden first; the sun is shining, the birds are signing and it feels like we have the place to ourselves. There are some lovely pieces outside and I sit for a while in front of The Thinker. The view from the bottom of the garden up to the house is like a movie set, you can almost see people in carriages pulling up outside the door. Indoors are more interesting pieces including The Kiss, which I really like. When we leave there is a huge queue and I’m so glad we came early. Next it’s over the road to Les Invalides, Napoleon’s tombs and the military museum that my hubby wanted to see and he loved seeing the variety of guns he’s played with in various video games over the years!
We take the metro up to Montmarte for lunch before joining the afternoon tour by ParisWalks (www.paris-walks.com). Lunch is at Le Relais Gascon (9 rue des Abbesses) thanks to TA. Brilliant, the salads are amazing and if you are ever in Montmarte I would encourage you to try one – they are a meal in themselves and even die hard salad dodgers will have a hard time resisting. We pick up the tour and it’s a pleasure walking round the old cobbled streets. It feels so different to the rest of the city we’ve seen so far. The guide is good and we see where Van Gogh and Toulouse Latrec lived. The tour ends at the Sacre Coeur and I think this is probably somewhere you either love or hate. It left us both cold and we didn’t go inside and if I’m honest all the crowds of people put me off as the square adjacent to it seems lilke a tourist trap. We just took the funicular back down the hill.
We’re tired now but decide that with one last push we can fit in the Pompidou Centre. It’s around 6ish and what a great time of day to go, no queues or crowds and plenty of room around the displays. I saw a documentary about Louise Bourgeois last year and was immediately fascinated both by her as a person and her work. This exhibition was something that I really couldn’t pass up seeing. My hubby had never heard of her but had been impressed with the spider we saw yesterday. We both agreed that we’ve never seem anything like the display; truly she was artist that you couldn’t define, she worked with anything and everything she could get her hands on – bronze, marble, fabric, plastic, foam, old clothes. Some of her pieces were stunning, some plain odd and this exhibition will stay with us both for long time.
Afterwards we decide to have a quick bite near the centre as we both feel after our long day if we go back to hotel we won’t get a out again as it’s been a long day and we are exhausted. A sandwich and a couple of glasses of Sancerre ease my aching feet and legs and we arrive back the hotel around 9pm, open the bottle we bought on the way back and are asleep by 11pm!!
Well, we had 3 full days of sightseeing in Paris and I can honestly say that we’d both go back in a heartbeat as we feel like we’ve barely scratched the surface and there’s still do much to see. The city is vibrant and interesting. Yes, alcohol is expensive but hey, that means you won’t find stag and hen parties here and surely it’s all the better for that right?
My top tips -
There really is so much to see so have a loose (and flexible) agenda before you get here.
If you plan to visit a lot of museums, by the museum pass you%26#39;ll save money and at some places, queue jump.
The metro is a great way to get around the city. By a carnet of tickets as they can also be used on buses etc.
Wine can be expensive - if you%26#39;re on a budget you can always buy it cheaper in a supermarket and take a bottle back to your hotel after dinner.
The RER is a really easy way to get into town from CDG. You can buy tickets from self service booths or from the ticket office.
And finally, even if, like me, it%26#39;s only schoolgirl French you can manage, please do try to speak the lingo, it%26#39;s appreciated and also very funny when you get it wrong!
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Thanks for the great report. I%26#39;m so glad you had a good trip.
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Puddleduck,
Your report was great and now I am going to do an internet search on Louise Bourgeois.
We are booked for mid May at the Hotel St Jacques and have reserved the double deluxe room. What did you think about the hotel? It is a bit farther from the metro stop and St. Michael%26#39;s Square than I wanted to be, but I booked late.
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Thanks so much for your report and your good tips. You are yet another person to attest to it not being worth standing in the long line for the view of the Eiffel Tower. It isn%26#39;t worthless but when time is limited, there is just so much to see and do that the view from the Eiffel Tower takes on less significance.
I%26#39;m glad you enjoyed your trip. Thanks for posting the names of some of the restaurants you ate at and your impressions. That is very helpful to TA readers.
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Kajon - I have posted a hotel review on TA but not sure if it%26#39;s up and running yet, maybe take a quick look later and see if it%26#39;s there. It%26#39;s a great location for sightseeing but it%26#39;s on a noisy street and I%26#39;m glad I paid for the upgrade. If you have time for exhibition when you are there I would suggest you go and see it as I guarantee you ain%26#39;t seen anything like it. Of course art is all about individual taste isn%26#39;t it? You may hate it!! ;o)
In love with... - You%26#39;re right and to be honest we decided before we went that we wouldn%26#39;t bother going up the Tower as we thought Notre Dame would be better and not as busy. Next time we will go back at night though as I would like to see it lit up.
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Your trip report reminded me of our quick 3-day getaway a few months ago. Your TR demonstrates that it IS possible to do a lot and still not miss out on the essence of Paris. Thanks for sharing!
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Your report gave me some ideas for planning my Paris trip.
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i second the tip about buying a bottle from the market and bringing back to the hotel. that%26#39;s what we did on our trip. we%26#39;d buy champagne, fruits, snacks from the market and hang out at the hotel lobby after dinner.
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Thanks for your kind comments.
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Thanks for sharing your trip !
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Thanks for sharing! Good report!
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