Paris for a first Timer.

[josephml1]

Hello everyone and thank you for taking the time to read and post in this thread.

 

I am looking for an advice about top ten to do and do not miss in Paris for 2 days. Please mention the places I need to go and your personal top ten.

 

i am open to suggestions also for accessible places to eat in the hurry days. maybe a market, a hole in the wall place, etc.

 

Thanks Everyone!!!

[KirkNC]

Here is what we did in three days:

 

- Sacre' Coeur,

- Orsay,

- Rodin,

- Arc de Triomphe,

- Champs-Elysee,

- Versailles,

- Notre-Dame Cathederal,

- Sainte-Chapelle,

- Louvre.

[rl1013]

Top 10 for me :

 

1) Louvre

2) Notre Dame

3) Musee d Orsay

4) Sacre Couer and Montmarte

5) Eiffel

6) Champs Elysee and Arch de Triomphe

7) Cemeterie Pere Lachaise

8) The area around Quarter Latin

9) The Seine River cruise

10) and not in Paris but near it Versailles

[rlse9]

We spent 2 1/2 days there and had a great time, though we were completely exhausted by the end of our time there. Here's a few thoughts based on my experiences.

 

Musee d'Orsay is excellent and small enough that you can cover most everything in a couple hours, not necessarily spending a ton of time to study every piece of art but with enough time to appreciate pieces that stand out to you. The Louvre on the other hand is massive and you should have a plan of what you want to see or you'll be wandering for hours because it is so massive. There are a lot of great pieces of art there but there are also a lot that are nothing special in my opinion.

 

Climb either the Eiffel Tower or Arc de Triomphe a little before sunset and enjoy the view of the city as the sun goes down. We did both on separate nights and enjoyed both views.

 

Notre-Dame is highly overrated in my opinion. That's not to say that it isn't nice but there are many cathedrals in Europe that I visited which were much more impressive. Climbing the towers is fun and the view is nice but the line moves really slowly and with limited time I don't think it's worth it to stand in line for that long, unless you get there early in the morning and are at the front of the line.

 

Sainte-Chapelle is beautiful inside and worth seeing. And it's convenient since it is so close to Notre-Dame to see both. The Pantheon is also not too far away and we found that to be quite interesting as well.

 

Getting a 2 day museum pass is probably a good idea. For 40 euros you can get into a long list of sites for free and it has the added benefit that you don't need to wait in line to buy tickets. You still have to wait in line at some places but it's a time saver and possibly a money saver as well.

 

We ate a lot of sandwiches while in Paris, the bread there is so good and it makes for a quick, convenient, inexpensive meal. We even ate our lunch while standing in line at Sainte-Chapelle one day to mazimize our time.

 

I hope some of this is helpful.

[Hlitner]

Cannot disagree with any of the above :). But when one talks about French culture it is always very integrated with talk of cuisine and wine. When friends tell us they have been in Paris for a week, the conversation usually quickly turns to "where did you eat." Some of the most popular names in France are the chefs...not the museum curators. Just fruit (or wine) for thought.

 

Hank

[4774Papa]

http://parisfrance.ca/

http://www.parisfrance.com/

http://www.answers.com/topic/paris-1

 

 

Following is a selection of some of Paris' most popular tourist sites:

 

•Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower) — One of the world's most recognizable sites, many Parisians were first horrified by what they thought was an ugly, industrial-looking eyesore.

 

 

•Arc de Triomphe (Arch of Triumph) — The world's largest triumphal arch was conceived by Napoleon I, and took some 30 years to build.

 

 

•Notre-Dame de Paris (Notre Dame) — A masterpiece of gothic architecture and construction, the cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Paris.

 

 

•Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre (Basilica of the Sacred Heart) — The basilica was completed in 1914 and was dedicated to the Sacred Heart.

 

 

•Musée Du Louvre (Louvre Museum) — Originally built as a fortress in the twelfth century, the Louvre is one of the world's foremost museums of art.

 

 

•Les Invalides — a complex of buildings that includes French military museums and monuments, a hospital, a retirement home and a church.

 

 

•Centre Georges Pompidou (Pompidou Center) — France's main cultural center includes the National Museum of Modern Art/Industrial Design, the public information library (BPI), exhibition galleries, cinemas, show and concert halls, and a contemporary music research center (IRCAM).

 

 

•Musée d'Orsay — Opened to the public in 1986, the museum exhibits 19th century paintings, sculpture, furniture, objets d'art and photography.

 

 

•Montmartre — Paris' highest hill, Montmartre is the city's artists center.

 

 

•Moulin Rouge — One of Paris' most famous cabarets, it is the home of the French cancan.

 

 

•Paris Opéra/ Opéra Garnier — Designed by architect Charles Garnier, the Paris opera house opened to the public in 1875.

 

 

•Champs Élysées — the road that connects the Arc de Triomphe to Place de la Concorde.

 

 

 

•Panthéon — a burial place for France's most honored dignitaries, housing the tombs of Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Victor Hugo, among others.

 

 

•Sorbonne — One of Europe's most respected and important institutions of higher learning, the Sorbonne refers both to the University of Paris and to the first college established in what became the university.

 

 

•Tour Montparnasse (Montparnasse Tower) — France's tallest skyscraper.

 

 

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/paris-1#ixzz1isQkJe3p

[josephml1]

:)

 

Thanks everyone to take the time to post in this thread, your help is very useful.

 

I am taking notes and printing all the very good places you mention here.

Also thanks for the links.

 

If you have a special recommendation for a Market with food please let me know.

Also a good place to buy some cheap not so touristy souvenirs.

 

Forgot to mention I will be staying at the Paris Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel I am not sure if this is a good area, but the price is good but if you can help me with some advice around it I truly appreciate it.

[hubofhockey]

There is a very good thread that I was following which seemed to have died off. But I subscribed to it.

 

Here it is:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1393603

 

We will be in Paris for three days before our British Isles cruise. We have never been there before. We were thinking of doing two morning tours with Sight Seekers Delight and then spending the rest of the time on our own at Louvre, Seine cruise, walking around, and other sightseeing. The two we were going to do are 1/2 day Paris along the Seine and 2.5 hour Montmartre tour. These are great threads and I appreciate all of the suggestions as well. We're staying at the Hotel Gramont Opera Hotel.

[CathyCruises]

A few suggestions:

 

The Louvre is huge and basically unmanageable unless you plan your visit carefully. I highly recommend getting a guide beforehand that shows you what exhibits are where--then select the main things that are important to you. We completely exhausted ourselves by thinking we could start at the top and work our way down seeing everything. This was a bad idea for a myriad of reasons. By the time we got to the things I REALLY wanted to see, which were in the basement, I was totally worn out--we had been there for 8 hours by then. Wasted our energy on Italian "Madonnas with Child" etc. that we had seen hundreds of in Italy! I realized too late that it would have been MUCH smarter to decide what was important to us and see that first, then use any leftover time and energy as we chose.

 

The Orsay is a real favorite--smaller, manageable and a spectacular setting. But buy your tickets ahead of time!! When we went back last month the lines were huge and we had to skip it. Very disappointing. You will notice that we wanted to go back to the Orsay after a year; no interest in tackling the Louvre again!!!

 

Versailles: the only place in France (in many visits) that I really did not like! IMO, ridiculously over the top--no wonder there was a revolution! Garish doesn't even begin to describe it. But everyone will want to go and see for themselves and many will love it. When we were there last year in February, on a cold winter mid-week day, it was PACKED!!! I had happened to see an online promotion that allowed us to enter far from the crowds, otherwise the wait between the ticket line and security had to be over an hour. So buy ahead if at all possible. Easy to reach by train, FYI.

[S2az]

I agree with just about everything said here, particularly CathyCruises's comments. Versailles is opulent, to be sure, but garish, and in its historical context, almost obscene. We spent a week in Paris about a year ago, and at that time the Musee d'Orsay was being renovated, so it had virtually no Monets and few significant pieces, and it was kind of

a mess, but from the comments, that seems to have changed, however. The Orangerie, while sparse, had a fabulous Monet exhibit, and can be seen in an hour max. We spent two entire evenings in the Louvre and that was not enough if you intend to see it all, which, as many have said, requires either lots of time or meticulous planning. It's a very odd building to make your way around-at least it was for us. The Hotel des Invalides we found fascinating, but we like military history, so you might not find it worth the effort if that is not your interest. Mostly we just liked wandering around a rainy Paris, and a side trip to the Normandy beaches (more military history, of course.)

[4774Papa]

I would not describe Versailles as garish. It is opulent. Just a note, Versailles was copied to some degree by many Monarchs across Europe. Good examples include Catherine's Palace and Peterhof in St. Petersburg as well as Chimsee Palace south of Munich.

[josephml1]

Great reviews and advice.

 

I am taking notes...

 

thanks everyone for the counseling and advice. :)

[rlse9]

Cathy's advice about the museums is good. There is a lot of interesting stuff in the Louvre but a lot that you probably won't find all that interesting and there's just so much of it that you can't try to see it all, you'll just fail. Our strategy was to do a Rick Steves audio tour to hit the highlights, then just wander after that to anything we thought might be interesting. Even that resulted in us spending longer than we probably should have and seeing too much we didn't really need to see. For example, if you've been to the National Archeological Museum is Greece or Egypt, the Greece and Egypt sections in the Louvre aren't all that interesting. On the other hand, we ended up seeing some really cool paintings that we liked in a couple of the areas where we were wandering around. Have a plan of what you want to see, then maybe wander a little and move on, otherwise you'll find yourself there forever.

[vacation fool]

We spent 3 full days in Paris. We used www.sightseekersdelight.com for 2 walking tours. It was money well spent and we avoided losing time by going with a local. Got lots of history,stories that one would not get otherwise.

Just my opinion as we are not museum people....spent more time in line for musee d'orsay to get in than we spent inside.....agree that Notre Dame is over rated. Montmarte was great as was walking rue cler area with shops and fruit markets. Pack a picnic and grab some wine and head to the Champ de Mars Park before dusk to see the lights turn on at the Eiffel Tower-priceless :D

[hubofhockey]

We spent 3 full days in Paris. We used www.sightseekersdelight.com for 2 walking tours. It was money well spent and we avoided losing time by going with a local. Got lots of history,stories that one would not get otherwise.

 

Just my opinion as we are not museum people....spent more time in line for musee d'orsay to get in than we spent inside.....agree that Notre Dame is over rated. Montmarte was great as was walking rue cler area with shops and fruit markets. Pack a picnic and grab some wine and head to the Champ de Mars Park before dusk to see the lights turn on at the Eiffel Tower-priceless :D

 

This is similar to our basic plan for our three days. Which tours did you do with Sightseekers Delight? We were planning on Paris Along the Seine and Montmartre. Maybe we'll do the Rick Steves Louvre audio tour as well. There is no way we could navigate that on our own.

 

I am trying to figure out what type of entertainment there is at night for English speakers in Paris. I've read bad reviews of the Moulin Rouge and good reviews of the opera houses. But I am not an opera fan. I suppose one night would be a cruise on the Seine (with dinner?). I am open to suggestions.

[vacation fool]

This is similar to our basic plan for our three days. Which tours did you do with Sightseekers Delight? We were planning on Paris Along the Seine and Montmartre. Maybe we'll do the Rick Steves Louvre audio tour as well. There is no way we could navigate that on our own.

 

I am trying to figure out what type of entertainment there is at night for English speakers in Paris. I've read bad reviews of the Moulin Rouge and good reviews of the opera houses. But I am not an opera fan. I suppose one night would be a cruise on the Seine (with dinner?). I am open to suggestions.

Those are the 2 tours we did. They were wonderful. As far as "entertainment" goes, we never got back to our hotel before midnite. The whole city is an attraction and we just walked, took a boat ride down the seine (not the dinner one), went up the eiffel tower. We did not do any opera or concert type things. We were plenty entertained as well as exhausted from all the walking, navigating the metro, and taking in all that we could. Enjoy!

[hubofhockey]

Those are the 2 tours we did. They were wonderful. As far as "entertainment" goes, we never got back to our hotel before midnite. The whole city is an attraction and we just walked, took a boat ride down the seine (not the dinner one), went up the eiffel tower. We did not do any opera or concert type things. We were plenty entertained as well as exhausted from all the walking, navigating the metro, and taking in all that we could. Enjoy!

 

Hey, thanks. I e-mailed Karen, the owner of Sightseekers, and she even told me the best times of the day to book each tour. Prices are pretty good, especially with the shrinking euro. Looking forward to it. Maybe we'll follow your lead on just seeing the city at night. The Montmartre tour is from 5 to 7:30 pm. So that last night will be dinner in Montmartre.

[vacation fool]

Hey, thanks. I e-mailed Karen, the owner of Sightseekers, and she even told me the best times of the day to book each tour. Prices are pretty good, especially with the shrinking euro. Looking forward to it. Maybe we'll follow your lead on just seeing the city at night. The Montmartre tour is from 5 to 7:30 pm. So that last night will be dinner in Montmartre.

Karen is the best!!! She had us in stitches with her stories. If u speak with her again please tell her Andrea in Florida says hello,ok? You will love the tours like we did. We were with 2 other couples for the one in Montmarte and the only ones for the Paris along the Seine so it was like having a private tour. Money well spent ;)

[hubofhockey]

Karen is the best!!! She had us in stitches with her stories. If u speak with her again please tell her Andrea in Florida says hello,ok? You will love the tours like we did. We were with 2 other couples for the one in Montmarte and the only ones for the Paris along the Seine so it was like having a private tour. Money well spent ;)

 

She seems to be the queen of Trip Advisor reviews and that's what got us interested. It's great to see your comments here. I will pass on your hello. We aren't going until the 4th of July. It's a ways off. We do like walking tours with guides. There is nothing like walking a city to get a great feel for it. I am still contemplating Versailles. The other question mark is the Moulin Rouge. Some of the reviews of the Moulin Rouge have been less than overwhelming.

[dogs4fun]

I am still contemplating Versailles. The other question mark is the Moulin Rouge. Some of the reviews of the Moulin Rouge have been less than overwhelming.

 

Did both of the above in 2010.

Saw Feerie at Moulin Rouge...really enjoyed the show (albeit expensive for dinner & show).

3rd trip to palace of Versailles for me....not to be missed IMHO. :) We purchased the "passport" online and spent the entire day at the estate.

http://en.chateauversailles.fr/prepare-my-visit-/single/tickets-and-rates

jill

[hubofhockey]

Did both of the above in 2010.

Saw Feerie at Moulin Rouge...really enjoyed the show (albeit expensive for dinner & show).

3rd trip to palace of Versailles for me....not to be missed IMHO. :) We purchased the "passport" online and spent the entire day at the estate.

http://en.chateauversailles.fr/prepare-my-visit-/single/tickets-and-rates

jill

 

Thanks Jill,

 

We are only in Paris for three nights and three days. One night will be a Seine River Cruise. Another night will be Montmartre. Maybe the third night will be Moulin Rouge.

 

I would like to see Versailles. Looks like some hate it and some love it. Either way, I think I'd kick myself for at least not visiting for 1/2 day.

 

Len