Hi,
I have an itinerary planned for my trip to Paris next week. I did run it by TA a few days back. Today, I found out about the www.ratp.fr website. Currently, I am in the process of mapping routes for each of the day I would be there.
At this stage, I was wondering if someone could help me put my daily places to visit in an order based upon what would come first starting from my hotel. I want to avoid wasting time going in circles. Once I have that, I shall use the above mentioned website to get the routes from each place to another. Also, any ideas on which places are so close to each other that we could cover them on foot.
As mentioned above, I did share my itinerary earlier as well. Any other suggestions on places to visit are also welcome !!
We are staying at Hotel De L%26#39;Ocean, 7 Rue Mayran, 75009 Paris. So, this would be our starting point every morning.
Day1
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We arrive in the evening. The only thing I have scheduled for this day is to visit the Eiffel to view the sparkles after 10:00 pm. I have already taken out routes for this.
Day2
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1. Champs Elysees
2. Arc de Triomphe (Get tickets for Lou%26#39;vre at FNAC branch)
3. Eiffel Tower during the day
(Not sure what should be the order)
Day3
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1. Lou%26#39;vre
2. Notre-Dame Cathedral
3. Ile St. Louis
4. Sainte-Chapelle
(Not sure what should be the order)
Day4
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1. Luxembourg Gardens
2. Opera Garnier
3. walk around Montmartre
(Not sure what should be the order)
Day5
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Day trip to Versailles. I have scheduled this for Saturday to be able to see the fountains. Reading through the earlier posts, I have learnt to buy the tickets in advance. Are they available at the RER station?
Day6
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1. Latin Quarter
2. Paris Illuminations Night Tour
As always, thanks for all your help in making this trip possible for us !!!!
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Hi
I%26#39;ll take a stab at some of your days :o)
Day 2 - I would head for the Tour Eiffel first to get ahead of the queues as I%26#39;m guessing you want to go up it on this day?
I would then head for the Arc de Triomphe and from there wander down the Champs Elysees.
Your other option, if you don%26#39;t want to go up two tall buildings is sucession, would be the Tour Eiffel, then walk up the Champs Elysees towards the Arc and do that last.
That will not take a whole day so you have time stop and look at things along the way and have lunch etc.
Day Three: Notre-Dame %26amp; Sainte-Chapelle are both on Ile de la Cite with a connecting bridge to Ile St. Louis so they will group together. The Louvre could easily fill a morning or afternoon - dependant on your interest - so that depends how you want to approach the day.
Day Four: The Jardin Luxembbourg are nearer to the Latin quarter so you might want to put those together on Day 6.
As you are staying in the 9eme you could start in Montmartre, on Day 4 and make your way to the Opera Garnier from there and then carry of down towards the Jardin des Tuileries if you%26#39;ve not had a walk around there while at the Louvre.
I don%26#39;t know if you have invested in a map yet but I find this one very easy to use
amazon.com/Paris-Mapguide-Michael-Middleditc…
I%26#39;m sure you could find in a local bookshop.
HTH%26#39;s ebabe
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Day 2: If you want to go up the Eiffel Tower, then do this first and get in line before it even opens. Otherwise you could spend 2 hours standing in line. Then head to the Arc de Triomphe (there is an underground passageway to get there on the righthand side of the street as you face the Ard de Triomphe). I hope you aren%26#39;t planning to walk up the Eiffel Tower because I think it is too much to do that and then walk up the Arc de Triomphe afterwards. There is an elevator at the Arc de Triomphe if you need it (most people don%26#39;t take it) and, of course, you can ride up the Eiffel Tower to the second or top levels. Once you have seen the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (at the base of the Arc de Triomphe) and gone up to the top (my favorite view of Paris), then walk down the Champs-Elysees, being sure to see the car dealerships and stopping at Laduree for a sweet treat.
When you get all the way down the Champs-Elysees (even past the last couple of blocks which are park-like rather than shops) you will be at the Place de la Concorde. You could get a crepe at the little crepe stand next to the ferris wheel. If you wanted to, you would have time to visit L%26#39;Orangerie (a small and wonderful museum) which has a room specially built to hold Monet%26#39;s Water Lilies paintings. Then you could either walk through the Tuilleries and/or (directly opposite from L%26#39;Orangerie on the other side of the tuilleries (south to north) on Rue de Rivoli you could have a meal at Angelina%26#39;s (famous for their hot chocolate, mont blanc dessert)
I don%26#39;t understand your statement after Arc de Triomphe about getting tickets for the Louvre at FNAC. You don%26#39;t need to do that. You can enter for the Louvre on Rue de Rivoli under the red and white banner which says %26quot;carousel%26quot;. Take the escalator downstairs, pass the shops to your left and your right and you will come out into a huge open room which has ticket machines for you to purchase your ticket(s) to the Louvre. There are little or no lines. Decide which wing you want to see first, go through the short security line for that wing and off you go. No need to go to FNAC for your tickets for the Louvre. (and I don%26#39;t understand why you have it listed after Arc de Triomphe on Day 2.)
Day 3 (which day of the week is this?) Louvre is closed on Tuesdays and open late on Wednesdays and Fridays. Go to Sainte-Chapelle or Notre Dame first. There will be a line at both. I might do Sainte-Chapelle first because notre Dame is right next to Ile St. Louis. All three are very close to each other (short walks). Then, after you have seen Ile St. Louis, then walk to the Louvre to see it. Before you go, get some idea of what is there. Otherwise, the museum is overwhelming.
Day 4: Take the Metro to Le Jardin du Luxembourg, wander around that beautiful park. (Perhaps pick up goodies somewhere so you could have a picnic in the park. Then Metro to Opera Garnier to do a tour or a self-tour. If you have additional time in your day, I suggest a nearby museum called Le Musee Jacquemart-Andre. It belonged to husband/wife art collectors and is very beautiful. They give you an audio guide to use as you walk through the museum. They have a lovely restaurant in belle epoque style where you could eat or have afternoon dessert/tea. This museum is on Blvd. Haussman which is very near Galeries Lafayette and Printemps department stores. It is at least worth stepping into Galeries Lafayette and looking up to the ceiling to see the beautiful round domes ceiling. Then head to Montmartre to wander around. End your day up at Sacre Coeur and Place du Tertre for a drink or dinner.
Or on Day 4 you could see the Luxembourg Gardens, Les Invalides, Musee Rodin and the Latin Quarter since they are all near each other. then on Day 6 you could see the Opera Garnier, Musee Jacquemart-Andre, then Montmartre and ending with your night-time tour. (I don%26#39;t know where or when that tour begins.)
Day 6 is fine.
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Thanks.... I have slightly modified my plans based upon the suggestions provided by you both.
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Day 2: Eiffel Tower can be placed either in the morning or evening, with the Champs Elysees and Arc de Triomphe in between. I don%26#39;t know how long you plan on walking around the Champs Elysees, but maybe you%26#39;d like to take the Seine river tour before or after going up the Eiffel Tower.
Day 3: I%26#39;d recommend going to Notre Dame first. If you plan on climbing the towers, arrive between 9:00-9:30am, go inside the Church, and then immediately line up to go up the tower (beautiful view!). I think I may go to Montmarte in the late afternoon / early evening here. There%26#39;s a 2hr Montmarte Tour with New Paris Tours (10€) that starts at 6pm.
Day 4: Do you plan on taking a tour of the Opera Garnier? They have tours at 11:30am and 2:30pm, so you if plan on joining one, you%26#39;ll have to adjust your schedule around that. The tour was about an hour and a half (which was fantastic, btw), but I think I spent just over two hours there because the place if just so magnificent. The Louvre is open late on Wednesdays and Fridays (10pm), the other nights it closes at 6pm. Plus, it%26#39;s slightly cheaper to go during the later hours b/t 6pm and 9:45pm.
Day 5: An alternative to Day 4 would be to skip Luxembourg Gardens, and go there after Versailles in the evening to relax. Of course, this would depend on how long you plan on staying in Versailles.
Day 6: Sounds like a very relaxing last day :)
Enjoy your trip!
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Yes, that is true.... Day 6 is pretty open. Actually, I was able to fit in all the places recommended to me in 5 days.
I am open to any suggestions for day 6 :)
Thanks !!
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I love the www.ratp.fr site. Fantastic trip planner.
As always, it’s your trip. If it was mine, I think I’d split up the visits to monuments that involve views over Paris. Some suggestions follow:
For Day 2: Consider starting with a gallery (you don’t have the Musee d’Orsay on your list. It’s an amazing building converted from an old railway station it has an incredible collection of works by artist like Van Gough, Monet, Renior, Pissarro, Manet, Whistler, Cézanne. The museum – which is on 1 rue de la Légion d’honneur in the 7th – is open everyday except Mondays till 6:00pm and closes at 9:45pm on Thursdays.)
From there, I would head down the rue de Bellechasse to the Musee Rodin (79 rue de Varenne, also closed Mondays) to visit the sculpture garden (and maybe have a picnic lunch). Around the corner, under a gilded dome, is the Tombeau de Napolean which is one of our “must sees” because it is so over the top. From there, wander down to the Seine to the equally over the top Pont Alexandre III.
Cross the Seine at the Pont, walk back to the Place de la Concorde and then wander up the Champs Elysee and visit the Arc de Triomphe.
Day 3: flainers’ tip on Notre Dame is a good one. If you are planning on the bell tower tour go early as the queue builds quickly and moves very slowly. They only let small groups in at a time and Paris Museum Pass holders don’t get priority access (which is only relevant if you were planning on getting one – check out www.parismuseumpass.com for more information).
As others have noted, Sainte-Chapelle is close by and the Ile de la Cite linked to the Ile St Louis by a (mostly) pedestrian bridge.
Maybe see the Louvre in the afternoon (open daily except Tuesdays; late opening Wednesdays and Fridays).
Day 4: Start the day in the Marais – see the Place des Vosges and check out the funky boutiques, bars and cafes.
Walking west (ie: in the general direction of the Louvre/Arc de Triomphe) you will come across the Centre Pompidou. If you are a modern art fan, it’s definitely worth a visit. If not, check out the Stravinsky Fountain anyway.
From there, it’s about a half hour walk to the Place de la Opera for a visit of the Palais Garnier.
Spend the late afternoon, early evening at the Parc du Champs de Mars. If you are planning to climb the stairs at the Tour Eiffel, there are rarely any queues. Personally, I prefer the climb because you get to see the structure – and interesting perspectives on Paris through it. It’s also cheap (€4 vs €12).
Day 6: Start in the Latin Quarter, visit the Jardin Luxembourg. Consider dropping into the Musee du Moyen Age – if only to visit the famous Lady %26amp; Unicorn Tapestry series.
The Pantheon is also nearby (loved it for Foucault’s Pendulum) as is Saint-Sulpice (which was used in that Dan Brown novel that also featured the Louvre).
From there, spend the afternoon in Montmartre and visit Sacre Couer.
Enjoy the City of Lights
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