Paris: for the first time
This is the website for the hotel I mentioned:
http://www.hoteljardindecluny.com/
A guide I always recommend is Eyewitness Top 10 Paris...small and easy to carry around and I mostly agree with their choices. For a limited period of time and if the weather is good...it's hard to beat just walking around. Also, the metro is good but taxis are quite cheap so don't hesitate to take them just to save time and figuring out where to go. (Just don't order one from your hotel as they begin to charge from when they're called and sometimes they get stuck in traffic so you begin with a big fee....there are taxi stands very close by the hotel)
I wouldn't bother waiting in line to go up the Eiffel Tower. Go to Les Invalides metro stop or take a taxi and walk up that great boulevard to the Eiffel tower...great way to see it the first time. Then you're not really far to walk across the Seine to Place Alma to get the "Bateaux Mouches"...those glass top and open boats that take you on about an hour tour on the Seine. A super intro to Paris. A must really and you’ll get a great view of Notre Dame.
I can never go to Paris without going to Notre Dame (very close to your hotel) and after head to Ile St. Louis for wandering and some Bertillon ice cream. Wander those little streets like Rue S. Jacques...very close to your hotel.
I would go to the Musee d'Orsay rather than the Louvre if you want one gallery. Also, I believe you can buy advance tickets which is a good idea as lines can be long. The restaurant there is neat to go to as well. Again...go just before noon as it can get big lines. Walk around the Louvre even if you don't go in and the Tuileries gardens which aren't far. Of course, you will want to do the Champs-Elysees.The Marais district is quite neat if you have time.
I would go to the Musee d'Orsay rather than the Louvre if you want one gallery. Also, I believe you can buy advance tickets which is a good idea as lines can be long. The restaurant there is neat to go to as well. Again...go just before noon as it can get big lines. Walk around the Louvre even if you don't go in and the Tuileries gardens which aren't far. Of course, you will want to do the Champs-Elysees.The Marais district is quite neat if you have time.
Sacre Coeur is great if you have time but Montmartre is quite tacky these days so you could give this area a miss.
George Pompidou Centre used to be worth it for the free view but now they charge to go up the escalators..probably worth a miss.
Galleries Lafayettes has a great view and is free.
We really enjoyed doing an evening tour of all the lights of Paris so might give this a try.
George Pompidou Centre used to be worth it for the free view but now they charge to go up the escalators..probably worth a miss.
Galleries Lafayettes has a great view and is free.
We really enjoyed doing an evening tour of all the lights of Paris so might give this a try.
And speking of Paris...
I looked up my 2005 blog Feb - May to find some photos of us and the Curlings in Paris and also in Carqueiranne and other parts of France but the photos don't show up for some reason. Glad I printed up some photos from this time.
These are "photos of photos"....ah, remember eating in restaurants.
This was our last night in Paris and when we asked the server to take a photo of all of us, a couple from Australia jumped up to bein the photo...never had that happen. We hadn't been talking to them.
Ah...Notre Dame, mon amour.
And a fabulous meal at Les Pins Penchés.
