Honeymoon Discussions

Ideas for Paris?

Have any of you ever traveled to Paris? My fiance and I are going for our HM and I would like your ideas on what we should see and make sure we don't miss it. [url=http://www.theweddingticker.com][img]http://www.theweddingticker.com/ticker/27842.png[/img]

Re: Ideas for Paris?

  • Many of the museums offer evening hours once a week that are much less crowded, so that is definitely worth looking into.  Some of my favorite things include: the Rodin Museum (admission to just the gardens, which has most of the major pieces, used to be just one euro), Seine River cruise (esp. good in the evening), views from the top of the Arch de Triomphe and the Notre Dame bell tower, Sainte Chappelle, and a day trip to Chartres Cathedral.  I've used the Rick Steves guidebooks for my 3 visits and also went on a RS tour of Paris.  The books have great recs for restaurants and hotels. 
  • Tuesday is the day the Louvre is closed (we made that mistake :) I also recommend Montmartre and the Eiffel Tower. Versailles was beautiful, and we wish we had gone to Chartres. Definitely see the Eiffel Tower at night--the lights are amazing. We also enjoyed the river cruise that leaves in front of the Eiffel Tower. On the back of Notre Dame there was a great cafe where we ate a reasonably priced lunch, complete with a view of the cathedral and an acordian player on the bridge behind us. But the #1 thing you have to do in Paris is eat a Banana Nutella crepe for a street vendor. PURE HEAVEN!
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  • Thanks everyone, it all sounds really helpful. We have a top floor apartment with a terrace for the week. It was cheaper than most nice hotels and the location is great. I will definitely look into everyone's suggestions.
  • musee d'orsay is fantastic (modern art), montemarte at sunset on the steps is amazing, the tower at night is amazing, and there is a fantastic creppes place just across from there that has sustained me after a long night of sightseeing too.  D Definatly take a day and go to Versailles, the gardens are some of my favorite. 
  • River Cruise on the Seine at night...great place to see Eiffel Tower lit up and super romantic.  Mont Martre at night is also another must (really, go up and watch the sunset and then wander around up there...fantastic).  Museums: Louvre, Musee D'Orsay and Rodin are all fantastic (w/ D'orsay and Rodin being much more intimate spaces, of course).  Day trips: Versailles is fabulous and definitely take a day to do it and all of the surrounding gardens, etc.  Also, I really enjoyed Chartres which is a huge cathedral about 1 hour outside of Paris...closer to wine country if you wanted to do that too.  It's so amazingly beautiful.  Also...don't forget to try Berthillon's for ice cream (Ile St. Louis), to die for.  Ohh...and Poilane, an amazing bakery in the St. Germain de Pres neighborhood.  Ok, now I want to go!  You are going to have a fantastic honeymoon.  I will say...there is soo much to see and do, don't get overwhelmed, and don't over schedule yourselves.  One of my favorite things to do in Paris is just stroll around the city and take it all in.  Have a coffee and croissant in a cafe.  Do a picnic in the park.  Stroll through the markets, window shop.  It's all amazing, so enjoy!
  • We went this past Christmas for a late anniversary trip. We did a lot of things other ppl have mentioned - Notre Dame, Versailles, museums, Eiffel tower - all amazing. St.Chapelle is near ND and worth a visit - amazing stained glass windows. We also did a day trip out to champagne country in Reims. Just about an hour on the high-speed train. We emailed some places before hand so we could arrange a tour. It was a wonderful day. They have their own Notre Dame where the Kings of France were crowned. We visited it at night and had it all to ourselves - what an experience! We made reservations for one 'fancy' dinner for Christmas night at Market via opentable.com they have a link on their page to the French site. Other nights we explored the neighborhood by our hotel (near the Eiffel) and had great luck with that. If you have never visited a busy US city that requires a lot of walking & use of mass transportation - prepare yourself for the busy on the go days you will have in Paris.. Look at the maps before hand so you have a sense of where things are, etc. Learn a few commonly used phrases in French. Just trying to use my High School level French broke the ice a little and I think helped wipe away the 'ugly American' stereotype.
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  • Oh, PP is spot on about trying to learn some basic french. I found people were much nicer when I was able to ask them questions in french. Even if I wasn't always right, making that first effort helped smooth the way.Do you speak english?Where is the bathroom? How much is the total? Hello, Goodbye, Thank youEtc...
  • Thanks for all the advice, my fiance is brushing up on maps. He is an Eagle Scout so he can study a map a few times and feel like he already has been in the city we are visiting when we are there. We have been to NY so I expect about the same amount of walking and business we saw there. We are going to take a pocket guide with common French sayings.
  • Sainte Chapelle is amazing, right by Notre Dame, stained glass windows will blow you awayJardin d Luxembourg is my favorite gardenSaint Sulpice has a fountain out front (that hopefully construction is done on) and it is gorgeous at nightMusee D'Orsay and Versailles for tourist locationsIf you are looking for restaurant suggestions I would suggest il Vino d'Enrico Bernardo... it is a restaurant that pairs the food according to the wine you order... it is expensive but worth it 95 euro pp I think... for a great bistro I would suggest Fontaine de Mars, my favorite restaurant and good service (two months after our most recent trip we heard that the Obamas were there for dinner)Bastille area/metro stop for night life
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  • I've been to Paris twice now, and here is what I have learned:Don't miss:Sacre CoeurSainte ChappelleRodin Museum and GardenLuxembourg Gardens/PalaceMiss:ConciergieLouvre (see the outside if you must, but its overwhelming, see an art museum specializing in that type of art)Tips:*The best view from the Eiffel tower is the 2nd floor, save money and time and skip the top.*Enjoy street food...crepes, croque monsieur, and ice cream* Wander...just find a neighborhood and explore*if you like hot chocolate, try Angelina's* Use the metro when you can't walk, its easy and fastAlso, i know a great website full of very helpful people who love Paris.  www.ourparisforum.com
  • Willie's Wine Bar was my favorite restaurant we ate at. Small and it's been around forever (it is in all the books and worth it!).
  • We were in Paris for part of our honeymoon, and were there this past June as well. We had been there before 9 years ago.First of all, most museums are closed on Mondays. So, do not plan to go to a museum on that day. This is the perfect day to see churches like Sainte Chappelle, Notre Dame (those two are very close) and Sacre Coeuer (which is no where near so take the metro- which is so convenient).In terms of museums, the Louvre is a must see. But, as people have posted above, go on one of the days where it is open later. There is one night, I can't remember which, where it is open until 9:45 and it is less crowded. But, plan a lot of time to be there. The Rodin Museum and the Musee d'Orsay are the next best ones. You can get a combo ticket at the Rodin Museum, and they are easy walking distance from one to the other.Definitely, go to Versailles if you can. And, while you should go into the building, spend most of your time in the gardens which are like no other. No one does gardens like the French!Paris is a walkable city. Much more walkable than NYC because it is smaller. That said, the metro is very easy to use and convenient. You will need to take it to Versailles and it was worth the trip.ps. Saint Suplice was still under construction as of June.
  • Versailles is a bit of a jaunt from Paris-but it is completely worth it. Ditto all of the previous posts, you can't go wrong with almost anything in Paris, but my favorites were Chartres Cathedral, stunning windows, and the Musee D'orsay, and the view from Sacre Couer Basillica, which will take your breath away. Also I went with my tour group from French class when we graduated high school. so we all had a pretty good deal of french we already knew. Brush up!! You have no idea how this will help you, people will totally change right before your eyes if they see you trying to speak their own language. Have fun and go with an open mind, it is Europe and people do things differently there. One night we left our hotel to find a cafe for dinner and there was a man peeing on the building right in front of us...at like six o'clock at night. it's just a little different there...
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