Two Honeymoons - Inverness & Paris

Re: Two Honeymoons - Inverness & Paris

• hz80408 member

  

  November 2012

  Will you be in more than just Paris?  With 3 weeks time, you could explore all of France, and more.
  
  Versailles is similar to a city suburb.  You can take the public metro to get there within less than 30 min (depending where you get on).
  
  I'm sure you're just starting to plan, but we went to Paris for the first time in spring.  Here is what we did: http://shineisntalwaysshimmer.blogspot.com/2012/05/paris-day-1.html

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• dazyabbey

  

  November 2012

  Versailles is close enough that you can go in one day. We were there for most of the day and probably left around 4-5pm and had enough. It is different then I was expecting as I had high expectations and hopes. It is extremely crowded. Get there as soon as you can in the day and make sure you leave enough time to wait in line. There is a separate line for tickets and then an even longer line just to get in through security. They do not have restrictions to how many people they let in so the earlier you get there then the less crowded it will be. It really made the actual palace of Versailles very uninspiring for me. Probably just because I was so looking forward to it. The gardens are gorgeous. They are huge. They have a little tram that goes to Marie Antoinette Chateau and another one. You do have to pay for the tram but it might be worth it because there is a lot of walking. Make sure you go to her Chateau. Behind Marie Antoinette Chateau in the gardens is her little hamlet that she spent so much time in. This was the real highlight of the entire trip to Versailles for me. It was exactly what I pictured and it was gorgeous. They have a little farm and it is beautiful.
  
  
  Other then those suggestions about Versailles I agree with HZ. Three weeks in Paris is a really long time. We were there for 5 days and that was the perfect length of trip for us. Paris is a little dirty and there are a lot of homeless people and beggars. I was expecting this great city to be romantic and full of lights and it wasn't really like that. It had it's own sparkle but I think the tourist industry does a great job making it into something it really isn't. I think if I went back a 2nd time I would enjoy it much more because I know what to expect.
  
  I am not saying you shouldn't go. Paris is a great city though. And overall I had a great time I was just a little disappointed and expecting something different.

  
  06.09.2012

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• daria24 member

  

  November 2012

  I've been to both Inverness and Paris. In Inverness we visited Urquhart Castle and took an all day minibus trip to Skye. I really enjoyed the trip to Skye, but it was a cloudy day so we didn't get the full effect. 

  
  

  I recommend renting a car and driving to a few of the Lochs on your own for hiking/sight seeing. There isn't a huge amount of things to do in Inverness itself, and the surrounding high lands are really beauitful. You might want to take a trip to Sterling to see the Midlands & the Castle there-I really loved that area. 

  
  

  As for Paris, 3 weeks is such a long time. We spent a week in Paris, and then took the train out to Alsace for another week. Definitely get out of the city and see the surrounding areas, there is so much to see and do, and it's less expensive. And you can do Versailles in a day, no need to stay overnight. You'll probably want to run screaming from the palace anyway, it's so crowded/touristy, but it's worth the trip. 

  

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• hz80408 member

  

  November 2012

  Another thing to mention on Versailles/Paris is to consider getting a Paris Museum Pass.  It includes admission for several of main tourist sites and also has a special entrance, which allows you to skip the ticketing qeues.
  
  http://en.parismuseumpass.com/

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• Bthor

  

  November 2012 edited November 2012

  Daria gave some great tips for Inverness. I don't like renting cars while traveling abroad so while there I did a day trip from a tour group that was very reasonably priced. Urquhart Castle was probably one of my highlights- it was raining all day and right when I got there it stopped and a huge double rainbow was behind the castle over the loch, gorgous.
  
  As far as Paris, I liked it a lot. However, I can't imagine needing more than five days. Trip to Versilles is short and easy. If you'd be up for it London is easily accesible from Paris otherwise we headed to Interlaken, Switzerland after Paris and came from Munich- all of which would be great cities to see while there for three weeks. I'm not sure when you're heading there but the south of France is supposed to be gorgous, I've never been- and I'm sure you could go as far as seeing Barcelona if you cared to. With three weeks in Paris I would really hit up other cities. But you mentioned your Visa so I'm not sure where you are from and maybe you have already seen many of these cities.
  
  Either way, I'm sure you'll have a great trip!

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• JaneAustensGhost member

  

  November 2012

  Wow thanks for all this.  I'll be living in London so that's out but I am definitely thinking of expanding out in France.  Thanks again. 

  

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• hoffse member

  

  November 2012

  I only slightly disagree with posters above because I lived in Rome for a month in college.  Rome is smaller than Paris (entire city is walkable in a day if you hoof it), and we only left the city for two day trips.  I still didn't see everything I had hoped to see in a month, and we only had 2 hours of class four days a week so it's not like we didn't have time to explore.

  
  

  So for me it depends on whether you want to stick to the primary tourist attractions or delve deeper into some of the ones off the beaten path.  Travel books of Paris are hundreds of pages, and while many of these will include hotels, you'll also get dozens of ideas for restaurants and sight-seeing activities.  There is enough to do there for 3 weeks if you want to do more than scratch the surface.  The louvre alone should take 2 or 3 days if you see the entire thing at a pace where you actually take in the art and don't just skip to the mona lisa like 95% of the tourists who visit.  

  
  

  That said, if your plan for Paris is really as follows: Louvre, Notre dame, musee dorsay, champs elysee, versailles, maybe something else like napolean's tomb or le sainte chappelle - then yes you can do it in 5 days and probably feel like you had a full vacation.  Personally, I would give myself at least 8-10 days in Paris because I'm in to art and there is a lot of art to see in that city.  Just my $0.02.

  

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