Oh, what are we doing besides Paris? I should’ve mentioned we are going out.
“Road trip” on a TGV bullet train to Luxembourg. We have a free tour from 11am-1pm and just wandering the extraordinarily scenic city. It seemed more compact for a day trip than say Belgium or Provence. And it’s kind of fun to say “Anyone can go to Paris or Amsterday, but we’re visiting Luxembourg”. We get back to Gare de l’Est at 7pm.
A real road trip to Normandy, leaving at 8am in a rental car. We got a gîte near Bayeux for an overnight. The kids asked if it was disrespectful to swim at Omaha Beach. After all, frolicking at the beach is in a way what these soldiers were fighting for. But they may find the Atlantic in October might be a tad chillier than Waikiki Beach.
May skip the Bayeux tapestry and D-Day museums to just wander around the town. See how that goes. The second day, we’re heading back to Paris, we originally thought of Versailles based on your recommendations, but then learned we don’t need to bring the car back until nighttime. Fully vetting, they wanted to go to Mont St Michel instead. More driving through the French countryside, which is what my wife wanted. And I get Minas Tirith.
I don’t have anything to add, except “Jealous!”, even though we’ve been to Paris twice. One time it was a two-day trip where we took the Eurostar from London, partly just to ride under the channel in a high-speed train. We got the idea from the Rick Steves book on London, where his list of side-trips suggested going to Paris: “Why not?”. Actually all of our trips to cities in Europe alternated days with day trips and side trips just like you’re doing.
I have some advice for rural France, which is relevant to your road trip to Normandy. It relates to the “lunch problem”. If you do not stop for lunch and walk into a restaurant between 12:30 and 1:30, you may find it extremely difficult to get anything to eat at all for the rest of the afternoon. If you haven’t experienced this, you probably won’t take it seriously - you may think “we can always go to McDonalds or get a sandwich somewhere”. Maybe, but quite likely not. If you start to feel hungry and start looking for a place to eat at 1:30, you are probably already in trouble, even if you don’t realise it yet.
Related advice for tourists in rural France: get up early, have breakfast early, start your day early. This way you will be in sync with French mealtimes. If you are eating a leisurely breakfast at 10, you are at high risk of running into the lunch problem. Not so much an issue in Paris, of course.
This advice is based on 20+ years of experience of annual holidays in rural France. See also the “Sunday problem”.
I wasn’t all that enthusiastic about Versailles but my husband really wanted to go, and wouldn’t ya know, he was right, it was a good time. I’d have to agree that the gardens are actually the more enjoyable destination, and this coming from someone whose thumbs are decidedly black.
We also enjoyed the Catacombs but I suppose that’s not to everyone’s taste
I invested in a money belt to keep valuables in a place where it’s unlikely anyone but my husband would be reaching, and we had no problems haha
Honestly my absolute favorite thing during our last trip to Paris was randomly stumbling on a farmer’s market, grabbing some food from one of the stalls and sitting in a nearby park to just relax and watch … life. Hope your family has a great time!
My wife and I are in Paris at the moment on day 6 of an 8 day trip,so here is some up to the minute advice from a tourist
Cervaises description of the Metro is excellent, but if you go to the metro website ratp.fr, they have an itinerary tool that will plan out your course from start to destination. Much easier than staring at a map trying to find the most efficient path since there are usually several. It will give you options as well, so if you dislike finding bus stops you can do the whole thing by subway. Google maps does a similar thing but I found the metro site easier and better.
Many Metro train doors dont open automatically, theres a button or switch you have to use. Perfectly simple once you know about it.
Metro trains run constantly, the longest weve had to wait is 4 minutes. And theres a sign showing how long until the next train. They do get crowded at morning and evening rush hour though.
We found that buying the 10 packs of paper tickets is the easiest method, instead of buying cards and reloading them. You can use them to transfer metro to bus or vice versa as long as you keep the ticket.
If you cant get tix to the top of the Eiffel Tower (they sell out very quickly) still go to the second level. Great views from there as well. And if you can, take the stairs down from there instead of the elevator. Its not very far, you get to see the inside of the tower construction, and you can stop at the 1st level to shop or get a coffee.
The Passarelle Debilly (a pedestrian bridge) is the best place to see the Tower at night. Great view and less crowded than the Trocadero. Go at the top of the hour, the Tower turns on sparkling lights for 5 minutes at the top of every hour.
Croissants in France are the food of the gods and available everywhere.
keep the ticket you’re currently travelling on separate from the unused tickets (you may run into a spot check, and you don’t want to give them an unused ticket by mistake)
get rid of your used ticket once you’ve finished your journey (likewise to eliminate any future confusion).
There are occasional stories of tourists getting caught out by such mistakes and having to pay a not inconsiderable penalty fine. That’s why I’ve switched to the Navigo Easy card that you load the carnet of tickets on to.
Ah, thanks, we didn’t even know they did spot checks. We’ve been keeping our paper tix separate though.
Some personal observations:
Monet’s “Water Lilies” at Musee de l’Orangerie is the best piece of art ive seen this whole trip, and we’ve been to 4 museums. If you’re at all interested in impressionism, it’s not too be missed.
Paris has turned chilly. We’re from Boston and are wearing sweaters and fall jackets.
Do your best not to get discouraged by people taking selfies in front of famous works of art without taking a second to look at the art itself.
If you’re interested in military history, the Musee de l’Armee is not to be missed either.
On one occasion, I think it was on an RER train, I needed the ticket to exit through a turnstile at the destination. I had mine, but it put my wife into a slight panic when she couldn’t find her ticket. She finally found it in her coat pocket, so I couldn’t tell you what to do if you don’t have it.
Oh, and your travel plans, usually on the last day when you need to get to the airport, will be disrupted by a transit strike, or a traffic jam. It’s part of the experience.
Hah - we did encounter a transit/govt workers strike one day of our vacation, but luckily it didn’t affect our plans (mostly). It did wind up closing the Louvre and other museums though.
And traffic to CDG on departure day wasn’t terrible, but we did arrive 2:45 before our flight, and got to the gate just as boarding started. So last hint - get to the airport as early as you can…
Still a few years to go, but it makes sense to switch to the Navigo cards (I don’t know if they’re thinking of allowing contactless bank cards to be used as well).
I came in to mention Sacre Coeur, which is a great vantage point. The view from the Eiffel is good, too. The gardens at Giverney are worthwhile, and definitely do Versailles. The metro gets you almost everywhere, of course. It’s been too many years for me to recommend restaurants, but do visit some patisseries. I was told by a man who just moved here from Paris that one can’t find a decent baguette in Paris nowadays. Seems an impossibility, but he lived there for 30 years.
The baguette thing is because for the last ten or fifteen years there’s been a trend to prefer underbaked (pas trop cuite) bread.
Advocates say the softer bread is better for sandwiches because the fillings stay in place, versus the traditional stiff-and-crunchy baguette which squishes out the contents when you bite down.
Defenders of tradition note that properly baked bread has texture and flavor and is an equal partner in the flavor of the sandwich; it’s not just a bland delivery vessel for toppings. And if they’re getting squished out when you bite, you’ve got too much crap on the sandwich. All you need is quality butter, a bit of meat, maybe some cheese, and you’re good. Best sandwich I ever had in Paris was like this, made by a guy in a nondescript wooden hut outside the Petit Palais.
The trick to getting a good baguette is to ask for bien cuit (well cooked) and see what they say. If they want to take a par cooked baguette and throw it in the oven for a few minutes, move on, because they’ve adopted the trend and the fully baked baguette is a compromise. On the other hand, if they sniff and say “of course” as if it’s crazy not to properly bake it, then settle in, because this is a place that makes the good stuff.
Last quick hint, probably too late for the OP - if any credit card machine offers to let you pay in euros or US dollars, always pick euros. Unless you’ve got a terrible card, the exchange rate the store gives you is much worse than what your credit card gives you.
Hello all, we had a WONDERFUL time in Paris! Just about everything worked out perfectly, so thank you.
The worker at the La Defense station was extraordinarily helpful. We got the 3-day pass which covered our Zone 3 to Paris for both Metro and RER. She gave me the child rate cards for our two kids, which was about half-price. Without even asking the kids’ age.
We skipped Versailles as we decided on more time in Normandy. Seeing Mont-Saint-Michel instead was a transcendent experience, and possibly our favorite place in France.
Food was great, and we just stopped at different restaurants at random at whatever neighborhoods were in. The only planned one was La Procope because of the history. It was one of our first meals in France and we had our escargot. We liked the Marais area the best. If they were gouging us tourists for food, we didn’t notice. The food and service was uniformly excellent and prices not too much different than here in Hawaii.
No pickpockets or scams that I saw. We took the precautions, but at no time did I feel wary of those around me, even on the subway. Still, an ounce of prevention and all that.
We brought plenty of Euros for the buskers, and they deserved it. I can no longer look at the rappers and spray-paint people in Waikiki the same. In Paris, we were treated to violins playing waltzes, a ten-person marching band, and a guy with a frickin’ harp!
La Cenerentola at the Palais Garnier was a treat. Gawking at the foyer during intermission was probably my favorite part.
We did the Louvre on a Friday night, with a 6:30pm entry. The Mona Lisa had maybe a dozen people around it, and I was shocked how small it was. I was more impressed with the gigantic “Wedding Feast at Cana” piece directly across from it, and the Napoleon paintings, especially his coronation. The Galerie d’Apollon with the French crown jewels was overwhelming, as were the Greek and Egyptian exhibits. I guess I’m not enough of an art snob to wonder why the Mona Lisa is the most popular attraction at the Louvre?
We timed it right with the many events. The Nuit Blanche party was fun to see Paris so alive at night. The Grape Festival at Montmatre was exciting for Anya, who at age 17 could taste wine for the first time.
Luxembourg is the most underrated day trip ever. What a fascinating place, with stunning overlooks around the city. We did a free 2-hour tour where we learned lots. And going 200mph on a train to get there was a feature.
Omaha Beach was rather understated, especially compared to places like Gettysburg with tons of statues and cannons. But with the shallow long beaches, it helped you realize what a tall order it was, like Pickett’s Charge across sand. Looks a lot different than the short beach in Saving Private Ryan (filmed in Ireland).
The only thing that wasn’t perfect was Disneyland. Yes, the kids enjoyed the rides, architecture and characters just fine. But I estimated the crowds totally wrong. I figured first Tuesday in October was a good bet with kids in school; especially checking those Disney Queue Times sites. Average 1st Tuesday in October 2016-2021: 15% full. And that’s excluding 2020. What happened this year to make it “Packed” at 76%?
I’m going to piggyback on this older thread because it’s quite similar to my questions. We’re planning to visit Paris over Thanksgiving break. This means landing on Wed morning after an overnight flight, flying home on Sunday around noon, giving us 3 full days (Thu/Fri/Sat) and one partial day (Wed). It’s a similar trip that we did last Thanksgiving to London, which we greatly enjoyed.
With the short time we’ll stay in the city (possible trip out to Versailles) and just concentrate on a few major sights. I’ve been to Paris before, my wife hasn’t. We know we’ll be going back so we don’t feel the need to see everything. A lot of the advice in this thread has been helpful to me for planning.
We expect to visit the Louvre and get a guided tour. A trip up the Eiffel Tower and a cruise on the Siene are also high on our list. Trying to decide if a cabaret show is worth it; it doesn’t need to be the Moulin Rouge. Also trying to decide on a second museum, either the Musée d’Orsay or the Musée de l’Orangerie. Probably Sacre Coeur as well.
Any Christmas time events to see or visit? The Festival of Lights at the Jardin des Plantes looks interesting; we really liked Christmas at Kew in London last year. Not sure what to expect for weather, but we’re from Boston so we have clothes for the temps/rain.
D’Orsay, I’d say.
If you’re going to the Eiffel in daytime, the Musée Rodin with its sculpture garden is right around the corner, as well. Just past Hôtel des Invalides, also worth seeing.
If you are at all interested in any Modern Art, I recommend Centre Pompidou as well. Or the Fondation Louis Vuitton might work depending on what they’re showing at the time (this past Christmastime, it was Rothko. All the Rothko!) - just the building itself is well worth the visit, it’s an impresive Gehry design.
The Christmas Market near Eiffel is quite good, but it won’t be running at Thanksgiving.
