Paris Plans

[kristengingera]

Hey all! I am an extreme, detailed planner (a curse I have to live with lol* not for lack of trying to let go) and was planning on spending 6 days in Paris. If anyone has suggestions of places I've missed, or great non-touristy places I would love to hear them!

We are staying at Hotel Utrillo in Montmarte area..

Day 1
Flight lands in the morning
Get to hostel, relax/nap for a while
Walk around Montmarte/Sacre Coeur 4 hrs
Walk down Champs Elysees 2 hrs
Eiffel Tower at night
Day 2
Jardins des Tuileries 1 hr
Musee d'Orsay 3 hrs
Walk along le Seine to Ile de la Cite 2 hr
Notre Dame 2 hr
Day 3
Louvre 3 hrs
Tour the Marais 2 hrs
Picasso Museum 1 hr
Day 4
Musee Rodin 2 hrs
Hotel des Invalides 1 hr
Tour the Latin Quarter 4 hrs
Take a Bateau Mouche 1 hr
Day 5
Tour St-Germain-des-Pres 3 hrs
Les Catacombs 1 hr

On the 6th day, we are catching a night train to Venice so I wanted to plan nothing to intense on that day. Also, there is some time for extras on the 5th day. Any suggestions?

[madamtrashheap]

kirstengingera, welcome back Type-A! Are you still going with this itinerary? pretravel.proboards1.com/index.cgi?board=intinary&action=display&n=1&thread=7257&page=1

I just posted this information on Paris by Night pretravel.proboards1.com/index.cgi?board=intinary&action=display&n=1&thread=7309 that might give you some off the beaten track ideas and I recall that you were planning London last time you visited the Boards, so the same advice still applies - plan what you'd like to see, but also allow for the surprise detours that come up and often are a highlight.

For Paris, this looks fine, just a couple of notes:

• Depending on the time in the morning you land, you might find your hostel isn't ready for check-in until 2 or 3pm, so this might put a dampener on your first day schedule.
  
• I'm not sure I'd put such strict time limits on Museums and areas - you'll get sidetracked in the most wonderful ways and that's the best bit about travel. Plus this doesn't allow for the queues to get into some Museums (Louvre, d'Orsay, etc), even with the Museums and Monuments Card nor for delays on the Metro that may occur.
  
• Three hours for the Louvre...that's a quick visit! Even if you're not into art, the Antiquties rooms and Napoleon Salons are worth visiting, plus there are a lot of poeple to make your way around in this museum in particular - just keep that in mind
  
• The Jardin des Tuilleries won't take an hour to walk through, and it's the front yard of the Louvre (across the river from Musee d'Orsay), so you might like to rejig that, or even visit the Luxembourg Gardens instead - just a little prettier than the Tuilleries. Or even the Botanical Gardens (Jardins des Plantes) is worth a visit.
  
• Musee Rodin - if find the gardens to be a great place for breakfast, so you might like to encompass both. In fact, I find I prefer the statues in the gardens to the museum, but that's a personal choice.
  
• Hotel des Invalides - you'll need more than an hour here as there are two major sights: Musee de l'Armee and Napoleon's Tomb. If you only visit Napoleon, then an hour is fine. You could head down to the Luxembourg Gardens from here.
  
• Notre Dame - is right across the river from the Latin Quarter, so you could put these two together and perhaps have dinner in the LQ after a little exploring (not sure you'll need 4 hours for the Quarter, unless you include dinner).
  
• Bateau Mouche - there are evening cruises (and dinner cruises but these can be a little expensive, but up to you) that show Paris from a different angle.
  
• Les Catacombs - you'll need at least an hour once you're inside and take a map as the entrance and exit are in different places.
  
• I also notice you haven't included the newly (well, in the last 12 months) reopened l'Orangerie with Monet's Waterlillies series - might like to add that to your list while you're in the d'Orsay/Louvre/Champs area.
  

Other things to look at: Versailles (this could be done on Day 5, as long as it's not a Monday), Musee du Vin, Georges Pompidou centre (even if you're not into modern art, the exterior is v cool), Opera Garnier (you can do a tour, or just poke your head inside to see the main theatre room).

You could use Day 6 as a "revisit" day, in case there's somewhere you really enjoyed and want to go back or somewhere you didn't get to yet because of fabulous detours!

[kristengingera]

Yes I am still following the same itinerary so I already have a day for Versailles.

I understand that one of the greatest joys of travelling can be the adventures you find by getting sidetracked, and I am totally prepared and anticipating that happening. If I end up not seeing everything on my list but have amazing memories of finding an old bookstore on a sidestreet, or being invited home for fresh pasta in Italy, I will be one happy camper!

But what I don't want happening is aimlessly wandering around the city trying to figure out where to go next or, like you said, going from one end of the city to the and then having to turn around again!

Thanks for the tip about the Musee l'Orangerie! Definately adding that to my list!

[kristengingera]

I had planned to do a daytrip to Versailles on my 6th day and a daytrip out to Normandy on the 7th but because of the dates I have booked for my flight into Paris and the fact that there is no logistical way of us making it to Bayeux in time for our tour, I have changed the order. Think this works?

Day 1, Saturday
Flight lands in the morning
Get to hostel, relax for a while
Walk around Montmarte/Sacre Coeur
Walk down Champs Elysees
Eiffel Tower at night
Day 2, Sunday
Jardins des Tuileries
Musee d'Orsay
Walk along le Seine to Ile de la Cite
Notre Dame
Day 3, Monday
Louvre
Tour the Marais
Picasso Museum
Day 4, Tuesday
Musee Rodin
Hotel des Invalides
Tour the Latin Quarter
Take a Bateau Mouche
Day 5, Wednesday
Day trip to Versailles
Day 6, Thursday
Tour St-Germain-des-Pres
Les Catacombs
Musee L'Orangerie
Catch train to Bayeux at 16:00
Day 7, Friday
Battlebus Tour of the Canadian Beaches
Catch train to Paris around 17:30
Catch nighttrain to Venice around 22:00

It's the two trains on the last day that make me a little leary...I hope it will work. Has anyone stayed in Bayeux before? I found Hotel Reine Mathilde, 55eur for a double room. Seems clean, reasonably priced I think.