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Going to Paris...

rhett7660

rhett7660

macrumors G5
Original poster
Jan 9, 2008
14,411
4,536
Sunny, Southern California
Hello all...

I know we have some world travelers here, or some who might live in the area, so I thought I would ask for some suggestions on places to eat, places to have a good cup of coffee, or a place to experience the various cheeses and meats if you will.

We are going to be doing the usual tourist things... but open to other maybe not so famous sights and scenes of the area. Places we plan on going to:

  • Eiffel Tower
  • Lourvre Museum
  • Notre Dame (yes we know it burned up...)
  • Arc de Triomphe
  • Catacombes
  • Moulin Rouge (just because)
  • Galeries Lafayette

We will be there for seven days plus two days worth of travel... So if there are any suggestions please post them!

Thanks
 
If you're going to see Notre Dame from the outside, then go see Sainte-Chapelle while you're on the Ile de la Cite. Absolutely stunning royal chapel with incredible stained glass windows.

If you want to see a big cathedral, Chartres is a short train ride away and is just as impressive as Notre Dame, if not quite as internationally iconic. There is also Sacre Coeur, in Montmartre not far from the Moulin Rouge.

Centre Pompidou (modern art) and the Musee d'Orsay (early modern art) are the other two essential big museums. There are the smaller standalone Picasso Museum and Rodin Museum if you're interested in those two artists specifically.

I haven't been to Paris for a while, but I loved hanging out in the various neighborhoods enjoying the food, cafés, shopping, smaller art galleries, and overall ambiance. Leave yourself enough time to do some of this, not just run back and forth between the big tourist destinations.
 
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I second @Silencio's recommendation of the Musee d'Orsay, and would add my own of the Musee de Cluny, one of my favourite places in Paris, and home to the "Lion and the Unicorn" tapestries.

In addition, if access is still possible after last year's fire at Notre Dame, I would recommend a visit to the museum of Roman Paris, (the Crypte) the entrance to which lies in the square in front of Notre Dame cathedral (which itself would have been well worth a visit if this was still possible).
 
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Silencio said:
I haven't been to Paris for a while, but I loved hanging out in the various neighborhoods enjoying the food, cafés, shopping, smaller art galleries, and overall ambiance. Leave yourself enough time to do some of this, not just run back and forth between the big tourist destinations.
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I agree. Often one of the best parts of a vacation in a foreign city is wandering with no direction in mind. Some of the most interesting places, food and people you meet will be by accident. I always go to one or two large old style food markets. Not grocery stores but old markets which usually have seafood, meat, veg, baked goods and a few counters where you can enjoy an inexpensive lunch or snack of local goods and wine. Enjoy!!
 
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Silencio said:
I haven't been to Paris for a while, but I loved hanging out in the various neighborhoods enjoying the food, cafés, shopping, smaller art galleries, and overall ambiance. Leave yourself enough time to do some of this, not just run back and forth between the big tourist destinations.
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Oh this is one of the things we want to do!
 
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rhett7660 said:
Hello all...

I know we have some world travelers here, or some who might live in the area, so I thought I would ask for some suggestions on places to eat, places to have a good cup of coffee, or a place to experience the various cheeses and meats if you will.

We are going to be doing the usual tourist things... but open to other maybe not so famous sights and scenes of the area. Places we plan on going to:

  • Eiffel Tower
  • Lourvre Museum
  • Notre Dame (yes we know it burned up...)
  • Arc de Triomphe
  • Catacombes
  • Moulin Rouge (just because)
  • Galeries Lafayette

We will be there for seven days plus two days worth of travel... So if there are any suggestions please post them!

Thanks
Click to expand...
Sounds good, all good places!

We are going to Paris on 1 April for a week, but will be renting a car and traveling around France visiting gardens and one of those in downtown Paris, plus swinging by Norte Dame when we come back to leave.

You probably don’t have time, but a day trip to Versailles is well worth it. It might knock your socks off. ;) You can get there on the Paris Metro.
 
Huntn said:
Sounds good, all good places!

We are going to Paris on 1 April for a week, but will be renting a car and traveling around France visiting gardens and one of those in downtown Paris, plus swinging by Norte Dame when we come back to leave.

You probably don’t have time, but a day trip to Versailles is well worth it. It might knock your socks off. ;) You can get there on the Paris Metro.
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Agreed that Versailles is amazing, and well worth a visit, as is St-Germain-en-Laye.
 
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Another place I find absolutely fascinating is the church, a cathedral actually, known as the Basilica of St-Denis.

It is the very first church ever built in the Gothic style of architecture (or the first church that is home to all of the architectural elements that represent Gothic architecture), and is also the burial place of French monarchs for the best part off eight centuries - which lies in a somewhat grotty suburb of north Paris, St-Denis.
 
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Hudzilla95 said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacré-Cœur,_Paris

This place is pretty nice to walk up (get closing them rings) and has pretty nice views up the top.
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Seconding this. I lived in Paris for a year and it took me several months before I got to Sacré-Cœur, when I finally did I had to slap myself for my stupidity in not getting there earlier. The view from atop that hill is stunning, and most importantly it gives you a good sense of how the city is actually laid out. A good thing to do on the first day, really.

The surrounding area is also very nice to just walk around in, lots of relaxed and unique restaurants which don't necessarily burn your wallet to a cinder, as well as bars, cafés, quirky little shops etc. Stroll southwest towards Abbesses and Pigalle, rather than east towards Château Rouge because that area is less friendly, even quite unsafe at night (I got robbed twice there, granted it was 20 years ago but still...).

Wherever you do go, please watch your wallet & stuff.

And enjoy the trip! Paris is a magical place.

Oh and people, it's Louvre ;)
 
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Oohara said:
Seconding this. I lived in Paris for a year and it took me several months before I got to Sacré-Cœur, when I finally did I had to slap myself for my stupidity in not getting there earlier. The view from atop that hill is stunning, and most importantly it gives you a good sense of how the city is actually laid out. A good thing to do on the first day, really.

The surrounding area is also very nice to just walk around in, lots of relaxed and unique restaurants which don't necessarily burn your wallet to a cinder, as well as bars, cafés, quirky little shops etc. Stroll southwest towards Abbesses and Pigalle, rather than east towards Château Rouge because that area is less friendly, even quite unsafe at night (I got robbed twice there, granted it was 20 years ago but still...).

Wherever you do go, please watch your wallet & stuff.

And enjoy the trip! Paris is a magical place.

Oh and people, it's Louvre ;)
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We have heard about the various things that can happen. So far we have been told to get the lanyard that goes around the neck to hold our items...
 
https://cafedeflore.fr/?lang=en Awesome omelets
Les Invalides
There’s an area behind Norte Dame that’s pretty nice.
I wouldn’t suggest going to Versailles unless you can time your visit to not be overran with insanely huge crowds.

But, in the end, Paris is just an enormous city. Like, it’s insane just how big everything is. I honestly wouldn’t cram your schedule with every single touristy site. You’re going to want and need a few days just to yourselves that isn’t standing in long lines (louvre is always super long and winding down). Explore. Pick and choose your battles and just enjoy yourselves while learning a lot of history.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
I second @Silencio's recommendation of the Musee d'Orsay, and would add my own of the Musee de Cluny, one of my favourite places in Paris, and home to the "Lion and the Unicorn" tapestries.

In addition, if access is still possible after last year's fire at Notre Dame, I would recommend a visit to the museum of Roman Paris, (the Crypte) the entrance to which lies in the square in front of Notre Dame cathedral (which itself would have been well worth a visit if this was still possible).
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The d'Orsay was definitely my favorite. Definitely worth hitting.

If it's your thing, I would book a Champagne tour. It's really pretty neat.

I recommend this one https://o-chateau.com/en/degustations/champagne-en/champagne-day-trip

They went to Taittinger (which is a big Champagne house) and then two smaller ones. Definitely cool.
 
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rhett7660 said:
We have heard about the various things that can happen. So far we have been told to get the lanyard that goes around the neck to hold our items...
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I wanted to open a telegram travel group so bad. Where people can plan trips together and meet up. I won't be traveling nowhere near that side of the world until they get this corona virus together
 
If you fancy a good Crêpes, I would recommend you to go to Saint Michel to the Crêperie de Cluny, I've been myself two years ago, it was delicious!
Address: 20 Rue de la Harpe, 75005 Paris, France
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Paris Tourism: Tripadvisor has 5,006,513 reviews of Paris Hotels, Attractions, and Restaurants making it your best Paris resource.
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Sacré-Coeur is just up the hill from the Moulin Rouge, so if you're going there, doing both together will save some travel time. It provides a nice overview of the city.

Galeries Lafayette isn't too far from those two either, and Boulevard Haussmann is the backbone of the shopping district.

I'll also recommend going to d'Orsay, which is housed in a converted train station.

Place des Vosges was part of a "hidden Paris" bike tour I took, along with the Louvre and ride along the Seine. The square/park is a nice place to kill a bit of time, but that depends on whether you're the go-go-go or chill type. Although the tour was only a couple hours, it's a good way to see a lot in a short time. The tour was based out of a café in the Marais, which is a low-key area to walk around.

Don't expect to get too close to Notre Dame. You can see it from across the bank, but the perimeter was fenced off, even before they decided to close/cleanse the surrounding area due to lead contamination (this was after I visited last year, so I probably got a dose).

For the known tourist attractions like the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, etc., buy tickets in advance, and consider the "express" option if there is one. It might not be so bad in winter, but during the high season, it saves some time, also considering all these places have security screening before entry.

I know there is a bus line that is sort of a hop on/hop off informal tour, but buses take longer to get from place to place than the Metro, so keep that in mind.

There is a lot to see, so depending on the type of traveler you are (in-depth, or see everything quickly), you may wish to define and limit the targets.
 
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rdillon2008 said:
I wanted to open a telegram travel group so bad. Where people can plan trips together and meet up. I won't be traveling nowhere near that side of the world until they get this corona virus together
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I’ve already mentioned to my wife the concern about corona virus for our trip scheduled in 1 month. Keeping an eye on that.
 
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D.T. said:
www.clothingarts.com

Pick-Pocket Proof® Adventure Travel Pants

Secure travel pants with 11 multi-secure pockets proven to prevent theft. Patent pending design offers 2 & 3 levels of protection between a wallet and the world.
www.clothingarts.com www.clothingarts.com

Seriously, they make pants, shorts, convertible shorts, skirts ...
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I bought their pants for my trip to Europe and I loved them. I could carry a ton of stuff and my wallet/phone were secure.
 
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