We are a family of 4 and just returned from 3 days in Paris. I will try to keep it as short and not repeat the obvious (i.e. Notre Dame was beautiful) but will do my best to make suggestions and answer any questions. Unless it was really good or bad, I will choose not to mention the restaurants. I may have to piece this apart one day at a time. My first tip is get a good map that clearly has the street names AND the metro stops. I had a few maps but not one that had both and a few times I had some trouble locating our metro stop. In my opinion, some of the best time spent in preparation is to get a good understanding of the metro, once you do the city opens up to you!
Hotel:
We stayed at the Hotel du Collège de France in the Latin Quarter and loved it. Tip: If you consider staying here, try and get room #62, it has a 30 foot wrap around balcony and you can see the Eiffel tower! We stood out there every night watching it sparkle (it does that at the top of every hour at dark for 5 minutes). HCF is close to several metro stops and is walking distance to both Notre Dame and the Pantheon. The hotel is quiet, friendly and clean. Another tip: for my fellow coffee freaks, call down every morning and order a hot pot of coffee with a pot of steaming milk, we made our own version of cappuccinos every morning.
Day 1 - Arrived 8am and our prearranged transfer was waiting for us with at the airport with a sign with our name on it. The company is Transerial (www.transerial.com) and it cost 60 Euros for a private van for the 4 of us with our bags from CDG to our hotel. All options considered (taxi, metro, RER), I am glad that we did this. When you get there from your overnight flight, it might be worth a few extra bucks to be handled quickly and comfortably to your hotel. And when you add up the other options, it really is not that much more in cost, if any.
We dumped our bags at the hotel and walked over the Seine and the Ile-de-la-Cité to Notre Dame. My daughters and I walked up the 387 steps for a great view of the city, the old bell and the gargoyles. Then we walked around the side to the rear of the church and crossed a bridge to the Île Saint-Louis and window shopped and got Berthillon ice cream and a few crepes on the street. We did this at the advice of other trip advisors and would suggest it also to get a good feel of the old city.
We then went back over to the hotel, checked in and freshened up. We then walked straight up the Boulevard St. Germain and made our way over to the Musee d%26#39;Orsay. This museum is located on the left bank of the Seine, opposite the Tuileries Gardens, the museum was installed in the former Orsay railway station, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. Great collections from Renoir, Cezanne, Monet. But, one of my favorites Van Gogh%26#39;s Starry night was on loan to another museum!
That was enough for the first day, we grabbed some dinner and took a cab back to the Latin quarter and walked around. The St. Michael square area was very active with college students performing and having fun. That%26#39;s it for Day one!
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MAPS pick up a Paris Practique booklet,it%26#39;s small to fit in bag, shows Paris by eme in complete detail, metro stations, taxi stands, sights etc. Another great tip I got from TA people before my last visit.
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Cydspal, thanks for the report.
We%26#39;re going to take those steps in Notre Dame and visit Musee d%26#39;Orsay again over the next few days, so will read this again once we get to Paris.
We%26#39;ve lined up Père Lachaise and after that, we%26#39;re pretty easy - thanks again!
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Ferdia35,
Let me know if you have any pretrip questions that I might be able to answer. We did most of the big sites: Eiffel, Lourve, etc.
I will tell you that I wish I had listened to the trip advisor advice and gotten to the Eiffel first thing in the morning, those lines are a great way to kill your day!
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I%26#39;m 57,6%26#39;3%26quot; and 40 pounds overweight. The views I%26#39;ve seen on line from the top of ND are SPECTACULAR!! Any breaks or landing areas during the 387 step climb?
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Thank you Cydspal - I will take you up on that! We%26#39;re going there early in the AM.
Tom, check my profile for the answer to your question.
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Hey Tom,
I don%26#39;t think that I remember any any breaks, but we didnt feel rushed, you can do it at your own pace. Great basketball you got going up there in NC!
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Cydspal:
Thanks for the reply.
I don%26#39;t get any exercise %26amp; I%26#39;m totally to blame. I work at home on the computer.I live on the lake %26amp; can exercise any time. My 92 pound wife doesn%26#39;t want to hear my excuses %26amp; I understand.
I%26#39;m 6%26#39; 3%26quot; tall. When we married 30 years ago , I had a 46%26quot; chest %26amp; a 32%26quot; waist. Things have shifted dramatically. I climbed the 1,000 steps of The Pyramid of the Moon at Teotichuacan in 1983. The altitude is 7,000 feet plus the pyramid. I had no trouble then.
I really don%26#39;t want to embarrass my wife, myself or slow the line behind me.
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Tom, regarding Notre Dame...
Yes there are breaks.
You go about 1/4 of the way up and stop at a gift shop. Then about 3/4 of the way there is the Chimera Gallery which is where the famous photos of the views with the Gargoyles are taken, you cross over to the other tower and continue to the very top.
The walk down is one shot but you have gravity on your side.
It is totally worth the effort.
Cheers
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