I love planning our trips to Paris. For months before we leave, "I go to Paris" via internet in search of restaurants, shops and sites to see. Travel sites like
Virtual Tourist and
Trip Advisor are great sources of information, especially because of the reader reviews and comments.
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| Itinerary Trip Guide |
As I collect suggestions and possibilities, I begin creating my "itinerary trip guide". All the important information pertinent to our destination ends up in this little book. It's an inexpensive small 4" x 6" photo album with about 24 sleeves. Sometimes I arrange the itinerary by day; another time I arranged it by arrondissement. There are pages with important phone numbers, airline info, emergency contact info, maps and even useful phrases in French. I include useful conversions and hints for souvenirs or particular photos I want to take. This little book is the most important
tour guide I take with me.
And it helps to plan our next trip....I can easily see what we have or have not seen or done.
Staying in an Apartment
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| Our apartment building on rue du Louvre |
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| Our one bedroom apartment on rue du Louvre. |
Staying in an apartment is such a convenience and a good alternative to small Paris hotel rooms. Most short term rentals can be reserved for as few as 3 or 4 days, but the longer you stay the better the price break. We learned a lot from our first rental experience. This time our apartment was located in a very convenient part of the city and the apartment itself was quite comfortable. The difference in finding an OK apt and a good apt is "knowing what you want and need". For us, it was space, an elevator, proximity to a Metro stop preferably the #1 line, a nice sized bathroom with a place for all the toiletries, a washer dryer (if you are staying for more than 2 weeks this is very useful), room to walk around the bed, adequate storage, close to the Seine and have a nice sized TV. These requirements really narrowed down the choices. It is very important when searching that the website have lots of information and lots of photos....if either of these is sparse, BEWARE. We were more than satisfied with both the apt and the agency,
PariStay.
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| Paris Metro System |
A handy Metro map is a must! The
Knopf Mapguide:Paris is so convenient. It's 8 area maps and metro map all in one small (about 4"x6") book. It fits so easily in your purse or travel bag. I have used mine for 3 trips to Paris. It's has that "used" look
but I wouldn't use anything else.
The Paris Metro is incredibly easy to use and can take you to just about any part of the city. I always try to plan a route avoiding the very large interchanges (correspondence) and making as few changes as possible. If you are adventurous, try using the buses. They are well marked, use the same tickets as the Metro, run often and you get to see something while you travel. Also the Batobus on the Seine is useful. It is a "hop on, hop off" boat which makes 6 stops along the river. The stops correspond to some of the main sites (i.e. Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Notre Dame etc.) and you can get on and off as often as you want in a day.
Where Should I Stay
This is an important question if you have not been to Paris before. This is where you should do a little "homework" and try to decide what you most want to see. Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements (arr.) or neighborhoods and each one has it's own personality.
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The arrondissements are numbered starting in the center of Paris and
spiraling clockwise and outward. |
Arrondissements 1-7 are the most popular and include most of the historical sites of the city. The cost of renting an apt or staying in a hotel varies, sometimes greatly, depending on which arrondissement you choose. We've stayed in the 7th arr. near the Invalides (very quiet), the 6th arr. near Gare Montparnesse (rather out there), the 5th arr. near the river in the Latin Quarter (lots of activity, very crowded), on the Ile St.Louis (very cramped room) and in the 1st arr. (the most convenient). Because most of the sites you'll want to see are located in the center of Paris, it's easy to walk to them no matter where you stay. One thing is true, in Paris you WILL walk~a lot.
I'd like to share some of my favorite photos grouped by Arrondissement.
1er arr.
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The Louvre ~also adjacent to the Louvre
is the Musee des Arts et Decoratifs.
The Louvre is absolutely a must see but beware, there is no way you can see it all in a day. |
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The beautiful Tuileries gardens extend from the Louvre
to the Place de la Concorde. There are benches for resting and feeding the pigeons;
and there are several cafes as well. |
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Tuilerie gardens~also L'Orangerie, the museum where the
Monet waterlily murals are housed. |
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Place des Pyramides~many organized tours depart from
this place. The statue is of Joan of Arc. |
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Place Vendome~just further on is the rue de la Paix
and some very exclusive shopping.
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2nd arr.
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Place de St. Eustache. The "head" sculpture is popular with tourists
There is usually always someone having a photo taken. It is quite large. |
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| St. Eustache and the Forum des Halles, a pedestrian shopping area. |
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| St. Eustache has free organ concerts on Sunday evenings. |
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Passage du Grand Cerf. There are many covered passages in
the 2nd. arr. They are beautiful. |
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| Lively rue Montorgueil, a wonderful pedestrian area with lots of restaurants. |
3rd and 4th arr. ~the Marais
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| The Pompidou Center~Museum of Modern Art |
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| Pompidou Center |
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| The Stravinsky fountain, next to the Pompidou Center. |
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Musee Carnavalet, the Paris History Museum (free). This is absolutely a must see.
The museum is actually housed in 2 mansions. |
There is so much to see in the Marais and the shopping streets are wonderful. The 4th arr. also extends to the Ile St. Louis and Ile de la Cite.
Considering all this, you can see: the extensive Picasso collection at the Picasso Museum, the Musee des Arts and Metiers, it's science and inventions, the Hotel Soubise (the national archives) and the not to be missed Place des Vosges~a place of serenity with lots of restaurants in the arcades of the buildings that surround the park.
The Ile de la Cite is the oldest part of Paris with the beautiful Notre Dame and the lovely Square Jean XXIII behind it.
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| The Conciergerie |
Also on the Ile de la Cite; Place Dauphine, the Deportation Memorial and the exquisite
St.Chapelle with floor to ceiling stained glass windows.
From the Ile de la Cite, the Pont Louis-Phillipe connects to the Ile St. Louis. The quais are beautiful, there is a park at the tip of the island and the main place, below, is surrounded by restaurants and cafes.
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| On the weekends the Pont Louis-Phillipe is a popular place to watch the street entertainers. |
5th arr.~The Latin Quartier
The Latin Quarter is well known for the Sorbonne (university) and the Ecole des Beaux Arts (art school). The streets are narrow and lined with ethnic restaurants and cafes. It is full of activity; students and tourists alike. At the Cluny Musee des Moyen Age you can see the "Lady and the Unicorn" tapestry and Gallo-Roman thermal baths.
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| The famous Shakespeare & Co. bookstore is located in the Latin Quarter. |
The large
Jardin des Plantes houses several museums including the Natural History museum and the Mineralogy Museum. The gardens are lovely especially the rose garden in the spring.
The pedestrian street~rue Mouffetard is in this arrondissement as well. Many shops, restaurants and markets line this avenue. The
Mosque de Paris should not be missed. The exotic exquisite architecture and the serenity of the garden are well worth a visit.
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| Mosque de Paris. |
6th Arr.
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| Jardin du Luxembourg |
The most notable sights in the 6th arr. are the Eglise St. Germain des Pres, the famous Cafe des Deux Magots and the expansive Jardin du Luxembourg. St. Sulpice, made famous by the "DaVinci Code" should not be missed; there is usually an organ concert on Sunday. The Saint Germain area is elegant, the shops are wonderful; especially the shoe stores on rue du Cherche-Midi and the romantic Place Furstenburg. A market street, rue Buci, is mostly a pedestrian area with many cafes and an Amorino gelato shop.
7th Arr.
The main sites are Les Invalides, Musee D'Orsay and the Eiffel Tower. The 7th arr. has an endless number of cafes, restaurants, patisserie, shops and a pedestrian area (rue Cler). Personally, I think the 7th arr. is one of the nicest in Paris. It has a casual, friendly ambiance.
The Eiffel Tower can be seen from many parts of the city. It is truly a phenomenal structure. It's possible to make reservations to go up to the 3 floors so that standing in line isn't as bad as it used to be. There is a carnival-like atmosphere around the base of the tower. On the west side of the tower is the large beautiful Parc du Champs de Mars, a wonderful place for a picnic or for viewing the Tower at night. Across the river is the Trocodero and
Palais Chaillot. It is the best sight for photographing the tower. There are also several museums in the Palais including the Marine Museum and the new Architecture Museum.
The Musee D'Orsay has a fabulous collection of Impressionist paintings. The museum is actually a converted railway station that was going to be torn down. There are a couple wonderful restaurants among the exhibits.
The golden dome of the Invalides can be seen for miles. It was built as a hospital for wounded soldiers. Today it contains the Church of St. Louis and the tomb of Napolean and the Musee l'Armee, a large military museum.
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| Napolean's tomb |
I think we must end the tour here....and save some more of the this most beautiful city for another time.
Au revoir Paris~Jusqu'à ce que nous rencontrons encore.
