My first trip to Paris. Need advice please!
 

My wife and I will be going to Paris for the first time. We land at
CDG on 5th morning and then have a train to catch to florence on 9th
evening.

Questions:

1. What kind of pass is good for us. We arrive Paris on Tuesday and
leave Paris on Saturday evening. We plan to do usual trourist
stuff...visit Museams, walks, etc...

2. What kind if Museum pass should we take? I mean is it worth taking 5
day pass or just 3 days is enough!!

3. Can some one please tell 'MUST-SEE' attractions!! Thanks

4. What kind of weather do we expect in paris from 5th April to 9th
April.

5. Any packing suggestions...

I appreciate your feedback and look forward for the suggestions..Hoping
for a great weather in Paris.

-MB

Re: My first trip to Paris. Need advice please!
 

Having used a variety of transportation passes, we have found that, if
you are not there for a Monday-Sunday week, just buying tickets in
"carnets" (SP?) of 10 is as easy and cost effective as any of the 1, 2
or 3 day transit passes.

We usually get a 3 day museum pass, not because it saves money, because
that is questionable, but it does mean that you do not have to stand in
lines, some of which get to be very long.

Please be sure to see the Musee d'Orsay, our absolute favorite in
Paris. Not only are the paintings spectacular, the building, a
converted railway station is fabulous.

Hope this very personal opinionhelps.

Gordon

Re: My first trip to Paris. Need advice please!
 

"2. What kind if Museum pass should we take? I mean is it worth taking
5 day pass or just 3 days is enough!!"

How many museums do you want to see? I would strongly recommend the
Musee D'Orsay (featuring impressionists and other 19th century art) and
the Louvre, and would say that the rest depends on your interests. On
a short visit like yours you might not want to visit museums every day.

"3. Can some one please tell 'MUST-SEE' attractions!! Thanks"

In addition to those two museums, you should definitely see Notre Dame,
the Sainte Chapelle church, and Montmartre. The Eiffel Tower and the
Bateaux-Mouches boat ride are touristy, but they are well worth doing.
If you have the budget, a three-star restaurant is definitely an
experience worth trying once. The Pompidou Center is one of the
foremost museums of modern art. If you don't like modern art, you
should still see this unique building from the outside. Versailles and
Chartres make rewarding day trips, but given that you only have a few
days you might want to stick to Paris itself.

If you tell us more about your interests, we can give you more specific
recommendations.

"4. What kind of weather do we expect in paris from 5th April to 9th
April."

Go to www.weather.com, enter Paris in the search box, and click on
"averages and records".

Re: My first trip to Paris. Need advice please!
 

Try Weather.com in a few days. Right now the 10 day forecast is a few
days short and predicts 40 - 55. It will be a bit chillier than
Florence. The addition of a light sweater will do.

The museum pass will let you skip lines but will cost a bit more if you
are hitting the big museums. The Louvre, for example, will take most of
a day. With the pass you can also manage to see a given museum in a
couple of shorter spurts and change a given day.

For both cities pack several pairs of good walking shoes and be prepared
for rain.

Mintoo wrote:

    > My wife and I will be going to Paris for the first time. We land at
    > CDG on 5th morning and then have a train to catch to florence on 9th
    > evening.
    >
    > Questions:
    >
    > 1. What kind of pass is good for us. We arrive Paris on Tuesday and
    > leave Paris on Saturday evening. We plan to do usual trourist
    > stuff...visit Museams, walks, etc...
    >
    > 2. What kind if Museum pass should we take? I mean is it worth taking 5
    > day pass or just 3 days is enough!!
    >
    > 3. Can some one please tell 'MUST-SEE' attractions!! Thanks
    >
    > 4. What kind of weather do we expect in paris from 5th April to 9th
    > April.
    >
    > 5. Any packing suggestions...
    >
    > I appreciate your feedback and look forward for the suggestions..Hoping
    > for a great weather in Paris.
    >
    > -MB
    >

Re: My first trip to Paris. Need advice please!
 

thanks for all your replies. I appreciate it. We will be taking the
metro from CDG to the hotel (one time only on 5th). Then till 9th
evening we will be in Paris. We are not sure how much we will use the
metro. We plan to visit Musee d'Orsay and Louvre for sure. We would
also take a Cruise Seine River. We plan to go to Versailles,
Sacré-Coeur, Napoleon's tomb, Note Dame. Is the show Moulin Rounge
worth watching?

We bought Rick Steve's tour guide for Paris/Rome/Venice. Hoping that it
will be very useful.

Any comments?

Re: My first trip to Paris. Need advice please!
 

"Mintoo" <[email protected]> wrote in news:1111784895.121763.271780
@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

    > thanks for all your replies. I appreciate it. We will be taking the
    > metro from CDG to the hotel (one time only on 5th). Then till 9th
    > evening we will be in Paris. We are not sure how much we will use the
    > metro. We plan to visit Musee d'Orsay and Louvre for sure. We would
    > also take a Cruise Seine River. We plan to go to Versailles,
    > Sacré-Coeur, Napoleon's tomb, Note Dame. Is the show Moulin Rounge
    > worth watching?
    >
    > We bought Rick Steve's tour guide for Paris/Rome/Venice. Hoping that it
    > will be very useful.
    >
    > Any comments?
    >
    >

The Moulin Rouge is a landmark, but not one for everyone. I wouldn't go if
you gave me the price of the night. On the other hand you have good things
listed, but do take time to walk along the Seine (From the Trocadero across
from the Eiffel Tower to the Place d'Alma is nice. Walk from Triomphe to
Concorde then stroll the Jardin des Tuilleries.

Rick Steve's isn't as reliable as say Michelin Green on tourist spots, is
horrible for hotels and restaurants and should generate discussion from
people whose view is such that you will think I gave him high praise!

Re: My first trip to Paris. Need advice please!
 

Mintoo wrote:

    > My wife and I will be going to Paris for the first time. We land at
    > CDG on 5th morning and then have a train to catch to florence on 9th
    > evening.
    > Questions:
    > 1. What kind of pass is good for us. We arrive Paris on Tuesday and
    > leave Paris on Saturday evening. We plan to do usual trourist
    > stuff...visit Museams, walks, etc...
    > 2. What kind if Museum pass should we take? I mean is it worth taking 5
    > day pass or just 3 days is enough!!

You should be able to get lots done in three days. If you arrive in the 5th
your are probably going to be too tired to want to do much. Then leaving on
the 9th you won't be able to do much that day, but you've three full days
in between.

    > 3. Can some one please tell 'MUST-SEE' attractions!! Thanks

That depends on what you are interested in. If you like old art, go to the
Louvre. If you like Impressionism, go to Musee d'Orsay. If you are
interested in arm and arms, visit the Musee d'Arme at Les Invalides.
Napolean's tomb is in the church right next door to it. If you like
cathedrals check out Notre Dame, just a short walk from the Louvre. One of
my personal favourites was Cemetere Pere LaChaisse.

    > 4. What kind of weather do we expect in paris from 5th April to 9th
    > April.

Some cool, some warm, some rain.

    > 5. Any packing suggestions...

Clothing for warm, cool and wet weather.

Re: My first trip to Paris. Need advice please!
 

Mintoo wrote:

    > thanks for all your replies. I appreciate it. We will be taking the
    > metro from CDG to the hotel (one time only on 5th). Then till 9th
    > evening we will be in Paris. We are not sure how much we will use the
    > metro. We plan to visit Musee d'Orsay and Louvre for sure. We would
    > also take a Cruise Seine River. We plan to go to Versailles,
    > Sacré-Coeur, Napoleon's tomb, Note Dame. Is the show Moulin Rounge
    > worth watching?

If you must see Moulin Rouge, combine it with your trip to Monmartre and
Sacre Coeur because it is right at the bottom of the hill. Just be advised
that it is a seedy part of the city. Personally, I wouldn't bother with
Moulin Rouge. It's pretty expensive and it's tourist fare.

If you are going on a river cruise you might be interested in the one we
did, a combination of river cruise and van tour around the city. They will
pick you up at your hotel, take you to the boat and return you to the hotel
after the driving tour. It will give you a preview of the city and a
chance to see things you might want to explore later.




    > We bought Rick Steve's tour guide for Paris/Rome/Venice. Hoping that it
    > will be very useful.

Re: My first trip to Paris. Need advice please!
 

Thanks Dave. How and where do you book this combination tour? Can I do
it from US it self?

We would like to do this on 5th April itself....that way we will get an
over view of the city and some background before we dive into it.

Re: My first trip to Paris. Need advice please!
 

Paris is not really big, depends how long you plan to stay in
Versailles and Louvres where you can really spend time, but for
the rest you need one day. You would have time to do other things,
as Marais area with place des Vosges, from the Louvre you can go
to the near Palais Royal. Don't forget to walk along the seine
river near Pont des Arts, with a beautifull view to "ile de la citée"
the heart of Paris. There's also the Sainte Chapelle 5 mns walk from Notre
Dame much more beautifull inside. I do recommend Luxembourg Garden. And 30
kms from Paris the wonderfull Castle of "Vaux le Viconte" for me nicer
than Versailles but difficult for access. You forget Eiffel Tower and also
have a drink on the top of Samaritaine or Montparnasse tower, rue de la
paix with place Vendome is neat too, but don't bring your wife or
girlfriend, jewels are crazy expensive...
Paris the most beautifull city in the world.

Re: My first trip to Paris. Need advice please!
 

Please - what was the name of the van - boat tour? Cost?

Re: My first trip to Paris. Need advice please!
 

I would be tempted to skip Sacre Coeur & Napoleon's Tomb. I would
definitely include La Chapelle. You have a full 3 days planned. When
you take the Seine cruise skip the food. It is the worst value/quality
you will find. And all food in Paris is expensive.

Mintoo wrote:

    > thanks for all your replies. I appreciate it. We will be taking the
    > metro from CDG to the hotel (one time only on 5th). Then till 9th
    > evening we will be in Paris. We are not sure how much we will use the
    > metro. We plan to visit Musee d'Orsay and Louvre for sure. We would
    > also take a Cruise Seine River. We plan to go to Versailles,
    > Sacré-Coeur, Napoleon's tomb, Note Dame. Is the show Moulin Rounge
    > worth watching?
    >
    > We bought Rick Steve's tour guide for Paris/Rome/Venice. Hoping that it
    > will be very useful.
    >
    > Any comments?
    >

Re: My first trip to Paris. Need advice please!
 

"And all food in Paris is expensive."

That's not true. Bakeries, cafes, and creperies are good options for
inexpensive meals. There are also great restaurants in the US $20-30
price range if you don't order wine. I prefer to focus on French food
while in Paris, but there are loads of inexpensive Asian and Middle
Eastern restaurants. Whatever you choose to eat, just avoid
restaurants that are close to major tourist sites or that are obviously
aimed at tourists (cheesy names, 5-language menus, etc.)

Re: My first trip to Paris. Need advice please!
 

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] oups.com...
    > "And all food in Paris is expensive."
    > That's not true. Bakeries, cafes, and creperies are good options for
    > inexpensive meals. >

What about inexpensive real meals with meat and vegetables, not just
pastries, bread and candy?

Re: My first trip to Paris. Need advice please!
 

[email protected] wrote:

    >... Whatever you choose to eat, just avoid
    >restaurants that are close to major tourist sites or that are obviously
    >aimed at tourists (cheesy names, 5-language menus, etc.)

They're not all bad. I have had acceptably good meals in some of them.
Not haute cuisine, but the prices aren't haute cuisine prices.

--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED