Here%26#39;s my first draft of my November itinerary, my mom%26#39;s first trip to Paris, my second...comments, please!
Sunday (arrive a.m. from New York)
* Check into hotel located next to Louvre, unpack, shower, drink lots of coffee to stay awake and get on Paris time!
* Walk to Musee D%26#39;Orsay, do a quickie tour
* Siene dinner cruise (departs in front of the D%26#39;Orsay, my mom really wants to do this, so guess I%26#39;m in!)
* Walk back to hotel
Monday
* Louvre (hit big three, planning on spending about two hours there)
* Walk to Ille de la Cite, see Notre Dame and Saint Chapelle
* Casual lunch somewhere (suggestions?)
* Walk back to hotel, shower and dress for dinner
* Walk up to Opera House to see at night (my mom and I are huge Phantom of the Opera fans)
* Dinner at Le Grand Colbert (on rue Vivienne)
* Walk back to hotel
Tuesday
* Full day Normandy bus tour (Cityrama), my mom has her heart set on doing this, too bad we don%26#39;t have more time to spend the night, but the day will be special for her
Wednesday
* Walk to St Germaine
* St Sulpice, Palais du Lexmebourg and Gardens, Pantheon
* Lunch at Les Deux Magots
* Walk back to hotel
* Shower, dress for dinner
* Cab up Champs Elysees
* Le Fouquet%26#39;s for dinner (I%26#39;ll take her to see the Arc and Eiffel tower after dinner at night, we are both afraid of heights, so it will be a quickie view from the ground)
Thursday
* Bus or taxi to Montmarte
* Sacre Couer
* Taxi to Les Invalades (see Napolean%26#39;s tomb)
* Musee Rodin (sculpture garden)
* Light lunch (suggestions?)
* free time, walk around, shower %26amp; dress for dinner
* dinner at (we think) La Tour d%26#39;Argent (quai de la Tournelle)
Friday
* head to CDG for 4 pm flight back to New York (morning free)
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Hi Manhattan,
I made my first trip to Paris with my mom nearly 25 years ago so I wish you a lovely trip. We had about the same number of days to visit. I have been many times since and never grow tired of Paris.
It looks like you have done some research and know the things you most want to see. Are you sure a quickie tour of Musee d%26#39;Orsay will suffice? If you love Impressionism it maybe difficult to tear yourselves away. Great gift shop too.
Wish I could spend Monday with you. What are your %26quot;big three%26quot;? I love Winged Victory but admit to being disappointed in the Mona Lisa. I%26#39;m sure that proves I know nothing about art. :-) After the Louvre you might have lunch at Cador, a lovely tea room on the east side of the Louvre, then walk to the islands. You%26#39;ll have the early afternoon to visit Sainte Chapelle and Notre Dame as well as have ice cream at Bertillion or stop someplace for hot chocolate and still get back to your hotel to prepare for dinner.
The Arc de Triomphe is beautiful at night but the Champs Elysees is disappointing, filled with tourists and megastores. At Christmas it looks beautiful though, perhaps some of the glitter will be in place for you in November.
Normandy is truly awe inspiring. After our first visit of only 2 days my husband and I planned for a longer return as soon as we could save enough $$.
If it were me, I would leave dinner the last night unplanned and choose a place you discover during your visit. It becomes your own special discovery that you will always share.
Hope you have a wonderful time!
Scooter
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Hi Manhattan,
I made my first trip to Paris with my mom nearly 25 years ago so I wish you a lovely trip. We had about the same number of days to visit. I have been many times since and never grow tired of Paris.
It looks like you have done some research and know the things you most want to see. Are you sure a quickie tour of Musee d%26#39;Orsay will suffice? If you love Impressionism it maybe difficult to tear yourselves away. Great gift shop too.
Wish I could spend Monday with you. What are your %26quot;big three%26quot;? I love Winged Victory but admit to being disappointed in the Mona Lisa. I%26#39;m sure that proves I know nothing about art. :-) After the Louvre you might have lunch at Cador, a lovely tea room on the east side of the Louvre, then walk to the islands. You%26#39;ll have the early afternoon to visit Sainte Chapelle and Notre Dame as well as have ice cream at Bertillion or stop someplace for hot chocolate and still get back to your hotel to prepare for dinner.
The Arc de Triomphe is beautiful at night but the Champs Elysees is disappointing, filled with tourists and megastores. At Christmas it looks beautiful though, perhaps some of the glitter will be in place for you in November.
Normandy is truly awe inspiring. After our first visit of only 2 days my husband and I planned for a longer return as soon as we could save enough $$.
If it were me, I would leave dinner the last night unplanned and choose a place you discover during your visit. It becomes your own special discovery that you will always share.
Hope you have a wonderful time!
Scooter
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Hi Manhattan 1 - the Orsay is really lovely. I really went there becuase a friend said I absolutely must because she loved it! I was absolutely delighted. It%26#39;s a beautiful building (awful to think it was nearly destroyed) and the collections are diverse and amazing. I%26#39;m no great art lover, but being able to put my face right up to Van Gough%26#39;s self portrait and actually see the brush strokes was a thrill.
Your Monday is a big day, there%26#39;s a lot of walking in the Louvre alone - and soooooo much more than the big three. Do me a favour, don%26#39;t rush ... It%26#39;s easy to miss the real beauty if you simply go and tick things off the list.
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Difficult, seeing so much in a short time. The Orsay deserves more than %26#39;a quickie tour%26#39;. It is the world%26#39;s finest place to see the French Impressionists and other fine artists such as Toulouse Lautrec, full of stunning masterpieces, many of which are so famous as to be recognisable the moment you see them. The building itself is a major attraction, there are very few old railway stations that have been converted into art galleries. And check the Louvre%26#39;s opening, I think most museums in Paris close Mondays.
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%26quot;Lunch at les 2 Magots%26quot;.
I%26#39;m really not sure that is it the best place to lunch in the area. Well, you can, but Les 2 Magots is more a café, where people seat to have a coffee, a tea or other drinks, staring at people walking on the street.
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BTW, Louvre is closed on Tuesday, not Monday.
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A Seine dinner cruise is a big commitment for the day of arrival. I%26#39;d recommend saving it for Monday night, so that you are both well rested and in the mood for being a captured audience.
Lunch at the rodin garden cafe can be rather pleasant.
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Thanks, everyone.
Not sure if some may have misunderstood, but this is not my first time to Paris, so many things that I put down as %26#39;quickie%26#39; were only because I have already done longer jaunts there and this trip is focussing on what my mom wants to see!
As far as walking, I%26#39;m a Manhattanite who regularly walks at a minimum 4 miles everyday running errands, going to work, blah, blah. Besides, knowing what I know about being in Paris before, it is best explored on foot as my mom and I enjoy mid-afternoon stops for wine.
We%26#39;re not big eaters, focus mainly on dinner, so light snacks during lunch are fine (some cheese/fruit are fine for lunch and a pain chocolat for breakfast holds us over!).
I%26#39;m definitely going to look into a light lunch at the Rodin garden, sounds beautiful (if the weather holds up - end of November is a bit questionable!)
I was more concerned about my Thursday plans but figure if we get side-tracked in Montmarte for too long during the day (have a feeling we will!) we can hit Les Invalades before we leave on Friday morning (not a major site for both of us, I%26#39;ve been already and my mom has minor interest in seeing it!)
Thanks again for all your input....and yes, the ice cream is a must and will consider the lunch spot mentioned over there (how much food can two ladies eat???)
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FranParis %26amp; Phread - Wanted to follow up separately to both of you.
Thanks again for all the great advice (you know I value it!)
Please comment on our dinner plans...my mom is still heart set on duck, so I think La Tour d%26#39;Argent is staying put on our itinerary for our final dinner.
I did suggest Le Cinq (per Fran) and my mom was intrigued. We%26#39;re thinking about putting Le Fouquet%26#39;s on the side as I%26#39;ve already been and we can always just stop there for a drink, and doing one more special restaurant. For proximaty purposes, Le Cinq may replace Le Fouquet%26#39;s on Wednesday night and flip her night view of the Arc and Eiffel tower to a pre dinner site.
She (and I) would also like to know more about the restaurant at the Ritz, possibly a special breakfast spot for Friday morning before we leave. I did a search on it here on TA and came up with some pretty mixed reviews. Either of you been lately?
Merci!
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The Rodin cafe has a nice indoor area, so weather should be fine.
There are tons of great places for duck. The Tour has gone down considerably lately, so I personally, I%26#39;d give it a miss for something more creative, but the view IS spectacular.
As for Fouquets, great idea to supress it for the Cinq.
I have only ever done drinks at the Ritz. The entire place is a bit too chintz and stuffy for me. I have had breakfast at the Crillon and throughly enjoyed the experience.
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