It looks like our family will be in Paris for five nights this November. Since we have been there several times before and seen all the big sights, what would be your pick for us this time. We are a mom and dad, and four daughters ages 16, 14, 11 and 3. Our apartment is right near the Eiffel Tower and we are looking forward to just spending time in the neighborhood and enjoying the view of the Tower from our apt, and perhaps seeing the Rodin museum and revisiting the Louvre. What will the weather be like from about November 3 through the 22 (not sure when we will be there but it will be in that time frame)? We will of course visit the Eiffel Tower...when is the skating rink open?
Also, will Christmas things be up that time of year?
Thanks for your help!
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Yes Xmas decorations start in November.
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Weather will be cool and could be rainy. Every year is different.
The new museum at Quai Branly (near Eiffel Tower) just opened and l%26#39;Orangerie re-opened late spring.
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Paris is full of charming small museums -- any guidebook will list them -- it is fun to seek them out and many are more rewarding than the biggies (although nothing beats the Louvre) e.g. Jacquemart-André and the Marmottan are two that come to mind --- but there is an intriquing Dali, a Picasso and countless others
identifying swank restaurants that are really excellent and making a point to have lunch there (same menus generally for quite a bit less)
make finding the best pastries a quest -- by having pastries every afternoon
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oh and don%26#39;t forget the opera -- the Bastille Opera house is IMHO the greatest opera house in the world -- fabulous technology, and fabulous voices -- go to an opera with potential for great staging
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My kids always enjoy a trip to the Modern Art Museum at the Beaubourg. I spend a lot of time visiting museums with kids and this is the one museum that parents seem to rush through while the kids try to linger and ask questions. If nothing else, be sure to visit the fountain outside the building.
The Unicorn Tapestries at the Cluny are really impressive and can be made interesting to kids of all ages.
Ice Skating on the Eiffel Tower was a big downer for us. Long waits and teeny, tiny rink. We blew it off and went to the rink in front of the Hotel de Ville.
Christmas decorations at the Hotel Meurice make it a lovely place to stop for tea this time of year.
Because you are already 7 people, you may want to try and organize a visit to the Museum of Fairground Arts. AnneParis organised a trip through TA this spring and it was simply magical. I believe that you need to be about 20, so you are almost 1/2 done!!!
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Oh yes - you MUST visit L%26#39;Orangerie - just reopened after five years and we were there last month with 9 yr. old granddaughter. Try to get tickets ahead - there was a LONG line and we were able to go to the front! Of course may not be as busy in Nov. Monet%26#39;s %26quot;Waterlilies%26quot; series are spectacular, not just the paintings but the way they are hung. Many other wonderful paintings there also.
Musee D%26#39;Orsay still so marvelous too for the art - also many unexpected secret areas - we found ourselves all alone in a section displaying amazing Thonet chairs, chaises etc., and architectural elements of such beauty. Just wish we%26#39;d had more time to explore the wonders of Paris, so much to crowd in with just 3 days - we then headed South by TGV to a village near Carcassonne where we have family.
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second the Orsay with kids ---
in some of the side rooms in the main train station part of the museum is some of the most outrageously bad art in the universe e.g. Big Eyed Girl with Sheep and Socrates and his Students or maybe its Plato -- at any rate, it may be one of the most laughable pieces of art on a museum wall
and who could forget Napoleon Awakens to Immortality?
the place is full of wonderful stuff too
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Thanks for the L%26#39;Orangerie reminder. We saw it about seven yearrs ago before it closed and would love to revisit it.
And of course hot chocolate...but I cannot for the life of me remember what the swank place is to have it...anyone remember? Seems like it was on Rue de Rivoli...
Will the skating rink at the hotel be open in November?
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Angelina%26#39;s is the swank place for hot chocolate on Rivoli. My kids find it too rich and we all prefer Laduree on the Champs Elysees or on the rue Royale.
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I have taken my children to the Picasso Museum, which is chronologically organized and easy, and the nearby Musee Carnavalet for the history of Paris.
If the weather is nice, I love walking around the Marais.
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