My granddaughter and I will be spending 5 nights in Paris in mid-June. I have been to Paris a few times, but this will be her first visit. I would appreciate your feedback/suggestions on several points:
Activities:
• Eiffel Tower-My granddaughter wants to spend her birthday at the Eiffel Tower. I have never been up in it before and am wondering whether to try to book going to the top, or the second level.
• Louvre-Considering booking the Lourve’s highlight tour at 11. Advantage—guide will hit the highlights. Disadvantage—will be more crowded than if we get there when it opens.
• Other places we will go-Musee D’Orsay (she likes impressionists), possibly the Orangerie so that she can see Monet’s paintings there, St. Chappelle, Notre Dame (not interested in the Tower Climb unless she wants to do it), Gallery Lafayette (admire architecture, glass walk, rooftop), Versailles, river boat, some of the gardens, possibly Opera Garnier. Will definitely allow time for shopping and browsing and perhaps riding public buses or Hop On/Hop Off bus.
• Not interested in biking, scooters, catacombs.
• RS self guided walking tours—has anyone done Historic Paris, Champs-Elysees, or Rue Cler walks?
• Hands on workshops-My granddaughter loves skin care, fragrance, age appropriate cosmetics. I read about the perfume workshops offered. Anyone know of other workshops focused on the skin care or cosmetics?
Combatting jetlag: Our flight arrives in Paris from the US at 6:05 am. I can generally nap on the plane and walking around works for me. My granddaughter has never been to Europe and I’m not sure whether she will be able to get any sleep on the plane. Unlikely that we can check into accommodation early. Ideas on what we might do on the first day to avoid her being miserable?
Thank you for your help!
Posted by
1665 posts
This makes me so happy to read! What a great trip for grandmother/granddaughter! Here is the #1 thing I would suggest. Please book your accommodations for the night prior and then let your host/hotelier know that you will actually be arriving early the next morning. (If all goes smoothly you could be at your hotel by 8am (ish). That way you can drop your bag into your room; freshen up and go out and about at your convenience. Trying to hang on until a 3pm or 4pm check in is the worst when you arrive so early. We consider it money well spent.
All your plans sound lovely. I'd go for the top of the Eiffel Tower. And maybe go to Montmarte. The view, Sacre Couer and enjoy (with a reservation) lunch or tea time at La Maison en Rose. Interesting history and such a girl's day out vibe.
Also, for d'Orsay book for early in the morning and head straight to the 5th floor for the clock and the Impressionists. Last spring after our 5th floor visit (and also went to a special exhibit) I came across Le Restaurant in the museum. What a stunning room. We enjoyed lunch there, and it was unexpectedly delightful. (I've never even thought of getting food in a museum and it was really nice.) Then we didn't leave the museum thinking we had to figure out where to go find lunch.
Posted by
Chicagoland
1732 posts
Regarding the Louvre, the advantage of the tour means your guide will know the best way to navigate through the crowds. If you want to see something that won't be on the tour, like the Napoleon Apartments or the underground medieval moat, you could book an early admission before your tour.
I second KD's recommendation to book your room for the night prior to arrival.
To avoid crowds, try to book early entry for Musée d'Orsay and Sainte-Chapelle. Crowds everywhere are much worse at 10 am. Same with Notre Dame.
Posted by
Paris
11234 posts
Unlikely that we can check into accommodation early
If you can afford it, it's nice to reserve your accommodation beginning the night before your arrival so you can go straight to the room. (Be sure to make it bery clear to the hotel that you won't be arriving until the morning!)
What a lovely gift to your granddaughter !
Posted by
3136 posts
- Eiffel Tower tickets are issued in waves, the largest being 7 days before any visit. Always attempt to purchase summit tickets as they are harder to get: https://ticket.toureiffel.paris/en
- Outside of the Mona Lisa, the Louvre is not always that packed with visitors.
- Tickets for the Orsay can sellout. I would book tickets in advance: https://billetterie.musee-orsay.fr/en-GB/
For those who appreciate Impressionism, I might suggest the Marmottan: https://www.marmottan.fr/
Sainte Chapelle requires reservations: https://www.sainte-chapelle.fr/en/visit
I am not a fan of the HOHO buses in Paris. They are slow, infrequent, and expensive. You can purchase a public transportation day pass for 12.30€
- Sometimes, Galeries Lafayette have workshops. You can check here: https://www.galerieslafayette.com/m/magasin-haussmann/experiences
- To Purchase skin care products at discounted prices, visit Citypharma on the corner of rue Bonaparte and rue du Four in the 6th. Go early in the day, it will be busier than the Louvre: https://www.pharmacie-citypharma.fr/
You do not mention Galerie Dior, but I am sure you and your daughter would enjoy visiting. Book early, tickets can be difficult to obtain: https://www.galeriedior.com/en
Posted by
Chicago, IL, USA
648 posts
For a beauty event consider to look into AirBnB experiences. You can search by date and topic "beauty". I found a couple that included a private appointment in a store and a tour of perfume shops. Enjoy the planning!
Posted by
OP
39 posts
Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions! I am going to start looking into them and booking as soon as I can. I have found that some sites (e.g. Galerie Laffayette) have not posted June schedule yet.
Posted by
Madison, WI, US
92 posts
Add a river cruise, Vedettes du Pont. As you walk around here are some quick stops. Get the museum pass. Hotel des Invalides....just stop and see Napoleon's tomb. Musee' Rodin...very close to Invalides. Rue Cler ..Rick Steve's favorite street in Paris...between Eiffel Tower and Invalides. Pont de l'Alma...where Princess Diana's car crashed... also a Statue of Liberty flame. Pont Neuf....river cruise site...intersection where Pierre Currie died in wagon crash. By Notre Dame ...perhaps the most famous bookstore in the world....Shakespeare and Company. By the bookstore is a nice bakery...Odette Paris. I really enjoyed Victor Hugo' house museum. Interesting and in a nice area. Buy a copy of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" at the bookstore (get the page stamped) and go see his house.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
11598 posts
In June you can see a large special exhibition of Renoir's work (Renoir et l'amour) at the Musée D'Orsay. Be sure to reserve for entry at opening time.
The Musée Guimet will have an exhibition "K-Beauty", arts, beauty, treatments, products, esthetics, traditions, styles, beliefs...
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
16614 posts
I stay in the Rue Cler area and honestly his suggestion of a "Rue Cler walk" is a little silly. It's an excellent place to go if you are staying nearby or in the area and want a meal or a wander but don't bother trying to follow his "tour". I do stay in the neighborhood so I walk down it nearly every day as I go to dinner.
Having said that, I'll say that I have done the Historic Paris walk. I did it piece meal several years before the fires. I just looked at the map and he's not updated it since the fire. When I was there last October you could not walk down the side of Notre Dame where he has viewpoint 6. The Tower Climb entrance has also moved from where he has it indicted to the other side of the building, just at the front edge of the cathedral where he walks you from 3 to 6.
I'll add that there is a good sandwich shop/bakery called Huré down Rue d'Arcole from Notre Dame. I like to get a sandwich there and walk over to the garden behind the place he has marked as the Statue of Henry iV to have lunch. It's useful to have some plastic bags to sit on as there is often bird poo on the benches, hahaha!
What awesome memories you will make with your granddaughter!
Posted by
Atlanta
5594 posts
RS self guided walking tours—has anyone done Historic Paris, Champs-Elysees, or Rue Cler walks?
Yes. His self guided walking tours are, for the most part, pretty good. However, I must agree with Pam about Rue Cler. We've stayed on Rue Cler and it is an interesting 2 or 3 block local neighborhood shopping area, but I wouldn't make a special trip to see it. There are many other such areas all over the place.
Posted by
Chicagoland
1732 posts
You may want to consider taking an organized group walk with Paris Walks. I've taken several and the guides are entertaining and knowledgeable. My most recent walk was a couple years ago through Montmartre.
Posted by
OP
39 posts
Thank you for al of the amazing, detailed suggestions! I really appreciate the time you have taken to share these ideas and I am using them to modify my itinerary. Love the inclusion of tips for pasteries/sandwiches andplaces to enjoy them.
It's been great to have feedback on some of the museums I've heard of (e.g. Victor Hugo), but probably would have skipped.
I looked at the Fragonard perfume making class and will probably sign us up for that. I think my granddaughter will love the Musee Guimet, which I've never heard of.
Will skip RS Rue Cler walk. I've enjoyed many of his walks in other citities.
Also appreciate the heads up on the Renoir exibit. I think we'll both enjoy that.
Posted by
OP
39 posts
It's been some years, but I have taken walks with Paris Walks and really enjoyed them. However, I think my granddaughter will have limited tolerance for these. I will book the Louvre highlights tour, and may try to do some tours with London Walks when we go there after Paris. Because we will need to book times for several museums, the perfume making class, the Eiffel Tower, Versailles etc, I want to be sure we have flexibility to adapt to what she wants to do. One of the reasons I liked the RS walks is because we can do them whenever and discontinue if she is not enjoying them.
Nevertheless, I appreciate the suggestion, and if I were by myself, I would probably try to do several!