Good evening! We are looking forward to "Paris & the Heart of France in 11 Days". I am trying to book just a few extras - like the Eiffel Tower...but I am having a hard time figuring out when our "free time" is during the tour. We recently took Rick's Italy tour, and it seems as if the itinerary for that trip contained specific times to book places that the tour didn't take us. For example, our new itinerary reads "afternoon free", but says nothing about the evening. (Whereas the Italy itinerary read "afternoon & evening free to explore/dinner on your own." I want to see some Paris sites not on the official itinerary (Pere Lachaise Cemetery....but when are we free??
Posted by
Downingtown, USA
2462 posts
I would suggest you contact their travel office for up to date answers to your questions. Good luck as I am sure they can help.
Posted by
Atlanta, GA
100 posts
Hi susanmcraig,
We took this tour Fall 2023. We came in two days early to explore on our own (Montparnasse Tower for the view of Paris, a Black Paris tour, Versailles, Pantheon and Catacombs). We've been to Paris before, so the major sites were not as big an attraction for us this visit.
My journal notes indicate on day 2 - Historic Paris and Sainte-Chapelle, our day was done around noon (lunch on our own) and the rest of the afternoon was free (no RS dinner).
Day 3 - Neighborhood Paris and the Louvre, the walking tour ended at the Louvre and everyone was given tickets to the museum. My husband and I had been before so we and some other tourmates went to the Pere Lachaise Cemetery instead. No RS dinner that night.
As suggested, check with the office about your tour. It was our 9th RS tour and we enjoyed it very much. Our guide, Véronique Savoye, was awesome.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16634 posts
For example, our new itinerary reads "afternoon free", but says
nothing about the evening. (Whereas the Italy itinerary read
"afternoon & evening free to explore/dinner on your own."
Susan, I'd think that unless the day's itinerary includes a group dinner - there are five of those listed: days, 1, 4, 5, 7 and 10 - your evenings are completely free.
Pere Lachaise Cemetery,,, Note that it's not open in the evenings: We spent a solid half day there and didn't cover it all.
https://www.perelachaisecemetery.com/visit/
A useful map:
https://www.api-site.paris.fr/paris/public/2018%2F9%2FCPLMapEN.pdf
Some of the other cemeteries, such as Montmartre, make for interesting walks as well.
Honestly, there's a LOT of ground that can be covered in Paris; too much for the two full days + a group dinner and neighborhood walking tour on Day 1. I'd highly suggest you consider doing as gtjackets8083 and arrive in Paris a few days early OR plan to stay a few days longer after the tour returns to Paris. Actually, if you do the latter you'll have already become acquainted with the city at the beginning of the tour so the layout won't be completely new to you. Those few extra days will allow you to explore more of her interesting corners at a more leisurely pace. :O)
You'll still want to plan to arrive the day before your tour starts: flight delays and cancellations are, unfortunately, not uncommon these days!
Posted by
Atlanta, GA
100 posts
If you decide to visit the Pere Lachaise Cemetery, here's a tip that helped us tremendously.
We had the RS audio walking tour, the RS map of the cemetery and the cemetery's map download from their website. With all of that, we still got turned around a number of times.
What finally helped was putting in the name of the grave we were searching for in Google maps (in walking mode) and using longitude/latitude coordinates to guide us. This was a game changer.
Posted by
OP
11 posts
Thank you all so much for your valuable replies! We are planning to arrive one day early and stay 2 (or 3) days after! I want to make sure that our days aren't rushing from place to place - but rather just "soaking in" the city. We are planning to arrive very early in the morning. Hate to add another question (and I am aware that this is a personal preference one), but was thinking about a night cruise on the Seine for the first night as an introduction to the wonder of Paris. Anyone take a dinner cruise? Thank you, fellow travelers.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16634 posts
Susan, we haven't taken a dinner cruise, and definitely wouldn't have done one at night on arrival day when too jet-lagged to enjoy it. We would have fallen asleep in our salads! :O)
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
1394 posts
Susan Craig,
What Kathy said. Save the cruise for another night. Also, if on a dinner cruise you miss seeing too much while eating. Take a Vedettes de Pont Neuf boat, get there early enough to get a seat up top for better views. Just bring a jacket or something to keep warm (depending on the weather). It is cheap, narrated (in French, but they always throw in some English, in my experience), and you can reserve a certain time ahead of time, online, if you want to go at sunset. Have your dinner at a cafe or bistro before or after the cruise. (Of course, you can go during the day if you prefer.)