Last minute trip to Paris in 3 weeks

Once I got past all the standard attractions, which took about a 10 days over a couple of trips; I found that the neighborhood that I most enjoyed was the Marias. Here is a decent starting point: http://www.parismarais.com/en/download-the-marais-map-by-parismarais-com.html The area hits upon some of your interests and is just plain interesting. Best of all the area runs right up to your hotel.

Hi,

Go the the Army Museum at Les Invalides to see a more expanded coverage of WW 1 history. Les Invalides was the first place I went to in Paris (my first time ) after checking in at the hostel. If you should have time to do a day trip other than Versailles, take the train to Meaux where the big museum on the WW 1 is located,ie la Grande Guerre. There is also another big museum on the WW 1 in the Somme area at Peronne but it is off the train routes.

" So far Versailles is on my list...." When you see the Hall of Mirrors, you can imagine that was the site of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, as well as the proclamation of the German Empire in 1871. Historically, see the Battle Gallerie (Chateau Versailles), important to note which battles are depicted (Rocroi, Yorktown, Austerlitz, etc) and which are omitted...obviously.

Les Invalides was one of the first places we visited in Paris as well. Fred is correct, as usual. And you might Google around and see if you can find a map of the Stolperstein locations, or at least Google them so you recognize them when you do see them.

Think about doing a couple of Paris Walks (www.pariswalks.com). I love them! Just show up and pay.

Unfortunately this question is not one for the Forum. You will need to decide what sights you will see with your brother, sister-in-law, and niece; and at the same time you will need to decide with your husband what sights you will see next May. Some overlap may be unavoidable.

For Paris, I always start by making a long list of sights I want to visit, noting opening hours and days, and especially evening hours, to make the most of my time. Then I group them by location (the easiest is by arrondissement - the last 2 digits of their zip code). Then you can sit down with your brother and go over the list.

The Carnavalet Museum (free) tells the history of the city of Paris. The Nissim de Camondo Museum is a look into a private home (mansion) of the wealthy 100 years ago. Many of the Paris Walks tours focus on history and architecture. Their website has a calendar of walks for this month and next.

Lastly, don't stress about missing sights. There are so many, you'll never see them all, so relax and enjoy the ones you fit in. Know you'll be back for more, again and again.

Be sure to get to Versailles about half an hour before it opens so you are not stuck in long lines. Christmas is high season in Paris and there will be lines at Versailles. It also helps to get your tickets ahead (FNAC store if nothing else or if you don't have a Museum Pass) to avoid one of the two lines you have to stand in.

I would go to the top of the Eiffel Tower if you are going to bother with it. I went up 25 years ago and then again this past October; that is about the right timing for me. If you have done it before, I am not sure it is the best use of time, but if you do want to do it, I'd go at night and all the way up. Afterwards, stroll across the Seine to Trocadero for a simply stunning night time view timing it for the top of the hour and the sparkle.

Paris has lots of small interesting museums and you might stake out a few of the lest well traveled ones on the odds that your group will want to be going to the Louvre, Orsay, Orangerie. e.g. the Nissim Camondo on Parc Monceau is quite moving; the Marmottan houses the Monet painting that gave the name to 'Impressionism' (Impression Sunrise) and Jacquemart Andre has a lovely tea room. If you have nice weather neighborhood walks are also great fun; you can see a few we have done here: https://janettravels.wordpress.com/category/paris/

Let me also recommend for your entire group a visit to the Musee des Artes Forains in Bercy which is a museum of old carnival gear. When I went it was very hard to get a reservation -- it took me years. But I understand it is more available now and quite fun and interesting. You might see if you can get a reservation for your group.
Christmas is a great time to be in Paris.

Thanks for the responses. I'm sure I'll have more questions, but gives me some things to look into.

You might also consider the Cluny Museum or Musee National du Moyen Age. To me, the building itself is quite interesting and it is also built over Roman baths. I also enjoy the collections, including the heads that were lopped off the statues on the facade of Notre Dame as well as the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_national_du_Moyen_%C3%82ge

Sorry for the Wiki link, I couldn't manage to find the museum website in English where it explains the building.

Stolpersteine in Paris, James? Where?

Sasha, you got me. There do not appear to be any. France, yes, Paris in particular; not that I can find. I found one individual trying to get one set for remembrance of a relative at 23 Rue d’Enghien, but as of May 2015 it wasn't there (Google Street View shows the entrance to the address pretty well). I have become so accustomed to seeing them in former occupied cities that I made an incorrect assumption. Too bad as it would have fit into the OP's interests pretty well. Thank you for bringing my mistake to light.

Maybe not Stolpersteine but when one walks around Paris reading plaques on the walls of buildings, you will run into reminders of the war, if you're tracking down these sites in particular, esp when you see "fusillé par les Allemands" (shot by the Germans) or "fusillée par les Nazis."

Ironic that a street is named for the Duc d' Enghien whom Napoleon had shot in spite of his knowledge of the Duke's innocence to prove to the revolutionaries and those counterrevolutionaries plotting to assassinate him that he could spill royal blood.

Fred, are you for hire as a guide?

A nice day trip is to the fountainbleau chateau , about a 40 minute train then 10 minute city bus ride , not as busy as Versailles

Thanks for the plug! One could certainly ask the same of you on Budapest. In Paris I can read the language on plaques, memorials, etc., (the same in Germany such as the memorial plaque on the Kempenski Hotel on Kurfürstendamm in Berlin explaining what had happened to the original German Jewish owners) but not in Budapest or Prague. The point is that Paris has grim reminders of the war, one large blatant one is inside Gare de l'Est which admonishes the reader with "n' oubliez jemais" (never forget !)

I can speak/read 8 words in Hungarian and probably understand a dozen words in each French, Romanian, Italian and German. Never seems to be a problem except once when I tried to help a US tourist make a Hungarian pharmacist understand what Prep H was. That was the oddest conversation of my life.