Paris experience - July 3-7

you are seriously late trying to find a hotel in less than 2 months. I have stayed near Gare du Nord (2023) with no issues, although it is not the nicest area.

Don’t forget you will need ETAs for transiting through London.

Is that AUS$? US$? CAN$

Sorry - USD.
Thanks for the reminder on the ETA

I would not stay right next to Gare du Nord just for the convenience of a single morning. As mentioned, it is not the nicest area.

If you value procimity to the station, further south between Gare de l'Est & République would still be within walking distance, but much nicer. Or a little bit to the west / southwest of the station around rue Marguerite de Rochechouart or near Poissonière metro.
I see plenty of options around 800-900 euros for 4 nights in those neighborhoods. As a resident, I do not really know Paris hotels, though.

You can find itineraries on line and then substitute anything you don't find appealing. Since no one here knows what your interests are, or what you want to see, it's difficult to help you "plan each day".

I also see a lot of non-hotel accomodations that look interesting and in the 3rd arrondissement. Would they be good options? And is that a good location for a good experience?

@Happytobehere We would like to see museums during the day, walk around, enjoy restaurants/cafes, have a nice dinner experience, see a show. Very much toursists. Would like to avoid lines as much as possible. And knowing my wife, no trip is complete without experiencing local designer shopping

And you need to plan and buy timed tickets for most everything. Just returned from Paris, the lines could be intimidating. Exception was Notre Dam, line looked very long but only about 30 minutes at 5:15 on Friday.

A few questions for you.

Have you already booked your flights? Why not fly directly to Paris?

Have you booked your Eurostar tickets? Are you arriving at London Heathrow or Gatwick? You'll need factor in arrival delays, especially since your departing from Newark. You then have to travel from airport to St Pancras station and check in for the Eurostar around 90 minutes in advance. Check cancellation/change policy before purchasing your train tickets to Paris.

Like others, I agree no need to stay close to Gare du Nord with an afternoon departure.

Sorry to sound like a Debbie Downer, I just want you to be aware so there are no unpleasant surprises.

@jeanm thanks! Yes, flying into Paris would make more sense. Long story but did not find good options, and in any case we will be staying at Kings Cross in London after returning from Paris, so we can store our luggage at St. Pancras station and travel light to Paris. Our airline tickets are already purchased. We land at Heathrow, and will take the tube to St. Pancras. I have looked at ticket options on Eurostar but have not purchased as yet.
I am also looking at flying LHR-CDG after we land, so that is an option. Maybe return on the Eurostar.

You should stay in a nicer neighborhood, even if you have to take a taxi back to the station. You are coming to Paris for the first time during the busiest time of the year where all these things you want to do are crazy full. So you need to treat yourself to a better place to stay so you can stroll around in the evening and feel some Paris atmosphere. It's going to be frustratingly crowded in the first-trip tourist places you would normally go. Try booking.com to find a hotel. I'm usually a last minute person, even in busy times and find something. Try the 7th arrondissement, or the 5th, 6th, 4th. I'm sure you'll find a better place.

Try smaller museums instead of the Louvre or the Orsay or even the Orangerie on this trip to avoid the crowds.
Try the Cluny Museum, the Rodin Museum, the Jacquemart André Museum, the Modern Art Museum of the City of Paris, the Monmartre Museum, the Romantic Life Museum. All have either tearooms or gardens to enjoy along with the art. Take a tour of the Opera Garnier for the incredible bling decoration.

If you want to see a show, you need to book ahead.
In addition to walking around, try a boat ride on the Seine. Both Vedettes de Pont Neuf and the Vedettes de Paris are good companies with live narration and smaller boats. Vedettes de Paris boats have electric motors so no choking on diesel fumes.

Go to the Galeries Lafayette department store and start on the roof terrace, and then go down a floor to a huge selection of souvenir shopping. From there, all the luxury brands have boutiques in the department store. Otherwise, the luxury shops are on rue Saint Honoré and rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré.

@Elizabeth This is super useful. Thanks!

If you are planning to stay in the Gare du Nord area, there are hotels less than the average of $250 per night.

I always stay at Nord, True , you hardly see Americans staying there as , the tourists you see are mostly other Europeans and Asians. Regardless of its drawbacks, Nord is very advantageous relative to public transport, ie the metro lines and the numerous bus lines.

In July of last year my hotel at Nord charged me 100 Euro per night as I was staying 11 consecutive nights as long I paid cash instead by cc...gladly for a spacious room and bathroom (WC and tub).

If you are landing at LHR and want to go directly to Paris, it would be simpler and probably cheaper to fly. We found the combination of luggage and the London tube to be a pain and we did that on a quiet Sunday morning. The tube from LHR to Kings Cross takes at least an hour. You can enjoy the Eurostar on your return from Paris to London.

Hello! If you want to stay near Gare du Nord for ease, I would recommend (as others suggested) Place de Republic or near the Canal St. Martin. We have stayed at both Le Citizen (right on the canal) and La Planque a few blocks away. We love this neighborhood - lots of great restaurants, shops, nightlife, and metro stops near by.

Are you aware that Rick Steves has suggested itineraries for Paris? You can use these as a template and customize it for your interests.

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/paris-itinerary

Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions. I think we will structure the trip as follows:
1. Arrive at CDG around 3pm on July 3rd. Hotel car (complimentary) to Rue Bergere in the 9th arrondissment. Explore the area in the evening with a nice dinner nearby
2. Dinner on the Seine - evening of the 3rd
3. July 4th - Tour the Louvre skip-the-line premium tour (got to do that - first time in Paris!), walk up Champs Elysees, enjoy a cafe or two, go back to the hotel for a bit, then tour the Eiffel Tower at susnset (again, skip-the-line tour). Drink and dinner at a nice place near the hotel
4. July 5th - Versailles tour (full day?) then Dinner on the Seine? https://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/diner-cruise-eiffel-bistronomique/
5. July 6th - Visit other museums (Musee d'Orsay probably since I enjoy impressionism), Rodin (?). Rest up in the afternoon and shop at and around the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann, rooftop bar, etc.
6. July 7th - Eurostar to London
Does that sound like a plan? Any recommended changes?

I suggest you read Elizabeth’s post again and heed her advice.

And with a short visit, I would definitely take a pass on Versailles and skip those crowds in the heat of July. I get that it is a bucket list type of item, but Elizabeth’s advice is usually spot on and it is absolutely sound advice in this case. She lives in France and tends to post on subjects that she knows well.

The one thing I would add for possible consideration would be to take two or three hours to take in some of the many Passages Couvertes with their shops, galleries, cafes and shade from the July sun.

A lovely walk would be to start with Passage Verdeau in the Ninth Arrondissement and then through Passage Jouffroy and Passage des Panoramas, which are all lined up in a row. Then continue south a few blocks further and take in two more of the passages Couvertes: Galerie Vivienne and Galerie Colbert. After that you are very near the Palais Royal and you can walk through the Jardin du Palais Royal which will leave you by the Louvre and Jardin du Carrousel, and close to the Tuileries Gardens and Musee de l’Orangerie. So you could structure a day that includes one of those two (crowded) museums, and parks and the Passages Couvertes.

Of course, you could start with a museum in the morning and do the Passages from south to north in the afternoon.

"*July 4th - Tour the Louvre skip-the-line premium tour *"

ANY timed entry ticket bought directly from the Louvre is a *skip-the-ticket-line" admission. NO ONE skips the security lines and that is where the back up is.

Be aware that many tour companies sell a product called skip-the-line but it's not really.

Who were you going to book thru? I'm not saying a tour is a bad idea...I'm saying don't get suckered into advertising verbiage.

editing to add: I stayed near the Gare du Nord on my first visit to Paris in 1973, then again in 1976. I didn't like the neighborhood then and don't particularly care for it now. For my needs there are nicer neighborhoods where I feel comfortable as an older solo woman walking around at night.

July 4 Sunset in Paris is at 9:57 pm. Plan accordingly.

Also, there really isn't a skip the line at the ET - there's security outside you have to go through and then security inside before any elevators.

@fred, thanks for you thoughts and your suggestion on the walk. Sounds great and I will work that in. Yes, I was trying to include Versailles because it is a bucket-list thing for my wife, but i have heard opinions from other people too, that agree with yours and Elizabeth's. I am kind of torn on this. Viator advertises a door-to-door tour that is pretty expensive, but I may spring for that - or just drop it altogether as you and Elizabeth suggest. GetYourGuide has a semi-private tour that is less expensive, but I suppose will still have the same crowds/heat issues

@Pam, i saw some tours advertised by GetYourGuide. We used them in Spain a couple of times. Thanks for the heads-up on the skip-the-line. We heeded other advice on Gare du Nord, and found a nice looking, large apartment on Rue Bergere thru booking.com. I hope that is a nice area

I would suggest timing your Seine boat tour for the Eiffel Tower's sparkling light show at the top of the hour. Have a nice land based dinner before, not on a boat. You are going to want to be outside on the upper level of the boat for the best views, not sitting inside at a table.

Other posters have advised you about the "skip the line" tours. No one skips the security lines. At the Eiffel Tower there is one elevator going to the top. Your tour guide won't be able to get you ahead of the people waiting for the elevator. You will have to wait in the same long line as do others. The lines the tours skip are for ticket purchases. I assume they have relieved you of reserving your time.
Re Champs Elysees, it is a long walk past chain stores and restaurants. The view looking down it from the Arc de Triomph to the Place de la Concorde is terrific, but walking there is not like it used to be in the 50's and 60's. Maybe tweak this activity. For a kind of classic Paris walk, I like stroling along the left bank of the Seine, past the bouquinistes, stopping at a cafe along the way, from the Pont de l"Archeveche to the Pont Des Arts. You get the classic and fantastic rear view of Notre Dame, the bookstalls, many cafes, and can cross the river near the Louvre and Tuilleries. Just a thought.
Re Versailles...yes it is a bucket list item, but unless you can get a really early reserved time and visit, say, the Hall of Mirrors first thing, there will be HUGE crowds. I always plan on this being a full day because the grounds are so large, as is the palace. The train to and from it are easy. To save some of the line waiting, buy the King's Apartments tour when you reserve your time. That should cut down a little on the waiting. However, with your short time in Paris, I sincerely suggest tabling this for another trip. (Of course, that's easy for those of us who have been there to say, so feel free to ignore this suggestion.) And I have heard too many complaints about Viator tours to ever want to use them. But that's me.
One thing we sometimes do is walk around the Eiffel Tower and admire it from the Champs de Mars, then walk to the Invalides (army museum) and see Napoleon's tomb (plus suits of armor if you are interested), then walk to the Rodin Museum (one of my absolute favorites) and admire the sculptures in the garden, especially. The cafe there has some nice food for lunch. From there you can walk to the beautiful Pont Alexandre III, then across to the Grand Palais, then to the Arc de Triomphe. This is probably too much for one day, actually, but is a nice route to work around.

jeanm is right about the Seine cruise. Have your meal before or after so you can get the most from the boat ride. We like to sit up top on Vedettes de Pont Neuf. Inexpensive, well narrated, about one hour.
Museums....too many to choose from. It depends on what you are interested in. The Rodin, Cluny, Orsay are my favorites in Paris, but go with what attracts and interests you.

The riches of Paris await you! Enjoy! Amusez-vous ien!

Think carefully about staying close to the Gare du Nord. While Paris is mostly a very safe city, the area around that train station is sketchy at best. Remember, any taxi can quickly take you to a better part of the city and bring you back again, it's not really necessary to stay there unless that is what you really want to do.

Hotel rooms in your price range are going to be adequate but tiny. There are usually Airbnb options at a similar price that offer a larger space (I once stayed at an Airbnb in St. Germaine-des-Prés in the 6th arr for 150 euros and it was super nice - better than any hotel room at twice the price.)

I've spent months in Paris and never once went to a show (other than an Opera many years ago) so wouldn't know how to begin to advise you on that. Usually the sites of the city are enough to keep you oohing and ahhing, so secondary entertainment isn't necessary (no show I ever saw on Broadway could compare with seeing Saint-Chapelle or taking an evening cruise on the Seine, or about a hundred other things that are unique to Paris.)

oh, yes, re shows. I don't know about the cabaret experience, but there are usually numerous concerts at churches, etc.....organs, choirs, soloists. Paris has lots to choose from. Ste. Chappelle is popular for concerts. Opera Garnier may have something you like.
You should be able to find something, but check as soon as you can so you don't miss out on what you might want.