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Paris Itinerary – first go-around, with flexibility

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Hi all, we were in Paris once, 10-15 years ago, but I feel like a newbie, so looking for advice.

We only have 4 full days (tant pis) and it doesn’t seem like enough. This is our second trip to Paris; we did the Louvre and Orsay last time 10-15 years ago; don’t want to do Louvre again but can’t get enough of Musée Orsay, so want to do that again.

We are 70 yrs old and fit but like to take it easy, and not stress about fitting in everything. We like to go to museums, walk and enjoy the street scene, and spend time outdoors (weather permitting).

We arrive on July 12, late afternoon, so will probably just go to hotel, maybe walk around the neighborhood or along the Seine (staying on Ile St. Louis), then dinner at a café. Might pick up museum pass (but not sure it’s worthwhile in our short stay).

Day 1. Saturday - Walk along Left Bank of Seine to Orangerie and Tuileries. Maybe go to Eiffel Tower if we are up for a walk, or just hang by river if we are feeling lazy/jet lagged. We don’t plan to go up in the Tower.

Day 2. Sunday 14th – Bastille Day. Musee d’Orsay, which appears to be open (according to their web site). Maybe Luxembourg Gardens and/or Rodin Museum. Maybe evening walk to Champ du Mars to watch fireworks (is that a crazy mobbed scene??)

Day 3. Monday – Van Gogh light show at 1:30. Not sure what to do in the morning. Either RS Historic Paris Walk or wander around the Marais, window shop and check out boutiques as it is on the way to the VG show.

Day 4. Tuesday – Montmartre walking tour – maybe with Paris Walks (any advice on this? Thumbs up or thumbs down?). maybe in afternoon, Left Bank shopping stroll Sèvres-Babylone to St. Sulpice from RS Paris book.

Day 5. Wednesday – Train to Avignon, and then a week in Provence.

Things I’d like to do that I haven’t included:
Latin Quarter
Quai Branly Museum – or just the garden café with fine Eiffel Tower views
Sainte-Chapelle
Catacombs (I read the wait can be 1.5 hours, not sure we want to do that; does Museum Pass get us an advantage there?)
Gallery Lafayette – I hear they have big sales in July

We also haven’t planned meals/made dinner reservations yet. How far in advance is that advisable, or can we make them when we arrive? Do we need to reserve for lunch at nicer restaurants?

Thanks in advance for any advice, suggestions, etc....

Rachel

Posted by
26 posts

The Catacombs are not included in the Museum Pass. You can however buy a timed entry on-line. I would NOT go there without a ticket because yes, the line is long. We were there in mid-April and with our timed tickets we barely had to wait at all, maybe 5 min til they started letting our time slot enter. (We had 4pm tickets and arrived at probably 3:40-3:45ish.) The line waiting to buy tickets was very long (and I suspect would be HOT in July). The timed tickets are much more expensive but they come with an audio guide. We thought it was worth the price to not have to waste time in a long line.

Posted by
109 posts

Barbra, you are right - the Catacombs are not included in the Museum Pass (I think Rick Steves' book says that it is...but not according the Pass web site...). It is a good idea to get timed tix ahead of time, so we will try to see where that fits best. Yes, I expect it to be hot and crowded in July, but that's when we could go, so we will make the best of it.

Cafés with no English spoken and a black slate it is! I will look into Paris Greeters.

And CMS, thanks for the timed entry ticket idea for Catacombs. Will check into it. Would you say it was worth visiting the Catacombs?

Thank you both,
Rachel

Posted by
2030 posts

I went to the Bastille Day fireworks at the Eiffel Tower in 2012. It was beautiful, but very crowded. I stayed on the outside of the crowd on the Champs du Mars (which was very friendly and well-behaved where I was). At the end though, thousands of people swarmed the streets in the area, and metro stations were over-run and several of them were closed. We had to walk up to the Champs Elysees to get an open metro station. It was a leisurely walk, in warm weather and a nice crowd. So if you are up for this possible scenario I recommend going!

Posted by
109 posts

Thank you, BG - good to have "on the ground" info, and esp. good to know about the Metro situation. I will go if walking home is an option (about 30 mins from my hotel; depends how much walking we have done that day and how we feel ;-) ).

Thanks again,
R

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