Paris planning ideas

When you arrive on 9/26, are you arriving from another part of your European trip, or are you arriving from North America?

Ste Chappelle concert tickets are sold at the register of the brasserie (Les Deux Palais) across the street from Ste Chappelle. And I see no reason to buy the Museum pass ahead of time. They sell them at the souvenir shop next door to the place that sells Ste Chappelle tickets.

I schedule a few things and then leave the rest to spontaneity. I was really looking forward to climbing the Notre Dame tower so I made sure we were in line prior to opening. And since some museums are closed Monday and others closed on Tuesday, it's important to do a little planning if you plan to visit museums those days.

I hope you have a great trip!

Is it ok to have a loose idea of what to do and then just enjoy seeing what we do?

That's our plan. My wife has a business trip to London in October and we're finishing by scooting to Paris via Eurostar and flying out of CDG.

This will also be our second trip to Paris together, although the first was back in 1966 when we were in high school! We've booked an AirBnB type accommodation in Montparnasse, within easy walking distance of cafes, parks and gardens. We've also booked a twilight tour of Paris in a Citroen 2CV! That should be a gas! I'm trying very hard to not cram too much in and just enjoy the sights and sounds of the city. I'm looking at a Walks of Italy (Paris) tour of the Ile de la Cite, but it's a 6 hour tour and I'm not sure I want to commit to that much time.

I hope you have a great trip!

Kim, yes we have a 2-hr flight from Basel, Switzerland to Paris and we should be well acclimated to the time by then :). I should have been more clear on that.

Sam, thx for the info on getting St. Chappelle tix & museum passes there too!! Fabulous idea!!

Rita, I was getting overwhelmed trying to put a detailed itinerary together but I have a good idea of my top choices. My husband does very little trip research or planning so he usually is thrilled with whatever we do lol!! I don't want to miss a bike tour so I should probably get that reserved.

DougMac, your trip sounds great too!! We really wanted to go to London and see Les MIs again but don't have enough time for that on this trip. Soooo gives us a great excuse to plan another trip so we can get back to London!! :-)

yes we have a 2-hr flight from Basel, Switzerland to Paris

This brings up the questions, what Paris airport and have you bought the tickets already?

It would probably be easier to take the train to Paris from Basel. It only 3 hours away on the lightning-fast TGV. Avoids all the arrive-at-the-airport-2-hours-early, security headaches, expensive taxi from the airport into Paris.

Sam, I would have preferred the train but the price of the flight from Basel-Paris did not raise our flight cost any more so we went with that. Our airfare was purchased from the river cruise operator and they have some flat rates from various airports. I could have gotten a better price by purchasing myself as I've seen the price jump up, down and all around, but I went with what the tour company found us as I gain more experience with traveling to Europe. I'm still a newbie but hope to get lots of good experience!! :-)

I'm not big on the HOHO, so I would not plan to do it for a 2nd day. Take the metro from your hotel to Ecole Militaire stop and walk over to Champ de Mars where you can walk thru the green space to the Eiffel Tower. For me this is such a wonderful view and you really get an idea of how big it is as you approach. You do have to be aware of the petition girls who roam this area and just keep on walking if they approach you. No need to feel you need to be polite, just ignore them and keep your hand on your purse.

Whether you are structured or not depends on your travel style. I do better with structure but others feel confined by it. Your vacation, your choice!

The HOHO buses are slow and time consuming, often getting stuck in traffic or rerouted. You would be better served buying a "carnet" of 10 t+ Metro tickets that you can share between you and using the Metro.

You can also purchase your Museum Pass in the airport, if arriving by plane, & they are cheaper than purchasing online.
Enjoy your trip.

You sound like you have a real good sense of what you'd like to do and that's great. I find Paris to be a pretty awesome city to just walk and explore. In between the big sights, some time just strolling the neighborhoods and browsing the shops is a great experience. And nothing beats a leisurely stay in a cafe! Playing those stretches by ear will let you appreciate the place and the people.

One note, I'm curious about the bike to Versailles tour. Versailles is a notorious time-eater with a bad reputation, but I think it depends a bit on when you go. That said, it's super easy to get there by train, and I don't recall the ride being particularly scenic (it's pretty developed). It just seems like biking out there mostly makes a long day longer, and might be wearying. Just a thought obviously, not sure what that tour entails. Either way, if you're that keen on biking I recommend taking advantage of the Vélib' bike system in Paris. It requires a credit card deposit but a day membership is a few dollars. There are stations everywhere. I used these a ton last trip, and got to see Paris in a whole new way! Biking through the streets feels a little intimidating at first, but French drivers are VERY respectful of you on a bike.

Pam & Carolyn, thanks for the Metro tips. We might end up using the metro as our own kind of HOHO service but if the weather is nice and good sunlight, I thought more time "above ground " would be ok ;). And I'm always a scheduler and like structure but I've been working on being more "go with the flow" over the past year and I'm kinda liking it! :). But I still want a loose outline to make sure I don't waste too much time deciding what to do.

Brushtim, awesome info about the museum pass at the airport!!! I'll just do that!! Perfect!

Awrzesinki, we are really into biking right now and I've been reading about the Velib process and really hope we can try it out. For the Versailles tour, we would not start biking until we got to that town by train. It's a Fat Tire Paris tour and looks amazing. It's an all day tour probably due to the train travel to get there and back, when you get there you get the bikes, go to an outdoor food market for picnic goodies and then ride through the gardens of Versailles before having a picnic on the grass. Then we can tour the inside of Versailles, which might be a less busy time (hopefully) :). It's one of the tours I'm looking forward to the most!!

The Paris Bus system is also easy to use, and you do get to see things as you move along. There are dedicated bus lanes for city buses that the HOHO buses can't use. At a Metro station ticket booth, ask for a "Plan 2." It is a large map with the Metro on one side and the buses on the other, and with print big enough to read. Great for route planning.

With jump to the front of the line tickets we still waited thirty minutes to get inside Versailles. The train ride from Paris is at least an hour in each direction.

I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower on my most recent trip and it has occurred to me that no one goes to the top of the Eiffel Tower twice. The Paris skyline really has just one feature and if you're at the top of it then there is nothing to see.

You might check the tours at www.pariscityvision.com

Our airfare was purchased from the river cruise operator and they have some flat rates from various airports. I could have gotten a better price by purchasing myself as I've seen the price jump up, down and all around, but I went with what the tour company found us as I gain more experience with traveling to Europe. I'm still a newbie but hope to get lots of good experience!! :-)

Sounds like you're doing the Viking Rhine cruise from Amsterdam to Basel. We did the opposite way, from Basel to Amsterdam. If so, you'll have a great time! Will you have time in Amsterdam before the cruise? If so, check with Viking. They offer a tour of the Jewish section that ends up at Ann Frank's house. It's well worth it. You have to ask, it's not normally listed. We did take another optional tour, the one of the Mosel river that included a wine tasting. It was disappointing. They advertised two tastings. We took that to mean two different wineries. What it meant was two wines at the same winery. They had another tour right behind us, so they were rushing us out of the tasting. When we got to their shop however, they were more willing for us to take our time. 85% of the trip was riding back and forth in a bus.

As far as not seeing much on the Metro, that's correct. I usually take the metro to my destination in the AM, then walk my way back to my hotel thru the day.

Here is a further suggestion from someone who is way too structured, so feel free to ignore!

Metro to Ecole Militaire

Walk Champ de Mars to Eiffel Tower, (go up or not),

Continue across the river to Trocadero where you can turn back for another view, then continue between the buildings to the Trocadero Metro stop.

Take the Metro Line 9 in the direction of Mairie de Montreuil to the Chausee d'Antin La Fayette stop which puts you right outside the Galeries Lafayette.

If you are wanting to see the 3 things of Eiffel Tower, Galeries Lafayette and Sacre Coeur, none of which are particularly near each other, you may need to opt for some speed between them. Do choose wisely if you take the Metro to Sacre Coeur as the Abbesses stop I think still has the elevator out so it's a huge climb up the steps out of there. Others can give you a better idea of bus routes for this route.

hi advocatecare
you can check out cedricparis.com. it's touristy but we are tourists. instead of hoho, these guys have different types of tours for you to see places in paris with a guide. Plus they donate to a worthy cause. If you like souflles, savory or sweet or both, check out la cuisine de philippe in the 6th. After sacre couer, walk to place du tertre, sit have a glass of wine, walk around and see all the artists doing their thing.
Happy travels
Aloha Princess Pupule

I agree with others that the HOHO bus wouldn't be a good idea twice. If you haven't been to Paris before, a first ride can orient you and get you to some of your top destinations, but it won't be fast. Metro is the way to whisk between far-flung sights like ET and Sacre Coeur etc. And the regular buses, which accept the same tickets as Metro, are a good way to save your feet and still get the street scenery.

I've been up the Eiffel Tower and I wouldn't say the view isn't worthwhile. But consider an alternative, the less crowded Tour Montparnasse. It's not as high or as close to the river, but the view is comparable, and includes the beautiful ET, and excludes the not-so-beautiful Tour Montparnasse (which inspired Paris to restrict building heights, one building too late). No need to reserve or wait in long lines, Metro station is right at the base, and it's OK even in bad weather because the observation deck is enclosed. By all means walk through the Champs de Mars and see the massive ET from below, avoiding the petition girls and souvenir hawkers, but don't feel compelled to go to the top, especially when your time is so short.

Have a wonderful trip and plan to return!