To Rest or Not to Rest...

Bored in Paris? Never! What better place could you be to stop and rest when needed, having a drink at a cafe and people watching. The metro may be a problem physically, but you can take a bus or a cab if necessary. I suggest you may be more comfortable in an apartment, so you can have room to stretch out, be comfortable and make yourself at home. Be sure to verify if there are stairs to navigate. In January an apartment would probably be less expensive
too. As for Bruges, it's very nice but not many transportation options that I know of besides walking around. If you do decide on Bruges (or anywhere else) I would do it at the beginning or end of the trips, not in the middle.

As crazy as I am for Bruges...and I'm really crazy for Bruges...I think it would be soooo frustrating if I had mobility issues :-( Don't forget - IF you find yourselves at a museum, many of them (Louvre included) have free wheelchairs you can borrow (leave your US DL as collateral); save your knees! It could be fun knowing you have all day to look at the pretties, and you two could stop, rest, and study the art as often as you'd like. It sure beats the 'I have 4 places to see today; crazy me is trying to see the entire Louvre in 4 hours' sort of trip! My last trip to Paris resulted in only 1 day there - looooong story :-( - and it was one of our favorites! We took some food and wine to a park and ate while we people-watched. Then we wandered through some sites we never took the time to visit before (off the beaten path), then went to a brewpub I had visited years earlier but my husband had never been to, then we made our way here and there..it was so much fun. Sooooo different from our other trips. From then on, we vowed to do much more of that kind of traveling! I very much agree with your thinking on going to Paris and the whys. I could easily fill 7 days with sitting in the parks, people-watching from a café, strolling through a shop you never made time for before, maybe taking a little daytrip somewhere...wherever strikes your fancy at the moment! I think you could "stay put and café/browse/stroll yourselves into oblivion in Paris"! Oh, yeah - some of us on the West Coast don't really care for all of you East Coasters 'popping over the pond' for 3-7 day trips ;-)

thanks so much for the advice! It took us quite a few trips to figure out we didn't have to see everything all in one trip! And, once you get the touristy must sees out of the way, it can be quite a relaxing thing to just sit still for a week or so. We have done that in Italy a lot (I mean, really, wine, bread, olive oil and a vineyard - what more could you need?!) and I once spent a week in Vienna with my son, just doing coffee house crawls. Your advice is great - and as much in love with the idea of seeing Bruges I am, I suspect we'll take it easy this trip. I do expect to be quite mobile, but not for long durations - so no marathon running around from museum to museum - etc. Thanks again! Oh - P.S. Yup, we east coasters do have Europe at our finger tips, but we don't have your wonderful weather, wonderful wine and great organic food! Totally jealous!

thanks so much for the advice! It took us quite a few trips to figure out we didn't have to see everything all in one trip! And, once you get the touristy must sees out of the way, it can be quite a relaxing thing to just sit still for a week or so. We have done that in Italy a lot (I mean, really, wine, bread, olive oil and a vineyard - what more could you need?!) and I once spent a week in Vienna with my son, just doing coffee house crawls. Your advice is great - and as much in love with the idea of seeing Bruges I am, I suspect we'll take it easy this trip. I do expect to be quite mobile, but not for long durations - so no marathon running around from museum to museum - etc. Thanks again! Oh - P.S. Yup, we east coasters do have Europe at our finger tips, but we don't have your wonderful weather, wonderful wine and great organic food! Totally jealous!

Can you make a decision to adjust plans while you are in Paris? Or are you locked in? While it's great to just hang out in Paris for days, if you do get antsy maybe you could do something last minute...

I think a 7 day trio will be much more relaxing if you stay in one place.

I think that you need to set yourself the goal of developing your skills in the fine art of cafe sitting. When I visited Greece we didn't realize that this was skill that we would develop to the level of an art, but it was. And, I think that Paris is the perfect place to work that skill. Parisians probably think that the Greeks cannot reach the superior skills that can be developed in France. : ) Seriously, I would also think about wheel chairs and other ways to do tours sitting down. I think i would do a Seine riverboat tour no matter how touristy it sounds. Maybe there are some cultural events--concerts, theatre, dance, that you could go to as well. I've had a bum knee in NYC for the last year, and I've been trying to work out ways to still explore the city. And one thing I think I'll do this summer is the famous Circle Tour despite all the scorn of the locals. :) Pam

Ha! Pam - yes, we DC locals who have free museums at our fingertips never go...one day we need to play tourist in our own city. And everyone else - thanks for the great off-the-beaten path non-touristy suggestions of stuff to do. I also like the idea of being a little more flexible - we'll probably rent by the week and we could then leave our stuff in our room/apartment while we go off and play if the mood strikes. Thanks again - I'm hopeful my knee will be healing nicely and I will be able to stroll to my heart's content.

The St. Martin canal boat is nice on a good weather day. The Marmottan Museum, the lower level is a must-see for Monet fans. It's generally not crowded and there is plenty of seating to view all the paintings. The collection spans his career; it's interesting to see the development. The Louvre with a wheel chair is not a bad idea at all. And don't be embarrassed to get up and walk around and then return to it! In the evenings, chances are it will be next to empty. An evening at the Opera. . . a concert at St. Chapelle . . . Hot chocolate "a la ancienne" at Angelina's

Even if you didn't have the physical limitations, I'd advise against going to Belgium. You'll lose half a day each way, days are very short in January anyway, and I don't think Bruges would be enjoyable without sunshine - and what are the chances of that in winter? If you haven't done it yet, and are up to a couple of hours on your feet, take the Paris Walks chocolate tour. It's yummy and entertaining. There are stops at chocolatiers, if you tell your guide your limitation, she can probably arrange for a seat for you while she talks and you taste.

I vote for a week in Paris. On more than one occasion I have spent an entire week in Paris and have never gotten bored or regretted it. Limited mobility will complicate matters but not horrifically. I agree that learning the art of café sitting is a must! Some suggestions of other things to do: •Pere Lachaise Cemetery: half cemetery/half local landmark. Visit some famous graves. It's also where the communards made their last stand. •Spend a morning in Shakespeare & Co. bookshop, communing with the lost generation and talking with the staff. •Paris Sewer museum. Small but interesting. •Go to a Jazz Club and groove to the beat as late as you want (I recommend Caveau de la Huchette). •Track down Hemingway and Fitzgerald's old haunts. •If you've never been, Napoleon's tomb is a must see. At Invalides. •Picnics! Half the fun is buying the ingredients at the outdoor markets: http://www.paristopten.com/en/toptens/places-to-shop/top-ten-food-markets/ •Track down the remains of the Roman coliseum in Paris. (Not much to see, but its near rue Mouffetard!)
•Bits of the medieval city wall of King Philip Augustus can still be found (1200s). •Did you know there's a Little Tokyo in Paris? You'll be the only Americans in sight. •Shopping on Boulevard Haussmann! Enough said. You won't run out of stuff to do. Have a great time!

these are amazing offbeat recommendations! Some I've done before, but would love to revisit. Oh the Shakespeare - could consume an entire day easily :-) And a Hemingway crawl could be fun. Chani - I have been to St Chappele before but not for a concert which must be awesome. Will definitely look into. I think everyone has convinced me to stay put in Paris (not exactly a hardship!!) and so we will and fill this trip with little-known gems that have been suggested. The Rodin museum I could sit in for hours (and have) over and over again. And the advice about the days being short are wise - I appreciate all the feedback. My husband agrees - and we will be back much more often and have many more trips to play worn-out tourist in the future!!

I lived in France last year, lived in Paris part of the time and visited often, I never was bored. I loved just hanging out, taking it easy and just "being" there. Some of my favorite places are the banks of the Seine, Place des Vosges, the Marais - I never grew tired of hanging out in these places. I also loved discovering new restaurants and stores. Year round there are wonderful classical music concerts in the major churches in Paris - La Madeline, Ste. Chappelle, Notre Dame and others. You may see posters announcing them around town. Not all are free, but they are wonderful. I highly recommend taking one in.

I agree that going too far would put you into overdrive. Why don't you compromise and take one day trip outside of Paris? There are fabulous places to go in under an hour by train: the Champaign Region (Epernay & Reims...you can take an electric train through the caves); (45 min.) Giverney (Monet's home)
and a bit further: the Loire Valley (wine region, King's summer palaces and Villandry with beautiful gardens), Ambois Each time I go to Europe, I cover less territory, so I'm spending more time being there, than getting there. Have fun!

Brugges is 2-1/2 hours from Paris by rail, so a trip there need not take all day. Note however that in the same amount of time or less you can visit Dijon, Lyon, or Avignon. There are return trains from these cities that will get you to Charles deGaulle by mid-morning, so if you schedule your 2-day mini trip at the end you can spare yourself a third hotel switch.

I will be in Paris for a month by myself this summer and I also want to slow down. This will be my 5th time to Paris and I can't possibly imagine being bored. My struggle will be to meet people to enjoy the experience with. I am taking a trip for one night to Brugge. I'm not going because I don't think there is enough to do in Paris, but just because I've always wanted to see the "Venice of the North." Here are some things I'd do in Paris to keep it interesting -Visit a new park each day and rest there -Sit at cafes -When you can stroll, perhaps find a market
-Visit an organ concert or other type of concert where you can sit and rest I hope you have a great time!

Hello everyone - thanks again for the continuing suggestions! I love the idea of doing less each time we visit, and in fact, that is always our method when we travel to Lyon, which we have been many many times. It seems the more we go, the more we like to be a local, rather than a tourist! So, I have made some progress on the accommodations front - we found a lovely apartment in the Latin that my husband's colleague has stayed at and raved about through Guest Apartments. It is pricey, especially for winter, but our gut is telling us we will be far more comfortable in the heart of the city and in our own apartment than a small hotel room. Thank you for all the suggestions - trust that I'm copying and pasting each and every one into my kindle and will take on a bunch of them. Now, for the really tough part - my husband and I are vegetarians (though I have trained in French cooking, believe it or not) and we constantly struggle in our travels to Paris with finding veg options that are not offensive to the wait staff and restaurants. We break our diets and incorporate fish a lot on our travels, though it is not preferable. Lots of omelets and salads usually fit the bill. I understand in the few years that we have been to Paris, the city has not come a long way on the vegetarian front, but we love her in spite of that :-) Thanks again - you are helping to make this trip a truly memorable and relaxing one by insisting we slow the heck down and learn to chill!! Christine