Paris to start or end trip

I can't emphasize what a great time and money saver the Paris Museum Pass was for me. In front of many of the more popular museums, you will see a huge, discouraging line. What you need to know is that these people are waiting to buy tickets, not waiting in line for admission. With the Museum Pass, you can bypass the line and walk directly into the museum. Each museum usually has a seperate entrance for Pass holders. I found the best place to buy the pass is the Orsay Museum, because there is a seperate side entrance soley for purchasing Museum Passes. So, you don't have to wait in any long lines right from the start!

I think one item to consider is that you are just arriving onto the continent from a long flight. I have found for most people continuing on to another destination makes getting used to a time change more difficult.

Thus I would recommend starting in Paris.

Wow, thanks for the quick reply. That was what I had been thinking, but then when I started to map out what to see when in Paris, I kept running into the Monday closings. I think they'll just be 4 crazy busy days. But, I bet it will be great!

Given the current state of the dollar against the Euro, are there any good values in Paris I should know about? I've been looking at the prices for everything and it's stressful :)

Amy

Free or cheap in Paris: a daypass for Metro/buses, parks including Luxemburg Gardens and Rodin museum garden, churches, walking all over town, bakery items and grocery store food, Chinese restaurants (the deli type), views of the Eiffel Tower, shopping in museum shops without entering the museum, sitting almost anywhere and watching people, bicycle rental at the many Velib stands, etc.

The Louvre closes Tuesday instead of Monday as does the Palace at Fontainebleau, so these are a couple of options for Monday.

The Centre Pompidou, Musee de l'Orangerie, and Musee Picasso are open on Mondays. All are covered by the Paris Museum Pass. The private Musee Marmottan Monet is open every day.

Another consideration is how you feel about urban versus less urban environments. All things being equal, my partner and I prefer to start our trip in an urban area (architecture, museums, fancy restaurants, chic window shopping, etc.) and wind down later in our vacation as our energies flag by visiting smaller places. In fact, we try to carve out a day or two for a rural or beach locale late in the trip for a "vacation from the vacation." Believe it or not, touring non-stop is surprisingly exhausting and even stressful. So putting Paris off till last may not be the best plan, at least if you are like us.

I wold choose to end in Paris as I would not choose to do a monday OR a tuesday in Paris if I only had a few days. Tuesdays have closing also.

Amy,

You will be surprised at how much you can see and do on Saturday and Sunday in Paris. I have been there twice for 3 days each time and was able to do everything I wanted to do in those visits even with closings. The first time I was there over New Year's so on New Year's day everything was closed, of course. Since I had spent the first day visiting museums, I used the day when everything was closed to go around the city with my camera capturing the sights. On my second trip to Paris, I did the things I missed on the first visit.

Amy, you'll want to start in Paris. When you get there you'll have the most energy for doing some hardcore travel, and you don't get more hardcore (not extreme, just hardcore) than Paris. Sure, you'll be jet lagged, but you'll have the energy and attitude to deal with it better. Then you can unwind in the countryside after Paris.

I'm blown away by all of the great replies! Thank you all! Looks like the overall consensus is to start in Paris. I'll definitely be getting the museum pass. I didn't plan on doing two museums in one day, which was adding to my complexity of scheduling. Any advice on if it's reasonable to do one small (e.g. Rodin) and one large (e.g. Lourve) museums in one day? I like museums, but I also like to be outside getting the feel for an area.

Thanks again for the amazing input. I really appreciate it!

Amy

One thing you haven't mentioned is how you are going to get there or out to leave. In Paris and out at Nice? or In Paris and out Paris? Do you want to spend a 4 days in Paris, leave, then come back and look for more lodging before you fly out?

Personally I would do Avignon first. More layed back I find it easier to transition from jetlag, readjust to Europe. Finding a cozy little cafe or bar is more relaxing than spending your first couple of days figuring out the big city. Then to Bayeaux, then finish up in Paris, you will be rested enough to actually absorb what you are seeing in the museums, you are saving the best for last (my opinion), and it is convienient for you flight out.

Of course if you can fly out of Nice I would reverse my opinion, end in the relaxing South.

For a money saver we picked up lunch from a small store (like quiche, bread, sandwiches) and then ate on the river or in a park. For two of us it cost less than 10E and it was great to just sit back and relax. It was part of my favorite things to do in Paris.

Have a great time!

I would highly recommend using Rick's Paris 2008 Guide for the museum tours. These will enable you to see the highlights of all the major sights and many of the lesser ones in an efficient and entertaining fashion. The guidebook is a bargain for the tours alone. Browse a copy at a bookstore and see what I mean. You can also use the tour to get a feel for what the museum is like, and whether you'd like to visit. We just spent 8 days in Paris over the holidays, and used Rick's tours extensively. On the bargain meal side: don't drink soda at restaurants ($5.25 for the equivalent of a 12 oz can of Coke), learn how to ask for tap water instead, use crepe stands and other takeaway places when possible, and be sure to go to Lás Falafals in the Jewish Quarter. Another Monday idea is the Pere Lachais Cemetary, using the Rick tour.

If you decide to fly while in the South, fly from Marseille Provence Airport (MRS). It's closer than Nice. However, it will probably be cheaper to take the train back to Paris for your return flight.