2 nights in Paris

[Phteven]

If you had 2 nights in Paris (or maybe 3) what would you do and where would you go?

[Jodie259]

I would just stay in the city area - and check out the tourist sites... Eiffel Tower, Louvre, a castle (can't remember what it's called). EDIT: remember: Sacre Couer (excuse my spelling - I need to brush up on my French) & Notre Dame, and the Arc de Triomphe.

I would go to cafes, and in the evening to to a show if you can. It can be really exhausting to check out a major city in 2-3 days... and you tend to be exhausted in the evenings. I love to spend time walking around the streets, taking in the atmosphere. But if you don't plan to go there often - then I think it's good to see the "touristy" things. When you get back home you get a real kick out of seeing things on TV and saying "I've been there". And you get amazed to see something like the Mona Lisa - and finding out it's really small!!!

If you had more time, I would go to EuroDisney - but it's quite a distance from the city - and in honesty - you should spend two days there alone. It's huge.

[visitor2]

I'd spend 3 days if you could the city is just so beatiful. All the place Jodie said i would visit again. You'd have to go and see the Mona Lisa it's just breath taking and lovely to look at.

One thing to check on when booking in how close you maybe to the red light area. The first time me an DH went together he booked us in to a hotel and around the corner was the red light district. The 2nd time we went i made sure the hotel was better and in the middle of everything.

ETA: I've been to Paris a few times now and have loved it everytime we went.

[fionas]

I'm probably the only person on the planet who doesn't find Paris in the slightest bit romantic or beautiful so I wouldn't do any sightseeing as such; I'd spend the entire time eating and drinking because the cuisine is truly terrific.

[sunnymel]

the lourve is a must - there are great walking tours you can do by yourself - a boat ride on the seine at dusk - a show at the moulin rouge - if you want a day trip out of the city try versailles or down to the loire valley - i found just wandering around the city & using my train pass fun - galleries layfette (if it is still there) is great to try on clothes you can only imagine owning!

[Ashlee]

A friend of mine would agree with you Fiona, she loved the sights but said she didn't get any romantic factor whatsoever, as the smell was too overbearing!

That aside, I'd do all the big attractions too - after studying French for a number of years, I've always yearned to go. My friends went a couple of months ago, and said Moulin Rouge was EXCELLENT (not kiddie appropriate obviously).

[Phteven]

Thanks for the suggestions.
We're travelling with 2 people who like to be in bed by 9pm, prefer a nap in the middle of the day and don't like to walk too far.
I love the idea of a dusk cruise. Yasin is into castles so we might also visit Sacre Coeur. I would love to visit the Louvre and the Eifell tower too but I hate rushing around a city so we're going to have to prioritise and just see how far we get.
Yasin loves cheese, I sometimes think I should have called him Anatole, so he'll be right at home eating stinky cheese lol. Yesterday I went out to hang out some washing and came in to find him eating a wedge of brie the same way most people eat a wedge of watermelon.

[Ashlee]

Chloe, I'll admit, I'm a cheese-a-holic just like Yasin LOL I understand him, totally

[MistyFying]

Chloe invest in a two day travel pass, which covers all subway trips. The network is great. Those three main things you mentioned (Sacre Coeur, Eiffel Tower, Louvre are all within the central part of the city. DH and I walked between the three, but you could jump on a bus or subway if you wanted.

The palace at Versailles is beautiful, but you'd have to catch the train as it's out of Paris (at Versailles).

And I appreciate Yasin's taste.... so who doesn't like eating Brie in wedges? LOL

[Laranna]

DP & I recently spent 3 days in Paris as part of our Eurotrip back in September.

Definitely get to the Eiffel Tower at night time. The whole thing lights up and from 9pm for 10 minutes and then every hour on the hour it sparkles - very pretty! That was our only late night out.

In the mornings don't eat at the hotel, walk through the streets and go into a patisserie and buy croissants and lots of goodies for brekky.

Also recommend seeing the Pantheon and Notre Dame - the age and detail of these buildings are amazing. The Louvre is pretty impressive is well. If you are there on the first Sunday in the month it is free to get in (so line up early!).

And also definitely do a boat cruise on the Siene - you will get to go past all the tourist attractions which is good to see them if you don't get to physically visit each one.

The food is great and if you eat at a regular cafe it is not as expensive as most people think. Just be aware that smoking is still allowed in restaurants/cafes in Paris (although I think they are changing this soon?) so that was the only annoying thing about it for us.

The metro (train) is cheap and gets you everywhere reasonably quickly, but it's a bit grotty and not as nice as the train system in Spain!

[fionas]

dachlostar, I realise how negative my previous response was so can I change it? Paris is not my cup of tea because a perfect city for me has hills and water. Hobart is perfect. If you have a choice of where to go in France, go to La Rochelle. Big enough to be interesting, small enough to get to know. It is on the coast so it has water. Unfortunately it has no hills or I would live there. In the meantime, I am possibly the only person who would prefer a weekend in Hobart to a weekend in Paris. I'm a cheap date!