I have three days in Paris - first time visitor, what do I do?

Question

Yes, I have several guide books, but looking for recommendations from other folks. I've found from my visits to Denmark and Germany that I can get more of an "inside scoop" from Yahoo Answers and other forums.

Answer 1

You DO have a GUIDE BOOK... right?  Just LOOK IN THE GUIDE BOOK and you will get all kinds of ideas... Fromer's Paris is a good book.. full of all kinds of ideas

Answer 2

I have been to Paris twice-in 1985 with a high scholl group, and in 1999 for a week with my sister. I strongly recommend the Louvre Museum, walking along the Champs Elysses, the Luxembourg Gardens, going to the top of the Eiffel Tower and taking a nightime boat ride on the Seine-very beautiful!

Answer 3

I found Paris great fo sightseeing....there are lots of things to do.

The Louvre is great but GINORMOUS!!!! You really need a long time to appreciate it....I did it in 2 parts over a day with rest in between...and that  was pretty much just walking it the entire time....

I didn't see the Musee D'orsay....grrr but I hear its pretty good.

THere are lots of museums and you can get a pass to see a lot of them ( not all are included) but if you like museums its a good way to go.

The eiffle tower is good for seeing the city...I went in Feb and it was a trifle chilly and windy at the top, but I liked it. some people don't seem to like it much.

I did sacre Coeur.....I walked to the top which has LOTS of steps, but views are pretty cool...the actual cathedral is ok but its really the views.

Saint Chapelle is pretty cool...lovely stained glass windows and Notre Dame is amazing.

You can do a boat ride along the Seine which gives you good views of things....including the side aspect of Notre Dame which I think is more impressive than the front on view.

For something different there is the famous pere lechaise ( spelling!!) cemetary where lots of famous people are buried like Jim Morrison, Chopin and Oscar Wilde...you can buy a map at the entrance to show you where they are buried....but its an interesting place to visit anyway.

I used the metro for everything...i got a pass...but I understand they are a bit different now ( I got a carte orange). but the metro is great and apparently you will not walk more  than 500m to get to the metro in Paris.

I also did a half day tour of Versailles...its up to you if you want ot spend your time doing this, but I enjoyed it ( the guide was great on our trip and told us a lot of interesting stuff...my sister said she found it boring when she went alone....so its up to you)....the gardens are not to their best in Feb, but its still humungous.

Answer 4

To learn some French cause French people don´t like to speak other languages even if they can.

Answer 5

You must go to Montmartre/ Sacre-Coeur Basilica... it is the most beautiful view of the city. If walking up the steps is a problem, they have this thing that can take you up, I don't know what it's called. Also this is an artist area.

The Louvre is wonderful, but it is so large and overwhelming, you would have to spend a long time there to be worth it.

The Musee d'Orsay was my favorite museum. It is where the impressionist art is.

Avenue de Champs-elysees is beautiful, and l'Arc de Triomphe is right there.

La Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris is right by the Seine river and is amazing.

You'll probably want to go to the Eiffel Tower.

Take time to just enjoy the parks, gardens, fountains, people watching, the wine, the pastries, the bread....

Have fun!

Answer 6

You can absolutely walk around in February -- that's one of the best things about Paris!!  The temps will be in the mid to upper 40's Fahrenheit, so just wear a sweater and a jacket, and you'll be fine.  

My favorite museum is the Musee d'Orsay.  I also liked the Musee Rodin.  Of course, le Louvre is the most well-known, but I find it a little, okay a lot, overwhelming.  

If you like Gothic architecture, make sure to visit both Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle (spelling may be wrong).  They are very close to each other on an island in the Seine.  I think it is Ile de la Cite, but it could be Ile St. Louis...Also check out Paris City Hall, which is called Hotel de Ville.  

When you get tired of walking, hop on a bus to ride around a little.  Bus 64 goes by most of the major tourist sites, if I remember correctly.  Check your guidebook to be sure.  

There's a place in the Marais called Le Tresor that would be great for a romantic dinner.  Also, there's another place right across the courtyard called Les Philosophes that makes terrific lamb chops.  For a really romantic dinner, you could take a dinner cruise on the Seine!  

Have fun.  Wish I were going!

Answer 7

It will be cold and its also likely to be wet.

A weekend is obviously too short a time to do anything but check out a few of the obligatory tourist sights. The Eiffel tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, and Sacre Coeur would be the obvious places.

The museums of Paris are a vast undertaking and to see just the Louvre for example, would, if you spent 30 seconds on each work of art, require more than four months of 24 hour a day, seven day a week viewing.

Rather than rush by the masterpieces in the Louvre, Musee D'Orsay, Museum of Modern Art, Cluny Museum, Rodin Museum, Musee Branley, etc etc it's probably better to leave them for another day.

There's also a lot to Paris that is beyond the tourist sights. Its the ambience and the attitude of Paris which need to be lived and felt.

You should spend some time just strolling around the city to appreciate its architecture and to get a feel for its medieval layout, the Belle Epoch improvements of Baron Hausman, and the modernizations seen in places like the Les Halles Forum and the new Opera in the Place Bastille.

You should take a little time to just sit in a cafe in the Latin Quarter or St. Germaine and people watch.

Enjoy some of the nightlife of Paris. Not the tourist ripoffs like the Moulin Rogue or the Lido but the vast number of fantastic music venues, from the jazz joints to discos.

Eat! And be a bit courageous. Go to places that don't cater to tourists and don't have English menus. Just point to things on the menu or, better still, walk into a cafe at lunchtime and ask for the daily special which you'll almost always see displayed on a chalk board. don't worry if you don't know what it is! Try it! The worst that will happen is that you'll have a hilarious story to tell about how you got served a calve's head with cream sauce or something else too weird for you to eat.

Take this weekend as a sort of "first date." Perhaps you will fall in love with Paris as so many of us have. If so then you'll be back again and again.  Leave the rest of the sight seeing for then.

SOME PRACTICAL TIPS:

Cafe au lait is only called that at breakfast. At other times it is "café crème " or "une crème."

Asking for special preparation of food items is generally frowned on as is the practice of the "doggy bag."

By law, prices must be posted in the window of cafes. You will notice that there are usually at least two price levels. One is for service at the bar (le zinc) and the other for table service. It is cheating to buy a drink at the bar and then take a table to drink it at.  Most cafes also post a daily special on a chalk board. Look for it. Its usually a good deal.

What is called a menu in English speaking countries is "La Carte" in France and the term "menu" (or "formula") is reserved for special meal deals. Check these out as they are almost always good value for money.

If your hotel charges extra for breakfast it will almost always be a bad deal. Eat at a local cafe instead.

For a great dinner at a fair price try La Methode at 2 rue Descarte in the 5th arrondissement and get a table in the back room.

There's a one day transport pass called a Mobilis that can be a good deal if you're going to be using public transport several times a day. This is NOT the same thing as Paris Viste pass which is sold to tourists and more expensive.