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Post by annettecinca on May 22, 2007 12:48:04 GMT -5
Not surprisingly, my list of places to see on our next visit to Paris is getting too long! Since 3 of our previous trips have been spent showing "newbies" the major sites, I'm afraid to say there are many attractions we really should have already taken in, but haven't. We're hoping our next trip (probably Nov/Dec) will be for 2 weeks, so we'll be able to cover a lot of ground (in between the requisite aimless strolling and leisurely dining!). Here's my question: Out of the following (which appear in no particular order), which places would be in your Top 5 and why? (and no fair answering, "that depends on what you are interested in seeing"  --my question is what would YOU see?) Rodin Museum & Gardens Orangerie Luxembourg Garden Batignolles Square (Truffaut's tip!) Carnavalet Museum & Garden (Thanks, Gitte) Top of the Grande Arch at La Defense Bercy Village (following Anne's path) Cinema Museum at Bercy (hubby is a Frank Gehry fan) Opera Garnier production Top of Arch de Triumphe Berthillion to check out another flavor (Hi, Shoesy!) Amorino’s to compare to Berthillion (sacrilege!) St. Chapelle concert (or other cathedral?) Cooking class with Anne Market streets--rue Mouffetard, rue de Buci, rue Poncelet Petit Palais Laudere (macarons!) Maison Victor Hugo Musée Jacquemart-André Montparnasse area La Madeleine Saint Sulpice St. Germain des Prés church Nissm de Camondo Cluny Notre Dame crypt & arch. digs Chateau de Champs Basilique Saint-Denis Villa Savoye (modern architecture) Day trip to Charters Day trip to Amboise Day trip to Tours Day trip to Chantilly Day trip to Fontainebleau Day trip to Brussels |
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Post by GitteK on May 22, 2007 13:39:28 GMT -5
* Basilique de Saint Denis
* Market streets (one or several):
Wednesday/Sunday 07:00 – 14:30
Rue du GrenelleVery large and is located between the Motte-Piquet and Dupleix Metro, under the overhead metro bridge.
Wednesday/Saturday 07.00-13.30
Marché Avenue du Président Wilson
Thursday/Saturday 07.00-13.30
Marché Avenue de Saxe
Tuesday 07.00-14.30
Marché Place Maubert Mutualité
Flowermarket on Place des Ternes
Marché Poncelet in Rue Poncelet
Thursday, 7 a.m. to 2.30 p.m., Sunday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Bastille Market
Boulevard Richard Lenoir between rue Amelot and rue Saint-Sabin.
Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 2.30 p.m., Saturday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Edgar-Quinet Market, Blvd E. Quinet
Thursday, 7 a.m. to 2.30 p.m., Sunday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Pyrenees Market
Rue des Pyrenees between rue de l’ Ermitage and rue de Menilmontant.
* Eglise St. Eustache (MUST DO, not mentioned)
* Eglise Ste. Étienne du Mont (MUST DO, not mentioned)
* Top of Arc de Triomphe
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OBS! I never recommended the Carnavalet Museum - au contraire - I found it very boring. The gardens are lovely, but the museum: not. See my review in TA (under "Paris Attractions")
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on May 22, 2007 13:41:54 GMT -5
Hi -- I would put the daytrips in a separate category, but here goes (in no particular order):
Orangerie (I've been trying to take people there on trips for the last five years at least, and when it finally reopened the lines were dauntingly long but now should be okay -- I have not been back since it reopened but have heard good things)
Top of the Arc (wonderful views of Paris, any time of day/night or year)
Basilique St Denis for anyone who loves history (literally centuries of French royalty, plus listings of monarchs with dates, etc.)
Ste Chapelle (or other church) concert of chamber music (during summer, preferably near solstice time, when the light is still coming through the windows in the evening)
Berthillion (mais oui!)
. . . and at least five more, but I don't want to exceed your guidelines!
P.S. I probably wouldn't try to do Brussels as a day trip (it's a bit far) but would recommend for an overnight combined with a quick trip out to Bruges (30 minutes by train from Bruxelles-Midi, quick walk from the station to the heart of the town, and an afternoon is all you need for your first exploratory trip). Oh dear, now you will "smite" me for not following instructions!
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Post by sistereurope on May 22, 2007 13:54:19 GMT -5
I chose a mix of things that I've done and things that I haven't done but want to do (and WILL because I have to start planning another trip or I'm gonna go crazy):
L'Orangerie
Rodin
Market Streets
Musée Jacquemart-André
St. Chapelle concert
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diz
New Member
Posts: 9
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Post by diz on May 22, 2007 16:19:50 GMT -5
Paris is a 'short break', long weekend destination from here, so am I allowed to pick out just two? Next time it will be the Orangerie and possibly the Jacquemart-André. Alternatively a return trip to the Musée d'Orsay, to include lunch in the dining room and morning and afternoon snacks on the roof terrace. One destination per day is quite enough for a holiday!
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Post by annettecinca on May 22, 2007 21:23:24 GMT -5
Gitte--Thanks for your suggestions. I stand corrected about you recommending the Carnavalet museum--I remember you telling us how lovely the gardens are last year and that tip went on my list back then (guess I got carried away when I condensed it to the same line as the museum itself). I won't feel bad about skipping the museum now! Thanks too, for your wonderfully detailed market tips. They will be dutifully noted. We have visited St. Eustache several times, and it is a special place. My list is now longer, because I had to add Ste. Étienne du Mont! <sigh>
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Post by annettecinca on May 22, 2007 21:42:30 GMT -5
Becky-- Go ahead and add more than 5, I won't smite you! I just didn't want to overload the system by asking for 15 or 20! (plus, I am hoping to narrow down my list!) I am looking forward to the Orangerie too, it having been closed every time we've been there (except for last fall, but we didn't have anywhere near enough time that trip). Thanks for striking Brussels from the day trip list. Someone had suggested it as a possibility, but I hadn't studied the feasibility of that one yet. We have been to St. Chapelle, but it was cloudy, so I think it deserves another visit, and a concert setting would be perfect. And another vote for the top of the Arc! We've walked around the bottom numerous times, but have never gone to the top, and I really don't know why! Anyway, thanks! |
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Post by annettecinca on May 22, 2007 21:52:57 GMT -5
Sistereurope--I like your list! Right in line with my thinking. And I definitely relate to having to be planning a trip or going crazy...
Diz--I'm jealous! What a treat it would be to live close enough to head to Paris for a long weekend! Being so far from Paris is the only downside I see to living in California (okay, aside from the earthquakes, smog and traffic!!!)
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Post by GitteK on May 22, 2007 23:48:32 GMT -5
annettecinca - and to sprinkle salt in your wound......... over here a roundtrip Copenhagen-Paris CDG can be had for 145 USD.
>>I love Paris in the springtime, in the winter....every season of the year .... duh-da-du-da-duh-da-du ....<<
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Post by Shoesy on May 22, 2007 23:51:25 GMT -5
Ouch! My wounds hurt too, Gitte.
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Post by annettecinca on May 22, 2007 23:57:49 GMT -5
Gee thanks, Gitte!  I can't even fly up to San Francisco for $145! |
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Post by andi on May 23, 2007 4:03:38 GMT -5
My top 5 would be..............
LUXEMBOURG GARDENS as we backed out last time, too scared to try the RER B ligne, for fear of getting lost.
TOP OF ARC D T because everyone I travel with is too "chicken" to go up.......their fear of heights!
BERTHILLON because we only grabbed a sorbet from an outside vendor last time
A COOKING CLASS WITH ANNE It sounds a fun day! and just to pretend that I can cook good french food for others back home
MONTPARNASSE AREA as we have not ventured in that direction yet
Most of mine are still pretty standard, its great though because I will be on my third trip and will still have only scratched the surface of places that I want to explore. I would also like to go to VERSAILLES next time too.
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Post by Truffaut on May 23, 2007 7:57:03 GMT -5
Basilique Saint-Denis
Sainte-Chapelle
Musée Nissim de Camondo
Arc de Triomphe (all the way to the top)
Musée de Cluny
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Post by Shoesy on May 23, 2007 9:27:43 GMT -5
Berthillon Sainte Chappelle Luxembourg Gardens Rodin Carnavalet |
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Post by joan1 on May 23, 2007 9:59:30 GMT -5
Anywhere along the Seine,( I am very drawn to water,, being from an island, I can't deal with being landlocked too long unless I see water)
Top of Arc - my favorite high up view in Paris , I love being even able to see onto some of the room top gardens of the outrageously rich apartments buildings nearby!
Luxembourg gardens.
The Louvre- I don't care what anyone says,,, you cannot say " you have done the Louvre" unless you have had the opportunity to go every day for a year! LOL I have been at least 5 or 6 times,, and that is still not enough for me!
Notre Dame,_ if one has never been, then of course do the towers, but for me, I just like to contemplate the passage of time and persons over the hundreds of years gone. Just thinking about the poor workmen , working up so high, years before the thought of" worker safety laws" is mindblowing.
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Post by annettecinca on May 23, 2007 11:26:37 GMT -5
Hey, thanks for adding your thoughts Andi, Truffaut, Shoesy & Joan! The top of the Arc has officially moved to the top of my list, along with Luxembourg Gardens and a concert at St. Chapelle. In the "dumb question" category--is there a night and day difference between seeing the gardens in the winter vs. spring/summer? We haven't made a particular effort to visit any of the big parks on our visits because we've always been there in the fall or winter, and frankly, bare planters and bald trees came to mind! But now that I think about it, the fountains and neatly-trimmed hedges and topiaries would all be the same that time of year, and I suppose some winter-blooming varieties of flowers, right? We'll go next time for sure!
Andi--Don't let the RER overwhelm you! It's so much like the metro; they flow almost seamlessly into each other, and the differences about how to do it are hardly worth mentioning.
Joan--Of course the Louvre is on our list (I didn't even have to ask about that one!). We, too, always visit a different section each time we're in Paris, and I imagine it will be years and years until I feel like we've "done" it.
Truffaut and Shoesy--Almost everything on both your lists are being added to my short list (well...it's not so short!). The only one I'm teetering on is the Carnavalet. Shoesy, what draws you especially to that museum? Gitte didn't care for it, and you two seem to be in agreement on a lot of things, so I'm curious! I'm not trying to pick a fight, honest! ;D In light of recent discussions about getting more "meat" on the forum, starting this thread was my humble contribution. I'm loving this site, "chatter" and all! I was getting extremely bored with that other place and missed some of the regulars, so I'm glad to be here, even tho I don't speak up much!
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on May 23, 2007 16:49:11 GMT -5
About Carnavalet -- I found it interesting (saw it only once, in the early 1990s on my first trip so it's possible that the displays have changed) and I'm sure it would have been more so except that I didn't understand the explanations about many points because my French just was not good enough. That said, it's interesting from an architectural standpoint because essentially you get to wander through a large house like those you normally see only from outside. The part I really did like was a scale model of the city in (as I recall) around 1500. But I have to agree with Gitte that it wouldn't go high on my list.
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Post by Shoesy on May 23, 2007 22:44:00 GMT -5
annette - This is going to sound very crazy, but I simply fell in love with the name Carnavalet the first time I heard it, so I've been wanting to see it. But if many of you say it's not so interesting, I can easily choose other ways to spend my precious time in Paris. As for agreeing with Gitte, our taste is probably quite different. For example, her idea of a good drink is something that I would call "booze", and that's something that my lips don't touch. Only water and coffee for me........maybe tea once in a while. In addition, she loves performances where "the fat lady sings", while my passion is to see men and women leaping across the stage in their tights.  |
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Post by susanb on May 24, 2007 0:27:57 GMT -5
You are OUT OF YOUR MIND! (Thats good) Don't we all love a new avatar and no matter what topic we're on, its impossible not to comment on it...especially when you know that some of us are so PROUD.Not only are we smiling ear to ear for the person who just put up the new avatar, we're smiling for ouselves, because we're getting pretty good at doing it too.
susan
shoe cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by susanb on May 24, 2007 0:50:11 GMT -5
I'm so sorry, I don't know how to edit..........what a fool I am Of course, the above memo was meant for Shoesy. I apologize. Anyway, I would'nt go to the Rodin museum and it is one of my favorites. Since the best part of the museum is outside the winter would take too much joyout of it. Maybe thats with all parks. A little greenery makes all the difference. The Louvre is a good choice to go to. Quieter and you cansee the things you missed last time. Any concerts you get see at night woud be beautiful. Just IMO.
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--my question is what would YOU see?) 
I can't even fly up to San Francisco for $145!
hahahha