We need your Paris tips and suggestions too.

[Ned]

Along with Amsterdam, for which I've already gotten some good tips and advice, we're going to Paris for 5 days.

If you have some favorite restaurants, I'd sure like to hear about them. Tell us what we should absolutely see too. Has anyone taken one of the Da Vinci Code tours? How was it, and was it worth it? Is a day trip to Versailles worth it during a 5 day visit to Paris?

Please give me your best tips and suggestions, as well as favorites for Paris. Thanks in advance.

[BYOFT]

My best tip is to LIVE Paris, not just tour it. When I spent 5 days there, my favorite memories are from just "being in the picture", as it were. One day, I spent a couple of hours reading a book in the park around the Eiffel Tower. Another day, I spent a couple of hours drinking a bottle of wine in a sidewalk cafe.

Although the sightseeing is fantastic, and I did visit Versailles, and can recommend it, my best times were when I was living the city, not just visiting it.

Get a marron (chestnut) crepe from a street vendor. Heavenly, especially if you get it from the guy by the Notre Dame.

[jfrenaye]

Well, she likes Absolut vodka......if she get's too tipsy you drive the Bentley home!

Oh wait...

Restaurants...L"orangerie on Ille St. Louis
28, rue St-Louis-en-l'Ile,
6339398

Versaille--I would say for sure. I was there about three years ago and they were just getting ready to revamp the place with gazillions of dollars. So I imagine it looks fantastic and the gardens still ought to be in summer shape. If you have never been--it is a must see. But next time I am back, I want to see the update.

There is a fantastic blues club in Montpaparnasse. It is a few steps towards the Seine from the Le Meridian Hotel Montparnass. Cannot recall the street nor can I find a card.

I was fascinated by the Invalides, but would probably not go again as there is too much to see. I also enjoy spending a day up at Mont Marte and watching the artists paint, checking out the shops and cafes.

But L'orangerie is fantastic. Not over the top expensive but very good. They usually seat the english crowd in the front with waiters that can speak (?) english and the francophiles are in the back. They greet you with champagne, has the sorbet between courses and so forth. I think a dinner with a bottle of champagne ran us 120 to 14 Euro for two a few years back.

[Kairho]

BYOFT has it right ... envelope yourself in the culture and ambiance of the place. Versailles is super but don't do a tour ... take a taxi out or a private guide and absorb it.

Leave time to follow your nose and to do almost everything on a whim. I am not known as an art lover. I appreciate yes, but usually an hour of wall coverings is way more than enough. They ended up having to physically pull me out of there ... and even then I went back for another 5 hours the next day. Paris does that to you.

Enjoy a sidewalk cafe. Peruse the booksellers' stalls along the Seine. Try that hole-in-the-wall Italian joint across the street. LIVE Paris and you will love it.

[rm0902]

Just a few tips as they come to mind:
Remember most museums are closed Tuesdays so if you are going to do the Da Vinci Code it would need to be another day. I have never done it however my mother, who lives in Paris has done it many times with both American and French friends and everybody loved it.
Some other great museums: Musee Picasso (3rd arondissement) and the Musee d'Orsay (in the 7th).
The easiest way to get around is by bus and metro. You can buy a (I believe it is called) a Paris Pass valid for 4 days for about 120 euros - this allows you access to buses and metros as well as to some attractions. You can also just buy a pass valid for transportation.
One of the best ways to see Paris is by boat. I believe the tours start near Trocadero.
Some of my favorite areas to roam: the 5th and 6th (Latin Quarter and St Germain). If you have a minute take a look the l'Eglise St Germain. L'Ile St Louis (right in the middle of the Seine) has a lot of great small reatsurants and shops and it's a short walk to Notre Dame.
For lunch, most cafes offer affordable and good food. The "plat du jour" is usually on a blackboard right outside the door. If you really want to splurge, the Tour d'Argent offers a great lunch menu.
How are you getting to Paris? By plane or train?

[Ned]

The trip is a present for my wife for my 60th birthday, earlier this year. We're going on another trip, later in the year, for my present from her.

We're flying to Amsterdam. We're staying there for 4 nights and then we're taking the train to Paris. We're staying there for 5 nights and then we're flying home from Paris.

[bodega]

The trip is a present for my wife for my 60th birthday
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Oh, I like your style! I am making my husband read this

[Kairho]

That Big Train Trip I mention in another thread? Where ,yself and a buddy are heading away for 6 weeks? ...it's also a 60th birthday gift for my wife !

[Ned]

Of course!

Originally Posted by Kairho

That Big Train Trip I mention in another thread? Where ,yself and a buddy are heading away for 6 weeks? ...it's also a 60th birthday gift for my wife !

[jphart]

Ned:

· Travel like a native. Take the train to Versailles. (my wife did on her own, and loved the experience)

· Take a night-time cruise on the Seine. I booked it for my best friends for their 25th wedding anniversary. They did it as a dinner-cruise with wine, and they said it was the most romantic evening in years. Dinner is more expensive of course, you can do it without the food, I believe.

· Even though it is "touristy" - go at least part of the way UP the Tower Eiffel. Great views from every “Stage”.

· Eat, drink and be merry at a side-walk café. Don’t be afraid to ask for a menu in English.

· EAT, EAT. Yes street-corner creps, and don’t miss the bakery goodies. Don’t get room service or overpriced continental breakfast at your hotel. Throw on a pair of pants, go downstairs, down the street and find the bakery. Grab some take-out goodies and coffee, and bring it back for breakfast in bed. Take a nap afterwords.

· Walk the wide boulevards (you know what I mean – I just can’t spell it) and shop ‘till you drop.

· At what hotel are you staying? So many good choices? Even three stars can be great. It doesn’t have to be a 5 Star or the Ritz or Georges V.

Enjoy,

JPH