Jump to content
aberdeen-music

New Year in Paris - help :)


beeker

Recommended Posts

Would like to pick your brains if anyone has been to Paris before and can recommend places to go and not to bother with!. Staying close to the Arc De Triomphe:

Arrive Friday afternoon and leave late Sunday night. Would like to take in some shopping, good restaurants, places of interest. Obviously Eiffel Tower, Louvre, is Notre Dame worth a look?

Any info greatly appreciated!!

Cheers folks,

beeker.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Sacre-Coeur is way more impressive than the Notre Dame, if only because it's so fucking unnerving. The whole area around Montmatre is worth a look, especially the artist's square. It's also the red light district, but that's more amusing than anything else.

A good trick in Paris is just to get a load of Métro tickets and go to random places :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Go to the Eiffel Tower at night, and you'll probably never see anything as pretty again. Although, at this time of year the queues will be horrendous, and there's not much chance you'll get to go to the top level. Some of my favourite things are - the food market on Rue Mouffetard, sitting at the edges of the Ile de la Cité (where Notre-Dame is), and the restaurant 'Mollard' (near where you're staying, on rue Saint-Lazare) is so lovely and traditional you just never want to leave. If you have time, take the train out to the Versailles Palace.

Be careful crossing Place Charles de Gaulle. Its awful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Aye, like Cloud and Janine have said if you do go to Montmartre make sure to go see Sacre Coeur, the view from the front of the church across the whole of the city is nothing short of stunning.

The Opera House near Galleries LaFayette (I think) is pretty beautiful. It's said to be where the Phantom of the Opera story was inspired by/set etc.

If you get a chance, Musee Marmottan (sp?) where Monet's Waterlillies are, go there. You really can't appreciate those paintings fully until you've seen them up close (or far away as you're really supposed to :p) they are huge.

Anyone who says Notre Dame isn't worth a look clearly hasn't been there, it's beautiful.

I'm incredibly jealous. I'd love to go back to Paris. Favourite city in the world.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyone who says Notre Dame isn't worth a look clearly hasn't been there' date=' it's beautiful.

I'm incredibly jealous. I'd love to go back to Paris. Favourite city in the world.[/color']

This is the truth. Notre Dame really is pretty incredible... The Catholics do the best buildings in the world :up:

And I think Paris is probably my favourite city too... it's fantastic.

If you have a spare day then go to the Louvre. Some amazing stuff in there... but if you don't have much time then don't bother. There is so much stuff to see that if you've only got a few hours you won't see enough of it and you'll be annoyed because there is so much stuff you had to miss out. And the Musee D'Orsay is also amazing if you're into paintings at all, lots of Van Goghs, Monets, Pissaros and the like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

DON'T GO TO THE EIFFEL TOWER AT NIGHT. The first time I went was brilliant. The second time I went with my boyfriend and we thought "oooh lets go at night because it'll be all lit up and romantic!" Which is exactly what everyone else does and you end up spending most of your time queuing. It's really cold up there too, and that was in August. Go during the day because the queues are shorter and you can see much more. Take a riverboat trip in the evening because it will take you past the tower and you can see it all lit up.

Visit the Pompidou if you like modern art. It's really quiet compared to the other galleries and there's a lot of really impressive stuff. If you go the the Louvre take your time walking through to the Mona Lisa, and look up! The ceilings are my favourite thing about the Louvre and be prepared to not really see the Mona Lisa. Last time I was there it was worse than being at a gig, all I could see were cameras and mobile phones before we got moved on through to the next room.

When you climb the steps to the Sacre Coeur in Montmatre you might think "where did the eiffel tower go?" but it's hidden behind some trees and you have to move right over to the left if you want to see it. Actually, those trees might be bare in winter and you might see it fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Speaking of the Louvre, the Jardin des Tuileries is worth a visit and is practically next door, it's great fun to just wander through there and forget everything.

La Defense is also incredibly cool, though a fair way out of town (don't think the Metro goes that far out, but I might be wrong...) - and if you're there at the right time, the flea markets are also incredibly fun for seeing the masses of illegal stuff for sale :D

I'm not convinced that the Eiffel Tower is actually a "must-do" if you're on limited time - not when there's so much more to be had. I've never been to the Catacombs, but it sounds like something that would be an unforgettable experience.

And it was me Rachie that said that Notre Dame wasn't worthwhile :p I didn't like it, it felt too touristy compared to the Sacre-Coeur (which feels anything but that).

Whatever you do, take the time to discover real Paris, don't just follow tourist maps or guide books. And take the time to visit St Cloud ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sacre-Coeur tends to be crawling with tourists aswell to be honest... but it's still beautiful.

If you really wanna appreciate the beauty of Notre-Dame you should view it from the Bateaux Mouche boat trip on the Seine, it takes you right the way round the cathedral and you can really take in that classical Gothic architecture.

Also if you've got the transport or the time, Versailles is another place not to be missed. I'd love to see it in winter...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

lots of food for thought there peoples. I quite like the idea of the boat trip as we could see a lot of things in a limited time. I expect this can be booked fairly easily from hotel or riverside?

Going to fill my day googling all the little nooks n crannies that have been suggested. I think the artists square thats been mentioned could be a good place to recover on Sunday!?!

hopefully it'll be all snowy and romantic too! :) brownie points coming beekers way!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

impressive. good job i'm having my suit trousers lengthened today! . 24 and still growing.. ich bin ein freak.

really looking forward to it now. just need to figure out where it is so i can book it tomorrow in person for saturday night :) dinner on the seine and then off to the champs elysees for celebrations!!. (i read somewhere thats where the party is)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is the truth. Notre Dame really is pretty incredible... The Catholics do the best buildings in the world :up:

And I think Paris is probably my favourite city too... it's fantastic.

If you have a spare day then go to the Louvre. Some amazing stuff in there... but if you don't have much time then don't bother. There is so much stuff to see that if you've only got a few hours you won't see enough of it and you'll be annoyed because there is so much stuff you had to miss out. And the Musee D'Orsay is also amazing if you're into paintings at all' date=' lots of Van Goghs, Monets, Pissaros and the like.[/quote']

paris is also my favourite city. every time i'm there it feels like home. to be honest, i don't bother with the louvre anymore. the mona lisa is disappointing when you finally get to see it and i find the works in the musee d'orsay are so much more interesting. go to the musee de montmartre. it's down a little lane off artist's square and it's got a lot of steinlen and toulouse lautrec paintings. it used to be steinlen's house (he's the guy who did loads of nightclub posters at the turn of the century, like tournee du chat noir). it only takes about an hour to go around and it's so interesting. the catacombs are something i've always wanted to see but last time we were there they were shut for maintenance. the opera house (place d'opera) is stunning. go for the detail. notre dame is incredible, and take the time to climb up all the stairs because the view is amazing. and as other people have said, sacre coeur is one of the most beautiful places to go. go during the day to see the inside, run like crazy if the men on the steps try to put a friendship bracelet on you and then go back at night, sit on the steps and gaze out over the city of lights.

last time we went we mostly didn't bother with the metro and instead chose to walk everywhere during the day. get a good detailed map if you're going to do this, but a lot of the time you find little hidden treasure and you get to see more of the city. plus you're in really good shape once you get home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sacre-Coeur tends to be crawling with tourists aswell to be honest... but it's still beautiful.

If you really wanna appreciate the beauty of Notre-Dame you should view it from the Bateaux Mouche boat trip on the Seine' date=' it takes you right the way round the cathedral and you can really take in that classical Gothic architecture.

Also if you've got the transport or the time, Versailles is another place not to be missed. I'd love to see it in winter... [/color']

versailles in winter is beautiful. a couple years ago we went and the fountains were totally frozen over.

la defense is at the end of metro 1, defense. it's the very last stop.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...