[Northerner52]

Heading to Paris for a week. Would like to hear your recommendations on all good things.

[TheVillageChicken]

Watch where you step.

[graciegirl]

The Arc De Triomph, The Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Champs Elysee, The Seine, Cathedral de Notre Dame. The Ballet. All of the outdoor cafe's. The spicy garlic laden mayonnaise served on green beans, the croissants, the cheeses, Ooooolalalalala.

And the well behaved children and dogs.

[redwitch]

The Rodin Museum. Spent three solid days there. Could have spent a lifetime or two and seen something different in each statue every time.

If you go in January, check out the designer sales. Some pretty awesome discounts.

Forget the name of the store, but their department store is really fun.

Just wander. You'll find something beautiful around every corner and some great little shops in the alleys.

Take the Metro. Get off at every station. The decor in each is amazing, as are the street musicians.

Learn some French before you go. It makes Paris a lot friendlier.

[CFrance]

While the metro is really neat and easy to use, if you can figure out the schedule, take a few buses too. Since you only have a week, taking buses allows you to see more of the neighborhoods. The metro is almost all underground and affords few views, although some of the stations have some interesting decor The Most Beautiful Metro Stations in Paris | WhyGo Paris

If it's warm, a fun thing to do is get on one of the tour boats for a narrated ride on the Seine. Don't do a dinner cruise--too expensive, mediocre food, and you miss a lot of the sights because you're eating! If you go around sunset, they try to reach the view of the Eiffel Tower on the hour, when it twinkles for five or ten minutes.

Another thing you might consider is taking the red hop-on/hop-off bus. It will give you an overview of the city's high points, and you can decide which ones you want to go back to and spend more time.

For museums, I like the Musée d'Orsay. It's smaller and less overwhelming than the Louvre, and there is a nice restaurant in the museum. The restaurant takes reservations.

Go online and search walking tours of Paris. You can either figure them out yourself or go with a guide. We've done a couple of walking tours there and particularly liked the one of the Marais, straddling the 3rd & 4th arrondissements., one of the few neighborhoods of Paris that Haussmann left alone when he remade Paris for Napolean III.

I could go on and on. Have fun!

[graciegirl]

Watch out for the pick pockets.

[CFrance]

Another thing... you can get online and reserve a time to go up the Eiffel Tower. Otherwise you'll stand in line for a long time. Google "Eiffel Tower Tickets." My internet is slow as molasses tonight.

Think about going to Montmartre. I love it up there. There is a walk you can do from one metro station (the one with the murals--I think it's Abbesses) that goes up a street past the two remaining windmills, through a park with a statue of a saint holding his own (be)head (forget his name) and approaches Sacre Coeur from a different angle rather than pushing through all the crowds up the main approach. If you're interested, PM me and I'll look it up online when I have better internet. I might even still have it in a word doc.

There is a little map booklet called Paris Pratique available at almost any news stand. My husband swears by it.

[Bonanza]

Yes, pickpockets are everywhere, and they are good.
They are particularly around the cathedrals and on the metro.
Watch out for gypsies.
You might see barefoot women, singing and carrying a baby which is a distraction while someone else may bump into you.
Another of their tricks is to drop something or a coin.
While you bend down to supposedly help, they are doing a number in your pocket.

Get a shoulder money belt which hangs under your arm or one that hangs around your neck inside your clothes.

[CFrance]

Even if you are not a foodie or are staying in a hotel rather than an apartment with a kitchen, you might like to explore one or more of the outdoor street markets of Paris. Our favorite is the Marché Bastille, which starts at the Place de la Bastille and continues for a couple of city blocks down Bld. Richard Lenoir. The big day is Sunday, in the morning till around noonish. There is a jaw-dropping array of food and other items. There are other markets as well. Food markets in Paris. The first market listed on this site, Rungis, is the main drop for all food coming into Paris. I think you have to have a guide to get in, and they go around 4:30 a.m., so we've never been.

[cms36]

Batobus

These are boats that do a loop of all the major attractions. You can get day passes and jump on and off whenever, wherever you want. Its also nice to just stay on the boat when you need a break. The boats hold a lot of people so not a problem getting a seat.

paris personal tour - seine river boat tours - seine river cruise price - paris night tours

[annaconner]

A useful book for restaurants was written by an American student - Miles Turner, whose parents lived in Paris. This gives the restaurants off the tourist trail and therefore less expensive. It was a few years ago when we used this and I don't know if it is still available. Book title Pauper's Paris. We spent a very entertaining lunch in the Rue St Denis " the red light district" and the Rue Madeleine where the bored housewives go!

[Bonny]

Go to the Palace of Versailles. Beautiful. The dinner cruise on the Seine River was awesome. Delicious meal, wine and music. So much fun. It's also fun to get a ticket for the open tour bus. We got a 2 day ticket. You can hop on and off in all parts of the city. There are 4 routes but they all connect. Go to Champs Elysees. Have lunch or dinner at an outdoor cafe and people watch. Moulin Rouge was a good time.

http://www.bateauxparisiens.com/dinn...e-8-30-pm.html

[billybye]

Moulan Rouge - probably spelled wrong - a must one time, expensive, but worth it.

We said we would go once, but when we went back to Paris we went again.

Nothing like it - even in Las Vegas

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by cms36

Batobus

These are boats that do a loop of all the major attractions. You can get day passes and jump on and off whenever, wherever you want. Its also nice to just stay on the boat when you need a break. The boats hold a lot of people so not a problem getting a seat.

paris personal tour - seine river boat tours - seine river cruise price - paris night tours

Batoboat... That's the one I was talking about. Much less expensive than the dinner cruise and not as time consuming. Plus I have to disagree with Bonny about the quality of the food served vis-a-vis the price. But Bonny's and my tastes differ on restaurants and food, so you might enjoy it more than we did.

Versailles is reachable by train, about 1/2 hr or so outside of Paris. Awesome, but it will be crowded.

[CFrance]

Père Lachaise Cemetery. It's an oasis of quiet and beauty in the city. There are many different above-ground crypts and tombs, and fascinating architecture and sculpture. And empty tombs because descendants refused to pay for their upkeep, so the remains were removed. The landscaping is beautiful. Lots of famous people are buried there, in particular Jim Morrison, Moliere, Chopin, Colette. Go here for some pictures of ten of the graves. Top 10 Fascinating Graves in Père Lachaise - Listverse
It's free, and you can either download a map or get one from the cemetery office.

(Our dog got kicked out of there once... escorted to the door by a ghostkeeper. He may be the only golden to visit Jim Morrison. No sign at the entrance we used.)