[stuckinparadise]

We decided to take a river cruise in November with AMA. We are doing the celebration of wine cruise on the Mosel and Rhine. We'll spend 4 days in Paris and take the high-speed train to Luxemburg to get on the AMADolce. It makes several stops in Germany and ends in Amsterdam.

[chachacha]

sounds lovely...don't forget to take the bateaux mouches on the seine while in paris!

[Whimsey]

Stuckinparadise you are so lucky. Haven't done the cruise thing but have spent time in Paris quite a number of times. Yes savor this wonderful city. See all the usual monuments but also take time to just stroll the streets and along the Seine in the evening and soak up the beauty of Paris. If you like sweets be sure to try their macarons...they are much different than an american macaroon. They are sinfully good. What time in November are you going? If it is at the end of November you may hit the Christmas Markets especially if you are having stops in Germany. The markets are fabulous as the cities really come alive with the season. The wine cruise sounds delightful. It sounds like you will have a wonderful trip. Enjoy!

[Hopeful2]

We absolutely love river cruising. We went on Avalon's Paris to Normandy and it was outstanding.. . beautiful accomodations, great food, and wonderful shore excursions. Don't miss Giverney to see Monet's home and gardens, lily pond, and Japanese bridge. Then be sure to see Monet's magnicicent paintings in Paris. Also, spend some extra days in Paris if you can.
We've also taken AMA's Rhine River cruise. It was lovely, too.

[stuckinparadise]

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. We plan to spend at least one entire day at the Louvre. I've already ordered tickets online. We are so excited about taking this wonderful adventure! BTW, we are going the beginning of November.

[PennBF]

I spent a great deal of time in Paris, working..touring, etc. Some suggestions
I think may be useful. If you are looking for a "reasonable" hotel which we used when company not paying was Hotel L'Aiglon. Not the International, etc but comfortable and near a Metro. Some other suggestions..The best way to get inexpensively acquainted with a new city is to take the American Express half day tour. Sit in the front with a map and mark down where you want to go back to. To prepare for the trip. Go to Barnes and Noble and buy a map
of Paris. Mark the "Tourist Sites" and check the distance between what you want to visit and you will soon see that you can't walk to each. Thus, get a map of the Underground which is very easy to use in Paris. The taxis can be quite expensive even more so in the evening and night where their rates go
up. For sweets go to Fucon's which is near the Opera. It is famous and you
will go back many times.
It is kind of sad to see some tourists standing on the corner trying to decide what to do next. If they just thought of how much that time costs when all the planning, which is great fun, could have been done before going overseas. A test someone once said to me that from planning you should be able to parachute into a city and know exactly where you were and what to do next and best way to get around. In Paris it is fun to sit in the Cafe's and watch the public. A great place to sit and enjoy the city is at Momarte (spelling?) and watch the artists and view of the city. It is easy to drive up the hill and park.
Just some idea's that may help?