Family of five coming to Paris May 2010. Not sure where to start - where to stay, key sites to see. Planning on going to Giverny and Champagne area for sidetrips. Need suggestions on enjoying the city without running our family into the ground. Not real big on museums and churches although i realize that there will be some of this that we will want to do. Perhaps smaller museums instead of larger crowded ones. No young chidren - age range 23 to 63. Thanks for starting on the planning process. All suggestions are welcome - travel guides, websites, etc.
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Hi Cobb. To me half the fun of travelling is the planning. Firstly, to get you started, head to your local bookstore and have a browse through the guidebooks. I personally love DK Eyewitness Guide to Paris, but as you%26#39;ll see there are lots. Maybe you should pick up a few (or borrow them from your library) and divide them amongst your family. Since you%26#39;re all adults, you can each read through and make a list of the things you would like to see. Then you can combine the lists and work out timing etc. afterwards.
How long are you travelling for? Any idea of what your budget is for accommodations? Are you looking for a couple of hotel rooms, or one large apartment? Is this a first time visit for all of you? Will you be doing everything together, or splitting up for some activities? If you can provide a bit more info for us, people can make more detailed recommendations.
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we are coming to paris to celebrate sons graduation from law school. Family has traveled to London and Barcelona for week at a time in the past. Will be allowing around eight days for trip. Know that we will be doing day trip to Giverny and tracking down ancestors near Champagne region - Egly family.
Not sure what to budget for lodging. Would think that apartment would be best - did b and b in London but was crowded and apt in Barcelona was very nice space wise plus kitchen for light meals and laundry. I think that we spent around 1,000 US for Barcelona apt three years ago. We would all travel together. Each family member has been asked to list one thing that is must see for them. Usually take Greyline tour of city first thing to get lay of land and in this case, river cruise would be something that we would probably do as well.
Given language barrier, crowds and distances between sites, hope to keep itinerary limited so that we can enjoy the experience of Paris without it being a forced march. Thanks for interest in helping us - Richard in Iowa.
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Hi Richard. Sounds like a wonderful plan to celebrate your son%26#39;s graduation.
With respect to accommodations, I think an apartment would be your best bet. There are many apartment agencies to rent from. I recently rented a studio apartment from www.centreparis.com. They have mostly studios but a few larger apartments, and they are budget, basic types of places with very reasonable rents. We stayed at the Aboukir 4 studio a few weeks ago and were really happy with it. They have 4 studios at Aboukir all on 1 floor, so you might be interested in renting two studios side by side to accommodate your family. Feel free to PM me if you want more info on centreparis. Another agency that comes well recommended here is www.vacationinparis.com. They are based in New Jersey, I believe, and they have a large selection of apartments.
I would suggest staying in the single digit arrondissements (areas 1 to 9) for your first time visit, as these will be closest to the sites you will probably want to see.
I like your idea to take a quick tour of the city first. You might want to try the Hop on Hop Off buses. Also, the Seine cruise is wonderful too.
As I think of more suggestions, I%26#39;ll post as I%26#39;m sure others will too.
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Our favorite small museum is
Musée Jacquemart-André
158, boulevard Haussmann
75008, Paris
Tel: 01-42-89-04-91
On the web at:
http://www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com/jandre
It was a private home of very wealthy art collectors (their yearly budget for art exceeded that of the Louve); the home is very, very interesting architectually and seeing everything %26quot;in place,%26quot; as it was is a very nice experience. Headsets in English are included in the admission price. It%26#39;s a wonderful way to look into Paris from 1880-1910.
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For a smaller museum, try the Musee de Cluny, building circa 1485. It%26#39;s chock full of medieval artifacts, and built over Roman thermal baths. Many tapestries, including %26quot;The Lady and the Unicorn%26quot; are housed there. It%26#39;s on the Left Bank, convenient to the Sorbonne and the metro stops St. Michel and Odeon. Well worth a short visit. Closed on Tuesdays.
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Hi --
I usually start with the Rough Guide for planning then add at least one other, often Frommers. I get a map at the same time, usually StreetWise, and if I%26#39;m planning any day trips I drag out my European Rail map, and refer to it if it isn%26#39;t to tattered in the necessary locations to be useful. After that, I consult Rick Steves%26#39; Europe 101 to brush up my European history and art, especially for my destination(s), of course. Steves%26#39; book Europe Through the Back Door is another good source. He includes a lot of museum information for Paris, and suggests some walking routes, as well as accommodation and restaurant choices. He also includes day trip information, so the book is well worth the price for your plans.
Check out www.amazon.com for your guidebooks, and browse some of the foodie guides, small museum guides etc., as well as phrase books, because all guides are probably in short supply at your local book store right now. You need to have your entire family read at least the Paris guides and make their wish lists so the resulting itinerary will be tailor made for your group. Go to www.ricksteves.com for his books as well as the European Rail Map. It%26#39;s an excellent planning resource for all your trips, so don%26#39;t mark it up when you%26#39;re working on this itinerary, and try to fold it carefully while you%26#39;re at it.
It takes a lot of time to move a group of five through a strange city, no matter how co-operative they are, so I%26#39;m glad to see that you don%26#39;t want to over plan things. The crowds will be a little more manageable in May than later on in the season, but the Mona Lisa room at the Louvre, for instance, is always a challenge. Don%26#39;t pass it up, just be prepared.
The Musee Jacquemart-Andre is a great suggestion, and it has a lovely, though not inexpensive, cafe for lunch. If you go, ask at the door if reservations can/need to be made for a group the size of yours, if you%26#39;re interested.
I agree that an apartment is a great suggestion. You can do a search here on the forum for companies that have given good service and list good properties. Additionally, you can try www.venere.com for listings. Their largest number of listings are hotels, but they include apartments, as well. Beware of any agency that seems to good to be true, or that requires a deposit through Western Union.
There has been a flurry of listings on several web sites for several cities that are fraudulent, and require a Western Union currency transfer. The funds go offshore immediately, of course, to locations in Nigeria or former Soviet Bloc republics.
There are a number of agencies that have been very satisfactory, so don%26#39;t be concerned, just be careful. There will be posting from various folks who will give you the names of the companies they dealt with, and the apartments they chose. You%26#39;ll be well spoiled for choice.
Paris is a wonderful city in which to stay in an apartment, although the rooms are generally small, all the support services will be close at hand, including cafes, brasseries, boulangeries (bread bakeries), patisseries (pastry bakeries), fromageries (cheese), boucheries (butchers) and general markets and shops.
Great prepared foods can be purchased at the super markets, and other food shops, and the street markets and green grocers will have terrific selections of super fresh vegetables for salads and side dishes, for the nights you want to dine in. French breads don%26#39;t contain preservatives, so they don%26#39;t keep very well. The French buy bread meal by meal. Do the same. Detail someone to bakery duty each morning so you%26#39;ll have fresh bread and croissants for breakfast. Save the pastries for a mid-morning coffee break. You%26#39;ll need the rest.
Since you%26#39;re starting to plan so much in advance, you%26#39;ll all have plenty of time to learn at least the courtesies in French. Check out your local library for CD courses. You don%26#39;t need to be able to discuss Decartes%26#39; philosophy, you just need to be polite. It will enhance your enjoyment a great deal because the French will be flattered by your efforts. The French are very reserved, so don%26#39;t be tempted to use the familiar forms of speech with them, no matter what advice you get to the contrary; it%26#39;s rude. Say %26quot;comment-allez vous?%26quot; (how are you?), rather than ca-va? (how%26#39;s it going%26quot;), as an example, and you will get along fine. Unless you become fairly fluent and very comfortable in French, be careful which questions you ask in the language, because the answer may come back as though jet propelled, and go right over your head. If the information you require is important, you%26#39;ll just have to do it all over again.
Bonne chance et bon voyage.
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To find an apartment, you can get a sense of what others have done here: tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k26308…
In terms of museums, can you give us a sense of your interests? A fairly small museum, once a mansion, which specializes in Impressionist art is the Marmottan. More popular is the Orangerie, but not too crowded in my experience. The Musee d%26#39;Orsay is excellent, but can get crowded unless you go in the morning. Of course, you can go to the Louvre which somebody is likely to request, and you can choose to go to the less popular parts.
Rcik Steeves web site gives a lot of Paris suggestions. ricksteves.com/plan/…france_menu.htm His book is good although there are many good books out there.
This site is one I liked for making a %26quot;must see%26quot; list. www.paris-france.org/en/Visiting/default.asp
I took a one hour river cruise to get a quick overview of the major landmarks, or you can take the hop on/hop off bus which lets you get off and actually visit a large number of sights. tripadvisor.com/…4381679
Use the search feature as you get specific questions and I am sure you will find many questions have already been answered.
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I just returned from Paris with my parents and we used Superior Paris Vacations for our apartment rental. I believe they are located in Colorado. We were very happy with our apartment.
My favorite museum in Paris is Musee Rodin. It%26#39;s small enough to not feel overwhelmed and it has both indoor and outdoor sculptures so it%26#39;s not weather dependent.
The hop on and off bus worked well for us too. You will be given the grand tour but you can jump off at anything you%26#39;d like to see up close. i highly recommend the bateau mouche at night when Paris is all lit up.
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