Paris Itinerary (No Disney!) - Opinions Please

[ally1966]

Originally Posted by BerkshireBugsy

Why do I get the feeling you have this well and truly sorted ? !

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I hope so, feeling under a lot of pressure to get it right! It is so long since I went to Paris myself that I've got no experience to base this trip on. I really want my girls to have an enjoyable and memorable time but at the moment it feels like "the blind leading the blind".

[ally1966]

Originally Posted by phoebe23

Good itinerary - Galleries Lafayette has a terrace cafe overlooking the Opera House. I love Phantom of the Opera so HAD to go inside - fantastic! A box door was left open so we could peep at rehearsals - salons to die for and that staircase - FABULOUS!

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Thanks. I would love to see inside the Opera House, it does look amazing, but I'm not sure whether we'll have time to fit it in. Although, my older daughter has seen Phantom so she might enjoy it and it is very close to our hotel... decisions, decisions...

There's just so much to see but I don't want to turn it in to a route march. I think we could probably have done with another couple of days!

[Melbatb]

It looks like a great itinerary.

Two comments
* We (me and DD then aged 9) found the Louvre overwhelming! Too big. There is a back entrance that could save on the queuing.
* We both loved the Pompidou Centre - much more manageable and a good mix of things!

I have got the Paris Visite Cards before just because it makes my life easier!

Off to Paris at the end of the month for work and will have an afternoon free - need to think about how to spend it!

[ally1966]

Originally Posted by Melbatb

It looks like a great itinerary.

Two comments
* We (me and DD then aged 9) found the Louvre overwhelming! Too big. There is a back entrance that could save on the queuing.
* We both loved the Pompidou Centre - much more manageable and a good mix of things!

I have got the Paris Visite Cards before just because it makes my life easier!

Off to Paris at the end of the month for work and will have an afternoon free - need to think about how to spend it!

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Thanks for the tip about the Louvre entrance. I think it will be a case of planning which exhibits we're interested in seeing in advance and giving it a couple of hours - I know everyone says don't just go for the Mona Lisa but as we are doing it in the evening it will probably be limited by DD's tiredness and attention span!

I'm def going to try and fit the Pompidou Centre in on the Friday morning, it looks fascinating and I've never been there before.

[phoebe23]

[QUOTE=ally1966;12514119]Thanks for the tip about the Louvre entrance. I think it will be a case of planning which exhibits we're interested in seeing in advance and giving it a couple of hours - I know everyone says don't just go for the Mona Lisa but as we are doing it in the evening it will probably be limited by DD's tiredness and attention span!

We'd been to the Louvre 3 times before we stumbled across Napolean111s fantastic apartments in the Richeleau Wing 😂😂😂

[hornetgirl]

Have a look at the mobilis card to see if it would work for you. It's a travel card that can be very good value if everywhere you want to go is within the zones it covers.
It's a long uphill walk from Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe. I'd sacrifice this if time is short and just use the metro to get to the Arc de Triomphe instead.
A great place to eat, recommended to us by geoffa, is Chartier
bouillon-chartier/en/

[ally1966]

Originally Posted by hornetgirl

Have a look at the mobilis card to see if it would work for you. It's a travel card that can be very good value if everywhere you want to go is within the zones it covers.
It's a long uphill walk from Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe. I'd sacrifice this if time is short and just use the metro to get to the Arc de Triomphe instead.
A great place to eat, recommended to us by geoffa, is Chartier
bouillon-chartier/en/

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That restaurant looks really good, thanks for the recommendation.

I'm struggling to get my head around all the different metro ticket options! I've looked at the Mobilis and the Paris Visite but both seem to offer either 3 days, which won't cover our entire trip, or 5 which means that we'd be paying for a day we don't need. I think I'm edging towards waiting till we arrive and buying the carnet. Hopefully the weather will be good enough to walk to most places!

I take on board the warning about the up hill walk to the Arc de Triomphe. I fancied the idea of walking up the Champs Elysees and hoped that the girls wouldn't notice the amount of walking if it was in and out of shops! Might sacrifice it for the time to go inside the Opera House but will probably just decide which we fancy on the day (will largely depend how much money they have left after London!)

[Libby]

We found the carnet worked for us as we could share the 10 tickets and just buy more if/when needed.

[Edam1975]

We went over Easter with our two DSs (10 and 8). Despite doing lots of walking, we still used the Metro quite extensively. We used the Paris Visite pass which you can use on the Metro, RER, buses, the funicular at Montmartre etc. It also gives you discounts on attractions, bus tours, boat trips etc.

Your itinerary looks great. The highlights for my two were the boat trip and the Eiffel Tower. Despite having pre-booked tickets for the Eiffel Tower, there was still a huge queue for security so I would advise you to get there early. Once you're in through security, the actual line for the lifts was pretty quick. There are security checks everywhere. Notre Dame (we just did the church, not the tower) had a really long line but it moved steadily. Same with Pompidou. We nearly left as the boys did not want to stand in such a huge queue and we thought it would be packed inside but again the queue was for security checks and only took 20 mins. Once inside it didn't seem that busy. Pompidou doesn't take that long to look around and is close to Notre Dame so you could probably fit it in.

Have a great time. This was the first time we had done a proper city break with the kids and Paris was a good choice.

[ally1966]

Originally Posted by Edam1975

We went over Easter with our two DSs (10 and 8). Despite doing lots of walking, we still used the Metro quite extensively. We used the Paris Visite pass which you can use on the Metro, RER, buses, the funicular at Montmartre etc. It also gives you discounts on attractions, bus tours, boat trips etc.

Your itinerary looks great. The highlights for my two were the boat trip and the Eiffel Tower. Despite having pre-booked tickets for the Eiffel Tower, there was still a huge queue for security so I would advise you to get there early. Once you're in through security, the actual line for the lifts was pretty quick. There are security checks everywhere. Notre Dame (we just did the church, not the tower) had a really long line but it moved steadily. Same with Pompidou. We nearly left as the boys did not want to stand in such a huge queue and we thought it would be packed inside but again the queue was for security checks and only took 20 mins. Once inside it didn't seem that busy. Pompidou doesn't take that long to look around and is close to Notre Dame so you could probably fit it in.

Have a great time. This was the first time we had done a proper city break with the kids and Paris was a good choice.

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Thanks for sharing your experiences. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip - I can't wait!