where to start?? mostly I am just posting because I am SO excited to be going there so soon! my sister and I are meeting our other sister, who is studying in Provence, next week in Paris! We are flying in from the US to CDG, and she is flying up via EasyJet into Orly. We have booked a hotel in Montmartre--hopefully this is not a huge mistake--should we all just meet at the hotel, rather than having our one sister try to get from Orly to CDG and then find us?
We are most interested in just %26quot;being in Paris,%26quot; not necessarily running from musee to musee, landmark to landmark. We are spending four full days, Friday to really early Tuesday--yes I know stuff is closed Sun %26amp;/or Mon. I am already figuring on spending Sun. in the Marais neighborhood, with the market %26amp; open cafes. Since it is february, we are likely skipping Versailles altogether, what with the gardens/fountains being off-season, and we absolutely are skipping the Louvre in favor of L%26#39;orangerie +/or musee d%26#39;orsay. Are any of the major landmarks simply %26quot;not to be missed%26quot;? Any other suggestions for just %26quot;being%26quot; in Paris? We are young-ish, from 25 to 30, but not club kids or fashionistas, either. All of us have traveled in Europe before and are aware of personal safety issues and ways to (try) to blend in.
ps--we%26#39;re spending the second part of our trip in Provence!
thanks for reading my rambling post, and thank you in advance for any advice!
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For starters, the galeries at l%26#39;Orangerie have been closed for major renovations for a few years and won%26#39;t be open while you%26#39;re ther, so you can cross that off your list. If you%26#39;re planning on a visit to the d%26#39;Orsay, bear in mind that it%26#39;s regular closing day is Monday. There are any number of %26#39;..must seees..%26#39; but one you should definitely add to your list is Sainte-Chapelle on Ile de la Cite. For the rest, if, %26quot;..just being in Paris..%26quot; is what you have in mind, then that%26#39;s what you should do...but given the brief time you have for Paris, that might be easier said than done.With as much as Paris has to offer, it%26#39;s usually difficult to resist. One %26#39;strategy%26#39; might be to pick one maonument, museum, attraction in a single area--Sacre Coure up in Montmartre; the Musee Picasso or Musee Canrnavalet in the Marais, the Eglise Saint Germain des Pres or Saint Sulpice in Saint Germain des Pres, the Cluny, Pantheon or Eglise Saint Etienne du Mont in the Latin Quarter and choose these as your daily %26#39;destination%26#39; and then restrict yourselves to finding a pleasant spot for lunch in one of the neighborhoods, wander about the streets looking into shop windows and stopping at those which interest you, pay attention to the architectural details, store fronts, etc as you go, stop into the local churches you may pass, just pretty much with nothing in particular in mind beyond your daily %26#39;destination%26#39; and pretty much %26#39;hang out%26#39;. Stop often for a glass of wine, coffee or hot chocolate, pick up snacks in little local shops and stop at any of the many little local parc you come across to watch the neighborhood go by for a while. Don%26#39;t be afraid to be %26#39;idle%26#39;. But don%26#39;t be surprised if in the process, Paris%26#39; great treasures lure you away from her small pleasures.
In the evenings, pick a good restaurant for a later dinner and then stroll along the Left Bank Quais along the Seine, along the Champs Elysees, etc stop into one of Paris%26#39; great jazz clubs bor a couple of drinks and a little music; stop at a pleasant cafe for coffee and dessert or a nightcap.
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Have a great trip, one word of advice, you definitely want to meet at the hotel, as the airports are pretty far from one antoher with Paris right in the middle.
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