Yellowlabrat

I am travelling to France with a few people to meet my family in
southern France, but will be landing in Paris and staying there for
one full day (9AM to 10:00AM the next day). I'm overwhelmed already by
the city and all of the fascinating things to see and do (this all
discovered via the Internet).

I'll be staying near the bottom of 'La butte Montmartre', which I
assume is in the 10th arrondissement? Anyway, anyone have any ideas
about what to do with such a small amount of time? We were planning on
going to the Louvre, but I almost imagine I won't have time to do
anything else if we did that. I think we mainly just want to soak in
the culture and city, and not necessarily do all the tourist spots.
Should I stick to the Montmartre area? Also, one of our group
desperately wants to see Jim Morrison's grave. What's the best way to
get there, and anything I should know before I go?

Sorry if this post seems way too general, I'm basically looking for
any info that a first time visitor to Paris, and France for that
matter, should know.

NoNameAtAll

If I had only one day in Paris I'm not sure I'd go to a single museum, much
less the Louvre since it's so enormous. I'd be perfectly content just walking
around the city and seeing everything from the outside. You could cover the
major sites if you do it that way. I'm a big fan of the Rodin Museum, so I
always recommend that to everyone. It's a small museum but it's packed with a
lot of wonderful sculptures. I have some Paris travel tips at the following URL
that might be useful:

http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/71f79/18308/

One thing I'd definitely recommend is a river cruise after dark. Don't take a
dinner cruise though, as they are generally regarded as overpriced and not
really worth it.

BrianE

    >
    > One thing I'd definitely recommend is a river cruise after dark. Don't take a
    > dinner cruise though, as they are generally regarded as overpriced and not
    > really worth it.
    >
Slightly disagree here. My wife and I took a riverboat cruise whilst in
Paris for our silver wedding. We had the meal and cabaret and I have to
say that both were of the highest order and worth every penny.

Not something you'd do every week I'll admit but it made our short trip.

B

Donna Evleth

Dans l'article <>,
ntiSpam (NoNameAtAll) a écrit :


    > I'm a big fan of the Rodin Museum, so I
    > always recommend that to everyone. It's a small museum but it's packed with a
    > lot of wonderful sculptures.

I second the endorsement of the Rodin Museum. In addition to the sculpture
it has a nice garden. It is also not far from the Eiffel Tower. Once, when
we had a friend in your situation, we took him up to the second level of the
Eiffel Tower, from which there is a grand view of the whole city.

Donna Evleth

Allen Windhorn

(yellowlabrat) writes:

    > I am travelling to France with a few people to meet my family in
    > southern France, but will be landing in Paris and staying there for
    > one full day (9AM to 10:00AM the next day). I'm overwhelmed already
    > by the city and all of the fascinating things to see and do (this
    > all discovered via the Internet).
    >
    > I'll be staying near the bottom of 'La butte Montmartre', which I
    > assume is in the 10th arrondissement? Anyway, anyone have any ideas
    > about what to do with such a small amount of time?... Should I
    > stick to the Montmartre area?

NO! Yuck!

    > Also, one of our group desperately wants to see Jim Morrison's
    > grave. What's the best way to get there, and anything I should know
    > before I go?

Give him/her a map and some metro tickets, and arrange to meet
somewhere later.

    > Sorry if this post seems way too general, I'm basically looking for
    > any info that a first time visitor to Paris, and France for that
    > matter, should know.

I'm an amateur at this, but here's what I would do, assuming you don't
mind walking:

Starting at 9AM with an empty stomach, catch Metro #13 from Abbesses
or Pigalle in direction Mairie d'Issy and get off at Concorde. Go out
and look at the Arc de Triomphe. There's a passageway under the road
to get up close to the statuary. If you go up it you have to get
breakfast early and skip Laduree. Proceed down the Champs Elysees
looking in shops. Go in Virgin Records and buy CD's for presents. Go
to Laduree and have breakfast if before 10:30 or so and no big line
(the one by Opera is nicer but hard to get to in a hurry).

Continue down Elysees to Place de la Concorde. From here you can see
the Eiffel Tower. Continue to the Tuileries and on to the Louvre.
The outside of the Louvre is worth seeing even if you don't go in.
Exit on the north side and go north a couple of blocks to the Palais
Royale. There is a good souvenir shop on the west side (well, we like
Tintin and Asterix) and some boutiques. If you are a fan of Audrey
Hepburn or Cary Grant you will recognize this area from "Charade".

It should be getting close to lunchtime by now, so head east a couple
blocks to Les Halles and St. Eustache. There's a restaurant there
with a pig on the sign (help, somebody!) that has good food and wasn't
too busy when we were there. Don't rush lunch.

Get on the Metro at Les Halles (good shopping but no time, no time!)
and head south toward Porte d'Orleans. Get off at St-Michel. You are
now in the Left Bank area. Take a peek at Notre-Dame and the Seine,
then head south a couple blocks to the Cluny museum (Musee des Moyen
Ages?). You can go through this in an hour or so and it is relaxing.
Then you can head back across the Seine and see the cathedral (you can
do this the other way round if you are early enough). Go up the tower
if you have time -- it takes about 45 minutes or an hour. Or if you
would rather, look into the museum underground in front. Then go west
to the Palais du Justice and see if you can get in to see
Sainte-Chapelle.

By now it should be approaching five o'clock and the museums and
buildings will be closing. Go back across the bridge to Place
St-Michel and go a block down to La Huchette on your left. Stroll
down the little street and stop in for souvenirs and postcards.
Continue on to R. de la Bucherie and stop in at Shakespeare and
Company and get a book. Have it stamped and chat with the person at
the desk if she isn't too busy.

Now go around the corner and go through the little park. On the other
side are two churches. The one by the park is St-Julian-le-Pauvre.
If it is open, go in, but in any case, look at the posters to see if
there are any concerts on tonight there, or across the street at
St-sevarin, or at Sainte-Chapelle (or anyplace else nearby). If so,
go and stand in line for tickets. If not, stroll around the Left
Bank. When you get out of the concert (or at around 7:30 if you
couldn't find one) it will be time for dinner.

Now for the tricky bit. If you were actually me, and it were not too
late, you would go south to the church of St-Etienne (look at the
Pantheon behind you) and have a peek in if it was open, then go north
a block or two to where there is a little knot of streets coming
together. Here you would find a little bar sort of place called
l'Ecurie. When you go in, there is a tiny staircase on the right
going down. Ask if dinner is being served, and, if so, go down and
have the 13 Euro menu, including the terrine for entree. I have lamb
for the main course, but last time it was a bit tough, so YMMV. On
the other hand, you might prefer to go up past the Cluny again, left
on Rue des Ecoles, and eat at Cafe Balzar (have gratinee for an
entree).

For the next part it is helpful to have a partner to whom you are
attracted. Go back down to the Seine and cross over to the Notre-Dame
side. Go down the steps and stroll along the bank in the dark
(whenever a boat comes by, you have to stop and kiss -- it's a rule).
When you get to the end of the island, cross the Pont Neuf to the left
and continue along the Seine to the Pont des Arts, where you will
cross the river towards the Louvre. In the middle, pause and make a
vow to return Real Soon. Continue into the courtyard of the Louvre,
where, if you are lucky, someone will be playing romantic songs on a
flute (don't forget to give him a Euro or two) and there will be a
moon above the towers.

Now you can catch the Metro at Palais Royale and return to
Montmartre. If you have the stamina, you can sample the bars until
the wee hours. We went to bed.

Hope this helps.

Regards
Allen

Dave Smith

yellowlabrat wrote:

    > I am travelling to France with a few people to meet my family in
    > southern France, but will be landing in Paris and staying there for
    > one full day (9AM to 10:00AM the next day). I'm overwhelmed already by
    > the city and all of the fascinating things to see and do (this all
    > discovered via the Internet).
    > I'll be staying near the bottom of 'La butte Montmartre', which I
    > assume is in the 10th arrondissement? Anyway, anyone have any ideas
    > about what to do with such a small amount of time? We were planning on
    > going to the Louvre, but I almost imagine I won't have time to do
    > anything else if we did that. I think we mainly just want to soak in
    > the culture and city, and not necessarily do all the tourist spots.
    > Should I stick to the Montmartre area? Also, one of our group
    > desperately wants to see Jim Morrison's grave. What's the best way to
    > get there, and anything I should know before I go?
    > Sorry if this post seems way too general, I'm basically looking for
    > any info that a first time visitor to Paris, and France for that
    > matter, should know.

You may not be a fan of Jim Morrison, but a trip to Pere LaChaisse
cemetery is not a bad idea. It is very interesting place. Since you are
staying so close to Montmartre, take a hike up the hill and have look
around. There are combination boat/ van tours around the city. That might
be worth your while. It's a pity that you could not arrange to have more
time in Paris. It is a wonderful city.

David J Richardson

In article <>,
Allen Windhorn <> wrote:

    > I'm an amateur at this, but here's what I would do, assuming you
    > don't mind walking:
    >
    > [snip]
    >
    > Hope this helps.

Wow. Nice post.

Terry Simmons

In article <>,
(yellowlabrat) wrote:

    > I am travelling to France with a few people to meet my family in
    > southern France, but will be landing in Paris and staying there for
    > one full day (9AM to 10:00AM the next day). I'm overwhelmed already by
    > the city and all of the fascinating things to see and do (this all
    > discovered via the Internet).
    >
    > I'll be staying near the bottom of 'La butte Montmartre', which I
    > assume is in the 10th arrondissement? Anyway, anyone have any ideas
    > about what to do with such a small amount of time? We were planning on
    > going to the Louvre, but I almost imagine I won't have time to do
    > anything else if we did that. I think we mainly just want to soak in
    > the culture and city, and not necessarily do all the tourist spots.
    > Should I stick to the Montmartre area? Also, one of our group
    > desperately wants to see Jim Morrison's grave. What's the best way to
    > get there, and anything I should know before I go?
    >
    > Sorry if this post seems way too general, I'm basically looking for
    > any info that a first time visitor to Paris, and France for that
    > matter, should know.

Don't insult yourself. Have a boat ride up and down the river; walk down the
avenue des Champs Elysées, and have a good dinner. Next morning, take
the métro to Trocadero and approach the Eiffel Tower. Dream about your next
visit, when you might have more time.

Ronald Hands

David J Richardson wrote:
    > In article <>,
    > Allen Windhorn <> wrote:
    >
    >
    >>I'm an amateur at this, but here's what I would do, assuming you
    >>don't mind walking:
    >>[snip]

    >
    > Wow. Nice post.
    >

Second the motion. Enjoyed it immensely (but I think I'll set
aside at least three days to cover that itinerary :-) ).

-- Ron
Hamilton, ON

Donna Evleth

Dans l'article <>, Allen Windhorn
<> a écrit :


    > It should be getting close to lunchtime by now, so head east a couple
    > blocks to Les Halles and St. Eustache. There's a restaurant there
    > with a pig on the sign (help, somebody!) that has good food and wasn't
    > too busy when we were there. Don't rush lunch.

You are surely thinking of Au Pïed de Cochon, a Paris landmark. It was
there when Les Halles was still a food market, that's how it got started.
It managed to survive the move of Les Halles to Rungis, still in the same
place, still good.

Donna Evleth