Paris in April!

Parent Cafe
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We were in Paris for about a week last Fall. LOVED it.
Things we did right:

Bought a 5 day museum pass. It probably only saved a little $$, but it allowed us to skip the purchase lines, and only wait in the security lines. We also visited a few lesser known sites we would have never paid extra for, and some of these were great!

Bought the Metro pass (only works well if your week starts the same as the pass).

Downloaded the ‘out of the line’ app for the bell towers of Notre Dame (I think this was called JeFile). This allows you to add your name to the queue line early in the am for a timed entry, and skip the wait. It is a long (and narrow) climb to the towers, so skip if anyone in the group is claustrophobic.

Brought comfortable shoes! Far more fun to walk everywhere than use the Metro. Spent mid afternoon sitting in various gardens: some famous, and other small neighborhood delights. A needed respite, and wonderful people-watching opportunity.

Visited Versailles backwards (started in Marie Antoinette’s domain first thing in the day, when it was virtually empty, then worked our way toward the Chateau for a 4pm entry when the crowds started to thin.

We split our accommodations, and stayed in both the 4th & north end of the 15th arrondissements. It was a nice way to experience different neighborhoods.

Things we would do differently:
It was hard to match our dinner time with the French. We prefer to eat 5-7pm. That’s social time for the French, and most bistros were extremely crowded with locals, primarily for drinks. Dinner is much later. We also didn’t do enough research regarding places to eat prior to the trip. DH prefers to ‘discover’ places en route. I prefer to choose several well-rated (not necessarily expensive) places in advance. We choose the former option on this trip, and as a result I felt most of our meals were just so-so, which seems a shame in Paris! We’ll have to go back :wink:

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^^^^Great advice on Versailles, at least based on my experiences. The tour buses that arrive soon after opening quickly make the Chateau a zoo. I have found 4 PM levels pleasant, but have also had some good experiences being in line as the Chateau is first opened in the morning. Late afternoon is easier to plan. If you go, don’t skip the gardens and outer buildings, quite pleasant.

Also agree about the Museum Pass, if you like museums. I took one of my kids several years ago as a graduation trip. High energy, he led from museum to museum. I saw places I wouldn’t have noticed without the pass and it was a time saver even if we had just stuck to the biggies.

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Paris restaurants can be both expensive and unless carefully chosen, disappointing. So take careful note of recommendations. If money is an issue or you are independent minded, take a knife of some sort, buy cheese, sausage (saussicon sec) and tomatoes in a store, and make your own sandwiches with a baguette. That and pastries from a bakery make me happier than many restaurant meals.

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For Versailles, you can signup for a tour of the State Apartments. The tour is €10 ea, but when the regular lines are outrageous, it is the best thing ever. H&I had been there, so my sister and her two did this. They already had the museum pass, but even with that you still have to stand in the security line. For the money, you get a small group tour at a scheduled time, and when it’s over you can tour the palace and grounds w/o standing in another line. They said the tour was fantastic.
It may not be necessary to beat the lines in April, but from what S said, it’s still a good tour.

If you eat early, the options are cafes and all-day service. In the 7th, Cafe Constant is a wonderful place.
John Talbotts’s blog is my go-to for help on Paris restaurants.

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Thanks to all for the latest suggestions!!

I haven’t heard yet from anyone about going up the Eiffel Tower. Must do or nah? Are pictures from ground level sufficient?

@kjofkw I agree with your last comment about not planning for good restaurants in advance. I found that to be true last time I was in Europe. In Florence, we booked a highly rated steakhouse and the rest we went by smell and sight. The steakhouse was excellent and we were hit and miss with the on the fly choices. In Rome we didn’t do any reservations and we also were 50-50 on the food. Since I’ll be traveling with a bunch of friends, one of them being a foodie, I won’t worry about eating well :slight_smile:

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Giverny (Monet’s garden) is a nice day trip from Paris, especially in the spring. Take the train and then rent a bike at the station if the weather is good (it’s not far to cycle).

Definitely spend a day at Versailles too.

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@CALSmom, we didn’t feel like going up the Eiffel Tower when we were there. What my D and I did do was sit in the park just as the sun set to watch the Eiffel light up at the top of the hour. It was very festive with a lot of people sitting on the grass. Some had picnic food and wine. Peddlers walk around selling bottles of wine and beer, too.

re: Yelp was helpful with locating good restaurants wherever we were. D found a Lebanese place where we had the best shawarma. The line was long so we knew the food would be good.

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I second the Orsay suggestion, and the Louvre goes without saying.

If you’re a Monet fan, the water lilies at the Orangerie are breathtaking. Also, the Musée Marmottan Monet has the largest collection of Monets in the world, including no shortage of beautiful water Lillies, some outstanding Roeuen Cathedral and Gare St. Lazare paintings, the breathtaking and seminal piece “Impression Sunrise,” among others.

The Cluny has the unicorn tapestries that are a must-see if you like medieval tapestries. And, of course, Notre Dame and St. Chappelle are not to be missed if you’re into gothic cathedrals and incredible stained glass.

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We skipped it when we were in Paris a couple of years ago. Immense crowds and security, and it looked like a very long wait to get to the top. I don’t feel like we missed much.

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I think I am a broken record, but if you go to Paris you have to have ice cream at Berthillon’s on the Isle St. Louis. I don’t care if it’s cold and rainy, it is the best ice cream you will ever have. While on the Isle St. Louis, you must go to St. Chapelle, when your six year old declares it’s the most beautiful thing he’s seen, you know it’s special!

For first trip to Paris, do the usual suspects. I’ve been to the top of the Eiffel Tower (on foot) eons ago, and thought it was worth it then, but I don’t remember how good the view was. Other places for a view: https://www.thelocal.fr/20180802/where-to-find-the-best-views-of-paris-besides-the-eiffel-tower By the way it lists the Institut du Monde Arab as a place with a good view. As it happens the last time we were in Paris our hotel was close by and I dragged everyone to see the building because architecturally it’s pretty cool.

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I would say climbing the Eiffel Tower is not a must-do - unless it is for someone in your group! It is iconic; I suppose some won’t be satisfied without the ascent. I personally would skip it, but I understand that if it is a must do, the timed admission can be pre-purchased. (Or at least a couple years ago that was the case.)

I took a look at the excellent article @mathmom posted above. If you are interested in views, I can personally vouch for several of the suggestions. I been to the top of Institut du Monde Arab, Sacré Coeur, Galeries Lafayette, Arc de Triomphe, The Pantheon and Centre Pompidou. (Not all on on trip!) All are excellent and may well already be included in your itinerary. DS and I climbed the Arc de Triomphe - I know that was included in our Museum Pass. I wouldn’t probably have gone otherwise, but it may be my favorite view. I found it amazing to see the Etoile laying at my feet - but I’m a map lover and had a long history of studying Paris maps. Others may be less enchanted. Next trip I will climb the Towers of Notre Dame. Last time I passed by was early AM and there was no line, but this was the trip with my girlfriend who, having lived in Paris and considering herself “a Parisienne”, was disdainful of such a “touristy” venture. I guess I have no pride!

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I did the Eiffel tower with my afraid of heights daughter and luckily the very top was closed that day. So we only went up to the middle section (which still has a great view.) Have gone to the top of the acr de triumphe and that is also fun (my husband like momofadult thought it was the best view in Paris). We did the top of Notre Dame where you can practically touch the gargoyles, also recommended.

We enjoyed the street food - crepes with nutella and bananas made fresh for you. And the tourist trap food - the chocolate pastry at angelinas and lunch at the Diane cafe in the Tuileries park.

We got the museum pass and although we loved the orsy (best museum in the world in my opinion) and the louvre, it was nice to go to the orangerie to see the monets, Les Invalides museums, napolean’s tomb, and the rodin museum - all of which we might not have sprung for if we had to pay for each.

We got the metro pass, but honestly walked everywhere so it probably wasn’t cost effective although convenient.

My top recommendation for a first trip to Paris is to take the night bus tour. You can see all the lights (including being under the eiffel tower when they do their hourly twinkling) and see neighborhoods at night that just aren’t safe to walk around in (moulin rogue etc.)

Last trip we stayed at the Hotel Brighton next to the park with a park view and could see the eiffel tower over the park (very cool). It was walking distance to notre dame, the louvre, the opera house, the champs elyse, etc. (some of these walks are long but very enjoyable).

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We took the stairs to the 2nd level of the Eiffel Tower, and that was high enough for me. Unless everyone really wants a workout, I’d take the lift. The higher we climbed, the colder and windier it became. I’m glad we did it but recommend the lift for your group.

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If you are in the mood for climbing stairs, the top of Sacre-Coeur is also worth a visit. I like the view there because you see Paris from outside the center of the city. If you don’t like stairs then the Grande Arche at La Defense and the Montparnasse Tower are also good views and have elevators.

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Lots of good suggestions on sights to see. I will add two restaurant recommendations. We have been to Paris twice and both times we went to Brasserie Bofinger. Food is Alsacian and amazing.
https://www.bofingerparis.com/en/

The other place we loved was Benoit—Michelin star (owned by Alain Ducasse). It’s pricy, but worth it.
https://www.benoit-paris.com

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The lines to go up the Eiffel can be long. What we loved was visiting it at night, when it lights up in different colors, on the hour. See if it still does. You can also view it from Montmartre (up the hill by Sacre Coeur.)

Restaurants post menus outside, so that helps ake an easy choice.

I loved the sewer museum, but it’s not a first trip priority. Visit an outdoor food market.

This was one of the highlights of all my trips. We took a free volunteer-led tour that may have been called Paris at Night. Will see if I can find it. Walked around ND and Ile St Louis, learned about our guide, etc. Such a different perspective.

You do not need to see everythigin the Louvre or spend hours there . Pick your priorities. You can also buy a baguatte sandwich and drink in the am and, weather permitting, eat it by the foundatins in the Louvre outdoor courtyard.

I’m very into experiencing cities as the natives do. Not just a long list of must-do tourist things, racing between them. We always stop at a nice cafe for hot chocolate and people watching.

Also check museum hours. On the multi-day pass, it helps to know what’s open Monday and closed Weds, etc, so you plan right.

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@CALSmom - One of the nicest ways to spend a day is to go to the Père Lachaise Cemetery where a number of notable people including Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Maria Callas, Honoré de Balzac, Frederic Chopin, Molière, George Bizet, and Jim Morrison were buried. Some of the monuments are quite impressive, and I found some of the Holocaust memorials to be particularly moving. As one might expect, it’s a peaceful way to spend an afternoon.

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Just got back from a ladies trip, five of us. Trip of a lifetime. On previous trips I didn’t research restaurants as well as I should have and had the 50/50 experience hit or miss. So this trip I had a list and stuck to it with reservations for the evenings.

For a lady’s trip I highly recommend looking for a cute Parisian apartment. We were up at different times and everyone could get their coffe and breakfast when they wanted. one of us would do the early morning boulangerie run for the baguette and croissants. We had a lot of fun the first day going to the local outdoor market picking out everything to stock the apartment for breakfasts and snacks. We also had dinner in our gorgeous apartment (had iconic views and a wrap around balcony) one night after a heavy day of sightseeing.

And, it’s much easier to herd the cats if you are all in the apartment instead of multiple hotel rooms.

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Reporting back from our trip last with D2 (and part of the week with D1). So much fun! We had a great apartment (super quiet with a beautiful garden courtyard) in the 7th. Walking distance to major museums, and near 3 metro stops. We quickly got the hang of the metro, and zoomed all over the city on it. We did all the usual stuff. We got Paris Museum Passes, and they were great for getting in without standing in ticket lines after security. We just ended up buying booklets of 10 metro passes from machines as needed, it worked out fine. And sometimes we walked.

Our day at Versailles was a bit of a bust due to a “general strike” that day. They opened 1.5 hours late and didn’t open most of it (only parts of chateau, no gardens or 2nd chateau at all). We had a nice lunch in the village there after a quick tour of what we could see (I think the lunch place was called something like the St Louis Creperie on Google Maps), then went back to Paris. We decided to check out the Petite Palace and were really impressed with their small but well curated art collection.

Our favorite dinner was at Les Duex Magots. It was less stuffy than some of the other “classic places” we went (liked it better than La Procope or Chez Paul - just a little more relaxed atmosphere). You can make reservations online, too. I recommend the duck. :slight_smile: We only had dinner in one night, when D2 was flying in and her arrival was uncertain. We shopped at the Rue Mouffetard that morning, and had a spread of cheeses, bread, tomatoes, fruit, chicken, and pastries. Every afternoon we picked up pastries for the next day’s breakfast.

Our skip the lines Catacombs tour was very interesting. Our guide admitted near the end that she had been to illicit underground parties in Paris. We were intrigued. The Catacombs were the only ticketed thing we did not covered by the museum passes.

D2 is interested in the French Revolution, and we enjoyed the Concierge prison. Right by Sainte-Chappell and Notre Dame. We climbed the Notre Dame Towers - download an app called “Duck the Line”, and get on at 7:30 am to get a reserved spot later in the day. We got to Sainte-Chappelle right when it opened, did the Concierge, and were ready for our Notre Dame tower ticket at 11:10 with some time to spare. Then we got ice cream, and did the inside of Notre Dame after that.

Our chip and sign cards worked everywhere, even the metro ticket machines. We were just in Paris & Versaille, though. Once or twice the machine asked for a pin, but I hit the green button and it let me go on. Challenge when we got there was to break 50E bills from the ATM so we’d have some smaller bills for small additional tips, coffee, croissants, etc.

Our last afternoon we went around to specialty shops (honey, jam, and mustard) to get gifts for people at home. My can of foie gras barely made it out of France (security wanded it and scolded me for putting a can in my carry on, but they let it through). No issue with it on the US side, I did declare it.

If you buy produce in a grocery store, they may expect you to weigh it when you get it so you can tell the cashier. We did not know this. :slight_smile: Also, Google Translate lets you use the camera to take a photo of something written in French and translates it!

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Thanks for the trip report and so glad you had a great time!!!