Monday, September 5, 2011

Paris details

Paris is the second stop on my trip. I was last there in 1988, and this is the last stop that I have already been to. Here's what I came up with back in March.

The first two full days in Paris are front-loaded with museums. I was pretty much forced into putting them on Saturday and Sunday since most are closed on Monday and/or Tuesday, and I arrive in Paris at lunchtime on Friday and leave Thursday morning. I'll get a Museum Pass, which is free admission to all the places on those two days with an asterisk in front of the name. I tried to lighten my days on Monday and Tuesday, since I will not have had a day off since I got to Europe - late starts, strolls, etc.

I've got a couple of cousins I've never met who live in Paris (our great-great-grandfathers were all brothers, making us 4th cousins), I'm hoping to be able to meet up with them at some point.


Day 7 Fri 9/23
Day 8 Sat 9/24 (Museum Pass)
  • 0800-1200 Paris historic walk: *Notre Dame, Deportation Memorial, Ile St Louis, Latin Qtr, *St Chapelle, Palais de Justice, Coneciergerie, Pont Neuf 
  • 1300-1600 *Louvre (ancient thru 1840s)
  • 1600-1700 *Orsay (1840s-1910s)
  • 1700-1800 *Orangerie (Monet)
  • 1800-2000 Champs Elysees 
  • 2000-2100 *Arc de Triomphe 
Day 9 Sun 9/25 (Museum Pass)
Day 10 Mon 9/26
  • 1000-1200 Catacombs 
  • 1230-1430 Rue Cler lunch, walk 
  • 1430-1530 Napoleon’s Tomb 
  • 1530-1730 Sewer Tour 
  • 1800-2000 Bateaux Mouches cruise on the Seine at dusk 
Day 11 Tues 9/27
  • 1000-1130 bus #69 from Eiffel to Lachaise cemetery 
  • 1130-1200 Pere Lachaise Cemetery 
  • 1230-1500 Jewish Quarter, Holocaust Memorial 
  • 1530-1900 Montmarte, Sacre Coeur 
  • 1900-???? Dinner/evening TBD 
Day 12 Wed 9/28
  • 0825 train to Amsterdam

6 comments:

  1. Mike,
    I realize that your times are just estimates, but there is no way you can spend just 30 minutes in Pere Lachaise, or 1 hour in d'Orsay, or 1 hr in L'Orangerie. I mean, it's physically possible, but you won't be taking any time to absorb what you are seeing.

    Seeing something just to see it isn't as satisfying in the long run.

    Just my 2 cents.
    Liz

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  2. Yeah, I know. I'll most likely have to choose between the Orsay and the Orangerie, not both. I was trying to squeeze them both in on the same day so that I could get in free on my Museum Pass. If I have to choose one, I'll most likely skip the Orangerie.

    As for the cemetery, that's not as big a deal since the rest of the day is mostly just wandering around with no time constraints.

    But thanks for the insights, I will keep them in mind.

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  3. Having been there, I suggest d'Orsay, incredible.

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  4. Where is sitting at a cafe, drinking coffee and people watching on this itinerary?

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  5. Becca - on Friday I've set aside 3 hours to hang out at the Trocadero near the Eiffel Tower, on Sunday I've got a couple hours in the Marais not including the museums, on Monday I've got strolling around and eating lunch on Rue Cler, and Tuesday I've got time in Montmarte.

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  6. Be sure to be at Sacre Coeur at dusk, so you can sit and watch the city light up as it gets dark.

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