Day 1: Arles to Paris
We had plenty of time before our train so we sat in a local square and read before heading for the train station. Our trains were uneventful, other than there being two (joined) trains leaving Nimes, which seemed to confuse people. We got glimpses of mountains to the east along the way.
We walked along the Seine from Gare de Lyon to our hotel. The weather was nice and there wasn’t a ton of foot traffic so it was easy. So was check in at our hotel.
We had dinner reservations on one of the islands. We sat next to a nice New York couple at the crowded restaurant. We turned the wrong way leaving the restaurant so got to see part of the left bank. There’s a market right next to the hotel but no liquor sales after 10pm. Good thing we didn’t need it. We were exhausted by the time we got back. We did get to see the river at night.
Day 2: Carnavalet Museum and the Marais
We have a lot of sights scheduled here but none for the first day, so we had a leisurely start, then went out to explore the Marais. We headed for Place des Vosges first. It’s a pleasant square with some cafes and shops around the edges. In fact a lot of the Marais that we saw is shops, bakeries, cafes, and restaurants. The streets are narrow but there’s reduced vehicle traffic — or pedestrian only — so it’s easy to walk.
We ran across Victor Hugo’s flat, which was free, so we took a look. They had a chinoiserie room that that was wild.
There were so many layers of detail in the finishes. This room had a fabric valance with tassels running around the perimeter of the room. Plus rope trim around the ceiling. The drapes on the right have two different types of fringe plus the braid trim.
We worked our way back from the Place de Vosges to the Carnavalet Museum of the history of Paris, which is huge. We didn’t see it all. We were tired out by the time we hit the Napoleanic period. There were lots of entire rooms brought in from other buildings. The museum is free so we figured we could go back later if we wanted. (We didn’t.) We hit the store and the bakery for breakfast and such, and had burgers at a nearby burger joint.
Day 3: Orangerie, Champs-Elysées, and the Arc de Triomphe
We had tickets for The Orangerie when they opened, so today was an early start. The Orangerie is all about Monet’s water lilies. It isn’t very big so it didn’t take very long to see. It was serene and calming, at least first thing in the morning.
From there we crossed the Place de la Concorde — the largest square in Paris, Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette lost their heads here — and headed up the Champs-Élysées.
The first stretch had a lot of trees. The statue is of Clemenceau. His name came up a lot so we looked him up. (We know little of French history, other than where it intersects with US or British history.) The area around the Grand Palais and Petit Palais was pretty, with a view of the Invalides and the Eiffel Tower from the bridge. Steve is lucky the Worth show at the Petit Palais was after we left, or I might have dragged him to it.
The Champs-Elysees not terribly exciting. (But then we’re not into luxury brands.) We thought the giant Louis Vuitton trunk building was cool. And that’s just the temporary wrap while they renovate the building.
Our goal was the Arc de Triomphe at the other end. We could have gone inside the Arc — it was covered by the Paris Museum Pass we bought — but we didn’t. Looking at the outside was good enough for us.
Then we had two of those signature Paris experiences, one bad and one good. We ran into pickpockets getting on the Metro. Okay, a gang of teenage girls ran into us, and tried to swarm Steve. A local man shouted at them and shoved them off the train. Nothing was stolen and no one was hurt, but it shook us a little.
On our way back to our hotel we decided to stop at a cafe around the corner for spritzes and pizza. Our first Parisian cafe experience. That one was good!
Day 4: The Louvre and the Decorative Arts Museum
Our first stop today was the Louvre. We had to walk halfway around the Louvre to get in. (And it’s a big building.) There were tons of people there for 9:00. The Mona Lisa was mobbed, of course. Otherwise it was crowded but not like the Vatican Museums. We saw everything we wanted to, including these lovely caryatids that I didn’t know they had. (I like caryatids.)
After the Louvre we took a break to get some fresh air. We’ve seen lots of horse chestnut trees here. We’ve also seen lots of dogs, though this was our first dog park.
Then we decided to visit the Museum of Decorative Arts (Musée des Arts Décoratifs), since it was right next door. They had a nice jewelry collection and lots of cool furniture, including some full rooms.
We were ready to stretch our legs a little so we headed toward Vendôme. Along the way we saw a shiny statue of Joan of Arc. We also saw what must have been a running club. We’ve seen lots of place in the city that look good for runners and cyclists. And walkers. We found Place Vendôme kind of meh and wondered why it was recommended. Then again, we aren’t into jewelry stores. And we were very tired by that point. Getting up early to sightsee is taking its toll.
We had steak for dinner, at a nearby restaurant that cooks over an open fire. The toddler next to us slept through dinner, to the delight of the parents.
Day 5: Sainte-Chapelle and Notre Dame
This morning’s focus was churches. We had tickets for Sainte-Chapelle when they opened. You could tell security there was just over herding tourists. They were pretty bossy and demanding. But efficient, and not rude. Sainte-Chapelle is not large but it is stunning, both upstairs and down. (We were actually more excited about this than Notre Dame.)
Notre Dame is just a few minutes walk from Sainte-Chapelle. It was understandably chaotic at the entry but we walked right in 30 minutes early with our (free) pre-booked tickets. The poor couple in front of us had fake tickets, but they let them in anyway. Inside it was crowded but beautiful. Very clean and bright.
We crossed the river to the Shakespeare and Company bookstore. We didn’t go in because there was a line to enter and I only read ebooks these days. (Much more portable.) We did enjoy a nearby square for a few minutes.
We continued our walked to the Pont Neuf. There are so many famous and beautiful buildings along the Seine — and so many tour boats — that it’s easy to forget it’s not just a tourist attraction.
We decided this was as good a time as any to go to the Montparnasse Tower. It was kind of a tiring walk but we got good views of city. (And we got to see the Eiffel Tower from there, which we couldn’t get tickets to.)
We took the Metro back. The building below is the Hotel de Ville, which became a landmark for us getting to and from the Metro from our hotel. It’s funny how Hotel de Ville means city hall in French and in English a hotel is a place you sleep. Unless you’re in Australia, where it often means pub. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Day 6: Orsay and Cluny Museums
Our last big museum day. (I tried to spread out the art museums so we didn’t get saturated. We’re generally good for about 1.5 hours per museum.) We also didn’t have to be anywhere at 9:00 today, so we slept in. The Orsay Museum was the one main museum covered by the Paris Museum Pass that we could not book ahead for. Fortunately we didn’t have a long wait to get in. Maybe 20-30 minutes? The Impressionists rooms were crowded but not unbearable. Steve got blindsided by teenagers. At least one was kind enough to ask if he was okay. Beautiful building too. Lots of famous and not-so-famous art.
After that we went straight to the Cluny Museum and straight to the lady and the unicorn tapestries. They also had close ups of Sainte-Chapelle stained glass. It was nice to see it close up.
Paris is one of those cities where you see random bits of history just walking around. Like a place where Thomas Jefferson once lived, and another building where the Cordeliers Club (important in the French Revolution) used to meet.
Day 7: Day Trip to Versailles
We had to leave early to get to Versailles by 9:00. The palace itself is huge but pretty empty. The Hall of Mirrors and the queen’s bedchamber were worth the price of admission on their own.
The palace gardens are very spread out. So while beautiful it’s difficult to take them all in. They do rent golf carts!
The Grand Trianon might have been our favorite part. At least it’s on a more manageable scale.
We were so tired after our 20,000+ steps, a record for this trip. The challenge is that it takes a while to get to and from Versailles from Paris. If you really want to dig into it, maybe spend the night so you can more easily split it over two days?
Anyway, we bought dinner, fizzy water, breakfast, and wine from the supermarket. We had planned to have croques madame today. We will eat croques demain (tomorrow). Here’s the Conciergerie in the morning and Notre Dame in the afternoon.
Day 8: The Eiffel Tower and Rue Cler
Our last day ended up being Labor Day (May 1) so many things were closed. Like the Rodin museum. Since the supermarket next door wasn’t selling alcohol and had no baked goods, we went to Eataly and got wine and muffins. (It’s been handy having Eataly nearby.)
We took the bus to the Eiffel Tower and back. We couldn’t get tickets to go up the tower, but we got a good look from the ground. All this time I thought the Eiffel Tower was black. Nope.
We detoured to the Rue Cler to check it out; Rick Steves’ raves about it. It was nice, though not really worth the detour. I can see why it might be a good area to stay in. We did find a Monoprix on the way that was selling alcohol so we got some inexpensive French wine to take home. After showers and packing we finally had our croques madame. (Or is it croque madames?)
Here’s a last look at the Eiffel Tower; an exclamation point to our trip to France. Tomorrow we have an early taxi to the airport.
Essentials
Lodging
I found lots of good hotel options in Paris, though no great options. The Hotel de La Bretonnerie was in a great location close to a supermarket (next door), lot of restaurants, and close to public transportation. Plus we were able to walk to many sights. On the downside the room was small and on the top floor, but small rooms are kind of the norm in big cities.
Dining
Paris of course has lots of restaurants to choose from. We had Beef Bourguignon and Coq au Vin at Aux Anysetiers Du Roy, a crowded friendly little restaurant on Ile Saint-Louis. Everywhere else we ate was within about a five minute walk from our hotel. At PNY we had burgers, fries and excellent pistachio raspberry cheesecake. We ate pizza (duck/blue cheese, quatre saisons) and pasta at Cafe Vitto. Classic (to us) French sidewalk cafe experience. At Robert et Louise we had steak with chipolatas, excellent potatoes, green beans, and salad. Very warm and friendly place. And finally croques madame and Jamaican Mules at Le Bouquet des Archives.
Transportation
Paris is a big city. We were able to walk to many sights but still ended up using public transportation, though not enough to make getting an unlimited pass worthwhile. We got Navigo cards and added tickets as we went. We got lucky with the cards. When we asked the hotel front desk about where we could get them, she found a couple left over at the desk that we could use. They even had a couple of rides left on them! Using their app we could hold the cards next to a phone to load tickets. At least Paris doesn’t have complicated zones. All our tickets, even Versailles, were the standard rate. RATP handles all public transportation in Paris, plus there are lots of other sites offering advice. We took a taxi to and from the airport and it was super simple since it was a flat rate in both directions.