Recommendations for my Paris trip!

Oct 14, 2006
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I am in Paris this weekend, can anyone give me some brilliant places to go??? :love:
Places for (light)lunch eg tearooms (I am already planning to go to Laduree!), and also restaurants... And anywhere with vegetarian options? The only museum/place to go I can think of is the Louvre but I'm sure there are so many more places to visit so please list any that you love
Thank you so much!
 
For a WE, I would prefer to go to Orsay Museum (smaller than the Louvre) and if you love Impressionists, they are all there.
And for Ladurée, I would recommand you the one rue Bonaparte, or Champs Elysées.
 
We always had breakfast at Angelina's - its by the Tulleries - loved it. They have a fabulous hot chocolate with cinamon - chocolate african. Also personally I really liked the Rodin museum, it has a sculpture garden and his former house and studio is 17th cent. and restored - very lovely. You should have a Parisian picnic! You can pick up bread, cheese, pasteries. I also love Gustave Moreau, but I think unless you're into one of those two I'd highly recommend the Orsay.

Btw. I found that eating at French restaurants at night generally required a reservation - your hotel concierge can make one for you.
 
I second the Musee Rodin recommendation. It was our favorite this last trip. For shopping, I loved Printemps, Galeries Lafayette, Rue Faubourg Saint Honore and of course, Avenue Montaigne near the Champs Elysees. Have a fantastic time.
 
Definitely the Musee D'Orsay, I prefer it over the Louvre. At the Louvre, I would suggest just hitting the major attractions, they will give you a guide as to what they are, and then head to the roof for a Cafe o'lait where you can see into the center and the pyramids. You can spend a good afternoon at the Musee D'Orsay instead. Also near the Musee D'orsay, I say a couple streets South is St. Germaine, there some very quaint shops and lots of them. But for a weekend, I would go to Lourve for a couple hours, Musee D'Orsay, Effiel Tower, Galleria Layfette & Primtemps for shopping.

Also, for dinner, you should consider trying North African cuisine, something unique and authentic....I can't think of the one the like, it's a series of number in the name, 447 or something like that.
 
Okay for a short trip I would definitely spend more time at the Orsay, the Louvre is fabulous but I think for a short trip you'd have more fun just hitting the highlights - Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory.

I wasn't crazy about Monrmartre, too touristy & crowded for me. Norte Dame is really beautiful and you can walk up to see the gargoyles, its also close to Saint Chapel which has amazing stained glass - we were really happy we went there.

You'll want to go up the Eiffel Tower for the view, but get there as early as possible because the lines are long. You can also get a museum pass at the airport for going to the museums - the best part is you skip the lines, you just flash your pass.

I would metro to the l'arc de triomphe, rather than walk up the Champs-Elysees - frankly the Champs-Elysees used to be a super high end street for shopping but it just isn't so much anymore. You can metro there and go to Louis Vuitton - there will probably be a line outside - and Cartier and Sephora, other than that there wasn't much. For shopping you must see Hermes on Saint Honore - its an experience. Its also close to Lanvin and Gucci, Goyard, Chanel (which is wierdly small) and some others. Cholette is interesting but a little out of the way, I would only go if you're into that sort of fashion and willing to spend the money.

The Galleries Layfette is insane - its like a huge mall packed with people. I didn't like the crowds but I did buy a little something there from the Chanel boutique, which was less crowded. If you go make sure to get a discount coupon from information - along with a map - the discount didn't work at Chanel, but if you got something from a non-boutique it should work.
 
For food consult your guidbooks and try to avoid touristy spots, esp. for dinner - we ended up paying as much for a simple dinner - steak frites and steak tartare as a 3 course meal the next night because the first dinner was at a tourist spot. I'm not kidding though that we went to about 4 local restaurants that night and they were all booked. We made reservations for the rest of the week with our hotel and ate at only local places for the next few nights, it was great, I would really recommend doing that.
 
One more thing...
Everyone raves about the efficiency of the Paris Metro which is fast and great but very crowded during rush hours and they have no problems cramming into the train. I hated it because I can't stand people pressing against me.

I find that the Water Taxis are much more conducive when I'm there, it's doesn't cost much and it runs along the Sienne and stops at all the major sights...so you get to sight see as well as steps away from the major attractions.
 
And if you want to try the best dpt store without crowd of the saturdays..try Le Bon Marché on the left Bank ...not far from Ladurée Bonaparte.
For sunday you could have a great walk and nice lunch in Le Marais...maybe before or after Musée d'Orsay...
For restaurants it depends on what do you looking for...give me some clues, and I'll be glad to help :smile:
 
We always had breakfast at Angelina's - its by the Tulleries - loved it. They have a fabulous hot chocolate with cinamon - chocolate african.

I was going to recommend Angelina's but winternight beat me to it ;) Just don't make the mistake I did the first time, which was an order of the hot chocolate and a chocolate tarte.... total chocolate overload!