I am stressed, because I do want to come up with a plan that will let me see almost all the things I wanted to see in Paris in short 3-5 days. I have not decided how long I should stay in the city. I have already marked all the big cities I would like to stop in France and Italy. As well as some in other countries. Time is the concern here... Too much to do, too little time. Given that I will come back some other times with my loved ones- I should probably leave out some purely sight seeing tourist destinations (cuz going alone isn't romantic enough LOL)
Info on sights and to dos:
http://www.roughguides.com/destinations/europe/france/
http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Guide-g187147-l498-Paris_Ile_de_France.html
http://wikitravel.org/en/Paris
http://en.parisinfo.com/
Bastille Day - fireworks, marches, celebrations. (JUL 14)
Generally, I'd like to look at the famous buildings (Versailles, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe) and visit some museums (Musee du Louvre , Musee d'Orsay). Eating and shopping burns budget, and I'm alone... so I'd probably just skip luxurious French food and go with local popular restau.
Walking across Paris apparently is the best (and cheapest) way to get around.
Discover Walks : http://www.discoverwalks.com/
Tip supported tours by the natives! Woot!!! I gotta do this! Think one walking tour/day would be a good idea. (I do no like walking, so I can probably only take this much XD)
No reservation needed (it's a good idea, though). Just show up 5 min before start time at the meeting place. Great! Flexible and cheap :D
All the famous sights (that I dreamed of) are on this
Paris Landmarks – Right Bank Tour: http://www.discoverwalks.com/paris-walking-tours/paris-landmarks-walking-tours/
Eiffel, Arc de Triumph, Champs Elysees, and Sacre Coeur/Montmartre. Le Louvre, D'Orsay, L'Orangerie.I should catch the 10 am one then after this tour, which lasts around 1hr40 min (give or take), I'll head to lunch w/ friends, if I made some. Climb stairs of Eiffel Tower.
Then I will go to
Montmartre Tour – From Moulin Rouge to Sacre Coeur : http://www.discoverwalks.com/paris-walking-tours/montmartre-paris-walking-tour/
Depend on my experience of the first one, I will take the second one. These two should give me a good idea about Paris.Jardin du Luxemburg ( Luxem bourg garden)
Open depending on length of day. Free entry. (YAY)
Notre Dame Cathedral - Guided visits free of charge on 2 pm Wed,Thurs, Sat. Sunday service starts at 8:30 held at the main alter.
Pantheon - 10-18:30. (last entry at 5:45). unaccompanied Tour (w/ documents) ~1hr. Adult= 7.5 Euro
Louvre- Open: Wed, Fri 9-21:45, Mon, Thur, Sun. 9-18. Ticket for permanent collection= 12 Euro, Exhibitions= 13 Euro, Combined = 16 Euro
d'Orsay- 11 Euro: Open Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun 9:30-17:30, Thur. 9:30-21:15. Discounted price = 8.5 Euro : 18-25 yo (show ID) & Thurs after 1800, other days: after 16:30. Audio guide rental = 5 Euro
Transportation:
Metro, RER, buses are all operated by RATP. All info can be found on http://www.ratp.fr/
http://parisbytrain.com/
Great site, lots of detailed info and links.
The RATP English visitor page will show the day passes... expensive- very, very, very expensive. I doubt you will be needing this much. Given every famous sights are in Central Paris, which is only need ONE t+ ticket (calculated with Gare du Nord-Eurostar and Ecole Militair-Eiffel Tower)
The Ticket t+
YOU NEED TO KNOW
The ticket t+ allows you to change from metros to RER lines and from bus to trams. However, it does not allow you to change from a bus or tram on the one hand to the railway system (train, RER or metro) on the other. YOU NEED TO KNOW tickets t+ cannot be purchased on buses. On buses, you can only purchase the more expensive «boarding» tickets that do not allow you to make a connection
The ticket t+ is available for a continuous trip
- on the metro
- on the RER in Paris (zone 1)
- on buses (except when special rates apply)
- on trams
YOU NEED TO KNOWPack of 10 t+ tickets is 13.70 (age = 10+)
tickets t+ cannot be purchased on buses. On buses, you can only purchase the more expensive «boarding» tickets that do not allow you to make a connection
Another option:
Mobilis and Ticket Jeunes: "To get your Mobilis ticket, go to the SNCF Transilien, RER and metro station ticket dispensers and ticket counters."
Don't know why RATP site doesn't have them listed ... (getting visitors' money?)
English sites also contain wayyyyy less info- if you didn't notice lol. Good thing I took French in highschool, so I can read a little.
http://www.transilien.com/static/tarifs/mobilis
Mobilis is quite awesome lol - it's a day pass. Mentioned before, central Paris is in zone 1-3 it's only 9.05 Euro (cheaper than visite pass= 10.85 ).
http://www.transilien.com/static/tarifs/ticket-jeunes
Ticket Jeunes is something I am going to take advantage of: it's a day pass for passengers below 26 years old. Valid on Weekends and holidays. I should use this to go to Versailles which is in zone 4. It's 8.10 Euro for zones 1-5! woot!
Day Plan: I think it will be great to spend 3-4 days in Paris
Arrive at London St Pancras train station >30 min before departure to complete security & passport controls (wikitravel) . Arrive at Paris Gare du Nord in
Eat breakfast- buy a baguette- because French teacher said that's the best and cheapest XD
Head to Jardin du Luxemburg ( Luxem bourg garden) to picnic. And go to Pantheon (
Join the Paris Landmarks – Right Bank Tour: Meet at Opera. Should take ~2 hrs and 13 Euro
Notre Dame Cathedral Free guided visit at 2 pm. ~2hrs
Think I should be pretty tired at this point, should go to a museum. d'Orsay closes late on Thursday, so it should be a fine choice. 8.5 Euro, ~5hrs.
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