We%26#39;re back! (Begrugingly of course!)
We flew Air France from Montreal to Paris and the service was wonderful. We got the %26quot;hump%26quot; up top of the 747, which is equiped with the seat back TV%26#39;s with several choices of movies and shows. (On the return flight, we did not have this, as they have not upgraded the rows on the main level). However, the service on both legs was beyond what we expected for economy. The staff were friendly, the food was wonderful and filling and the wine never stopped flowing! What is particularly wonderful about long haul AF flights is the self service bar at the back. It%26#39;s nice to get up and stretch and grab a glass of water or juice (or champagne of course) without having to flag down an attendant.
We bought the Carte Orange with no trouble whatsoever at the Opera metro station upon arrival. We took our pictures at the photo booth next to the ticket window and were on our way. What a great choice if you are there during the valid time! It saved us a lot of money, and gives you the comfort of knowing you can just hop on and off as you choose.
We bought the 6 day museum pass at the Tabac store in the Carousel du Louvre. No lineup at all. (We got there just before the museum opened however... the line up for tickets was out the Pyramid by noon time.) The passes are for CONSECUTIVE days, which is why we bought the 6, even though we only planned on 4 days of use... it let us break up the trip to go elsewhere and still use the pass upon return. We thought that the pass encouraged us to go to places we probably wouldn%26#39;t have given the admission price to most monuments... and we%26#39;re very glad we did!
As for our itenerary it went somewhat like this:
Day 1-- arrived at hotel at 10:30am, checked in shortly after. Walked down to Opera (we were staying near Gare Saint Lazare), checked out the Opera-- beware if the purpose of your trip there is to see the auditorium and the chandelier, you will be sad to know that 99% of the time, the auditorium is closed due to rehearsals. However, the rest of the Opera is amazing. It was my favourite place 9 years ago, and still is today. From there, walked to Madeline and took in a rehearsal for a choir concert that night. Walked down to Concorde, watched the insanity of the cars zooming past, and crossed to the Jardin des Tuleries and strolled through until we got to the Pyramid. A long walk, but well worth it as we saw quite a bit in our first few hours alone! We called it an early night that night after dinner.
Day 2-- headed to Louvre and bought our museum pass. As we were there right at the opening, we bolted right to Mona Lisa to get that out of the way. We still can%26#39;t figure out exactly WHY she%26#39;s so popular, but it%26#39;s a %26quot;must see%26quot; anyway. We spent a good 4 hours in the Louvre and enjoyed it immensely. There is a huge section of Egyptian artifacts which was very interesting to both my husband and I. From the Louvre, we walked towards Centre Pompidou and had lunch. My big thing was to chop off all my hair in Paris (I grew it long for our wedding) and I found a wonderful place. It%26#39;s a chain called Franck Provost and they do wonderful work. I speak a lot of French, but they were helpful nonetheless when I couldn%26#39;t think of the right words. The cost was also comparable to what I would spend a home which was a nice surprise. After that, we took the Metro to Arc de Triumph and climbed to the top! If you%26#39;ve skipped the gym for a few weeks... not to worry, your trainer will never know after this! I personally believe this is the best view in the city. When we got down, we walked up and down the main section of the Champs and over to Pont Alma. The flame wasn%26#39;t covered in flowers like we expected after hearing that people were turning it into a Diana memorial, but check out the stones along the top of the tunnel... they are completely covered in messages to her. We walked back over to the Champs and had dinner before calling it a night.
Day 3-- %26quot;Church Day%26quot;. We started at Notre Dame and turned up just in time for a mass. It was very moving to see the procession begin and to catch some of the mass at least. We climbed the tours (another great work out) and took some wonderful shots of the Stryga (the most famous Chimera/Gargoyle there) and the city. It%26#39;s high, so if you are the least bit frightened or get dizzy easily, this part is not for you. From Notre Dame we headed to Saint Sulpice, as I am a big DaVinci Code fan. Everyone in there was taking pictures of the exact same spot which was very amusing. I%26#39;m glad we went though, the Catherdral is beautiful! We took a looooong walk up to the Pantheon (probably too long to walk again, we%26#39;d recomment the metro if you%26#39;re at all tired at this point!) The crypts at the Pantheon are very interesting-- Hugo, Marie Curie, Voltaire, Braille etc... From there, we went to Saint Chapelle, which again, is a beautiful site. The Concergerie is on the same site, so we got to see Marie Antoinette%26#39;s cell and mock ups of what other cells (for the %26quot;lesser wealthy%26quot; would have looked like.) Our feet were about to fall off, so we headed to Pont Neuf and hopped on our boat cruise. For 9 Euros each, we got a wonderful hour long tour up and down the Seine. The guide explained in great detail everything we passed, answered questions and the boat went by slow enough for everyone to get pictures. (The company we used was Vedettes de Pont Neuf). We figured we seen enough for a week by this point, so again, dinner and sleep!
Day 4-- Attempted shoe shopping at Galaries Lafayette! A word of warning-- there are sections, each with its own people. If you go to the wrong person, they will pass off your sample shoe and you may or may not ever get the box! We wanted to get to Chartes this day, but the trains were leaving too late for us to get any worth from the trip, so we did the Eiffel Tower on this day instead. Long lines naturally, as there always is. Went to the very top (which is REALLY not a good idea if you get nervous at heights... the wind is madning up there which can add to any possible vertigo sensations!) Our main beef with the Eiffel Tower is that a lot of people are in a rush and push their way past people... nothing to do with the tower inself, but an annoyance nonetheless for the polite tourists! :) That night, we went to see a movie at the UGC Normandy on the Champs (in the same building as the Lido, so follow the signs correctly or you%26#39;ll get a completely different show!) :) The theatre we got was amazing... plush big seats and tonnes of leg room! It was late by the time the movie got out, so we headed back to our hotel for the night.
Day 5-- Disneyland! My husband and I are big Disneyland fans, so we couldn%26#39;t miss out on this. Took the RER out and bought tickets there. We spent the entire day out there, and since it was a Saturday, the lines were long. There is something funny with their Fast Pass system. We%26#39;ve used it a lot before at Disneyland in Anaheim, and they give you about an hour/hour and a half before you return. These FP were giving people a return time of SIX hours later! So, by 2pm, no more FP%26#39;s were being handed out. It made no sense, and we%26#39;re not convinced it was being done correctly. We caught the parade which was nice (as is Disney custom of course!) We had a wonderful dinner at the Steakhouse in Disney Village. 29 Euros for a ceasar salad, big steak with 2 sauces, and desert. Wonderful staff too. My husband said his mango chutney (he had curried chicken) was amazing. One thing that was a bit offputting was how many people smoke IN THE LINEUPS for the rides! We can understand smoking around in the park, but in the lineups? Our clothes stunk more after one day at Disneyland than after all week in Paris.
Day 6-- Chartes. We took the train out around 11am and the trip is about an hour long. We went right to the Catherdral and spent a long time looking around. It%26#39;s incredible. Unfortunately, the world famous labrynth was partially covered by chairs left over from mass. You could still see a lot of it, but no %26quot;walking of the labrynth%26quot; was possible. We had a wonderful wonderful lunch (best veggie soup I%26#39;ve ever had!) and took a look around the town. There is a war memorial in the park leading down the hill to the main part of town that is very nice. It was Mother%26#39;s Day and a Sunday, so not a lot was open in town, but it was a very nice day and nice to get out of the city for a time and slow down a bit. We headed back around 5 or 6. We knew Pompidou was open until 9, so we went to check that out. We like art, but this is the place where art is very... odd. It%26#39;s not fancy old paintings like the Louvre. It%26#39;s all modern. The view from the top of the escalator was worth the trip inside though. (It was included on our pass... unless you are very interested in modern art, skip this one.) My husband really wanted to see the Moulin Rouge, so we took the Metro up and got some great shots of it at dusk. The area is not exactly what it once was... s*x shops and a Quick Burger surround it now, but if you ignore those, it%26#39;s still quite a site to be seen.
Day 7-- We started our last full day in Paris at Sacre Cour. Beautiful. Amazing. Stunning. No pictures are allowed inside, but once again, we caught a mass being performed. This is where the seriously devout come to pray, so it was nice to see everyone obeying the %26quot;silence and no pictures%26quot; rule. The crypt was closed, but it contains what is rumoured to be the %26quot;sacred heart%26quot; of Christ. (Hence the name of the church). We%26#39;d gotten enough panoramic views of the city, so we didn%26#39;t bother going up to the top, but it%26#39;s supposed to be wonderful. We walked down the stairs, which isn%26#39;t bad at all... take the funiculaire up though, just be careful of pickpockets. They aren%26#39;t exactly subtle, but there%26#39;s a lot of them, so keep your eyes peeled. If you%26#39;re looking for a nice scarf, there is a wonderful store called Kazana on the walk back to the metro that is filled with bright and paterned scarfs. We wanted to see Pere Lachaise, so we headed out there. There are maps within the cemetery itself, but finding people is VERY difficult. The %26quot;roads%26quot; aren%26#39;t always roads, but in fact, small paths that are barely noticeable. The place is HUGE, so pick your faves and head in their direction. From Pere Lachaise (and after a nice lunch) we went to Invalides to see Napoleons tomb. There was some military gathering going on, with several marching bands and veterans. It was very neat to watch, but we never did find out exactly what is was for! We spent some time at the War museums in Invalides as well.
Our trip was jam packed filled with stuff, and our feet haven%26#39;t quite forgiven us yet! For those that are concerned about %26quot;fitting in%26quot;... there is no worry. Every single person, local or tourist, was wearing sneakers at some point. Pumas, Vans, Nikes, you name it... and trust us, it%26#39;s the best way to go. Ballet flats are also very in, so that%26#39;s very nice for the ladies. EVERYONE wears jeans, and if anyone tells you otherwise, they haven%26#39;t been in the last little bit. Not one single person was dressed in all black either. Scarfs are very popular however, so bring one along for that extra touch.
Our best tips for you are to wear COMFORTABLE SHOES. We cannot stress that enough. We had some walks in the Metro that were as long as several blocks, and of course, around the city. Buy the Carte Orange if your trip falls between a Monday or Tuesday day and lasts until at least Sunday. It paid itself off more than a few times over. The museum pass is a great item, but does NOT get you past line ups! Due to security regulations, most places require you to line up with the rest... the pass just gets you past the TICKET BOOTH and that is it. Just a warning, because we saw a lot of angry tourists that didn%26#39;t realize this!
Have a great time, the city is amazing... it%26#39;s filled with culture, history and wonderful people! :)
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Great report, thanks for the tips! It sounds like you had a great time.
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Thanks for your trip report. I loved reliving memories of my own trip at the beginning of May.
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