# 1 week in Paris. What to see? What to do?



## garpie (Jan 5, 2006)

I'm spending 1 week in Paris, arriving on July 11th (Tuesday) and leaving on 18th (Tuesday). I'd like you to recommend us places to see and activities to do during this time. I'll go with my wife (no kids yet , so full freedom of movement). What about weekend nightlife?

Of course, off-the-beaten-track suggestions are welcome, as well as outer Paris area atractions. Thanks in advance!

:cheers:


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

It's quite a lot if you only visit the city - you can plan well 

MUSTS: 
Eiffel Tower
The Louvre (plan a day!)
La Defense
Les Halles and Centre Pompidou
Go up to Tour Monparnasse
Montparnasse or Pere Lachaise cemitaries
Quartier Latin
Notre Dame
Sacre Coeur and Montmartre
Versailles
Cite des Sciences et de l'Industrie
...and enjoy the food and wine 

PS: are you from Brasilia?


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## garpie (Jan 5, 2006)

No, I'm from Pamplona, Spain. But I liked Brasilia a lot when I visited it last December.

BTW, thanks for the info.


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## Küsel (Sep 16, 2004)

You're welcome  I was only twice in Paris in the early 90s. So I may not be up to date... 

Wish I was in Brasilia as well... although I visited some Brazilian cities as Curitiba, POA, Sao Paulo, Santos, Rio, and BH to name the biggest, I never made it to Distrito Federal  Maybe next time.


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## BenL (Apr 24, 2006)

Two more musts: Walking down the Champs-Elysees and it's always nice to climb L'Arc De Triomphe. You see Paris from the air but in not such a detached way as from the Tour Eiffel. Both are worth doing though. Also really nice to take rivecruise down the Seine.


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## le lyonnais du 81 (Aug 25, 2005)

You can go to the last floor of montparnasse tower and you will see all Paris and by night it is wonderful.


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## Forza Raalte (Sep 18, 2004)

I actually walked 2 meter to grab a book to help you so be bloody thankful 

*Must-see:*

* Enjoy the view on the Eiffel Tower. I would advise you to go to the metro station of Trocadero instead of Bir Hakeim what most books advise you. The first view from Trocadero is way better.

* Visit the Louvre. If you're really into arts you could really spend a whole day there, like Kuesel said. Atleast plan half an day for it

* Walk from Place de La Concorde along the Champs Elysees to L'Arc de Triomph and enjoy the view from the top

* Montmartre is one the most beautiful places in Paris. I would certainly walk up the hill instead of taking the funicular, you see a lot more of the neighbourhood. And relax on the stairs near the Sacre Coeur. You could eventually visit the cemetery of Montmartre (which isn't as nice as Pere Lachaise but still worth a visit )

* I suppose you're into skyscrapers and urbanity so La Defense is definatley a great place to see. Try to act like a businessman and go into the Tour Total or an other high building in La Defense 

* Visit the Notre Dame. You could take the stairs to enjoy the view but there are better views of Paris

* Like the Tour Montparnasse! The view is even better than the view from teh Eiffel Tower because you can see the Eiffel Tower . The observation isn't that busy and queques aren't that long.

*Interesting sights:*

* Visit the area around the Opera. The Opera itself is a very nice building. I'm not sure you can visit it. Walk from the Opera towards Place Vendome one the worlds most beautifuls squares and one of the best squares in Paris. Than walk to La Madeleine, a massive Greece-style building. 

* City des sciences et de l'industrie is worth a visit. 

* Relax in the Gardens of the beautiful Palais royal and visit Les Halles and Centre Pompidou which are near. Especially Centre Pompidou is a really nice building (interior  ) and is even worth a visit when you're not into art.

* Stroll in Le Marais. A neighbourhood in Paris with some Jewish influences. It has got some pretty interesting musea but the biggest attractions are the Place des Vosges and La Bastille. I would certainly recommend you to see the neighbourhood.

* La Pere Lachaise. A very famous cemetery.

* Les Invalides. A beautiful building, you probably recognize it from Cyril's UPC winning photo. It's actually a must-see

* If you're into art. Musee de Orsay is a must-see. The building itself is really nice too.

* Quartier Latin. Nice area

*Interesting places:*
- Bois de Boulogne
- Pantheon
- Palais Luxeumbourg
- St-Germain des Pres
- Biblioteque National
- Museu Guimet
- Grand Palais

Outside Paris:

- Versailles ( full day trip)
- The Cathedral of Saint-Denis
- I don't know what your opinions are but I would certainly visit a banlieu if I could spend 7 days in Paris. Les Olympiades is very interesting in my opinion 



I hope I've helped with this information :bowtie:


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## jimbojoe45 (Jun 17, 2005)

I too am going to be in Paris in July however, only for an extended three day weekend. But thanks for all the great sights. I'm definaty going to try to see as many of them as I can


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## Cyril (Sep 11, 2002)

The Musée d'Orsay is a great museum to visit too imo  It's just across the Seine on the opposite shore of the Louvre.


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

See Cyril,Gotenks,Jp etc if you can


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## Matthieu (Mar 7, 2004)

No one mentioned the Georges Pompidou center?

What about the Concorde Square and St Marie Madeleine?


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## Forza Raalte (Sep 18, 2004)

Maybe it would be a good idea too read all posts before you make replies like this. :bowtie:


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## GM (Feb 29, 2004)

Forza Raalte said:


> Outside Paris:
> 
> - Versailles ( full day trip)
> - The Cathedral of Saint-Denis
> - I don't know what your opinions are but I would certainly visit a banlieue  if I could spend 7 days in Paris. Les Olympiades is very interesting in my opinion


A banlieuE, with a E. 

And the Olympiades neighborhood is not a banlieue, it's located in the 13th arrondissement, inside Paris.... yeah there are actually some huge residential tower blocks in Paris intra muros.


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## garpie (Jan 5, 2006)

Thanks a lot to all for your suggestions!! 

Last time I was in Paris was in 1992 (17 y.o. and studying), but just for 3 days. I did visit then typical places such as Montmarte, La Defense, Champs Elysees, Louvre, Pompidou Center, etc (which for sure will be visited again!), so the rest of places and attractions you all have mentioned are wellcome. Now I have a quite longer agenda to fulfill 

What about street markets in July? Of any kind. I've always loved this scenarios in big cities, cause it's also then when a big city shows its "size" and variety. I remember being in Marché aux Puces.

And Festivals? :gaah: now I realize that I'll be in the middle of Chauvinistic Grandeur Celebrations as per July the 14th :jk: , of course!!


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## Metropolitan (Sep 21, 2004)

Détritus said:


> No one mentioned the Georges Pompidou center?
> 
> What about the Concorde Square and St Marie Madeleine?


Indeed, the Centre Pompidou is very interesting. For those who enjoy views on the city, drinking a coffee at the last floor of the Pompidou center is very nice. The view from their is very unexpected ! 

If you have enough time, a visit at the Château de Vincennes is also nice. It's a wonderful Medieval castle (one of the few remaining in the Paris area).

Here's a picture of the castle's dungeon from streets of Vincennes :


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## grachtengordeldier (Mar 7, 2006)

^^^
And when you're in Vincennes, you can do La Promenade Plantée, it's a great walk from Vincennes (or close by) to place de la Bastille. 
This Promenade is made on an old railwaytrack, mostly high above the ground. The raliway wasn't used anymore, so they put plant, trees on it and now you have a park like thing long of maybe 3 or 4 kilometers with great views!


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## Matthieu (Mar 7, 2004)

Can this be visited?


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## bnmaddict (Jan 6, 2005)

Détritus said:


> Can this be visited?


Unfortunately nope... I visited it last year, during the "Journées du patrimoine", but it's inside the Henri IV high school, so you can't visit it... There's also a marvelous medieval chapel inside Henri IV! 

Do you know the CNAM's library, Detritus?


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## bnmaddict (Jan 6, 2005)

If you plan to explore little cities and sights around Paris, I would suggest:

- Fontainbleau (wonderful palace of François 1er, Unesco's world heritage) 
- Chantilly, wonderful palace
- Provins (a bit farther, but it's a wonderful fortified city, medieval housing, Unseco's world heritage)
- Disneyland Paris: 2 theme parks and a lot of fun
- Senlis, another fortified city, medieval housing and Roman ruins
- Saint Germain en Laye: beautiful medieval/Renaissance castle, Huge collection of Prehistoric and Gallic Art, nice gardens and park and a good view of La Défense in the background

Concerning the museums in Paris:
- Big 3 Art museums: Louvre, Orsay, Pompidou center
- Guimet museum and Cernuschi museum: Biggest and most beautiful collection of Asian Art outside Asia
- The big 3 science and technology museums: Cité des Sciences, Musée des Arts et métiers, Palais de la découverte (My favorite being the Musée des Arts et métiers, but the biggest is the Cité des sciences with the Omnimax theater, Planetarium and 3D simulator)
- Picasso museum: Simply one of the most amazing collection of paintings of your master!
- Rodin museum
- Institut du monde Arabe, Fondation Cartier (Contemporary Art) & Musée du Quai Branly (African, South American and Oceanian Art, opening in June): if you like Jean Nouvel
- And also: Marmottan-Monet museum, Cognac-Jay museum, and dozens of other little museums

In fact, you can always find a museum matching your centers of interest in or Around Paris.

Hope it can help!


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## garpie (Jan 5, 2006)

^^ for sure it helps, mon ami!

... and now some tips n' clues about streetlife, s'il vous plaît


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