Trip to Paris

Lister1

I'm due to head for a weekend break to Paris(19th May returning the 22nd). Can anyone recommend whats worth visiting and whats not. The girlfried wants to head over to Euro Disney for a day but I think this might be a waste of a day given the distance that we will have to travel to get there(and the fact that I'm not good with queues). Comments?

I'm looking forward to getting to see the Eifel Tower and a boat trip on the Seine to get a view of the Notre Dame. What else should I include I my "must see list"?

yaledo

I recommend:
- A guided tour on the Bateaux mouches (slow boat on the seine) at night
- Walking around the Latin Quarter in the evening (south of Notre Dame) for decent food at very cheap prices.
- I'd recommend a night club called 'Batofar' - it's on a boat on the seine, near Metro station 'Bibliotheque Francois Mitterand' Booze is dear there, but it's a nice spot. www.batofar.org is a good website if you can understand french.
Enjoy

lost_for_words

Have been to Paris many times and each time it is different. Things to do depend on your interests really. For instance museums, great in theory but not for everbody. The Louvre is fantastic but you can get easily irritated by brash loud Americans and the very very long queues, still it's amazing both inside and out. You'd never get around the whole place though in a short time so pick what you want to see and do that otherwise it might all end up just blending in.
Another great museum is the musee d'Orsay which used to be an old train station, mush easier to manouevre round this one, and the queues not so bad.
The boat trip on the Seine is a must, especially for a romantic weekend. If you want to take it easy go for a stroll through the Tuilleries Gardens just opposite the Louvre, it's really lovely.
For more typical touristy things try the Arc de Triomphe which takes forever to climb up but the views are great.
Remember no matter where you go in Paris at that time of year there will be loads of tourists and lots of queues (get to the Eiffel Tower early).
I'd skip Disney this time as it takes a good 45 mins to get there, it's a long day and if ye are only going for the weekend you can find better things to do.

If you are into history etc, take one of the bus tours (yes very touristy) but you can get off at the places along the route that you think might be interesting.

hmmm bit of a rant here, have a great time....wish i was going

tabatha

the l'orangerie paris, one of the best museums ever! if you like monet that is! also houses Renoir, Matisse, Derain, Picasso and more. this is where you get to see the lily pads.

Sacre-Coeur is also beautiful. go at night and look at the lovely views of the city.

you could also try Pigalle. this is the citys sex district. this is where you will find moulin rouge.

Right_Side

On the Euro Disney issue... if you been to a few theme parks before this is nothing new. In fact it is quite small.

I think starting with a boat trip on the Seine helps you get your bearings.

Lister1

Thanks for the comments. I'm not into museums much but its Paris and the girl friend loves here art so a bit of it will have to be done(and I wouldn't mind seeing the mona lisa myself anyway).

Nightclub on the boat in the seine sounds like a good idea(as does Pigalle!).

Is Eurodisney difficult to get to? I assume its served by a train route? Also would we have to book or can we buy a ticket at the door?

"The Da Vinci Code" opens here on the 19th and I assume its the same release date in Paris. Anyone been to a cinema in France before? Are the films in French or English? Excuse my ignorance and thanks for the ideas so far.

lost_for_words

It's easy enough to get to Disney of you really want to go, you just take the RER (suburban train) which I believe is the red line and you want the one going in the direction Marne la Valee (spelling may be slightly wrong wasn't great at the aul french).
I remember going from the the massive underground station Chateles les Halles and you can buy your pass to Disney there including the return train ticket for a cheaper price. I'm sure you could probably do this from most of the other major underground metro stations too, its extremely easy to use the metro, if staying in a hotel you will probably find a map on the back of a leaflet or something.
Last time I was there the Aviator was premiered in one of the cinemas on the Champs Elysees...got to see Leonardo di Caprio and Martin Scorsese. There are loads of cinemas along there, as far as I know everything is dubbed in French but you could always ask someone if it's screening with subtitles when you are there.
It's a looong walk to the Mona Lisa (and a little disappointing) but it's one of those things you just have to do if you've read the Da Vinci code you will recognise other famous paintings he tries to give new meaning to along the way to the Mona Lisa.
I agree with doing the boat by night, the city is lovely all lit up, and there is a bridge you are supposed to make a wish on as you go under it (mine came true ...should have wished bigger)

Ponster

Disney is 40 minutes away on the RER A and costs about €15 return.