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cats
Citizen
Username: Cats
Post Number: 39
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 16, 2006 - 9:50 pm: | 
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Well, the kids will be in sleep away camp so my husband and I are finally going to get away for a week. Destination: Paris! Anyone have any recommendations for hotels, restaurants, neighborhoods to explore, etc.? Do you think package deals are better than finding airfare and separate hotel accomodations? We'll be going in July (peak time) so we need to get going on this. Any and all suggestions are appreciated! Thanks, everyone. |
AntoninaKC
Citizen
Username: Antoninakc
Post Number: 173
Registered: 5-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, February 16, 2006 - 10:06 pm: |
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Anywhere in paris....... would be wonderful....
Highlights to see- Montmarte, Latin Quarter, Bastille area.. the Original Paris opera house.. Ile de St Louis-- an island of sorts in the middle of the Seine by Notre Dame.. You will have a great time!
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Robert Little
Citizen
Username: Boblittle
Post Number: 322
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 16, 2006 - 11:07 pm: |
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Hotel Britannique in the first arrondissement. Great value for the location.
http://www.hotel-britannique.fr/ |
las
Citizen
Username: Las
Post Number: 989
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 16, 2006 - 11:14 pm: |
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Wow, Cats - bon voyage!
Don't forget to practice saying meow in French! |
Lizziecat
Citizen
Username: Lizziecat
Post Number: 1059
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 16, 2006 - 11:57 pm: |
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The Sainte Chapelle and the Musee de Cluny. |
CageyD
Citizen
Username: Cageyd
Post Number: 600
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 9:24 am: |
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Just got back and highly recommend the hotel K&K. It is in St. Germain De Pres. 2 + blocks from the Louvre, Musee D'Orsay and walkable to the Latin Quarter. Also, the subway station is literally across the street. The area is lovely, upscale and quite. The staff is amazingly professional and the rooms, though a little small, are modern clean and very comfortable. And, there are many cheese, wine, and amazing furniture and clothing shops nearby. Here is the link - have fun.
http://www.kkhotels.com/hotel_HC_en.aspx |
SoOrLady
Citizen
Username: Soorlady
Post Number: 3002
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 9:33 am: |
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I was going to suggest the St. Germain area as well... I can't remember the name of our hotel though - it was small, but well appointed. We walked everywhere except the Eifle Tower - the metro was easy to understand so no worries there. I'd suggest getting a good map of the city, if you're going to see the Louvre, download the floor maps online and choose your paths - I could literally spend a week there - so choose what you really want to see. |
IShep
Citizen
Username: Twinsmom
Post Number: 136
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 10:58 am: |
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The Marais is by far my favorite neighborhood in Paris. I lived there when I was a teenager--and this last time I was there I hit some sights that I'd never explored: the Marmottan (a lot of Monet works) in the 16th--the Cluny (medieval art), Fontainebleu (instead of Versailles). Also, if you like modern art you must go to the Pompidou.
Another fun activity is taking a stroll at the Luxembourg Garden as well as sipping tea at the mosque near the Museum of Natural History.
If you like sculpture the Rodin should not be missed.
If you're a foodie, walk down the rue de Mouffetarde on a weekend afternoon. Fabulous.
Bon voyage!
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jet
Citizen
Username: Jet
Post Number: 1033
Registered: 7-2001
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 12:09 pm: |
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Hotel Madison |
jet
Citizen
Username: Jet
Post Number: 1034
Registered: 7-2001
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 12:21 pm: |
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The Madison Hotel is located on the Rue Germain De Pres , it's a couple of blocks from the Cafe of Two Maggots {sounds better in french} you'll be spending a lot of time there. The selection of this hotel is the result of years of R & D. |
eliz
Supporter
Username: Eliz
Post Number: 1323
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 1:21 pm: |
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I usually like the 5th or the 6th and last year we stayed at a great small hotel in the 6th - Hotel Le Sainte Beuve
http://www.hotel-sainte-beuve.fr/
Great hotel, great price - walk to les Jardins Luxembourg.
This past November I went with some friends and we stayed in the Marais which I really enjoyed. We stayed at a new hotel (designed by Christian Lacroix) that was very reasonable (by Paris standards).
http://www.paris-hotel-petitmoulin.com/
I can spend days just sitting outside Les Deux Magots people watching while drinking wine and eating cheese....
Try to get a reservation now for Le Comptoir (newish Yves Camdeborde restaurant in Hotel Relais Saint Germain - tel 011 33 1 44 22 07 97) |
Innisowen
Citizen
Username: Innisowen
Post Number: 1546
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 1:41 pm: |
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Hotel de Californie (sounds cute, eh) off the Champs Elysees has a roof top room (number 629) where I try to stay if I am on the Rive Droite.
You go to the 6th floor, cross a small parapet, and your room is like a mini-cottage on the roof top of the hotel. It has a mini-balcony with a couple of chairs, and there are chairs for your room right outside the room on the rooftop as well.
It's intimate, different, and people hardly ever ask for the room. The hotel almost apologizes for putting you there. The hotel doesn't realize what a gift they're giving you.
I'd spend some time around Place des Vosges, where the author Victor Hugo lived. It's a wonderful square, interesting architecture. There's a nice bistro about half a block away called La Mule Du Pape (the Pope's Mule) at 8, rue du Pas de la Mule. Very local, very neighborhood-focused, small, and very acceptable cuisine.
For anything else, there are a million Paris guidebooks. I would not miss the Basilique St-Denis, in the north end of Paris, in one of the more dense immigrant arrondissements. It's a church that's beautiful beyond belief and the place where kings were crowned.
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cats
Citizen
Username: Cats
Post Number: 40
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 2:03 pm: |
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WOW, everyone - I'm overwhelmed. Now we'll take all of this info (keep it coming!) and peruse the guidebooks. We know people who stayed on Ile de St. Louis and loved the Marais area. A travel agent recommended the K&K hotel which is on the left bank. Thanks! |
Milosdad
Citizen
Username: Milosdad
Post Number: 7
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 2:36 pm: |
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I second St. Germaine as a great neighborhood to stay in...for food and restaurants I recommend purchasing "A Food Lovers Guide to Paris" by Patricia Welles (or Wells). Ms. Welles is a writer for the International Herald Tribune and has spent many years in Paris. Her book is a fantastic neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide to Paris' best resataurants, cafes, bistros, boulangeries, chocolatiers, etc. Don't go to Paris without it! |
Captainwalton
Citizen
Username: Captainwalton
Post Number: 8
Registered: 2-2006
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 11:05 pm: |
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I recommend Hotel Select, just a few steps from the St.Michel metro and which has a great situation off the street facing the Place du Sorbonne, which means it is completely protected from the noise of car traffic. It is also within walking distance of the train that goes directly to and from Chas De Gaulle airport.
I also recommend that you do a google search for Jack's Inimitable Travel Guide to Paris. It's a travel guide on the web that has GREAT restaurant recommendations for all budgets and for every arrondisement.
My two recommendations? Do not miss St. Denis on a sunny day. Take the Batabus at sunset for the views of Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower from the Seine.
OK: 3 recommendations: Do not fail to sit down and enjoy the great public parks of Paris. They're free and they as great as any museum or monument in Paris. |
Captainwalton
Citizen
Username: Captainwalton
Post Number: 9
Registered: 2-2006
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 11:10 pm: |
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OK: One more recommendation: At the tip of Ile St Louis, the breakfast at Flore des Ile -- omelette, croissant, brioche, etc. -- is big enough for two people and comes with an unforgettable view of the buttrrssed back of Notre Dame. Order a chocolat chaud ancienne (also big enough for two) to go with it. Bring your own newspaper. Enjoy being lazy in the morning in Paris.
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Captainwalton
Citizen
Username: Captainwalton
Post Number: 10
Registered: 2-2006
| | Posted on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 11:13 pm: |
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"Meow" in French?
Miou |
Tom Kerns
Supporter
Username: Tom_kerns
Post Number: 326
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 6:27 pm: |
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What a coincidence, my wife surprised me with a trip to Paris for our 25th anniversary and we are going in July while the kids are at sleep away camp. Hmmmmm...she said that she never even looks at MOL, never mind post. Could it be......I wonder. |
cats
Citizen
Username: Cats
Post Number: 41
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 8:13 pm: |
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That IS a coincidence! No, I'm not your wife, but depending on the dates, maybe we (my husband and I) could meet in Paris and have some wine! At least you're getting some useful information. In any case, I hope you have a great time celebrating your anniversary...
Just went to the library today and picked up some books. Found the Food Lover's guide to Paris by Patricia Wells and will take notes. Appreciate everybodys' input. |
Innisowen
Citizen
Username: Innisowen
Post Number: 1565
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 9:37 pm: |
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You probably should do the tour of Les Egouts( the sewers of Paris). Entry is at Place de la Concorde. Fascinating, Different.
A day trip from Paris out to the Normandy coast to see the remains of battlements from D-Day and the graves of the fallen, is always an inspiring trip. |
Zoesky1
Citizen
Username: Zoesky1
Post Number: 1377
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 19, 2006 - 10:46 am: |
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Ooh la la! My honeymoon was in Paris (we won't mention the fate of my marriage....). We stayed in St Germain, and it was a great location --- central to all, and a nice walk over the river to the Tuileries, Louvre, Champs Elysee, etc.
While there, take time out to grab some bread and wine to sit in a park and have a picnic...definitely go to the Jardins de Luxembourg...and one of my best Parisian memories was going to a flea market on the outskirts of Paris, where I bought antique Limoges china animals for the equivalent of a few bucks each, plus antique botanical prints and old powder compacts from the 1930s. Find out if any of these flea markets will be going on when you are there --- French antiques are truly wonderful!
Bon voyage! |
Tom Kerns
Supporter
Username: Tom_kerns
Post Number: 327
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 21, 2006 - 11:27 am: |
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Cats
I actually knew you weren't my wife (now that's a strange statement taken out of context) because she told me we already booked a place to stay; The Hotel Regina.
Have fun in Paris. We've been before (almost 20 years ago) and one of the restaurants that stands out in my mind is Brasserie Flo. Here's a link http://www.hotels-exclusive.com/restaurants/flo/flo.htm
But we also had wonderful experiences just making it up as we went.
Can't wait to go back!!
TK |
SoOrLady
Citizen
Username: Soorlady
Post Number: 3009
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 9:32 am: |
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I'd love to go back too! The food was fabulous from the street vendors to the 4 stars. We attended a wedding too - little bits of wonderful things kept appearing every so often to great fanfare. The reception started around 5 p.m. and was still going strong when we headed back to our hotel at 3 a.m. They really know how to party! |
cats
Citizen
Username: Cats
Post Number: 42
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 23, 2006 - 10:22 pm: |
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I was there 26 years ago when a girlfriend and I were traveling on a Eurail pass for 6 wks throughout Europe. I was only in Paris for a few days. It will be a whole new experience for me. My husband has never been. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and stories. We have booked our trip - staying at the Les Jardins Du Marais which is actually on the right bank near the Picasso Museum and in close proximity to the heart of the Marais. |
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