Going to Paris for 2 days... what should we do there?

[Ponkyponk]

Looking for suggestions please. Just realised that I know practically nothing about what to do apart from visit the Eiffel Tower!

We'll arrive in Paris at about lunchtime on a Monday and leave about lunchtime on a Wednesday. Family of 4, kids are 15 and 18, staying in Le Marais.

What fabulous things should we see/do/eat and drink?

Really grateful for any suggestions!

March des Enfants Rouges, open from 8.30am

I wouldn't bother climbing the Eiffel Tower, I'd go and have a picnic there or look at the lights (flash on the hour) and climb Tour Montparnasse instead for the view.

Catacombs
One of the galleries - Louvre, Orsay, Rodin garden

What are you interested in?

Book tickets if you want to go up the Eiffel tower. The walk-up queues are horrendous, and if you don't have long you don't want to spend half a day queuing for that. Personally, I wouldn't go up, but I realise it's an iconic thing to do! There's another tower you can go up for great views, but I forget the name of it.

We got the metro out to the Eiffel tower and then walked back along the river. It was a lovely walk. It took in lots of sights, and also passes the Musee d'Orsay, the Louvre (also book if you want to go) and a few other notable sights that I forget without a map! THere were lots of great streetfood stalls along the path, so we stopped for a gallette and a beer to break the walk.

We did a great bike tour called Paris Nooks and Crannies (or something like that) which took us off the beaten track.

Notre Dam is worth a look - there's a viewing deck and an interesting exhibition about the restoration work.

The canal du midi is also worthy of a stroll - nice gardens to walk through, and bars and restaurants for refreshment.

Le Marais is great

Make sure to go to Le Marché des Enfants Rouges - lots of great street food, artisan products, organic produce etc. Its the oldest food market in Paris. There’s a great Japanese place, highly recommend.

L’As du Fallafel on Rue de Rosiers has great falafel and Rue des Rosiers has a great atmosphere.

Depending on where you’re staying in Le Marais, Ernest and Valentin boulangerie was perfect for grabbing bread and pastries in the morning for breakfast / lunch.

What sort of things do you like doing? There are so many options!

Thanks!

We're interested in historical places, general sightseeing, nice food. A trip on a boat never goes amiss either.

We live in London, so probably less interested in museums and galleries because there are some very good ones that we can visit anytime. (I do love an art gallery, but my husband and kids sadly don't...)

The Marché des Enfants Rouges looks amazing. So do the catacombs.

Notre Dame looks fab too. And walking along the river.

We were there in May and really enjoyed Musee Carnavalet.

Did a short perfume workshop at Fragonard right by the opera house, and a more intense one at some studio. Loved it.

Montmartre was ok but don't even think about getting neat Sacre Couer on the weekend. Mobbed and a waste of time.

Went to top of Gallerie Lafayette for the view; open-air terrace.

Wear good shoes and walk and walk. Down side streets. You will find lots of interesting things.

The catacombs are great, book in advance and they’re not open on a Monday so probably best to do on the Tuesday if you want to do them.

Montmartre is lovely for an explore, definitely worth going up to Sacré Coeur (and climbing the dome if you can cope with the steps / narrow staircase). Lots of covered passages to explore too.

Canal Saint Martin is also a lovely area for an explore, grab a coffee or a glass of wine canal-side.

Pere Lachaise cemetery is iconic and atmospheric. You can do walking tours or just explore yourselves, it can be busy though.

Tour Montparnasse for a panoramic view which includes the Eiffel Tower - you can get a lift up to an observation deck or to the rooftop terrace. Centre Pompidou has a free escalator up to the top to get a great view of Paris too.

Sainte Chapelle is breathtaking inside - book in advance.

There are so many options for boat trips along the Seine - I’ve done several and tbh I’m not sure I’ve noticed much difference between the many different companies. I’d go with whatever has the shortest queues unless you want an actual tour.

I am
just back from there with my 14 year old. We walked and walked and walked! A great place for funky restaurants is the Trocadero metro area. There is a semi circle and then a restaurant on one end called Le Coq. There is a great one over the road- Mokus L’Ecuruiel. We ate first and then wandered over to the Trocadero to watch the Eiffel Tower light up and sparkle. It’s a really lovely atmosphere with lots going on and music etc. We did the Dior gallery which was great if you like design and fashion. We booked it before we went and was very reasonable.

Wow, these are some amazing ideas - now I wish we were going for a week!!

We'll pack our walking shoes...

The metro is also great and so easy. If you are getting the Eurostar over you can buy a book of 10 carnet before you leave the train. So much easier as the queues for tickets was very long when we smugly walked past! Each ticket is for one single journey. The metro is so easy and very quick between each stop. Outside Gare Du Nord is so busy. I would advise getting the metro or RER train to your hotel and not a cab. There is a great metro and travel app to use- Bonjour RATP. That will help you find your way round the metro!

We just walked and walked….I agree with going to the terrace on the galleries lafayette cos it’s free, has great views and the shop on the way up is quite a sight to see on its own. A boat tour is a great way to see a lot of the big sights while having a rest. We bought filled baguettes & pastries from a boulangerie and had a picnic as we glided along. We were near the sacre couer so just walked over there first thing (9am) and walked round and down Monmartre before it got mad busy. Trocadero to view the Eiffel Tower sparkling at night.

My overall advice would be just pick a general location and walk - explore the back streets, stop for coffee/hot choc/ice cream every so often, just soak up the atmosphere. I love Paris!

If you get a carnet, I believe you have to do some kind of authorisation for your ticket? My friend took her 2 daughters at Easter and bought a carnet without doing something extra and got a hefty fine.
We couldn't see any means to validate/authorise a ticket, so I'm not entirely sure what she did wrong/didn't do, but maybe someone can advise?

We just bought single tickets from the self service machines which were only 10c more expensive, but we didn't know how many we would need (and we ended up walking a lot, so didn't use the metro that much in the end).

Also - download the Citymapper app - it's by far the best way to work out how best to get between different places/which metro line is best/whether it's quicker to walk etc. It's brilliant!

Notre Dame is still closed after the fire.

It is - but the exhibition they have on the outside of it is really interesting (I thought) and well worth a look.

@ReviewingTheSituation we did not have to authorise any of the tickets. Just bought a book of 10 and then used them. They were only single tickets though. It’s very disconcerting as you don’t have to use them to leave the station! Just going into the metro!

I was going to say take a trip down the Seine. Very welcome after walking and lots of famous Paris landmark marks viewable on the banks.
I also like Sante Chapelle - very atmospheric.
You have to go up the tower. And buy a 1€ keyring of it. It used to be if you had dinner in the restaurant you could sort of do the rest of the tower for free. Not sure about now.
it’s great just walking round though.

I think the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, and other museums may be also, so it's worth checking beforehand if that's on your list.

I always like the view from the top of the Arc de Triomphe - from there walk down to Palais de Chaillot where you get a good view of the Eiffel Tower and can do the photos that look like you’re holding it! Also a good place to spot the confidence tricksters doing ‘which cup is the ball under?’ - dd learnt about human nature and how a con works!!

i love the interior of the Samaritaine department store by pont neuf

and climb Tour Montparnasse instead for the view

Definitely do this.

We did this at night and saw the Eiffel tower light up from a much better viewpoint.

I've just been with teens and as it was sunny we walked everywhere.
Top hits were
The catacombs booked in advance

Climbing the Arch de Tromphe which is easily booked and free for kids.

Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann, which is a very good department store as well as having an amazing terrace on the 8th floor with the best views of Paris.

As previously mentioned the Eiffel Tower was manic with the top was actually closed due to high winds. The area around it was very very crowded with lots of trinket touting and hassle.

I couldn’t miss the Louvre. Possibly the best art gallery in the world, certainly top 5. Send the Philistines off to do their own thing for a couple of hours. Don’t bother trying to see the Mona Lisa over the heads of the crowd, just go and wander through any other rooms that take your fancy.

The Musee Carnavalet that I mentioned earlier is not an art museum, it's the museum of the city of Paris so kind of like the city of London museum. Well worth it and not crowded, plus there is a very nice cafe in the courtyard and it's near other interesting things.

There is a small display of artifacts of Marie Antoinette including a shoe and a chemise the supposedly belonged to her, and some primitive games they used to pass the time in prison.

I don't know why we didn't pursue it but in retrospect I'd have liked to see more of the opera house; not sure if there were tours available but we missed out, if so.

Some of the boats on the Seine looked SUPER overcrowded and not much fun; take care when selecting. We quite enjoyed the Ile de la Cite for wandering around. And the cemetery in Montmartre.

I went to musee d’Orsay and found it thoroughly depressing that I couldn’t actually see any of the ‘big’ paintings because of the crowds and everyone looking at it through their raised phones. I imagine it’s like that with the Mona Lisa!

This is a very helpful thread. Thanks for starting OP. I'm taking a day trip next week and wondered if anyone knew whether you could tap your debit card on the metro, like in London, to pay? Getting a travel ticket for a day looks a bit of a faff.