Paris must do list

[andanotherproblem]

Have you ever been? What would you recommend doing/seeing?

Ile de la Cite, with Notre Dame, Saint Chapelle and possibly the Conciergerie.

You're going to want to see the Eiffel Tower. I cordially detest the Eiffel Tower. Hey, if you go up to Sacre Coeur to watch the sunset you can see it from there! (you have to edge round to the right a bit. At night it goes all sparkly on the hour). Restaurants are pretty touristy in Montmartre- best stick to a couple of drinks up there and descend to eat.

I'm equally unbothered about the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees.

Not unmissable, but a Very Good Thing to Do: an extended wander around the Left Bank taking in some of the following: Jardin des Plantes, Grand Mosquee de Paris (gorgeous women only hamam!*), Place de Contrescarpe and Rue Mouffetard, the Pantheon and St Genevieve, Arenes de Lutece, St Severin, the Latin Quarter, Shakespeare & Co.

Ditto: a wander up/ down the Canal St Martin.

*a gorgeous hamam for women, not technically a hamam for gorgeous women, but when I went pretty much every other woman was gorgeous, because....Paris.

Pompidou, Louvre, Atelier des Lumières, Musée d'Orsay, and a day trip to Versailles.

The Pompidou Centre is closed (apart from the Wolfgang Tillmans exhibition)- and will be for the next five years!

The good thing if you're going with DC is that the big galleries are free for under 18s. Saying that, the Louvre has got a lot of filler, but it's so massive you're going to find something of interest in there - other than the Mona Lisa, which is rammed.

It really depends on what you like doing, if you are into art etc.

On my most recent visit I revisited Notre Dame to see the renovations - very well done, Musee de l'Orangerie to see the water lily paintings and even though I am not keen on the Louvre I went to see the couture exhibition there as my travelling companion wanted to see it.

I would not bother with the Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elyse unless it's your first visit. You get the best views of the Eiffel Tower from the opposite side of the Seine around the Trocadero. There are several small museums there. Went to the architecture and heritage one which I really liked and will return to when I have more time (but it may be a bit niche if you are not an engineer/architect!)

I would definitely recommend La Chappelle, I think it is stunning.

Allow plenty of time for leisurely meals.

Paris opera house, they do an English speaking tour, its an amazing building and yes there is water underneath but noone seen the phantom

If you like architecture, the Corbusier house in the 16th is good.

River Cruise plus all the usual tourist sites. It's a fabulous city.

We did this Airbnb experience last time we were in Paris. We had a great guide, explored Canal St Martin and learned lots about the area. We certainly didn't need lunch afterwards either. It's called No Diet Club and they also do tours around the Marais district - https://tinyurl.com/No-Diet-Club-Paris

MNHQ seem to have deleted my post so I'll try again. Have a look at the Airbnb experiences for Paris and in particular the No Diet Club experiences. We had a great time exploring Canal St Martin, learning about the area and sampling all sorts of food. They also do one in Marais.

One of our favourite things was a river cruise (mainly because it was 30° and we could sit under cover!

Highly recommend pre booking any museums you want to do, some of the queues were ridiculous! Especially the Louvre. We pre booked and only queued for 5 mins.
A day trip to Versailles is well worth it. It was shoulder to shoulder in some parts of the palace but the gardens are stunning!!

Do the usual things

Eiffel Tower
Batobus (river taxi)
Louvre
Musee Dorsay
Sacre Coure
walking along Seine
Monmartre
Bastille area
Shopping
Notre Dame

general walking around and exploring

Sacre Coeur

Walk to the top of the Arc De Triomphe for the view, and to watch the traffic! Brilliant fun.

Catch a train to Monet - sur - Loing..beautiful medieval town about 45 mins outside Paris

Versaille - fab

Catacombs are supposed to be good

Musee d’Orsay is excellent

Paris is just great for wandering around!

One of my favourites is the Carnavalet museum. It's free and really interesting, about the history of Paris.
This summer there is a retrospective of David Hockney at the Louis Vuitton Foundation, looks really good if you are a fan.

I'd recommend a free walking tour, e.g. Sandeman's, you can find more online. I haven't done one in Paris but have in many other cities and they have always been really interesting and entertaining. You give a donation at the end of the tour

I love this museum https://www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com/en

My fave thing was the boat down the water past the Eiffel tower at night arriving back just in time to see it sparkle.

I also loved hearing a classical musical recital in a old church. Via get your guide. It was only an hour long but so beautiful. I cried xD

Ooh and the opera house and then the view from the roof of the galleries Lafayette. After a look through the designer shops :)

And the Pantheon. Not much of a que there either.

Honestly I don't feel st chappelle is worth the long wait. It's pretty but there's not much of it. And Paris has lots of pretty churches. The concierge had no no next door though if you're in the area.

A ghost tour at night might be fun if you want to do a walking tour.

And of course a trip out to Versailles is a must.

I wouldn't miss this. I will never forget the impact it had on me the first time I saw it. It is truly an awe-inspiring sight. And of course, the Mona Lisa is also there (The Louvre).

Also, the Musée d'Orsay for the building itself and the impressionist art.

And wander along The Seine in the evening. Beautiful.

@Decorhate Has La Chapelle “cleaned up”? I thought it was supposed to be quite a dodgy area

Rodin's house is my favourite place to go in Paris.

I preferred Musée de l'orangerie to Musée d'Orsay to see the waterlillies/montes as it much quieter.

The river cruise is great.

I go to the Musee de Cluny every time I visit Paris, I love the tapestries!

@Sidebeforeself I was referring to the church near Notre Dame, I think you may be referring to the neighbourhood?!

@ellerman The person I went with is a big fan and we were due to visit his apartment but the lift was out of action and they would not have been able to manage 8 flights of stairs. Hence going to Cite de l'Architecture as there was a reconstruction there of one of the apartments he designed.

Ye sorry I thought thats what you meant!