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Paris Guidebooks and Hotels

Paris Day One - Sunday

On the train ride to our hotel from the airport, I was surprised to see so much graffiti on the walls lining the tracks.

After we checked into our hotel, we decided to something mellow since we’d been travelling all night - a one hour cruise down the Seine River fit the bill.

We boarded the Bateaux Parisien boat across from the Eiffel Tower which was recommended in the Rick Steves Guidebook, but there were a ton of other boat tour companies all along the Seine.  Phones at each seat provided an audio tour in several different languages - it was a really nice introduction to the city and history of Paris. Cost: 10 euros pp.

It was very overcast most of the time we were there, so unfortunately a lot of my pictures didn’t turn out that well. But you can click on any of them to see a larger view!

Eastern facade of Notre Dame Cathedral on Il De La Cite - an island in the Seine River that is the center of where Paris was founded.

Closer view of Notre Dame.

The narrowest house in Paris.

The Eiffel Tower is the most recognizable monument in the world according to a show on “city branding” I watched on CNN while in Paris.

We were hoping to get up the Eiffel Tower around sunset and stay there until it got dark, but the sun sets much later than we expected -around 8:30 pm.  In the summer months the sun sets around 10 pm so you may want to check sunset times beforehand if you want to catch the best time of day to be at the top.

Views from the second level of the Eiffel Tower. There are three levels and you have to pay more to get to each level, but the top level was closed this day (this happens regularly due to windiness or overcrowding).

(click any image for a larger view)

Here’s a glimpse of Paris’ Statue of Liberty.

Super zoom.

Since our hotel was close to the Eiffel Tower, we returned on our second night to catch the light show, where the tower twinkles with little lights everywhere on the hour.

Day 2 - Monday

Though our guidebook said that there would be long lines to get in the Louvre without a Museum Pass, there was actually no line at all. September is supposed to be a peak tourist month for Paris, but the city seemed very quiet overall.

It was a rainy day.

The main entrance to the museum is quite spectacular.   The main pyramid is flanked by a smaller version and fountains on each side.

Coffee = espresso in Paris (and I think throughout Europe), so my mom was ecstatic to find a Starbucks inside the Louvre as she’s a coffee fanatic.

Being somewhat agoraphobic, the Louvre was overwhelming because it was so packed and stuffy. We were exhausted after touring the Denon and Sully wings, but once we got outside and breathed in the nice cold air, we were reenergized. I’d definitely recommend going to the Louvre and the Orsay Museums first thing in the morning when your energy is the highest. 

The two most popular exhibits in the Louvre are the Mona Lisa (that’s a green light from someone’s camera)…

… and the Venus De Milo.

The Louvre specializes in Greek sculpture and Italian/French painting, but you’ll probably find the Orsay, which speciailizes in French Impressionism, much more enjoyable and manageable (the Louvre is too big to tour in one day). If you have limited time and you’re not a museum buff, I’d say visit the main entrance of the Louvre, skip the interior, and visit the Orsay instead.

Afterwards we hopped on the subway over to the Arc de Triomphe, which marks the beginning of the Champs Elysees. 

Surprisingly, there aren’t that many high end stores on the actual Champs Elysees other than Cartier and Louis Vuitton. You have to tuck into one of the many side streets to do some serious window shopping at the higher end designer stores.

The famous Louis Vuitton store. Even with the super weak dollar, bags were slightly less than they are in the US.  Nope we didn’t get anything - no one in Paris carries LV bags.

The Champs Elysees is definitely worth a visit even if you don’t like to shop because it’s bustling with activity and makes you feel like you’re really in Paris.

We stopped by McDonald’s where my mom had a Royale with cheese.  That Pommes Frites sauce is mayonnaise because the French eat their fries with mayo (I like to add tabasco to it). One shocking discovery - McDonalds and many other places didn’t have ice! Soda was very weird without ice.

Foquets - a famous classic Parisian hotel/restaurant on the Champs Elysees.

We still had some energy so we headed over to Le Marais to do some shopping, but since we ended up going there on three separate occasions, I’ll save that for another post.

Bus route 69 runs east-west across Paris past many of the city’s main sites and neighborhoods, so we hopped on that from Le Marais back to our hotel near the Eiffel Tower. It was a super cheap and excellent tour of the city.

Hotel De Ville - which houses the office of the mayor.

Driving past the Louvre - the sun is shining now!

And finally my $13 shoes from Target.

Overview:
Day One - Seine River Cruise, Eiffel Tower
Day Two: Louvre, Champs Elysees, Le Marais, Bus Route 69

to be continued…

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