Perfect weekend in paris!?

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saas

Here is my ideal weekend for a couple who visits Paris for the first time and is looking for that "perfect" Parisian weekend full of romantic moments, arriving on Thursday night and leave Sunday. So you have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Paris.

Friday: Your first day in Paris should devote to sight-seeing. You can do two Parisians walks (Ile de la Cite walk and the neighboring Latin quarter in the morning and Montmartre walk in the afternoon where you can sit down on the steps of Montmartre viewing Paris at sunset and the light of Paris turns on -- a very popular activity for Parisians and tourists alike). Then you can have dinner in a French nice restaurant. After that if you still have energy, do the Champ-Elysees walk to see the lights, especially during holiday season, it is very beautiful -- starting from Charles-de-Gaule metro station and walk toward the Louvre. Hopefully you aren't too exhausted yet. If you aren't, sit down at Le Cafe Marly inside the Louvre courtyard, preferably sitting outside so you can see the view. While drinking coffee, you can see the Louvre museum and the glass pyramid. It's probably one of the most beautiful sights of Paris. Most of my friends have fallen hopelessly in love with Paris after I took them there for a coffee at night. The view is breath-taking; which makes Paris - Paris.

Saturday: If you want to climb up Tour Eiffel, do it in the morning. And then you should spend the rest of your Saturday shopping if you really want to shop in Paris because on Sunday, many shops close and even the shops that are open, they close very early by noon. Since I don't know if you are rich or not:

If money is no object, then walk down Avenue Montaigne near Champ-Elysees. This is the area where most haut-couture (high-fashion) houses are located. The fashion houses are also located on Avenue Faubourge Honore near Place de la Concorde. Otherwise check some of Paris's department stores. Most tourists end up at Galeries La Fayette which is understandable. The shopping complex is big with a wide selection. It is comparable to Macys in the U.S. Here are my rankings of Paris's shops:

Tatti - sort of like Kmart/Walmart with a distinctive pink bag. Parisians shop here but they don't want people to know that they shop here.
LHV - near Hotel de Ville (Paris cityhall). This shop is like Sears in the U.S., moderate prices for middle class Parisians.
La Samaritaine - a little bit cheaper than Galeries la Fayette, it's sort of like JC Penny in the U.S.
Galeries la Fayette -- sort of like Macys. A little bit high end.
Bon Marche - more expensive than la Fayette, like Bloomingdale in the U.S?

Higher than Bon Marche, then you are looking at designers' shops. I do like to shop in Paris even though the prices can be high because even at moderate shops such as LHV, the clothes (for men) are much more elegant even though also a little bit more colorful than what is available in the US unless you go to Saks Fifth Avenue. I guess because Parisians have such a discriminating taste regarding what looks good, they have such good clothes there.

The book stalls along the Seine are also interesting and you can walk along the Seine to see Paris. If you want to buy posters of Paris etc, you can get those at these book stalls.

On Saturday night, if you want to see Tour Eiffel at night, you can either take the Metro there or take a boat which runs on the Seine so you can see beautifully lit Parisian buildings, it stops at Tour Eiffel. It's quite romantic that way too. Some tourist boats even serve dinner (the food may not be haut-cuisine Michelin star quality, but the view cannot be matched).

If you want to see a show, there are 2 choices. Either a cabaret such as Folies Bergere/Moulin Rouge or a classically one (ballet/opera) at Opera Garnier. The inside of Opera Garnier (this is where the story of Phantom of the Opera is based on) is very very beautiful (everything is marble, gold-plastered, and red damask) and there is a lot of history behind it. So going to a performance at Opera Garnier is actually one of the most memorable experiences that you can have in Paris. Operas/ballets also perform at Bastille House (but don't go there, the building is so modern, you don't have the same feeling that you are in Paris. You can practically see the same thing in New York for that matter).

Sunday: You can visit the Louvre (depending on how long you want to stay there. Practically you can stay there the whole day until you leave). But if you want to see 2 museums in Paris, then spend 2 hours at the Louvre and another 2 hours at Museum D'Orsay.

That's the end of your journey in Paris. Check out my website below. I wrote it for an American tourist who wants to see the best of Paris and he/she doesn't have the time to see everything in one trip.

wofford1257

its to crowded my ex wife was french try going to toullousse france very nice

Alexa L

ask Tom Cruise. he'll know

BombasticLife.com

I have reviews of some great and some not so great restaurants in Paris at http://www.bombasticlife.com - check it out. have a bombastic time! You will love Paris, it's lovers paridise.

Lilay style

ah paris
To many things to do so little time

Well i wont describe mine but i'll give yu some tips ive been there
like 24 times

1 are you rich? probably if yur goin to paris buy ur girl lotsa
clothes from famous designers that'll melt her butter
2 reasturants find the most romantic 1 possible
3 bed and bath not bad
4 GET A HOTEL SUITE
5 im to tired to type

and i cant think of much more because im so tierd
Have fun!!

M.Tillou

You can get plenty of tips at http://paris.c-lafrance.com/

As I don't know your taste and your budget the above link will help you to choose accordingly.

For example Friday should be outdoor sightseeing (for instance on top of the Open Tour double decked bus). Second day (shopping in Champs ElysÃ©es or Galeries Lafayette, Printemps in Boulevard Haussmann). Third day should be reserved for indoor visits: Louvre Museum (Mona Lisa) , Eiffel Tower, Orsay Museum, Montmartre (Basilica of the Sacred Heart, painter's corner), ...

Plenty of restaurants can be found on the link above. Night time may be spent romantically in the restaurant on top of the Eiffel Tower, or on board of a boat cruise along the River Seine or St-Martin Canal, or at the Moulin Rouge, Lido or Crazy Horse Cabarets, or in one of the night-clubs

Maganda

Oh, better surf the internet for the places in Paris and I am sure, the list of good restaurants are also included there. Also try to visit the Museums, too.
Have a nice trip.

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