What would be a good way to spend 4 days in Paris?

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Rillifane

Day one -

Go to the Parc de Vert Galant on the westernmost tip of Ile de la Cite and take a boat ride up and down the Seine. The river, Notre Dame and the Eiffel tower will be your points of reference during your stay. The river divides the city into Left(south) and Right (north) Banks. The Tower is in the west of the city and Notre Dame is in the center.

After your boat ride explore the Ile de la Cite. This little island in the river is where Paris began.

On it you will find Notre Dame and in front of the church the zero mile marker from which all distances in France are measured. The Conciergerie, a medieval castle was turned ito a prison during the revoultion and you can see where Marie Antoinette was held prisoner before her execution. Sainte Chapelle was built by King Louis IX in the 13th century to house the Crown of Thorns and other relics.

The Pont Neuf (the "new" bridge) is actually the oldest bridge in Paris. Cross over it into the Latin Quarter. Wander thru the maze of little streets that were characteristic of the earliest days of Paris when this area got its name from the presence of so many students at the new University. Latin was language of the church and of scholars. See the Sorbonne, the Pantheon, the Cluny Museum, and the Luxembourg Gardens built for Marie de Medici. Her palace on the north side of the gardens is now the French Senate.

Day Two Start at the Arc de Triomphe built to celebrate the victories of the Emperor Napoleon I. Take the elevator to the top for the best view of the transformation of Paris done by Baron Hausman, city planner for Napoleon III. He created the Grand Boulevards, many of which radiate from this point. Walk to the Palais de Chaillot in the Trocadero across the river from the Eiffel Tower then cross, on foot to see it. Don't bother getting to the top as the lines are usually long and the view oddly unsatisfying. Afterwards, walk to the Invalides, where Napoleon I and his son, the King of Rome are entombed. The Rodin museum is just to the east of the Invalides. Its small and manageable but a better use of time is to walk thru the grounds of the Invalides to the river and then turn right along the Seine to get to the Musee D'Orsay which many regard as the best of the Paris Museums.

Day Three The Louvre needs no explanation It is one of great museums of art. It deserves at least half a day. If "great art" becomes a bit tiring, find your way to the Museum of Decorative Arts (in the same complex) and view the history of fashion and its magnificent collect of designer originals. Walk to the Centre Pompidieu and stop for lunch along the way. The Museum of Modern Art is housed here but the real attraction is the street performers who gather in the plaza. Check out the old Opera house, the modern Forum Les Halles which replaced the old main markets of Paris, the streets of the Marais and the Jewish Quarter around the rue de Rosiers.

Day four Head to the north end of the city to see Sacre Coeur, the white confection of a cathedral built at the turn of the century. Wander thru the streets where Picasso used to hang out. In the Place de teatre you'll see his (considerably less talented) successors selling the worst art ever seen to gullible tourists. Wander down the hill to the Place Pigalle and to the Moulon Rouge, its the same place Toulouse Lautrec painted (but not the same quality of show that he saw..don't waste your money on the evening shows there.

countpetez

In Bed...not alone..c'est la vie

Sacarawits P

ok here ones night: have dinner on the first floor of the eiffel tower....then go on a cruise, and then straight on to the moulin rough! awesome night and they feed you so much good champagne you're all pissed as newts by the end! Make sure you go to the lourve....so gorgeous....and climb the arc de triumph

Suk

I'd recommend a few offbeat ideas for seeing the more local side

Canal St Martin
Belleville neighborhood
and Berthillon ice cream! - best in the city

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