just fyi about Disneyland Paris- it's not anywhere near paris. It's about an hour's drive outside of DeGaul, and that's about 45 minutes already outside of Paris. Don't waste your time or money, there are REAL things to see in Paris that have nothing to do with the mousehouse.
you MUST, MUST, MUUUUUST go to the Musee D'Orsay. if you only do one museum, do this one. They have the best collection of impresionist work anywhere and the stunning architecture of the museum (it's an old, converted train station) makes sitting in the statute gallery and just gazing worth it.
Wandering around in the shopping district is always fun as well. Go to Printemps department store and browse the latest in Parisian fashion or to Colette to see the latest *it* items in fashion and home.
Okay, I feel like I'm writing a missive supporting Disney, but it's not difficult to get there. You hop on the RER A out of Paris and it takes maybe a 40-minute train ride to get there. I used to work on the same train line and did it three or four times a week for several months. It's all of 14 or euros round trip to get there. There are plenty of great things to see in Paris, but plenty of great things to see outside of it, too.
If you're going to the Musee d'Orsay, do it on a Thursday night when it's open later. Just fyi, big sections of the museum are closed down for renovation right now, so you're not going to get the full visit. They've moved most of the biggest works to the ground floor, but just be aware that you're not going to see everything.
The Marais has better shopping than the grands magasins, and there's plenty of small shops, free musuems, and interesting sites as well. If you only have four days in Paris and you're not a huge fashion fan, wandering around Printemps is not something I'd recommend doing.
even though a bunch of people have recommended the Musee d' Orsay i'll probably skip it since i'm not huge into looking at paintings, gets boring after a while (for me) I'll probably just go to the Louve to see the Mona Lisa and a few others and that's it haha if there are museums with interesting exhibits/sculptures etc that stuff is more interesting to me than just paintings..
haha yeah i'm not a huge fashion fan :) thank you though!!
Yeah, I like Impressionism and really love Toulouse Lautrec's work, but go to d'Orsay very rarely. I spend more time hanging out at the Louvre. They have a lot of sculpture in there, not just painting, so you'll be sure to find something other than the Mona Lisa.
There's also the open air sculpture museum along the Seine. It's along Quai Saint Bernard on the left bank. There are sometimes dance lessons being given out there in the evening. If you follow the quai away from the centre city, you'll also wind up at the Jardin des Plantes, which is one of my favourite parks, and near the Mosque, which has a tea room with THE BEST pastries for super cheap (2 euros a pastry, 2 euros for a cup of mint tea).
There's also the Rodin museum. If you're under 26, you'll get in for reduced admission. However, admission into the gardens is only a euro, and that's where a lot of Rodin's big-name sculptures - The Thinker, Burghers of Calais - are. It's a total steal.
I am a Disney freak and I wouldn't bother visiting Disneyland Paris.
Tourist Paris is alot about museums and cathedrals. If thats not your thing there is still plenty to see if you like to wander...lovely streets, cafes, shops, parks and architecture. There is also of course the Eiffel Tower if you are looking for more iconic things. A trip to Versailles is nice - the palace itself is a museum, but you can buy a ticket just to the gardens I believe and the statuary and fountains are really beautiful (if you want to see the fountains on check the website for what days they are functional). A boat ride down the Seine is touristy, but not all touristy things are bad :)
haha k :) yeah i'm a huge disney nerd and went to the parks in LA & FL so figured i'd go to the one in Paris to check it out but i think i'll skip it and save my money!
what was the name of the place you stayed in in Amsterdam? i don't have my hostel/hotel booked yet!
why didn't you like about Anne Frank's house?
that prolly would make sense but my friend in Copenhagen only has the weekends free so have to go there a certain time..i think it's too late to change the order..the only thing that might change is if i go to paris/amsterdam first since i don't have that booked yet..although airfare from paris from copenhagen is so much cheaper than to amsterdam
congrats on not trying to go to 10 cities in 12 days!
www.kayak.com followed by www.whichbudget.com (which checks the budget airlines that don't show up in search engines) can help you find some cheap flights between your cities.
haha i will be :) the places i want to go to don't even seem to be on ryanair, why don't you like it though? my friend in berlin uses it ALL the time she said.
thanks! yeah i've been using kayak and then someone recommended momondo so i've been using those two :)
friends who work in aviation engineering say ryanair attemps to save money on their safety checks as well and would never fly or let their loved ones fly ryanair.
thanks for the tip about monmondo! it seems to pick up the budget airlines that kayak, expedia, orbitz, etc. do not.
Honestly, I would do either Berlin-Paris-Amsterdam-Copenhagen-Berlin or Berlin-Copenhagen-Amsterdam-Paris-Berlin just because Amsterdam is kind of in the middle. Unless you find it's cheaper to go your route. I don't know
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i have to go to Copenhagen at a certain time since my friend there only has the weekends free..I was going to go to Amsterdam after but for some reason Copenhagen to Paris is soo much cheaper! although paris to berlin is a lot cheaper than amsterdam to berlin..i'll have to do the math and figure it out (that part's not booked yet anyway)
yes! i definitely want to check out the catacombs, thanks for all your help!!
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you MUST, MUST, MUUUUUST go to the Musee D'Orsay. if you only do one museum, do this one. They have the best collection of impresionist work anywhere and the stunning architecture of the museum (it's an old, converted train station) makes sitting in the statute gallery and just gazing worth it.
Wandering around in the shopping district is always fun as well. Go to Printemps department store and browse the latest in Parisian fashion or to Colette to see the latest *it* items in fashion and home.
Reply
If you're going to the Musee d'Orsay, do it on a Thursday night when it's open later. Just fyi, big sections of the museum are closed down for renovation right now, so you're not going to get the full visit. They've moved most of the biggest works to the ground floor, but just be aware that you're not going to see everything.
The Marais has better shopping than the grands magasins, and there's plenty of small shops, free musuems, and interesting sites as well. If you only have four days in Paris and you're not a huge fashion fan, wandering around Printemps is not something I'd recommend doing.
Reply
haha yeah i'm not a huge fashion fan :) thank you though!!
Reply
There's also the open air sculpture museum along the Seine. It's along Quai Saint Bernard on the left bank. There are sometimes dance lessons being given out there in the evening. If you follow the quai away from the centre city, you'll also wind up at the Jardin des Plantes, which is one of my favourite parks, and near the Mosque, which has a tea room with THE BEST pastries for super cheap (2 euros a pastry, 2 euros for a cup of mint tea).
There's also the Rodin museum. If you're under 26, you'll get in for reduced admission. However, admission into the gardens is only a euro, and that's where a lot of Rodin's big-name sculptures - The Thinker, Burghers of Calais - are. It's a total steal.
Reply
Tourist Paris is alot about museums and cathedrals. If thats not your thing there is still plenty to see if you like to wander...lovely streets, cafes, shops, parks and architecture. There is also of course the Eiffel Tower if you are looking for more iconic things. A trip to Versailles is nice - the palace itself is a museum, but you can buy a ticket just to the gardens I believe and the statuary and fountains are really beautiful (if you want to see the fountains on check the website for what days they are functional). A boat ride down the Seine is touristy, but not all touristy things are bad :)
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thanks! yeah i'm not against touristy things :)
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why didn't you like about Anne Frank's house?
that prolly would make sense but my friend in Copenhagen only has the weekends free so have to go there a certain time..i think it's too late to change the order..the only thing that might change is if i go to paris/amsterdam first since i don't have that booked yet..although airfare from paris from copenhagen is so much cheaper than to amsterdam
thank you!
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(The comment has been removed)
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www.kayak.com followed by www.whichbudget.com (which checks the budget airlines that don't show up in search engines) can help you find some cheap flights between your cities.
www.skyscanner.net helps as well.
the only thing i can say is AVOID ryanair.
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thanks! yeah i've been using kayak and then someone recommended momondo so i've been using those two :)
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thanks for the tip about monmondo! it seems to pick up the budget airlines that kayak, expedia, orbitz, etc. do not.
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yes! i definitely want to check out the catacombs, thanks for all your help!!
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