nrr

Purchasing a Carte de Musee (Museum Pass) can prove useful (it's not very expensive) and allows you to enter (free of charge) lots of museums. [You might be exploring a neighborhood and come upon a museum which is covered by the pass and so you can enter and browse--some may be great others not so good--but it didn't cost you extra.
A half day excursion to Versailles (the Chateau is covered by the CdeM) might be interesting.

capitolm94

These are all great suggestions, thank you. I am excited about the christmas markets, those seem really great.

What is the expected dress in paris restaurants? I am from LA, so here jeans + collared shirt works everywhere, though I plan to do better in europe.

AAL

Unless you are going to a very upscale restaurant, there really is no dress code. I don't pack blue jeans; for Paris I wear nicer pants or my formal black jeans. Parisians generally do dress nicely, so I do try to dress appropriately for the formality (or lack) of the restaurant.

Good walking shoes are the most important item of clothing. I always pack at least two pair, in case one gets wet. And it always feels good to change shoes after a lot of walking.

You will probably want gloves and a hat, some that are not bulky so you can shove them in a pocket. I'd bring mine from home, but you might not own any. The scarf I'd buy in Paris.

geo1005

So very true! Several years ago, the first international trip I ever took with my girlfriend (now my beloved wife and mother of my daughter!) was a December trip to Paris. And it is the perfect time to walk around the city and take in the sights and go café-hopping. FWIW, we will be back in early February for a return visit.

^

Djlawman

We are museum people, so I'll give you my take on the museums.

I'll second Musee Jacquemart Andre, which we only just saw on our most recent trip to Paris. And the Musee Cluny is an interesting trip back to the Roman origins of Paris.

Musee D'Orsay is a must. The Impressionist galleries are incredible.

L'Orangerie should not be missed. The Monet Waterlilies installations in two rooms are fantastic. Get there right when it opens. Standing in one of the oval rooms alone, surrounded by Monet's Waterlilies, is a great art experience (if you are into that sort of thing). The Guillaume collection downstairs is pretty spectacular in its own right as well.

With 5 days, you may want to take one side trip. Versailles, Chartres or Fountainbleau are all easily reachable by train. Chateau de Vincennes is reachable by Metro, and an interesting visit.

One of our favorite places is Musee Marmottan -- which has the most Monets of any museum anywhere. Including "Impression Sunrise" after which the Impressionism movement is named.

For walking around, we very much liked the neighborhood we were in in May/June, around the Luxembourg Gardens. Lots of great shops and restaurants nearby as well.

My wife likes window-shopping and people watching on Rue St. Honore (which is nearby your hotel). You might like walking around in Place Des Vosges (although it's a Metro ride or cab from your hotel).

Snoopyo

Museum my top choices are Rodin, D'Orsay, L'orangerie and Louvre.
Sometimes there are great exhibitions at Grand palais. Tour of Opera should be nice too.

If staying at PH Vendome, I would recommend the tasting menu at the 1* michelin restaurant Pur at hotel. Just did the 6 course tasting menu and it was excellent. I have review in the PH Vendome thread in Hyatt forum.

nicolas75

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/franc...ighlight=Paris

nicolas75

Some suggestions:

Day 1: around Place Vendôme and Place de la Concorde
Rue de la Paix
Shopping rue Saint Honoré (Colette Concept Store, Balenciaga)
Shopping rue du Mont Thabor (Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle), drink at Ferdi
Walk in the Jardins des Tuileries
Visit of Musée national de l'Orangerie (superb Les Nymphéas by Claude Monet)
Place du Marché Saint Honoré: lunch at l'Absinthe
Visit of the Louvre Muséum, Musée des Arts Décoratifs (and its design shop)
Coffee at Café Marly (for the view) or at Hôtel Crillon
Walk along the Champs Elysées, Arc de Triomphe
Shopping avenue George V, avenue Montaigne (Chanel, Dior, Nina Ricci), rue François 1er (Courrèges)
Visit of Petit Palais
Shopping rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré (Hermès, Lanvin, Goyard)
Visit of La Madeleine
Shopping at Le Printemps department store
Visit of Opéra de Paris
Dinner at Alain Senderens

Day 2: around Palais Royal and Place des Vosges
Visit of Jardins du Palais Royal. Shopping at Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido, Didier Ludot Vintage store
Walk along rue Etienne Marcel, place des Victoires
Food stores along rue Montorgueil
Visit of Centre Pompidou Museum
Walk around Hotel de Ville
Lunch Chez Georges (for the view) or Café Beaubourg
Walk in the Marais (art galleries and trendy shop around rue Charlot)
Visit of surprising Musée de la Chasse
Coffee at Institut Suédois (Swedish Institute) or at Merci Concept store
Walk to Canal Saint Martin for bobo atmosphere (numerous cafés, restaurants)
Lunch at Le Dauphin

Day 3: around Place Saint Germain des Près
Walk along rue Jacob, rue de Lille (art galleries), place Furstenberg, place Saint Sulpice
Buy some macarons at Pierre Hermé
Walk to Place des Invalides
Visit the Musée Rodin and musée d'Orsay
Walk to Place du Palais Bourbon
Visit stunning Deyrolle shop
Shopping at Le Bon Marché department store
Lunch at Hotel Montalembert
Walk to Jardin du Luxembourg, Le Panthéon, La Sorbonne, La Conciergerie
Visit the Sainte Chapelle (magnificent church with superb stained-glass windows). You need a passport as it is located inside the Law Court building)
Visit of Notre Dame
Walk along the Seine to Institut du Monde Arabe (have a tea there, great view)
walk to Place de la Bastille
Have dinner at Saturn

Day 4: from chic Esplanade du Trocadero to trendy/popular IXth and Xth arrondissements
Palais de Chaillot
Walk to Palais de Tokyo and Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris (contemporary art)
Walk to Champ the Mars. Eiffel tower
Visit musée des Arts Premiers; Have a lunch at Les Ombres (nice view)
Take the metro to Abbesses. Walk down to rue des Martyrs (food stores)
Visit charming Musée de la Vie Romantique
Walk to "Nouvelles Athènes", along rue Richer, rue des Petites Ecuries (trendy, cosmopolitan district
Have a great dinner at (expensive) Atelier de Robuchon

Day 5:
Go East to visit trendy popular Paris
or go West to visit Versailles

Enjoy!

ALadyNCal

nicolas75 - What a helpful list! ^ I'll be using it for my tentative December trip

Non-NonRev

It's a great list, and I too am filing it for future use. The only thing I might add, especially since the proposed trip is 5 days/nights, is to suggest an evening musical performance.

Paris may well offer the greatest variety of musical opportunities of any major world city. And not just at the Opera National de Paris (Garnier and Bastille) - there are many other venues, such as the Theater du Chatelet, Theaer de Champs-Elysee, Opera Comique, Salle Pleyel,and on and on. Especially interesting would be an opportunity to hear French composers (Debussy, Massenet, etc) or one of the many original-instruments / Baroque groups (Ensemble Matheus, Cerele de l'Harmonie, etc) that are based in Paris.

Prices are affordable, especially when compared to American ticket prices.

capitolm94

That is a great idea, I havent been able to come up with too many good evening ideas. Do you know any sources for scheduling for such things?

Non-NonRev

In addition to individual websites of the above-listed venues, I asked a knowledgeable Parisian member of a music forum I use, and he suggested the following site:

http://concertclassic.com

capitolm94

Great, thank you!

Has anyone tried an evening bike tour in december? A friend recommended Fat Tire tours, any other good outfits?

iff

Neither Fat Tire nor BikeAbout Tours offers night tours in December. Not sure about other companies.

capitolm94

Wanted to follow up after my just finished trip, which was great.

Arrived ~7 PM, had dinner at Spring at 9:30. This was amazing, without question the best dinner I have ever enjoyed. They serve a fixed menu with no choice for 65 euro. Whole meal was 245 for 2, including a couple glasses of champagne and a bottle of wine. Every course was incredible with the highlight being a simple bouillabaisse with duck foie gras and a duckling dumpling. It may have ruined other restaurants for me....

Next day rained but we walked ile de la cite, went in notre dame, walked ile-st-louis and stopped for some hot wine, etc. Very nice. On Weds & Friday the louvre is open until 9:30 or so, we went around 7 and it was very empty, no lines. Overall a great time to go.

Next day walked again, montmatre, sacre coure, had dinner at Les Papilles in the left bank, which was also great. Again a fixed menu, 32 euro each, very good more traditional food.

Finished the last day with a walking tour of left bank, went to printemps & Galeries Lafayette etc.

We also ran across a few christmas markets along the way which were very fun.

Overall a lovely trip, december really was a nice time.