France in August

[nphx]

I tried to get a reasonable fare to our nations capital but the carriers are very proud of that destination - so i book a round trip to paris and a dc lay over for 150 beyond their dc coach rate. Good job airlines. ...

On the bright side i can spend a few days in Paris. been a few times and this time plan to hit the Palace.. havent done that. I'll enjoy my time there but if you have done the Louvre, Notredam, Eifel, Arch de Triumph.. is there a secondary must see list?

 

[NW-Bound]

Surely, there are other lesser known places like the Museum of Modern Art (Centre Pompidou) for return visitors to see. I have not seen all of the Louvre Museum either.

Or you can always rent a car to drive down the Loire Valley - called the Garden of France - to see the numerous castles along the river. I will make a return trip there in a few years. So many places to go, so little money.

 

[FIREd]

Montmartre, the Pere Lachaise Cemetary, Luxembourg Gardens, the Quartier Latin, Musee d'Orsay, the Catacombs, Cruise on the Seine river, Paris Plage (beach in the middle of Paris), Centre Pompidou...

 

[rjsciurus]

Off-direct-topic: can't help you on Paris; haven't been outside CDG, which I avoid because the terminal/gate/flight markings there have some sort of optical illusions I can't figure out. I need 2 hours transfer times, minimum. One hour to get to my gate, the next hour to get to the correct gate on the other end.

But regarding quirky airfares, supply and demand. Europe routes aren't popular, DC is. Prices 2 weeks ago to Munich non-stop in late summer were cheaper than I've seen them in the last 7 years. And half that was taxes/fees. For the rest of you, go now.

 

[Gumby]

Montmartre, the Pere Lachaise Cemetary, Luxembourg Gardens, the Quartier Latin, Musee d'Orsay, the Catacombs, Cruise on the Seine river, Paris Plage (beach in the middle of Paris), Centre Pompidou...

also Les Invalides, Cluny, Marche aux Puces, booksellers along the Seine, Ile St. Louis

 

[Gone4Good]

Here are some of my favorites . . .

The Pantheon . . . Panthéon (Paris) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

St-Etienne-du Mont . . . St-Etienne-du-Mont Church - Paris, France


Parc des Buttes-Chaumont . . . Parc des Buttes Chaumont, Paris

Musee d'Orsay . . . Musée d'Orsay: Home

And if you have time for a day trip, you can take a short train ride out to Monet's house (which is now a museum that features his fantastic and famous garden) in the very picturesque town of Giverny. For anyone who likes Monet's work, it is a blast to see the subjects of so much of his art in real life. . . . Giverny Vernon : In the Heart of Impressionism


Have a great time.

 

[Maurice]

Montmartre, the Pere Lachaise Cemetary, Luxembourg Gardens, the Quartier Latin, Musee d'Orsay, the Catacombs, Cruise on the Seine river, Paris Plage (beach in the middle of Paris), Centre Pompidou...

Let me add the catacombs are simply a must see, they're unbelievable. Lots of stairs, though. Pere LeChaise is a good recommendation as well. See the graves of Chopin, Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Edith Pilaf, many others.

- pop into St. Eusach church on any sunday at 5:30 and hear a free organ concert.

- go to the 19th/20th, walk through Parc de Butte Chaumont. Very few tourists there. The landscape and views are incroyable.

- go to the Pantheon, and see the tombs of many of France's great men. I usually pay homage to Jean Moulin and Volataire when I go.

- Speaking of tombs, go to Les Invalid and see Napoleon, Foch, and others

- Do you like modern art? Check out Palais de Tokyo to avoid the crowds at the Pompadou.

- A fabulous 19th century collecter left his home and its contents to the State. Its now the Musee de Camando, in the 8th (i believe). The family had a tragic ending in WW-II, but they left behind some great stuff.

- The Musee des Arts e Metiers in the 3rd is a great place to spend an afternoon, especially if you like technology and mechanical things. Its a shortish walk from the Pompadou, straight up Rue St. Martin.

- Take a boat ride down the Canal St. Martin. Its fascinating.

- Speaking of, one of my favorite little restaurants is right by the canal, its called Le Sporting. If you go you'll be the only tourist there. Its a great little neighborhood, tucked behind the Place de la Revolution.

- If you're at all into music, go check out the museum at the Cite de la Musique. Fantastic old instruments, and lots of orignal scores (its humbling to see something written in Bach's own hand)



Well thats a quick brain dump. If I think of other things I'll post them.

 

[nphx]

Thanks Maurice and ..yrs to go... I appreciate the insight.

 

[LOL!]

Paris in August? You must be crazy.

But I always enjoyed Jardin du Luxembourg ... especially the chess players and other people watching.

The Rodan Museum. The Picasso Museum. Basilique du Sacré-Cœur.

I also agree with the other responses. One can spend weeks in Paris and not get tired of it.

Out of town is Versailles

 

[NW-Bound]

... Basilique du Sacré-Cœur...

My favorite corner. Montmartre and Place du Tertre. We have been there twice and still want to come back to explore some more. Be sure to bring this song by Charles Aznavour in your MP3 player.

YouTube - La Bohème

YouTube - Charles Aznavour - La boheme Live in Paris (English Subtitles)

 

[deserat]

France in August - ummm, most of Europe is on vacation, so many things might be closed - check on them first so you know and aren't disappointed (although I don't imagine the main tourist attractions are). Additionally, it can be quite hot then and there usually isn't air-conditioning or elevators - be prepared for non-American environmental conditions.

Otherwise, enjoy!

 

[CuppaJoe]

France in August - ummm, most of Europe is on vacation....

Could be the folks who already booked DC.

Nphx, maybe hang out in the cafes, do the Hemingway spots, relax, write the great American novel.

 

[FIREd]

I am lounging on my balcony in France right now. It's 3:30 pm, temperatures in the 70's with a nice cool breeze. It was so chilly last night, I even had to wear a sweater! Quite a change from the stuffy 90-100F temps back home.

 

[NW-Bound]

Paris in August? You must be crazy.

I have never been to Europe in the summer. There is a reason there's the song April in Paris and not August in Paris.

I am sure FD is not in Paris either.

PS. It's actually not bad in Paris right now. High 69F, low 53F, and raining.

 

[nphx]

Back now... new sites for me included visiting the Orsey museum - that was enjoyable, Vesailles - interesting place, I should have grabbed a curator because the tour of the apartments left me wondering what privacy people had with the long open corridors.. maybe there were doors there long ago removed. Versailles was very crowded. A great deal was a museum pass, be sure to have one in hand before getting to Versailles. Picasso museum was a nice afternoon but the modern art museum was not for me. At the Louvre I had a chance to look in some new corners - and to look up and appreciate some of the halls in addition to the paintings. I wandered around there for a bit but i never located the dogs playing poker. Metro pass worked great too, when making connections it's a bit confusing but once you locate the right staircase there was consistently a serial stop map with an obvious you are here... which for some reason was difficult to see on the system wide maps.

 

[DangerMouse]

You are making me jealous. We used to live in Paris and we adored that city. So much to do, even when you don't want to spend money. We used to love sitting at a cafe and watching the people go by.

 

[alvarezg]

If you are interested in the development of technology, try CNAM- Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers. Allow a whole day. It's up the street a ways from Beaubourg (Centre Pompidou)
To me the most magnificent stained glass in Paris is in the Sainte Chapelle, two blocks from Nôtre Dame.