1st time to Paris for 5th Wedding Anniversary

Hi

My husband and I are planning to head to Paris next year for 7 days to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. I have been dreaming of going forever and now am actually starting to think about it!

I would love some advise from the Paris experts on great places to eat and some of the must sees that are not the usual eiffel tower etc.

We are planning on staying in Caumartin 64 in the 9th (anyone had any experience with this place?) and whilst we want to see the main sites (1st visit and all) my husband and I do want to %26#39;get lost in Paris%26#39; and really enjoy the city.

We are thinking of also going to Versailles, Giverney and Reims for day trips.

I would really appreciate all your advice!

Cheers

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Bonjour,

First thing to say is that if you %26quot;only%26quot; come to Paris for seven nights, you will not be able to go to Giverny, Versailles, Reims and visit the City of Light !

As far as I am concerned, you should just keep one of this visit (Versailles ?) and focus on Paris which already offers thousands of amazing sites to visit ! If you go to the Louvre, Orsay, Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, Luxembourg gardens, etc - your sneakers will not accept to move to Reims (two days trip) or even to Giverny... ;-)

About your location, I would not say that 9th district is the best place to stay in Paris. Of course it is a good area to live for Parisian, but for such a short stay, you should definitely prefer a rental from 1st to 6th districts (Louvre, Marais or Saint-Germain des Prés. Here are two web sites which offer accommodation in 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th districts by direct owner :

www.parisflatrent.com

www.residences-paris.com

You can also find some good apartment on FlipKey.com, an affiliated web site of TA I think so ?!

I hope this few advices could help you.

Regards,

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Thanks for the advice. Just wondering - are you saying that the 9th is not a good place to stay or just that we would be closer to some of the main tourist sites in the other districts?

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9th district is not a very charming area. You can find more typicall and nice neighborood in the center of Paris.

It is just an advice but if come for your first time in Paris, stay at Louvre, Marais or Saint-Germain des Prés ! You will enjoy to have a cafe, eat in a french brasserie or have some walk in a nice quarter....

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I looked up that location on maps.google.com and went to street view and I agree is not as charming as other areas especially for a wedding anniversary. I would suggest to stay closer to the areas mentioned (ie. Le Marais, Saint-Germain, etc.)....

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a week is a good first visit but not long for Paris -- I agree that day trips besides Versailles is overkill

the 9th is also not the best area to stay -- for a first trip I%26#39;d choose the 5th but the 4th and 6th are also favorites of many

start making a list of types of things

major museums

small quirky museums

gardens

walking tours

restaurants

churches

performance venues

and try to put together plans that are varied

plan a couple of walking tours based around some of the lovelier parks with maybe a small museum thrown in

Some things on my list might be

an opera at the Bastille

a chamber concert at Sainte Chappelle

climbing the Notre Dame Bell tower

strolling down the Seine and around Notre Dame at night

a couple of great gardens (Musee Albert Kahn gardens, Luxembourg Gardens, Butte Chaumont, Parc Monceau)

the Louvre and the D%26#39;Orsay

a walk around Montmartre with a picnic in the park behind Sacre Couer

at least one small museum e.g. Cognac Jay, Nissim Camondo, Jacquemart Andre, Marmottan (on a first trip probably that last one)

but it is really important to make space -- to be selective and really enjoy the time

and weather is changeable so the schedule needs to be -- Paris has plenty to do rain or shine --