We have 3 and a half days here - so much to do and so little time. This is my suggestion for our time in Paris, but it is up to you to decide what you want to see and do. Please let me know what you think so I can prepare maps and itineraries!
Paris is divided into neighborhoods or, as the French say, Arrondissements. Our hotel is in the Left Bank area in the 5th Arrondissement. This is generally known as the Latin Quarter and is home to the Pantheon and Sorbonne University, and is filled with students. This makes the Latin Quarter one of the lively and quirky neighborhoods of Paris. I think we'll like it there.
Once we have landed at Charles de Gaulle airport, gotten our bags and gotten into the city via taxi, it will likely be after 6 PM. We should check-in, get a bit settled and then head right out to the Pantheon.
The Paris Pantheon was copied from the Pantheon in Rome, and was built by order of King Louis XV who vowed in 1744 that if he recovered from an illness he would replace the ruined church of the Abbey of Ste. Genevieve with an edifice worthy of the patron saint of Paris. Soufflot was charged with the plans to create the Pantheon. Construction began in 1757 but was not completed until after Soufflot’s death in 1789, the beginning of the French Revolution. After the completion of this church it was turned into a burial place for the great men of France by the new French Government. Only the parliament or powerful leaders could have the privilege to be buried in the Pantheon.
We can then stroll the streets of the Latin Quarter, pick up some snacks and vino for the room, and enjoy our first Parisian dinner!Wear your walking shoes, girls, because Day 2 is a doozy. Today we explore the 4th, 7th, and 8th Arrondissements.
We should begin with a decent breakfast, lots of coffee, and then head up to the 4th for a look around the Pompidou Center. It's a center, it's a museum, it's a trip.
Then we'll walk over to the Ile de Paris and visit Notre Dame. Once we've enjoyed the cathedral, we'll jump islands to the Ile de St. Louis for some lunch.
Back to the Left Bank of the Seine, right by Notre Dame, we will purchase our 2 Day Pass on the Batobus. The pass is € 18 per person and allows us 2 day's use and we can get off and on as often as we'd like. So, we buy our passes and head to the 7th, enjoying the sights along the way.
We will get off the boat at the Eiffel Tower. After visiting the Eiffel Tower, maybe going up to the top level, and enjoying the park, we will head off to the 8th, again using the Batobus.
We will disembark at the Champs-Elysees stop, walk to Place Charles de Gaulle L’Etoile, the large circle home of the Arc de Triomphe. From there we wander down the Champs-Elysees (Shaunz A-lee zay) going cafe to caberet (**see below).I say we have a nice dinner and head back to to the hotel to rest up for Day 3!
**My favorite song line of all time is highlighted below. To hear the original version, click the song title. Wow.
Free Man in Paris by Joni Mitchell (partial lyrics)
I deal in dreamers
And telephone screamers
Lately I wonder what I do it for
If l had my way
I'd just walk out those doors
And wander
Down the Champs-Elysees
Going cafe to cabaret
Thinking how I'll feel when I find
That very good friend of mine
I was a free man in Paris
I felt unfettered and alive
Nobody was calling me up for favors
No one's future to decide
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