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Ideas for trip to Paris in October 2023
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Mar 18, 2023 11:51:55   #
home brewer Loc: Fort Wayne, Indiana
 
My wife and I are planning a trip to Paris with the first full day starting October 17. right now we plan 5 full days but that is likely to be longer.
How many days to get a good sample of the city?
Best way to explore Versailles and is 2 days required?
What to see?
Best area to stay?

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Mar 18, 2023 12:16:36   #
fantom Loc: Colorado
 
home brewer wrote:
My wife and I are planning a trip to Paris with the first full day starting October 17. right now we plan 5 full days but that is likely to be longer.
How many days to get a good sample of the city?
Best way to explore Versailles and is 2 days required?
What to see?
Best area to stay?


Versailles is a one day excursion from Paris. You can take the train, walk to the palace and tour it and walk back to the train and return to Paris easily in one day. You would also have time for a meal. The crowds waiting in line for tickets could be a problem so plan for that. I haven't been there for several years but I doubt if things have changed much.

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Mar 18, 2023 12:38:36   #
billmck Loc: Central KY
 
home brewer wrote:
My wife and I are planning a trip to Paris with the first full day starting October 17. right now we plan 5 full days but that is likely to be longer.
How many days to get a good sample of the city?
Best way to explore Versailles and is 2 days required?
What to see?
Best area to stay?


Paris is one of my favorite places, but so hard to suggest for someone else. Regarding Versailles, I would not spend more than one day there. You might do some online searches to see if one day might have fewer visitors than other days. When we were there it was hard to move because of the crowds. Buy your tickets ahead of time to avoid that line. Taking a tour is even better, as the tour guides have better access (fewer waits.)

One of my favorite places is Sainte Chapelle, a 12th century chapel with magnificent stained glass. It's not far from Notre Dame, and inside the Ministry of Justice complex. Take a boat ride on the Seine. It's nice at night, but difficult to take pictures at night. Visit Sacre Coeur and the Montmarte area. Notre Dame is closed for repairs, but walking around the outside would be good. The Louvre, of course, but it's difficult for me to spend more than four hours at a time there. Walk the Champs-Élysées, see the Arc de Triomphe, ride the Paris Metro, enjoy coffee and pastry in a shop. I also liked the Picasso Museum, but haven't been there in a long time. The Eiffel Tower and Bonaparte's resting place, the Hôtel National des Invalides, not far from the Eiffel Tower.

I still have places I haven't visited: Rodin Museum and Musee de'Orsay, among others.

Bill

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Mar 18, 2023 12:41:35   #
Jimmy T Loc: Virginia
 
home brewer wrote:
My wife and I are planning a trip to Paris with the first full day starting October 17. right now we plan 5 full days but that is likely to be longer.
How many days to get a good sample of the city?
Best way to explore Versailles and is 2 days required?
What to see?
Best area to stay?


Stay at the Pullman Paris (outstanding breakfast buffet, included) within a short walk to the Eiffel Tower. Also close to the “Hop On/Hop Off” bus line. Use online reservations for all major attractions (way in advance) like Versailles, the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, etc. There are also many wonderful museums close by. The French are very friendly especially when you use French greetings and try being polite. At least use a phrase book and be Polite. Uber works well too.
Best Wishes,
JimmyT Sends

Edit: Download Google Maps before you go.

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Mar 18, 2023 13:05:01   #
gunflint Loc: Rocky Mountain High, Colorado
 
Definitely get out after dark, the lights are amazing.

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Mar 18, 2023 15:09:41   #
SteveR Loc: Michigan
 
Paris, TX will be nice and cool in October.

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Mar 18, 2023 17:27:02   #
DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA
 
We went in October '21. Chose a hotel about 15 minute walk from the Louvre. Took the bus a few times but mostly walked everywhere. Train to Versailles, walked to the palace and back. Depends on what you like, you can run through it in a day or you can spend some time in the gardens. October might be a bit late in the year for that. You can get tickets to Versailles online (timed tickets) and avoid the ticket line. Same with the Louvre. Same with the Eiffel Tower. We found the restaurants around our hotel to be good and moderately inexpensive. Bought some pastries and milk on the way back to the hotel and had them for breakfast.

I would recommend one day for each excursion. You get to see more sights that way. If you didn't have enough time it gives you an excuse for another trip.

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Mar 18, 2023 18:19:43   #
home brewer Loc: Fort Wayne, Indiana
 
Thanks to all who responded. In last 20 or more years we have visited major art museums in other cities and neither of us have much desire to visit the Louvre to fight the crowds for a glimpse at a small painting. We will not pay to see the churches. Since 1973 we have visited at least 50 beautiful cathedrals in England, France and Germany. That goes for palaces, castles, manor houses and other places with beautiful art work and rooms.
I am not even sure we even want to be 2 of 25,000, (per one website) people that visit the Eiffel tower everyday. So it looks like we might be down to the Eiffel Tower, maybe Versailles and some wondering the streets. Books and web sites are not helping much to find things to see.
We are flying to Paris to make the trip home from Ljubljana easier by avoiding a 13hr overnight layover in Zurich.

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Mar 19, 2023 06:46:19   #
Canonuser Loc: UK and South Africa
 
Don’t go to Versailles on a Monday, it’s closed. I made that mistake many years ago.
Fortunately I was with a very attractive young lady, so we booked into a nearby hotel and found things to occupy our time until Tuesday. 😉

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Mar 19, 2023 08:59:09   #
jbk224 Loc: Long Island, NY
 
I don't know where even to start....but...do not miss Giverny-Monet's Garden.

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Mar 19, 2023 09:28:43   #
BrHawkeye
 
I too plan to be in Paris in mid-October. I've been there a few times before and at different seasons and have spent a day at Versailles a couple of times. I'm going there mainly to relax and to eat well. The major tourist sites and activities are not on my list this time but the Rodin Museum is and I may add the Carnavelet Museum. There are lots of options for places to stay and it does depend on your preferences. Do you want to be in a tourist area where everything is nearby or in a quieter neighborhood? Is nightlife in your plans? etc. I have found a couple of YouTube posters whose videos give me an idea of what things are like in various Paris arrondisements at the moment. Les Frenchies is one of them. Most importantly, remember to start conversations (even in English) with "bon jour" or, at night, "bon soir."

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Mar 19, 2023 09:30:07   #
n4jee Loc: New Bern, NC
 
We went to Germany to visit our daughter and family when she was stationed in Germany. We flew home from Paris after spending a couple days there. We stayed at a nice B&B in the middle of town that had excellent restaurants near by. They were also very inexpensive. After spending a couple weeks traveling around England, Germany and Austria, eating the quinine, I was in the mood for a plain old hamburger. DO NOT GO TO BURGER KING! It was the worst burger I've ever had and cost more than a meal and one of the local restaurants.

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Mar 19, 2023 10:50:26   #
cdayton
 
Alternative advice: At the Louvre, get to the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, and Venus de Milo so you can say you’ve seen them and then spend some real time at the D’Orsay. Skip Versailles but linger at the Rodin museum. See the Eiffel Tower from afar as part of a nighttime tour. Do a boat ride on the Seine - night or day or both. Get up to Montmartre. Do a hop-on, hop-off bus ride with no particular destinations but do hop off. As many others have suggested, start with a word or two in French so they’ll immediately know you are American. Don’t try to do too much on one visit - Paris will still be there next year.

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Mar 19, 2023 11:00:51   #
philo Loc: philo, ca
 
If you watch the news......Paris may not be the best place to visit right now.

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Mar 19, 2023 11:08:42   #
DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA
 
philo wrote:
If you watch the news......Paris may not be the best place to visit right now.


Hopefully it will cool down by October

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