I need some guidance on this subject. We will be 5 full days in Paris not counting the day we arrive (Airport transfer, Hotel check-in, orientation, Jet lag, etc.) and was planning our first full day (Sunday) at the Chateau, to see everything including the fountains working along with the music (only on Sundays?) and since I figured a lot of things are closed in Paris on Sundays, then we will try to see and do everything else during the next four really %26quot;Full Days%26quot; that follows. My wife says I%26#39;m %26quot;crazy%26quot;... She thinks we will %26quot;spend%26quot; a precious full day at the Chateau early on and then be really short if we do not make it to everything else we%26#39;ve planned... Help!!!!!
OEC57
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I just returned from 5 days in Paris and I went to Versailles my last day there (also on Sunday). I hadn%26#39;t anticipated it taking all day there, but it did. We left (via metro) at 10am and didn%26#39;t leave Versailles until just before it closed (5pm). We went on a guided tour and then bought tickets for their tram ride that takes you to the other properties (Trianon). We didn%26#39;t even have time to enjoy the fountain area. So time flies...
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Thanks HollyN,
Do you think it was worth it the whole day?
OEC557
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For my husband %26amp; I, half-day was good. Get there before the place fills with other tourists. We did a guided tour through a local tour operator. What we appreciated about this is the guide%26#39;s knowledge and expertise. They are walking histroy books. I like the commentary and get much more out of the experience. Plus being on a guided tour, you do not have to wait in line since there is a special entrance. The down side being it is much more structured and costly.
Another thing is some people LOVE Versailles and others don%26#39;t. If you are going on your own you could start the day early and then decide as you go along how long to spend. Play it by ear. Have other options.
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Yes, I felt it was worth it as we went exploring Grand Trianon and Petite Trianon as well. And we were still back with enough time to enjoy dinner on Champs Elysees and see a movie afterwards. (And we even got %26quot;lost%26quot; leaving Versailles, the shuttle bus that was waiting for us outside the RER station was no where to be found on the way back. So we hopped on another bus that took us to another metro station miles away)
But if you don%26#39;t want to give Versailles a whole day, it can be done in a 1/2 day. Arrive earlier then we did.. and you%26#39;ll probably have to exclude the tram/other properties and also keep exploring the gardens down to a minimum.
Have a great trip...
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Thank you HollyNhollywood for your response.
We will move the trip to the Chateau for our last day (Friday). Like that we can %26quot;play it by ear%26quot; and make it a full day or half day depending of how many things were left out from the previous days.
We have about six more weeks to our trip, so we are still fine tuning our daily itineraries.
Thanks again.
OEC57
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I just returned from paris also, we went to versailles on a friday and arrived at about 10:00 or 10:30 am i think. after an hour or so the lines had grown alot... but i guess that is like the museums too. time is precious.. and it definately pays to go as early as you can.
we had planned to get back early/mid afternoon but if you want to see everything (palace and all garden areas) then give yourself a full day. we ended up leaving at about 4:30 or 5:00pm
Here%26#39;s the breakdown of what we did in case you are interested.......
We payed the full one day fare which includes a couple of audio guided tours where you just pick up a headphones set and in each room you press the button and it tells you about it. it was really nice to have that, even though i didnt listen to all of it.. it still made things alot more interesting than just looking and not knowing what you are looking at.
after looking at the inside of the palace we decided to get lunch at the crepe place located in between the train station and the palace off the main road.. the one with the yellow banner. it was quite good and had a very large selection to choose from.
then we hit the gardens. and wow the gardens are great..
the free part of the gardens i thought were more impressive than the parts you pay for but everyhthing is good to see. We had an icecream by the canal and relaxed for a while and it was lovely. then we headed to the other areas which were smaller and a bit of a walk away but worth seeing. by the time we made the long walk back through the gardens , past the palace, and to the train station it was about 4:30 or 5:00. 1/2 a day would be rushing things, or not enjoying the gardens properly i think.
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Thank you Cornfellow for your post.
We are buying the one day pass including transportation so we%26#39;ll have all bases covered. I certainly will try the Crepe place since there have been several comments about it. I know I have the name somewhere in my (extensive) notes file, but i%26#39;ll remember the yellow flag.
I think it is about time to go over some of those notes and start building the itinerary before I run out of time.
Thanks again,
OEC57
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With your daily schedule, I hope you are including hang time to soak up Paris. There are many things to do and see. And there always will be. But do take time just to soak up Paris. To sit in a garden for the afternoon, stroll the streets, watch the people, sit in a sidewalk cafe and watch people pass you by, have dinner that lasts all evening with good conversation, enjoy the street performers, ect.... No matter what you do, you will fall in love with Paris.
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I know what you are saying Winydapu. My schedule is already too hectic, but I%26#39;m mixing the main attractions by areas and hope to do a lot of walking (hope my feet will cooperate) and will mark my itinerery with parks and Cafes along the way to absorb (eat and drink as well) as much of Paris as I can.
I just want to have some sort of schedule where I will not find myself figuring where to go or what to do and wasting precious time.
I already know by experience that things may not work out 100% as planned, but one must be able to work around the %26quot;surprices%26quot;.
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You will walk no matter what. Plan on 10 miles min per day.
What else are you thinking about doing?
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