Sights, Arts, and Culture Itinerary
“4 Days in Paris” exactly what we were looking for, a special travel deal to visit Paris, France in March.
We came across the special vacation package offered on Expedia (with dates that coincided with Lynn’s birthday) with a direct flight to Paris, France.
With 4 nights hotel accommodation for a mid-week ridiculously-low price, we started planning and packing, our visit to Paris was at a relaxed pace. Enjoy!
As both us had visited Paris before, we were able to narrow down a short list of sites and places to see during our short stay. Despite my frequent business visits to Paris when I worked in Europe, my French language skills were only marginally better than my school exam failure, both oral and written. Needed to throw the French phrase book in the bag and take a lesson from Lynn on the basics, Oui, Bonjour, Tres Bien, and Merci!
Oh, by the way it rained most of the time we were in Paris but this made for artsy-photos and it certainly didn’t stop us from having a great romantic 4 days.
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Visit Paris, France – Where to Stay
We generally search Booking.com (which is part of Expedia.com) when planning a trip for an overview of the accommodation i.e. what is available and the general prices for the dates we are looking at.
For our visit to Paris, France we know the area we want to stay, The Left Bank, which makes it easier to find somewhere we know we will like. We suggest you select the area you want stay before you start your hotel search on Booking.com.
We stayed at the 3+ star hotel Citadines (53 ter Quai des Grands Augustins). It appears to be now a part of Ascott Star Rewards. It was the perfect location on the Left Bank (Rive Gauche) and more than adequate accommodation for our 4 nights Paris trip (our room had a river view!)
Places to Visit in Paris, France – Romantic Itinerary
- Musée d’Orsay – A wow of an old train station with a great collection art. Saw the famous Polar Bear of Francois Pompon, as well as some other interesting works.
- Walking by the Seine at night – The definition of the word Romantic.
- Palais Garnier (Opera House) – We saw it on advise of a friend. Breath-taking and historic, and simply gorgeous. A massive work of art!
- Notre-Dame – Mystical and spiritual. Cannot help but think of the Hunchback.
- Rive Gauche – The Seine’s Left Bank or south side. Known for its charm and bohemian lifestyle! Wish we had more time to meander. Just a beautiful area.
- St Germain – Saint-Germain-des-Pre, Latin Quarter where our hotel was located and knows for being the hangout for a number of artists, musicians, and writers. Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonius Monk played late nights in the jazz clubs, and Arthur Rimbaud, Paul Verlaine, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Arthur Miller wrote and lived here.
- Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel) – The Number 1 Attraction in Paris gives you spectacular city views from three levels, we gave it a miss this time, but we can recommend.
- The Louvre – Wonderfully historic. Get tickets in advance. Go early. John said the Mona Lisa wasn’t worth the wait but I am happy we saw it again!
- Sainte Chappelle – Over-the-top stained glass. There is nothing like this and right across from our hotel.
- Cafe Les Deux Magots – Historic cafe frequented by artists and writers.
- Midnight in Paris movie locations – Many, and all photographable – see below!
So Much to See….
We usually take a city tour when we arrive in a new places or to reacquaint / update ourselves with places we visited before. We recommend the Big Bus Tours from our boomer experience they are conveniently reliable, good value & clean. This link will take you to the English version of Big Bus Tours available in Paris. Big Bus Paris Hop-On Hop-Off Tour with Optional River Cruise.
Musée d’Orsay
The Musee d’Orsay displays art from 1848 to 1914 and is installed in the former Orsay railway station which was built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. The old railway station is a magnificent work of art and worth the price of admission, itself!
The Musee d’Orsay houses a beautiful collection of famous Impressionist art, and one of the reasons it’s so popular. As with so many museums, the Musee d’Orsay has a couple really good cafes. We had a nice le dejeuner (lunch) at their Cafe Campana. Lunch included quiche and soup with a fabulous chocolate cake, complete with a close-up view of its magnificent clock.
Boomer Alert: You can experience being at the Musée d’Orsay (and other Art Galleries around the world) by visiting Google Arts & Culture which lets you virtually visit the d’Orsay Art Museum using “the street view” Technology. Pretty cool.
Also using Google Arts & Culture you can click on any painting and use the “magnifying glass” to get real close to the painting, so close you can see the brushwork which thrills John to no end.
These are some of our favorite paintings on display at the d’Orsay (see my paintings inspired by our Boomer-Lifestyle travels)
Lynn’s favorite artwork is Pompon’s Polar Bear – makes her thirsty for a cola!
4 Day Visit Paris, France
We walked (with an umbrella from the hotel) from the Musée d’Orsay in the rain along the River Seine and both remember it as romantic or magical or so je ne sais quoi (straight from high school, no?) We had that feeling of being happy to be together and happy to be in Paris and what else does anyone need? John described it as being in a François Truffaut movie.
Next stop for us – across the river to the Place de la Concorde and through Tuileries Gardens to the shops of the rich and famous in the Rue Saint-Honoré! We decided to take a quick tour by taxi to take some photos. Our driver stopped as frequently as we asked him to, and he seemed to know the best vantage point to take the photos of the sights. We guessed he’s done this before. We walked under l’Arc d’Triumph and lingered a bit taking in the magnificence of the Arc with reverence for the history of it all.
Deciding to take a hop on hop off City Bus tour was a good investment in time and money as John’s knees were creaking.
Palais Garnier (Opera House)
The opulence of Palais Garnier was a surprise for us both, even for Paris! Glamorous, historic, over-the-top. There are a few tours which last about 1.5 hours. We took the intermezzo which was really good. (Cost was about 20 euros, there’s a cheaper, self-guided tour available as well.) Phantom of the Opera fans will love the Palais Garnier, as it’s the setting for the book and the play.
Below is the main façade which is on the south side of the building, overlooking the Place de l’Opéra. It took fourteen painters and mosaicists, and seventy-three sculptors to creating its ornamentation.
Boomer Alert:
Directly opposite the Opera House is an excellent restaurant L’Entracte Opera (the link takes you to the current menu in English.) We found it by accident and highly recommend L’Entracte Opera. The menu offers something for everyone (I had a salad with smoked salmon and shrimp and John had a veal cutlet with linguini – both were fabulous!) Service was first-class and we were able to sit outside which was nice on a spring afternoon. In addition it’s also great for people watching.
Sainte Chappelle – Notre Dame
Our hotel (like anywhere in Rive Gauche area) is so convenient for sightseeing or just wandering. We headed straight out of the hotel and cross the bridge Pont Saint-Michel. The Pont (or bridge) links Place Saint-Michel on the left bank of the river Seine to the Île de la Cité.
On our itinerary today is our first visit to Sainte Chappelle. We were both overwhelmed by the interior. It is an amazing visual experience with floor-to-ceiling stained glass. We probably stayed here for a good couple hours and took dozens of photos. Great morning!
A short walk from Sainte Chapelle is Notre Dame which is still under repair after the fire in 2019. The latest news is it will reopen December 2024. It’s still however, worth checking it out from the outside, though.
Boomer Alert: If you are using the Metro, the Saint Michel station, is a perfect stop to walk across the bridge to see Sainte Chapelle and Notre Dame.
Musée du Louvre
The Louvre, or the Louvre Museum, is the world’s largest art museum and a main landmark of central Paris.
The Louvre is immense and, in my experience, always crowded. Because of this, we decided to list what we would see before entering (see other tips below). It’s a wonderful building and huge being once a medieval fortress and a palace built back in the 1300s. It’s now famous for housing Venus de Milo and da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.
John isn’t sure it’s worth waiting in line to see the Mona Lisa. For me, I am happy to have seen it even if we could have viewed a dozen other works of art with that time.
Boomer Alert: PLAN AHEAD before visiting the Louvre.
Below are some tips to help you plan and avoid the frustration of trying to find the art you want to see:
a) Buy Tickets in Advance. To get a specific time and date, e-tickets guarantee entry within 30 mins and is worth the planning.
b) Download the Map on the Museum website. It will help in planning a route to see what you want to see and also explains about the artwork itself.
c) Visit the Museum in the evening. Fridays, it is open until 9:45pm
Check out Google Art and Culture
on Mona Lisa
Visit Paris, France – Rive Gauche Sites on Interest
Midnight in Paris
The Woody Allen movie, Midnight in Paris was filmed throughout Paris, with many scenes on the Rive Gauche.
The Polidor restaurant, being one, is at 41 rue Monsieur le Prince, 75006 Paris, and where the main character Gil (Owen Wilson) meets Ernest Hemingway. We’ve seen the movie a few times and it gets better with every view (if possible).
Though not open to the public, the former home/apartment of Gertrude Stein and Alice Tolkas, is located 27 Rue de Fleurus, 75006 Paris. Stein held her Saturday night gatherings there which included Hemingway, Picasso, James Joyce, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ezra Pound, among numerous other famous artists and writers. Stein and Tolkas displayed an impressive collection of artwork including works of Paul Cezanne, Henri Matisse, and Picasso. Great history and worth checking out the plaque, if nothing else.
One scene in Midnight in Paris, is here were Gil sits at midnight at Church of St Etienne du Mont, rue de la Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, Paris.
Oscar Wilde in Paris
Oscar Wilde master of humor and wit spent some time in Paris. Three years before his death of acute meningitis, Oscar Wilde left prison in London and went to Paris. It was 1897, and he stayed at L’Hotel which is a very fancy boutique French hotel and worth checking out.
His final words: ‘My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go’
Deux Magots
Les Deux Magots at 6, place Saint-Germain-Des-Prés, 75006, a famous meeting place of writers and intellectuals, including Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, James Joyce and many others. Great history and people watching.
Shakespeare and Company
The historical & famous bookstore Shakespeare and Company is worth a visit and a wander. Enjoy the ambiance and ghosts of past customers and authors Hemingway, Joyce, Stein, and Fitzgerald. Being famous the shop makes appearances in the movies. Wood Allen’s Midnight in Paris as well as Before Sunset by Richard Linklater.
Shakespeare and Company opened in 1951 by George Whitman, who continued using the name after Sylvia Beach’s bookstore founded in 1919. It has been known to house aspiring writers and artists in exchange for helping out around the bookstore.
Taken across the road from our hotel towards Île de la Cité (see my painting of the same scene)
Trivia – Visit Paris, France
What is the name for the second hand booksellers, selling from dark greens boxes along the River Seine?
Bouquinistes – sell used, sometimes rare, antique books along both sides of the Seine. These little shops are located on the right bank from the Pont Marie to the Quai du Louvre, and on the left bank from the Quai de la Tournelle to Quai Voltaire. We bought some iconic prints from one place as souvenirs.
The Bouquinistes have been in operation since the 1500s and have sold all sorts of things over and above books.
“Paris, the only city in the world where a river flows between two rows of books“. As described by the the Swiss-born writer Blaise Cendrars.
We met a Bouquiniste in the Bistro des Augustins (which we highly recommend for food and drinks) near our hotel. We enjoyed a long conversation about his family history and his trade and the books he sells. His book stall being directly across the road from the Bistro des Augustins. As the drinks flowed, the discussion turned to international rugby and the quality and success of both our teams. Soon, the singing began and we had a couple of new friends.
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