NJ to Paris - better flight options for first timer

Travel, Wine Tourism, and Restaurants Forum
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You’re in a great area, IMO - an easy walk to a lot of great places.

If you’re looking for a good meal on a Sunday night (a lot of good places are closed then), try Semilla on the Rue de Seine. We were just at an AirBnB in the Marais and walked over there and back. It was a perfect evening, great food, nice weather and the sights of Paris looking back up the Seine to the Eiffel Tower was one of those views that stays with you.

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All Bateau Mouches have the same route. I like late afternoon because of the sun on the bridges.

Don’t be too complacent with Travelocity, sometimes the changes are four hours before flight time, and you are counting on Delta to let Travelocity know to then let you know. Happened to me last year AFTER I checked in at 8pm for a 6am flight (moved to a 5am flight with no notice! i just instinctively checked one more time, involved calling the US from Budapest to find out what was going on).


Rue Cler in the 6th is a great street that has outdoor stands and stores. Around the corner is Marie-Ann Cantin, my favorite cheese shop. They will vacuum pack the cheese for free. The 36 month Comte (if they have it) is worth the trip across the pond. For other suggestions, check out Andrew’s adventure in Paris site.

Willi’s Wine Bar is very good for wine folks new to Paris. Food is very good, many, many Americans there. Again, other great suggestions in Andrews (and others threads).

For Chocolate, too many to name, but I love Jean Paul Hevin, Pierre Marcolini, and Pierre Herme. The later is also the best pastry shop in Paris (maybe the world). Chocolate options : https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/t-magazine/food/paris-best-chocolates-guide.html


Pastry articles : The Best Restaurants Near Paris Tourist Attractions, According to a Local. The 14 Best Patisseries in Paris for Croissants, Cakes, and Eclairs - Eater

For reference, especially while walking, I love Patricia Wells book, now there is an app. Get My App — Patricia Wells. It will show you the best chocolate, bakery, pastry, cheese by arrondisement, so you can just look it up when you are in the mood for a break from your walk.

Most of my favorite places are snobby places - I do it for lunch often (to save money) and go to a museum in the evening. By flipping dining and museum times, less crowds at the museums, better pricing at the snobby places.

In addition to the well known museusm, Museum Quai Branley is great for primitive art - really outstanding if your tastes lean that way. Louvre is open two evenings a week, Orsay on Thursdays, Branley Friday night I think (check the web sites, this was all based on last year).

For the Louvre, buy your tickets on line and enter through the underground shopping mall (Le Carousel du Louvre, entrance on Rue du Rivoli), not the main entrance through the pyramid. Same with Orsay, buy your tickets online so you skip the line.

Enjoy!

23

Good advice above.

My favorite cheese shop is Barthélémy, 51 Rue de Grenelle, 75007. Not far from the famous left bank department store, Le Bon Marche, which houses the excellent food hall La Grand Epicerie, La Grande Épicerie de Paris - Achetez vos produits en ligne‎.

A favorite left bank wine shop, Ambassade de Bourgogne, is a short walk from your hotel.

Other restaurants in the area that you might want to consider:
Racines des Prés
Kitchen Ter(re)
Le Bon Saint Pourcain
L’Étable Saint-Germain
Clover
Ze Kitchen Galerie/KGB
Restaurant a. t
Sola

All are casual, even if the food isn’t (a. t, Ze Kitchen Galerie, Sola) and have websites that give an idea of the food they serve. All are walkable from your hotel. Take a look through the Paris discussions for restaurants that are further afield.

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Yes , Barthelemy gets the raves, but I have never been treated so rudely, as I have been by the proprietor ( on two occasions separated by over a year), since I was in Paris in 1976, about 15 visits ago. Just cased in the way I look.

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Steve, I haven’t met your wife but I’m gonna guess that she teaches Costume Design and you are the Consume design expert in the household?

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[rofl.gif] [rofl.gif] [dance-clap.gif]

I had to read that about a dozen times, and could not figure out what you were saying. Then I realized what you posted…and it was 100% correct. [pillow-fight.gif]

I do ALL the cooking, shopping for food, and about 93% of the dining options outside of the house. Fortunately, we could not be more perfect together in what we eat and where to go.

Actually, we really love to do whatever the other likes to do…and she sure does have good tastes. [wink.gif]

I am so very thankful for everyone offering their suggestions. This board is really amazing.

We plan to go over things this weekend, and I will respond as we do. For a first trip to Paris, I am feeling like we are doing pretty well, due to all the assistance here. [drinkers.gif]

27

+1 across the board, including dinner at Semilla (went on Friday night). Also a huge fan of Cam Import/Export on Sunday nights.

While technically a “train” to Versailles, I’d distinguish between RER and a train. It’s SUPER easy to jump on RER to Versailles, whereas a train outside of Paris can be a bit more of a pain - getting to a station, figuring out times/tracks etc. Not super hard, but you’re going walk ~4 blocks to catch an RER C to Versailles and the hardest thing is going to be ensuring you get on the split that leads to Versailles, as opposed to the other terminal.

Re: stairs and metros and bears, oh my: Metro will have a bunch of stairs, usually one to two flights, but generally going down. The majority of the stations with lots of stairs will have an escalator going up. I think the biggest thing you need to take into account is the sheer amount of walking you’re going to do. Ex: You’re super - close to Notre Dame, but it’s still a half mile to get there, then you walk around a bit and then it’s a half mile back. Three activities a day and you’re walking three miles. Metro stop? Still a quarter mile, then you get off a quarter mile from where you’re going and then you walk around. Not trying to intimidate you in any way, but just be conscious of it.

Re: taxis: I’m sure we’ll have a spirited debate here, but F taxis in Paris. Uber is 10x, maybe 100x better, as you don’t need to speak French to communicate where you’re going and you don’t have to deal with the jackass driver whose credit card machine breaks down 33% - 50% of the time, unless you’ve called G7 direct (because they know who the driver is that gets assigned to you, if you complain). Speaking of which, the direct G7 number with a guaranteed English speaker is +33 141276699. (They’ve got a published direct number where you’re 50/50 on an English speaker, but generally re-routed to the above number). Madrid? London (getting better)? I’m all about taxis, but literally F taxis in Paris. Last thing to note re: taxi/uber - don’t underestimate how long it takes to get across town from 5-8PM. I’ve taken an hour to get from the 16th (left side) to Les Halles.

Somewhat of a crazy suggestion and a bit of a hassle to prep - consider a picnic on the south side of Jardin du Luxembourg. You’re going at a spectacular time; pack some charcuterie, a baguette (and Bordier demi sel, doh) and several bottles of champagne/wine (don’t forget stemware and a bottle opener, am sure the hotel can help). We’ve had a blast doing this several times, but just struck me as the quintessential Paris thing to do. Producer below is a lower-end shop that we met with friends on a tour.

Regardless of what you do, have a blast!
8FF19D0B-FF08-48A3-9D61-7AEE3976EFD7.jpeg

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Agree on the taxis. The only time we use them now is to go to and from the airport. (Trains were on strike this past trip, otherwise we use the RER-B from CDG because I want to deploy my cash on more consumable options). Sometimes maybe very late at night, we’ll have the restaurant get us a cab, otherwise we’re Metro people. I need to learn uber, though - judging from the charges on my card, the kids swear by it. :slight_smile: So for taxis we like G7, and they have an iPhone app which works great. The ride gets charged to your card, and there’s zero hassle. Download it and set it up before you leave and are under less pressure.

I echo a picnic at Jardin du Luxembourg, gorgeous and it’s right there in the 6th so why not (weather permitting obv)?

29

Was just in Paris in early April. Would HIGHLY recommend getting one of these transit passes.
IMG_2914.JPG
You can pick them up at the airport before you get on the train into Paris. They cost @26€, plus an extra €5 for a picture (unless you bring one like we did) and get you on all buses and subways, even the mechanical lift at Sacre Coeur which is a BIG help even for the best of walkers. The pass runs from Monday to Sunday so you will have to reload it, but the convenience is immense. We actually never used the subway because the bus system is so easy and efficient, plus you get to see the city in real time. If you don’t have a rigid schedule you can hop from one bus to the next taking whichever bus gets you closest to your destination, walk a bit until you feel like stopping and catch the next one that comes along. The bus routes can be found online, and I had a PDF I could access in my iBooks app at any time.

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So much fantastic info coming fast.

Here are some questions:

We arrive around 8AM.

  • Given that there is a “scheduled” train strike on the day we arrive, what is our best plan for getting to the hotel. (not renting a car)

  • Taking into consideration of the train strikes, how should we go about doing Brittany? (scheduled strikes are 5/29, 6/2nd-3rd-7th) But from what I understand, even the “good” days are not guaranteed. And the RER would also be on strike, correct?

  • What recommendations would you guys offer for the first day or so to deal with Jet lag, and before we get to our room, which might take more time that we might figure.

  • Is a Museum pass the same as a skip the line pass?

  • What restaurants that have been mentioned…or not…should we focus on with reservations in mind right way? We are NOT the best with plans. We would rather wing it, but would be find with making 2-3 dinner reservations to make sure we have special evening planned.

  • The idea that was mentioned above about later lunches and then later night wine bar bites would be right up our alley.

  • Any ideas of something to make or pick up food and then bring to the room for an evening, with some wine, etc? Meaning, are there things I might look for at the market to make at the room? Apparently we have a kitchenette with a micro and a fridge…and I think a stovetop. I can cook but am not a wiz and I don’t think I have ever gone on vacation and cooked. Maybe some simple ideas, along with cheese selections to try,
    etc. Plus, the picnic idea from Andrew was excellent.

Just throwing out some things that I think are important. So much information so far that we are starting to organize it all in a way that we can take with us and reference…and also make some set plans NOW. It is coming fast and I would imagine that some of the restaurants will already be booked, no?

Thank you to everyone who has been helping here. Most people get excited for these trips…I do too, but I get WAY too anxious and “fear of the unknown” (my weakness) makes it really stressful. Yeah, I’m complicated. Who knew?? [wink.gif]

31

It seems that we should organize, now, a taxi/Uber or whatever it is you use for our trip to our hotel, don’t you think? I really do not want to start out getting all stressed out. As it is, my back will be screaming at me after the long flight. (I can NOT sleep on a plane…although I have never been on a flight where you can lie down enough).

32

From the airport, follow the signs to the Taxi and take one. Just make sure you’ve got ~55 Euros in cash on you. If my parents can do it, so can you :slight_smile: Just remember to pee before you get in the immigration line, follow the signs for “all other passports” and then breeze through immigration.

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With the strike, will it be a much longer wait for a taxi? Or should I not be concerned about that?

34

No concern whatsoever, unless the taxi drivers get pissed off at Uber.

35

Uber in Paris all day long.

Once you get to CDG and have all your bags click on the app, it will know you are at the airport and tell you where to go.

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Thanks Andrew!

Russell - The uber app for Paris is the same app that we use for the USA?

37

Uber app is the same. As others have said, Uber in Paris is the way to go.

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Thanks Mark. Your posts have been very helpful. I appreciate your effort more than you probably know.

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My pleasure. If you or anyone prefers a driver from/to Paris airports or anywhere else, Mouhi is your guy. €80 cash, plus gratuity if you want, from CDG to central Paris.

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Keep in mind you don’t see much of Paris from the Metro.
So stay above ground -Taxi, Uber, Bus , Walk, etc .