Paris over Christmas - Looking for advice

Ozzie_Isaac

We’ve stumbled upon a cool opportunity to stay on a houseboat on the Seine, right at the base of the Eiffel Tower, over Christmas. It all came together pretty quickly, so I haven’t had much time to plan, and I’m not quite sure where to start in terms of what to do while we’re there.

Do you guys have any recommendations for must-try restaurants, sights to see, or experiences we shouldn’t miss? We love laid-back meals, people-watching, and architecture. We’re also thinking about catching a show or two while we’re there, and we’ll be in Paris for eight days, so should have time.

My wife has been doing some research online and she’s starting to worry because it seems like everything requires tickets in advance, and some are already selling out. I was under the impression we could just wander the city, take in the history, and discover things along the way—but maybe I’m mistaken?

We’re also open to taking a day trip to nearby towns if there’s anything special we should see outside of Paris, within a few hours’ travel.

Thanks in advance for any tips or advice!  Do not ant to squander this opportunity.  It will be our first time to France, and my wife's first time to Europe.

JohnInCarolina

Must sees/dos (in my opinion):

The Eiffel Tower
The Louvre
Musee d'Orsay (the museum of impressionist paintings)
The sculpture garden at Musee Rodin
Montmarte - one of the oldest neighborhoods 
The Champs-Elysees - you can just walk along it and scratch your shopping itch, but be prepared to spend $$$

Restaurants:
Creperie Little Breizh - the oldest creperie in Paris

zaphod

catacombs of Paris. 

DoubleEgger

GrateEggspectations

Can’t speak to Paris in much detail, as our stay there was short and was many years back. I did drive there, so would recommend you exercise caution with respect to pedestrians - they don’t often follow the signals!

Even though it would be logistically complicated and tiring, I strongly recommend you consider a day trip to La Loire Valley. So many incredible castles. It’s about a three hour drive from Paris, but I am pretty confident that you would not begrudge it afterwards. I know @YukonRon has been and my recollection is that he found it as incredible as I did. Chambord, Chéverny, Chenonceau, etc. The pics don’t do them justice, but this link will give you an idea: https://www.viator.com/en-CA/blog/Top-Castles-in-the-Loire-Valley/l20202?m=63845&supag=&supca=20850753745&supsc=&supai=&supdv=m&supnt=x&suplp=9141788&supli=2250&supti=&tsem=true&supci=&supap1=&supap2=&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD-gbd4ggYl1aPZHc8Un1OI0nfAs5&gclid=CjwKCAjwvKi4BhABEiwAH2gcw587Z7DGfipaRql4R_Sv0CUKmYxUMoZI9eSXxWhom80DfGmVNs0lDxoCmD0QAvD_BwE

Along with the must-sees listed by JIC, you may want to consider le Palais de Versailles. It is commercial, it is overrun with tourists, but it’s hard to visit Paris and not go. About 45 mins by car. And you can’t miss la Cathédrale Notre-Dame, assuming part has been reopened following that nasty fire. I’m not sure and haven’t checked. 

For me, churches in general are a huge focus of any European vacation. They were the hubs of their days for the best in architecture, art, music, etc. Most famous artists of their day were commissioned for work by the church. I would recommend making a short list of churches you wish to visit while there. 

Edit: I recommend you look up the schedule for any attractions you will visit and also check related websites as the target date approaches. The French love their strikes, so expect some sort of disruption to some activity or leg of your visit on this basis. Also, you may be too late into the Christmas season for this, but the Christmas markets there are reportedly great. 

lousubcap

For a professional adult themed cabaret show visit The Crazy Horse-
Linked below:
https://www.lecrazyhorseparis.com/en/. 

dbCooper

One word of warning, keep your head down while walking.  It's been over 20 years since my last visit, so maybe has been corrected, there was dog poop everywhere. 

johnmitchell

Prepare the missus for some interesting bathrooms and plumbing 😂

GrateEggspectations

dbCooper said:

One word of warning, keep your head down while walking.  It's been over 20 years since my last visit, so maybe has been corrected, there was dog poop everywhere. 

Lol. Don’t remember that in Paris but we still talk about the absolute minefield that was Rome. Just incredible.

JohnInCarolina

dbCooper said:

One word of warning, keep your head down while walking.  It's been over 20 years since my last visit, so maybe has been corrected, there was dog poop everywhere. 

I was there in April of this year, didn’t see any dog poop although it’s always wise to be vigilant.

Back in 2003 I spent a month in Nantes working with a colleague.  I used to go out running in the mornings and I felt like I was a soldier in Nam trying not to step on a land mine.

I was back in Nantes this past April again and didn’t see any.  I wonder if maybe the culture around this issue has changed in the past 20 years.

Legume

I know it's a houseboat and the Olympics and all, but I'd refrain from swimming 

Ozzie_Isaac

Legume said:

I know it's a houseboat and the Olympics and all, but I'd refrain from swimming 

Yeah, we are wondering what it will actually be like, also cold for us fair weather folks.

dbCooper said:

One word of warning, keep your head down while walking.  It's been over 20 years since my last visit, so maybe has been corrected, there was dog poop everywhere. 

Will definitely look out for land mines and pick pockets!

GrateEggspectations said:

Can’t speak to Paris in much detail, as our stay there was short and was many years back. I did drive there, so would recommend you exercise caution with respect to pedestrians - they don’t often follow the signals!

Even though it would be logistically complicated and tiring, I strongly recommend you consider a day trip to La Loire Valley. So many incredible castles. It’s about a three hour drive from Paris, but I am pretty confident that you would not begrudge it afterwards. I know @YukonRon has been and my recollection is that he found it as incredible as I did. Chambord, Chéverny, Chenonceau, etc. The pics don’t do them justice, but this link will give you an idea: https://www.viator.com/en-CA/blog/Top-Castles-in-the-Loire-Valley/l20202?m=63845&supag=&supca=20850753745&supsc=&supai=&supdv=m&supnt=x&suplp=9141788&supli=2250&supti=&tsem=true&supci=&supap1=&supap2=&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD-gbd4ggYl1aPZHc8Un1OI0nfAs5&gclid=CjwKCAjwvKi4BhABEiwAH2gcw587Z7DGfipaRql4R_Sv0CUKmYxUMoZI9eSXxWhom80DfGmVNs0lDxoCmD0QAvD_BwE

Along with the must-sees listed by JIC, you may want to consider le Palais de Versailles. It is commercial, it is overrun with tourists, but it’s hard to visit Paris and not go. About 45 mins by car. And you can’t miss la Cathédrale Notre-Dame, assuming part has been reopened following that nasty fire. I’m not sure and haven’t checked. 

For me, churches in general are a huge focus of any European vacation. They were the hubs of their days for the best in architecture, art, music, etc. Most famous artists of their day were commissioned for work by the church. I would recommend making a short list of churches you wish to visit while there. 

Edit: I recommend you look up the schedule for any attractions you will visit and also check related websites as the target date approaches. The French love their strikes, so expect some sort of disruption to some activity or leg of your visit on this basis. Also, you may be too late into the Christmas season for this, but the Christmas markets there are reportedly great. 

Churches and Cathedrals will be heavy on the list!  Appreciate the link and recommendations.  We are planning a trip to Strausburgh for some Christmas markets.  Supposedly Paris markets go to Jan.  We are not opposed to a day trip somewhere.

lousubcap said:

For a professional adult themed cabaret show visit The Crazy Horse-
Linked below:
https://www.lecrazyhorseparis.com/en/. 

Moulin Rouge is in the short list for Christmas Day, not familiar with Crazy Horse but might give it a look!

kl8ton

I believe we enjoy reciprocity with Paris on the concealed carry....

Double check though...

WeberWho

Do a guided walking tour. We learned a ton about the city and history this way. It's usually free and you tip your guide at the end. 

WeberWho

If I had more time I would have loved to rent a couple scooters while over there.

I don't know if you're fluent in French or not but it's worth trying to learn a few words before making the trip. Being American won't do you any favors while over there but attempting to say a few words in their language will help you tremendously even if you butcher them. That's what we found anyway. 

DoubleEgger

WeberWho said:

Do a guided walking tour. We learned a ton about the city and history this way. It's usually free and you tip your guide at the end. 

Piggy backing on this. I recommend doing a food tour. 

DoubleEgger

You could be a romantic and renew your wedding vows there. 

OhioEgger

One thing most tourists miss is the amazing cheeses. As Charles DeGaulle once commented, 

“How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?”

They have so many amazing varieties, most of which you'll never see in this country, so try some.

Here are a couple of wonderful little cheese shops pretty close to where you'll be staying:
Fromager Marie-Anne Cantin, 12 Rue du Champ de Mars
Fromagerie Laurent Dubois, 2 Rue de Lourmel
There are plenty of others, just look at Google Maps.

What many don't realize is that the folks in a cheese shop are perfectly comfortable with the fact that we don't know much of anything about fine cheese compared to them, so they are happy to share their knowledge and help us pick up things we have never even heard of. They're also usually happy to give you a little taste.

YukonRon

Paris is beautiful anytime you are there. Watch for the biohazards on the sidewalks, and you will be fine.

We will be heading back to France again this spring when our daughter gets married in Bordeaux. My beautiful Wife and I will be celebrating our wedding anniversary and My Beautiful Wife's birthday, in conjunction to the wedding.

In Paris we usually stay on the big island Ile Saint-Louis. It is pretty central to many of the places to visit, and easy walking distance to the Metro, which I suggest if you are going to be in Paris and want to get anywhere, download the Metro app to your phone.

Add Berthillon Ice Cream Shop to your journey if you are on the island. At one time it was rated the world's best.

If traveling with your spouse, avoid at all costs the Paris Louis Vuitton store. I swear to all that is holy, they find the husband and feed you mimosas, which I must admit were pretty darn good after a full morning of being a pack mule while My Beautiful Wife shopped, and carrying her packages. They get you drunk, while your wife spends the money. It will put a dent in your children's college fund, trust me. I am not certain you can get out of there for less than $5K, but I was inebriated at the time, so who knows?

If you are a fan of art, and enjoy beautiful sculpture, obviously the Louve is where you should want to be. However, there is a cemetery in Paris, Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise, that offers a quiet stroll featuring exquisite works by the greatest sculptors, for the important figures of french history, as well as those influencing the world. Jim Morrison is buried there. The sculptures are amazing, it is 110 acres with tombs, and memorials. It is a wonderful day trip, there are cafes around the entrances/exits, it is visited by 3.5 million people annually, so be sure to get a map, select the monuments you wish to see. to be buried there you have to pay a lot of money annually and be an important influence in French history. Jim Morrison of the Doors is there. He was not going to be allowed in as a member of a rock and roll band, they got him in as a poet.

If you have time, and I mean run out of anything to do, finding the source of the Seine is an interesting day trip. My Beautiful Wife and I backpacked to that location, along the trail were massive carved stones left by the romans along the paths, that had been recently re-discovered, that were used by the travelers as directional road signs. The grotto was built by Napoleon, still standing today. He thought it was the most important waterway in all of France. 

The Paris Flower Market is another pleasant stroll to take. in operation since 1808, it is the place to go to buy flowers, and the folks go there to buy florals for to decorate their balconies. it is a favorite subject for artists, and you may see a few there capturing the vivid colors of their offerings.

The afternoon ritual of folks gathering by the Seine, is a short walk away, be sure to get some bread cheese and wine, to join everyone to celebrate the end of the day.

Hoping your trip will be wonderful, if there is anything you feel that I may be able to help you with, please reach out,  

Hook_emHornsfan_74

I don't know much about Paris as I was only there for a couple of days, but I do know that you can bring their butter back to the states.  They will vacuum seal it and it travels well apparently.