dfrostnh

WOW, everyone thank you so much for all this help,and more things to research. I have read about the passages and may wander one if only to see the mosaic floors and architecture.
I haven't made reservations yet. The hotel is Taylor Hotel. Their website isn't very good but my emailed questions got a prompt response. One of my concerns was that an Uber driver would not want to do short trips. One place I'd like to go is only two miles away but I would be returning to the hotel late at night.

Your help is much appreciated. Back in high school I took five years of French thinking I would go to France sometime but back then a college year abroad was just a dream. I've forgotten most of my French and never spoke it well. The only time we tried to speak French was many years ago on a visit to Quebec City.

No, I wasn't planning on spending all day sitting at a cafe table but wondered if an hour was too long with one cup of coffee.

Your help is making the city visit a little less bewildering. I had good experiences in Rome which included a man stopping traffic for me when I was trying to cross a busy street. And one of my nicest restaurant meals was at a restaurant suggested by a Fodorite.

AGM_Cape_Cod

One thing to be aware of with the Paris metro is that there can be a lot of walking in stations between lines. Once you get to your hotel take a walk around the neighborhood and make note of which bus lines stop close by. Go into the metro and buy a carnet which is a pack of 10 metro tickets.

dfrostnh

Thanks, AGM. I have read the metro might be too much walking. There was one stop that was described as a lot of stairs. (It might have been one at or near Monmarte.)
I have found some blogs listing souvenirs to buy at Paris supermarkets!

Paqngo

There is a machine at the bottom of the stairs to buy your packet of tickets. The front desk of your hotel will direct you if you ask. https://en.parisinfo.com/practical-p...ses-reductions

We also used the app Maps.me for our bus stops.

Your hotel looks great and it has an elevator. We were able to drop off our bags before check in and they took them to our room for us. So if you get there early do that and then explore.

I really enjoyed sitting at the cafes and having a coffee or a glass of champagne. It was the perfect way of relaxing and people watching. We did not feel rushed to leave at all and the waiters were always great.

I found this article for kitchen stores https://www.thekitchn.com/best-place...e-paris-254957
also, https://www.lagrandeepicerie.com/fr/index. I know you love to cook and I brought home many goodies from La Grande Epicerie. (Thanks to AGM for that bit of advice) Also, take a grocery bag with you for all your goodies.

Have a great time.

k_marie

Try this website to plan your trips on public transportation. In the process you will be able to select your preference for bus, metro, on foot, etc

https://www.ratp.fr/en

To reiterate my suggestion on another thread: binoculars can be very helpful as you enjoy the stained glass (Sainte Chapelle!) and other marvels of Paris or any other place you visit.

HappyTrvlr

Another poster mentioned the Musee de l’Orangerie which is filled with Monet’s large water lilies. It does not take a lot of time and we always visit it. It is easy to find as it is in the Jardin Tuileries

k_marie

[QUOTE=Also, take a grocery bag with you for all your goodies.

.[/QUOTE]


We purchased reusable bags at the Grand Epicerie, at other stores, and at museum stores. Great souvenirs and gifts that are unbreakable and easy to pack!

menachem

Marais has a few good photography galleries, like MEP and Fondation Henri Cartier Bresson. Always interesting shows. An unexpected highlight for me was https://www.chassenature.org/, (Museum of Hunting and Nature) now open again after a major revamp, and in two very significant hôtels on Rue des Archives.

TDudette

Dfrosty, is the cheese-making class more than one day?

To all, can one buy metro tickets from other than the metro station? I'm thinking of the days when they were sold at the tobacco shops.

dfrostnh

TDudette, it's just one day although I think there's a professional level course.

i've started pinning ideas to my pinterest board. It will be fun to do some early Christmas shopping for stocking stuffers. My favorite drink in Italy was a lemon slush. It looks like in France I will have to try hot chocolate.

k_marie, I found you tube videos showing what the #69 bus route looked like. I hadn,t thought to bring binnoculars.
paqngo, what fun to explore websites for kitchen stores.

it's great to read what others have fun to be special on their visit to Paris.

Michael

The boat ride is good for the person who just landed and is not up to walking along the Seine. But the street level is quite high above the Seine:

https://flic.kr/p/7BQ6oi
If you have the energy, walk along the Seine and over its bridges for a better view of the buildings along the Seine.

https://flic.kr/p/7BTYsE

Leely2

Your hotel is in kind of a hipster area (or it was...)--good restaurants and bars. It is also very close to Square du Temple-Elie Wiesel, a lovely small park and place for reflection.

Because your visit is a short one and you say walking is a struggle, you might want to decide on one or two personal must-sees a day and then check out what is nearby just in case you end up having more energy/stamina than you anticipate now. I personally take a more serendipitous approach, but I definitely see the value in being more organized.

dfrostnh

Good point Michael. I used hiking poles in Rome which helped a lot on cobblestones.
leely, i discovered the hotel when I focused on a cooking class I wanted to take. In Rome I dedicated one day going to a particular shop for Murano glass. It was fun to choose a restaurant when I liked the menu that was posted (wonderful stuffed squash blossoms) and I also discovered a famous fountain. I'm glad I didn't go in search of the fountain because the plaza was so mobbed it was ridiculous. I got lost once walking around but knew how to get to my hotel from the train station. When I found a bus stop I asked termine? And pointed in each direction. A kind stranger tried to tell me which bus number to get on but didn't know English. But when the right bus came along other people who had heard us urged me to get on the bus. It worked. I think after that I learned how to better understand how to use my phone and google maps to use Rome's bus system but I have a fond memory of helpful strangers.

danon

“ Because your visit is a short one and you say walking is a struggle, you might want to decide on one or two personal must-sees a day and then check out what is nearby just in case you end up having more energy/stamina than you anticipate now. I personally take a more serendipitous approach, but I definitely see the value in being more organized.[/QUOTE

Good point , both ,about taking it easy and planing carefully The OP has only 4-5 days in a huge city full of fantastic museums and incomparable art. After 15 - 20 visits to Paris ( over many years) I believe I have not covered all the places mentioned here.
With age, one “ attraction “ per day , including the transportation, has been fine with me .
Paris is so lovely that , perhaps, spending some time in cafes, squares , waking by the river, crossing bridges , etc..would give the OP a feel why Paris is, well , Paris .
btw, my first post Covid trip will be: a week in Paris in mid May !

Nikki

I have never had a problem reserving for dinner for one person. I would prefer eating in a restaurant in the evening rather than having takeout in a hotel room, unless I am going to an evening concert or theater, in which case many restaurants aren’t open early enough to get to the show. In that case, a brasserie or cafe that is open continuously will work. Takeout for lunch is another matter, lots of tempting prepared food, bread, cheese, charcuterie, pastry, in the shops you will pass on the street or in the markets.

Sitting in a cafe for an hour with a drink is fine.

I can not walk well and depend on taxis and Ubers when a bus isn’t convenient or it is late or I am just worn out. That way I can get around the entire city comfortably.

tomboy

Defrost-NH
It being your first time, I recommend you make a point to sample something from a (hopefully typical) French bakery, and a patisserie.
But which, you say?
I found that if I went on Google Maps, and googled Paris, and zoomed in on my hotel, and then typed "patisserie" to the right of "Paris, France" in the location box at the left, it would show me a map of the hotel neighborhood, with patisseries in the area of the hotel. Same trick worked with bakeries, cafes, restaurants, etc. Of course, it would also work with other areas; for example, if you wanted to know if there were any patisseries near the Rodin Museum, same trick. Extremely handy, You never know what's around the corner, or what you'd find if you turned right instead of left at that next corner. Worked in Budapest, too.

dfrostnh

Thanks, Nikki. I'm not usually by myself for city visits and I'm trying to get an idea of ettiquette. I mostly did great lunches in Rome and mostly takeout in my room for dinner. But after ten days with a small group I didn't mind takeout alone in my room. This will be the same kind of trip. Ten days with a small group and eating together. But I think rstaurants will be close to my Paris hotel.

I certainly hope to get a feel for why Paris is Paris. Some of the obvious is no skyscrapers, beautiful rivers, more bicycles and scooters and more small food shops instead of giant supermarkets. It has only been covid recent that restaurants near me put out sidewalk tables. It surprised me in small Italian towns how tiny a shop could be.

tomboy, my goal is to find my favorite flavor in Paris. I'm a cook and vegetable gardener. I haven't made crepes in decades but perhaps I will be inspired to make them again and bring home a crepe pan I saw on one of the websites. I know the art and architecture will be amazing. I promise not to look for a Starbucks.

Nikki

On the subject of beautiful rivers, you are staying near the Canal St. Martin, which has a series of cool bridges, some of them pedestrian, and is lined with cafés. You can take a boat ride on the canal, which goes through a tunnel under the Bastille and several locks. I believe you can take it in either direction. When I did this some time ago I started at the Bastille, which is somewhat more interesting because you are rising through the locks (a tip I read here on Fodors).

Coquelicot

Dfrost. what a great idea to take a cheese-making class.

You've gotten lots of good advice above. I can't help you with Paris. I always read Paris trip reports and make notes, but it's been a long time since we were there ourselves. My memories of Paris aren't dim, but they are dated.

I will tell you the most important thing to know in France. Okay, maybe not the top thing, but it's right up there: when you want to order one of something, do not raise your index finger. Raise your thumb. To a French person the index finger means two.

Because you are a good cook, I recommend David Lebovitz's blog, davidlebovitz.com

Because you are a gardener, I looked for a website about Paris's parks and garden and came across this:
https://www.paris.fr/recherche/infos?Info_production[query]=parcs%20et%20jardins

As tomboy suggested above, you can use google maps to search all kinds of things, even on the fly.

I can't wait to read your trip report.

kerouac

Doesn't it take about two weeks to make cheese?