Wife’s birthday in a week and thinking about taking her to Paris. The only problem is, what can we do once we’re there?

– Is it easy to get around on one of those metrobike things?
– Are there any restaurants we can eat at without breaking the bank?
– Anything else we can do that doesn’t involve queueing? We hate queueing.

My track record with presents is not very good, so it would be nice to do something special for her. So far she has received on her birthdays with me:
– 1st birthday: Nothing.
– 2nd birthday: An Alpkit drybag and some Mavic MTB shoes.
– 3rd birthday: A Spesh road helmet, new wheels and a single speed.
– 4th birthday: Some Five Tens.

I am grateful she’s stuck around for so long. Maybe I can give her something nice this year because we can finally afford it. She also steals my hoodies a lot, so, umm… can someone recommend a nice hoody that can actually be used for sport or standing around at races without getting soaked through?

Choke on Smog?

Take her to Bruges, the beer’s better!

😉

If those are your idea of presents, if she ever ditches you, my email is in my profile 8)

May require some lifestyle adjustments for both of us mind… 😯

If you mean ride single speed only then I am game.

Bruges you say? Tell me more. She does like her beers. Apparently it’s a fairy tale town?

The Danish certainly know what to do in Paris, check out the earlier post

right – don’t try and walk it all, it’s a lot bigger than you think, get a carnet for the tube (buy the right tickets and they work on the bus and RER(overground rail)). Be prepared for pricy drinks food etc.

for a short trip I’ll say avoid the Louvre, even though it’s brilliant it is pricy and always full and requires a full day to do it justice

there is nothing parisien about the Champs Elysees, it has a friggin disney store (bleugh) – if you want wandering around in nice shops bars then go to the latin quartier

see the eiffel tower, there are lots of brasserie around there for lunch and same for Notre Dame, you get to see the river

you could do what I did last time and propose, but that makes it a very expensive trip…

I can heartily recommend lunch at Le Clos Bourgoignon.

If the weather is good take a trip down the river on the river bus, it’s not too costly, you can see le tour eiffel, get off and have a wander round Notre Dame and when we used it I think it was the quietest and most relaxed part of the trip.

As for cheap food and drink – sell a Kidney before you go 😉

I’ve proposed already. She is the wife after all!

Bruges seems to be the better option if Paris is a dump. I hate busy cities, but I’ve always wanted to go to Paris. Maybe it’s better reserved for the TdeF finale?

Ummm … Paris is very far from being a dump, but if you don’t like cities, there may be better destinations.

A nice walk is by the Canal St Martin, from La Villette down past Hotel du Nord (Amelie location, nice place for a meal – or else picnic by the canal like everyone else) until you get to the Marais and then wander round there (bit touristy now, but nice backstreets, little parks, shops, restaurants). This is a bit my default stroll these days – not very imaginative, but Paris is Paris and there’s always something new to see.

If it’s a day, I’d say avoid the Louvre, it’s massive

Musee d’Orsay is nice, Grande Palais, Pont Alexandre III, Place de la Concorde, Sainte Chapelle is much nicer than Notre Dame, although they are very close to each other so could do both. Probably not enough time for going up the Eiffel tower, Palais de Chaillot is a good viewing point for looking at the tower though

Paris isn’t a dump, there are ‘interesting’ parts, but it’s a lot cleaner than most of our cities

The guardian did a list of 10 best things for free in Paris this week:
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/mar/25/top-10-free-things-to-do-paris

Paris or Bruges are both lovely but for me Paris every time

The bikes are a lottery, mostly poorly maintained but if you can find a good one then its a fantastic way to see a lovely city – ride alongside the seine from notre dame/saint chapelle up past the armeries to Eiffel tower – plenty to see and do

It’s not so much about the money and the sightseeing. It’s more about having a pleasant experience we can share. I’d happily go to Bruges if it meant there were less obnoxious people about and we could go for long, quiet walks by the river or some such.

Or just get plastered in a bar on Belgian beer. As long as it’s quiet and I don’t have to queue for a drink.

For good food for reasonable money there’s a restaurant called “L’été en pente douce” here, which is worth going to if you’re visiting Sacre Coeur anyway.

For beer etc shop around, don’t sit down at the first bar out of the metro station because it will be 10€ a pint, but keep an eye out for happy hours and you shouldn’t have to pay more than 5€ a pint. You generally won’t have to queue for a drink except in busy bars later on in the evening, as with anywhere. Also, most brasserie/bistro type places will have table service anyway.

To avoid queues: Don’t go to the Louvre, Notre Dame or expect to get up the Eiffel tower. The tower is still worth going to look at, but take a picnic or some beers and just sit on the grass and take photos. If you really want to go to the top, get up very early. Similarly for notre dame the area around, particularly to the south over the river, is lovely and there’s no need to go in.

Final thing, the metro is the way to go, as the velibs (parisian boris bikes) can be funny with foreign cards.

Check out the Montmartre/abbesses areas , metro is dead easy get a visite ticket for unlimited metro travel for 1 day …. Pere lachaise cemetery eerie and beautiful….PSG game or stade de France tour just enjoy the vibe of the place great city

If you really want to go up the tower, go there for lunch. 58 tour Eiffel is on the 1st floor, the ticket for the lift is included and it’ll set you back 39€.

Go there by bateau-mouche for the extra cheesey romantic vibe 8)

You could try Les Invalides. It’s Frances war museum of sorts. If you like history it is well worth a visit. Eating/drinking is not that expensive if you are off main roads. Norte Dame, grand opera house, musee d’orsay and Eiffel Tower also worth looking at. All easily in walking distance of each other. The louvre is enormous. Really enormous. Have a full day minimum to look around it. Eurostar £69 return. Far nicer than flying. I took mrs F last march for her birthday. Would go again.

Just been recently with the missus for a long weekend, Thursday through to Sunday. Just did all the usual touristy things which filled that time nicely. We didn’t use the tube as much as we’d thought we would as it’s all relatively close if you don’t mind walking. It’s a great place.

Metro to Eiffel tower early morning, head up, river cruise to Notre Dame
Metro to Montmatre wander round, lunch, view across city from Sacre Coeur, metro back to Louve area walk through gardens to Place Concorde and amble up Champs to Arc de Triomphe
Dinner and drinks somewhere in Pigalle and a show at Moulin Rouge

Was pretty much a day in Paris for our 1st wedding anniversary

We stayed at Hotel Splendid tour Eiffel for a night they upgraded us to a suite with a balcony an amazing view of the tower

How about the language barrier? Neither of us speak any French. Will that be a problem?

– 1st birthday: Nothing.
– 2nd birthday: An Alpkit drybag and some Mavic MTB shoes.
– 3rd birthday: A Spesh road helmet, new wheels and a single speed.
– 4th birthday: Some Five Tens.

Your wife is 5? 😯

How about the language barrier? Neither of us speak any French. Will that be a problem?

Non

@Rob Hilton

So far she has received on her birthdays with me:
– 1st birthday: Nothing.
– 2nd birthday: An Alpkit drybag and some Mavic MTB shoes.
– 3rd birthday: A Spesh road helmet, new wheels and a single speed.
– 4th birthday: Some Five Tens.

butter dont forget the butter,,