We will be in Paris Dec 29-Jan 6. We will have 2 children, 6 and 8 with us, so things may go completely out the window. So I have two ways of using a Museum pass on Friday Jan 2 and Saturday Jan 3. We can move some of these to the Free Sunday Jan 4 or scrap altogether. Any suggestions or opinions welcome.
Option A:
Friday, January 2 Louvre Open Late – Museum Pass
Morning: Musée d’Orsay Museum (arrive 15 min before opening).
Afternoon: Visit Napoleon%26#39;s Tomb (Invalides)
Tour Musée de Arts et Metiers
Centre Pompidou
Explora – Science Center (if haven%26#39;t seen yet_
Rest at Hotel
Evening: See Louvre
Saturday, January 3
Notre-Dame
Sainte-Chapelle (E7.50)
Panthéon
Cluny
Jardin du Luxembourg
Rest
Evening: Arc de Triomphe
Option B:
Friday, January 2 Louvre Open Late – Museum Pass
Morning: Notre-Dame
Sainte-Chapelle
Conciergerie
Afternoon:
Arc de Triomphe
Tour Musee de Arts et Metiers:
*Centre Pompidou - Musée national d’Art moderne
Explora – Science Center
Rest at Hotel
Evening: See Louvre
Saturday, January 3
Morning:
Tour the Orsay Museum (arrive 15 min before opening).
Afternoon: Visit Napoleon%26#39;s Tomb (Invalides)
Jardin du Luxembourg
Panthéon
Cluny
Rest
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Hi CanuckinIreland !!
With the Free Sunday and having flexibility with young children, you may be better off without any rigid planning.
If the weather is good, enjoy the outdoors and parks. Everyone will love it !! Paris has a nice Zoo as well.
Have Fun !!
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This, I find, is too much. Try to narrow it down or you%26#39;ll be in a huge rush.
I cannot say which of these you should choose, that is up to you, I think that your children will enjoy the Luxembourg Gardens, entrance is free. Then you can visit the Panthéon and Cluny, have a break and head to d%26#39;Orsay.
The Louvre and d%26#39;Orsay I would not miss but, would not do in one day. Maybe Notre-Dame, St-Chapelle and then the Louvre on the next day.
You can go up the Arc in one of the evenings, it is open late, till 10 or 10:30PM.
The Jardin des Plantes(Paris Botanic Garden) has a Ménagerie; a nice Zoo, it%26#39;s over 200 years old, it is open every day of the year and is a treat for children.
Enjoy.
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Thanks. I%26#39;m a bit of a neurotic planner, I do need to start with a plan but generally use it as a loose guide.
I agree that there is no way I can get to it all. I was trying to break up the Louvre and d%26#39;Orsay but in my first option I was doing both on the same day D%26#39;Orsay in the morning and Louvre in the evening as it is open late. Then in option B I was doing Louvre in the evening and the d%26#39;Orsay the next morning, which is still close together.
I did have some walks and parks in planned in there, I just removed some of my ramblings, food options etc. As this will be day 5 and 6 for us, I should hopefully have it narrowed it down some based on other days experiences.
I had d%26#39;Orsay at opening as I read that it gets busier after that. Or will it be ok in the afternoon?
Does anyone have an actual guide of things to see and routes to follow once inside these huge places?
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D%26#39;Orsay is not that huge, it can be done in the afternoon, more people tend to go in the morning. At d%26#39;Orsay, the top floor is a %26#39;must%26#39;, some of the rest you can skip, so 2-2.5 hours should be enough time.
The Louvre is %26#39;endless%26#39;, you will need to decide which parts of it you want to see most.
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Disagree about skipping bottom floor of Orsay,, my daughter much prefered it to the top floors. So did I.
Your kids have likely read or seen Dr.Suess books, well, tell them they will see some Dr Suess furniture ,, the bottom floor has some beautiful art deco pieces !! My daughter immediatly labelled it Dr Suess like.
We went to Orsay around 11 in morning and only waited about 15 minutes, this was in July,, I think the long lines are worse in the morning. We didn%26#39;t have museum passes as I don%26#39;t find them a great value, but thats me.
Both times I took kids ( once I took my 12 dd and another time I took my 14yr ds) we visited Louvre twice, there is too much to take in on one visit.
Both liked seeing mummies, Napoleons Apartments , and Medievel Louvre.
We loved the Cluny when the Roman ruin section was open, but this past summer it was closed, so the Cluny was a little %26quot;dry%26quot; for my DD.
Pantheon is also dry for kids.
Luxembourg, yeah, everyone says its free, but some of the playground type rides are not, so careful not to wander by too many of them if you don%26#39;t want to be nickeled and dimed.
There is a free playground my dd enjoyed in the Tuilleries Gardens( right beside the Louvre, so a nice break)
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Just one thought.........
The Louvre is Overwhelming, with a capital %26quot;O%26quot; ---
I needed (and wanted) a full day for each wing. Sad that I did not get to the other 2 wings.......
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I said SOME of the rest you can skip.
The Art Nouveau furniture is in the middle level. On the ground floor, I have a few personal favorites, would never miss Corot in the Seine gallery.
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I think your children will have an impact on the decisions here, which is probably the best decision. Have fun !!
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Wow, How do you think you can do 5 sites in one afternoon and one evening??? Especially did you realise the Cité des Sciences is way north so it will take you some travelling time, and it is HUGE, takes the whole afternoon. Two museums on the same day is the maximum i guess, for your children too...
I wouldn%26#39;t want Option A, too tooo too too much and you will never make it, in my opinionOption B is much better, but still way way way too much in the afternoon of the first day!!
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Hi Canuck. Not sure if your itinerary will work or not - it%26#39;s good that you%26#39;re flexible and have the Sunday for free museums.
And not to be a pain and add more to your list BUT...if you are going to Napoleon%26#39;s Tomb at Les Invalides, you might want to pop over to Musee Rodin. It%26#39;s small, not overwhelming and the garden is lovely with many of Rodin%26#39;s sculptures on view (the Thinker, Gates of Hell, Ugolin etc.) Not sure what it%26#39;s like in winter though. It%26#39;s only a few minutes%26#39; walk from Les Invalides.
If you%26#39;re at all interested, you can get a guided tour at the Louvre for 5 euros each. You put on headsets and follow your guide to see many of the important pieces in the Louvre (Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, Napoleon crowning Josephine etc.). I believe these tours are only available throughout the daytime though. It%26#39;s a good way to get a very quick overview (90 minutes), and be led from place to place so as not to waste precious time being lost within the Louvre (not that that%26#39;s a bad thing - just tough when one has limited time). If you want more details on where to catch the tour, etc. just send me a private message and I%26#39;ll pass on what I know.
Glad that you%26#39;re seeing Cluny. It%26#39;s a lovely museum, but as Joan said it was better when one could access the Roman ruins.
I hope you and your family have a lovely time.
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