What to avoid Saturday, Sunday, Monday & Tuesday

I%26#39;m working on our itinerary for our Paris trip and need some help. The wealth of information on this site can be a little overwhelming.

What should I avoid planning for Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday because it%26#39;s either closed or really busy?

We arrive on Friday so I am planning a bike tour Saturday or Sunday, either the 10 am tour or the 3 pm tour. I thought this would be a good way to get a view of the city and get our bearings. ANY THOUGHTS on my idea? Will we be too tired from the flight?

We%26#39;d like to go to mass for worship, either Saturday night or Sunday morning. Any suggestions from the group?

We also would like to do a day trip to the Versailles and a day trip to Bruges, Belgium. Both by train. Any ideas or thoughts?

Thanks for all your help. This is the best site for getting information.

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I don%26#39;t have at my fingertips when things are closed. I know most of the museums are either closed Monday or Tuesday. If you have a computer you could look up the ones you are interested or go online and look at the Paris Museum Lists and click on the ones of interest to you.

I am interested in knowing how long you will be in Paris. That will affect whether we will say that one or two day trips are a good idea or not. When on Friday do you arrive? Is your internal clock all mixed up or not by Saturday? (Traveling from Oregon has day and night nearly reversed--9 hours).

The activities you list sound lovely. Going to mass is a great idea. People rave about the bike tours.

I would also suggest a segway tour. When are you going to Paris? The evening segway tour doesn%26#39;t operate at night in the winter but it is fabulous because you see the sites as well as the beautiful Paris lights, including the twinkling Tour Eiffel. Or, if you think you will be too tired to do the bike ride, you could do the segway tour instead. It takes no effort and is easy to balance and great fun.

People on this site rave about Bruges. The next time I go to Paris I think I will day a day trip (or two) to Bruges.

Have you ever been to Paris before? That will possibly affect the types of things you will want to do. Someone has an entry on this site now about what to do if you have already been to Paris a few times, and I wrote a number of ideas for him.

Whatever you decide to do, do not miss visiting the Opera Garnier. Walk around the outside and then go inside and do a self-tour for around 8 euros. I think this building is the most beautiful in all of Paris (and that is saying a lot!) The ceiling is done by Marc Chagall and everything in there is just breathtaking.

Also, my favorite museum is the Marmottan--a small museum with many, many Monets. If you love impressionism, don%26#39;t miss the D%26#39;Orsay--5th floor--although other floors have wonderful art too, and the newly remodeled Orangerie including a room specially built for Monet%26#39;s water lilies.

As far as food, we could go on and on but you can%26#39;t go home until you have tried a falafel from L%26#39;As Du Falafel on Rue des Rosiers in the Marais. They are 4.5 euros (take-away window) or you can order and eat inside (a little more expensive). Even if the line is long, don%26#39;t get falafel anywhere else. The line moves very quickly, even at lunch time.

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Thanks for your wonderful suggestions. We are leaving Thursday, March 27 from North Carolina and will arrive in Paris late Friday morning. I do believe our internal clocks will be messed up. That%26#39;s why I wasn%26#39;t sure about the bike tour on Saturday.

We have been to Paris before about 10 years ago for a couple of days. We did a lot of great touristy stuff, including visitng Chauteus.

I was thinking about a trip to Blois, but feel 3 day trips would be a bit much.

We will be in Paris until the following Friday, so I figure we have about 6 days of activites to plan for.

Any other help you give me would be most appreciated.

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The grand department stores (Le Bon Marche, Galeries Lafayette, and Au Printemps) will be closed on Sunday.

I believe the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays. The D%26#39;Orsay is closed on Mondays.

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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;What should I avoid planning for Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday because it%26#39;s either closed or really busy?%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;

Most major museums, monuments and attractions will be busier or more crowded on week-ends...so as a general rule, if you%26#39;re planning on visiting these on a Saturday or Sunday, its usually best to arrive at or just before openning to minimize lines or crowds.

All of the museums administered by the City of Paris are regularly Closed on Mondays, as are the Musée d%26#39;Orsay, Musée Rodin and Chateau de Versailles. Perhaps because of this, a major attraction like Musée du Louvre will be busier from the over-flow. On Teusdays, most %26#39;..nationale..%26#39; museums will regularly be Closed (Musée du Louvre, l%26#39;Orangerie, Centre Pompidou, Picasso, Cluny, Histoire Naturelle)...so the d%26#39;Orsay tends to be busier with that over-flow. But there are just enough %26#39;..exceptions..%26#39; to make any general rules to make it maddenning.

You should also bear in mind later openning hours for some attractions, on certain days. As an example Musée du Louvre is open until 21:45 (9:45 PM) on Wednesday and Friday evenings; Musée d%26#39;Orsay is open until 21:45 (9:45 PM) on Thursdays. The %26#39;..grand magazins..%26#39;--Galeries Lafayette, Printemp, Le Bon Marché all have later openning hours (until at least 21:00--9:00 PM) on Thursdays. Taking advantage of these later opening hours can %26#39;..extend..%26#39; your day.

%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;We%26#39;d like to go to mass for worship, either Saturday night or Sunday morning.%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;

Sunday mornings many churches with grand organs have wonderful music accompianment to masses....but the %26#39;..really big show..%26#39; will be the 11:30 AM mass on Sunday with grand organ and choir...but a genuinely remarkale experience will be the 10:00 AM mass on Sunday morning, accompianied by choir in Gregorian Chant

Cathedrale de Paris de Notre Dame--

http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/

Diocèse de Paris--Parishes On-Line Info

http://catholique-paris.cef.fr/

%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;We also would like to do a day trip to the Versailles and a day trip to Bruges, Belgium. Both by train

Either Brugges or Chateau de Versailles are relatively simple and easy D-I-Y daytrips from Paris. Versailles is as simple as taking the RER %26#39;C-5%26#39; ligne train (heading in the direction of Versailles-Rive Gauche..any train with a %26#39;..V xxx..%26#39; designation...approx 40 mins..fare 5,60 r.t.), from it%26#39;s stations along the Left Bank to the end of the ligne at VERSAILLES-Rive Gauche.

To BRUGES....via high-speed THALYS train from PARIS-Gare du Nord to BRUSSELS-Midi then quick train change over to regional train service to BUUGES in approx 2:40 hrs.

SNCF--

voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/…

THALYS--

http://www.thalys.com/fr/en/

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