Paris Landing: Where to Stay in Paris Plus Museums and Parks

Photos: Duet Letter Press

We arrived late afternoon yesterday on France's Bastille Day. Today is shop for food, find the metro (Paris metro lines explained) and get acquainted with the neighborhood. I'm traveling with my dear friend Jul and my husband will be joining us next week.

We are doing a home swap with a lovely Parisian couple. It's a great way to save money when traveling. We are staying in a two bedroom / one bathroom flat (with a chef's kitchen) near the Arc de Triomphe (at the end of the Champs-Élysées). I heart Paris.

There are also great places to rent here in the city (often cheaper than hotels) these sites are helpful for exploring how to plan your Parisian vacation:

• Haven in Paris
• Where to Stay in Paris
• A Comprehensive Guide for Where to Stay in Paris
• Paris Holiday Rentals and Service Apartments 

During our three weeks here we plan to explore the following museums (I've been to them before they are new for my friend Jul). We planned ahead and purchased our Paris Museum Passes to skip lines at each site:

• The Louvre (Tip: The Louvre is free to visit the first Sunday of every month and on Bastille Day)
• Monet's House and Garden (Unfortunately not included with the museum pass; be sure to time your train ride - Rouen-bound from Paris' Gare St. Lazare station to Vernon with bus schedules in Vernon - no buses Monday - that shuttle you out to Monet's site four miles away in Giverny from the Vernon train station. The buses will take you back to the Vernon train station to head back to Paris too. If you miss the bus you can walk, rent a bike at L'Arrivée de Giverny near the train station or take a taxi, split the taxi cost with others if you can)
• Arc de Triomphe
• The Eiffel Tower (Unfortunately not included with the museum pass)
• Notre Dame (Is free, no museum pass is needed)
• Musée d’Orsay (Tip: To beat crowds go to Orsay on Thurs. night it is open late until 9:45 pm; last tickets sold at 5 pm)
• Panthéon
• Centre Pompidou
• Musée National Picasso  (Closed until 2012 for renovations)
• Versailles Castle
• Sainte-Chapelle

And parks we plan to picnic at and other places we plan to explore include:

• The Seine River (Several tours on the water are offered: Bateaux Mouches, Bateaux Parisiens, Canauxrama)
• Jardin du Luxembourg
• Place des Vosges
• Parc Monceau
• Sacré Coeur Basilica
• St. Sulpice
• Parc des Buttes Chaumont
• Jardin des Tuileries
• Le Bois de Boulogne (This is the home of the French Open tennis courts. There are lovely weeping willows in this park too)
• Parc du Champ de Mars (A popular place to have picnics in Paris with awesome views of the Eiffel Tower)
• Trocadero (The absolute best place to take photos of the Eiffel Tower)

More Paris.