OK, fun times! Where to eat without breaking the bank in Paris?

Passes

Just rummaged through my box of Paris stuff from my trip last Spring. We purchased the Museum passes through the Auto Club Travel agent and needed to pick them up when we got to Paris. (I recall being dropped off by one tour guide in front of a movie theater and having to go to the candy store around the corner... gee, sounds like a black market pass.) The pass came with a small guide, the Museum card and 2 One Day Visite passes which we were able to activate for the days we needed them. I think Charley is right that a carnet of tickets would be your best bet split amongst you.
We also ate at Le Grand Colbert which was in the movie Something's Gotta Give - food was okay. (Gotta admit that the pizza that the wait staff were eating for dinner which they ordered out for looked really good.) Found the place quite by accident while wandering through the Gallerie Vivienne.

 
Paris Pass

Looked through my itinerary from the Auto Club a bit closer and saw that we had gotten what is considered the Paris Pass. A bit pricey and it actually covered more than what we had used it for. Museum Pass (Louvre, Orsay, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, Palace of Versailles, Pantheon, La Conciergerie, Centre Pompidou and Sainte Chappelle (we had gotten tickets for Vivaldi's 4 Seasons one evening - amazing!). The Attractions included (Opera House, Montparnasse Tour, Bateaux river Cruise (Seine) and the Bus Tour (Hop On/Hop Off) The Travel part was for the Metro, Buses, and Trains in Zone 1-3.
Again, it was a bit pricey and would have been more cost effective had I known before I had booked some of our other tickets ahead of our trip.

 
That must have been an amazing trip >> I've STILL never seen St. Chapelle

only the foundation ceiling (or fornication, as I found out from a Terry Pratchett book).

I've tried THREE times to see it, as the Heinz Chapel at the University of Pittsburgh is designed after it and I grew up loving the peace and serenity of all that blue stained glass. First time I was in Paris, the cathedral was under "restoration" and closed to the public. The second time I was in London and my mother refused to take the Channel boat ride with me. The third time I was in London and was going to take the Chunnel train, but of course, my luck being my luck, Parisian city workers were on strike and the trains weren't running.

 
Two ways to enjoy it--with the sunlight--and then at night with a concert of

chamber music players.
One time when we were there was a class of maybe 15 1st or 2nd graders spread all over the floor of the chapel. They each had a piece of paper with the outline of the geometry of a window on it. Then they were filling in the circles and other forms of a window they chose. It was SO neat to see.
One suggestion to see it is to bring a small pair of binoculars to look at the topmost figures.

 
Absolutely agree with Charley

about seeing Sainte Chappelle in different times of the day. We timed it just right to wander through to see it with the sunlight which was magnificent. We then went over to walk through La Conciegerie (where they kept Marie Antoinette) before finding a small place to grab a quick dinner (I think it was called La Luge - it had a good bowl of onion soup). Listening to the 4 violinists that evening in such a beautiful setting was definitely one of the most memorable moments of that trip.

Another great moment was people watching at a cafe in the Rue Cler area. We got a great table at Cafe du Marche for a cafe creme and a croissant du chocolat. We were quite amused when we saw a toddler walking up to a dog to pet it. I thought he was putting his hand into his pocket to get the dog a treat, but instead pulled out an iPhone and took a picture of the dog!!!

Again, I completely agree with Charley about taking a small pair of binoculars - I used mine plenty of times during this trip especially at Notre Dame, the Opera House and Versailles. I had a few people offer me a euro to borrow them at Notre Dame.
I hope you have a most wonderful time there!!

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top