Back in the day, they used to say the best thing about that view was that you didn’t have to see the Tour Montparnasse!
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I was in Prague about 8 years ago - we stayed here:
Home | Questenberg Boutique Hotel I
t was excellent; quiet, comfortable and within walking distance of all the ‘must sees’
If you have Amex Platinum, you can book up to $1000 value of rooms at Waldorf Astoria Versailles (equivalent to about f3-4 nights depending on dates), and receive back $500 - offer ends December 31.
Also, be aware Paris has a serious bedbug infestation…
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Our daughter and son-in-law just got back from their honeymoon which included 4 full days in Paris. They went to Versailles which they greatly enjoyed, but beware that’s a full day trip. They also made reservations in advance to have lunch at Versailles at La Petite Venise, which they enjoyed. A tip about the Paris Museum Pass: you can sometimes make multiple reservations for time slots, and then once you use one to enter the site (such as Versailles) then any later time slot won’t work. This can be useful if you’re doing some contingency planning for rain, for example. Also the entry to the gardens at Versailles requires and extra fee beyond the PMP, but is a must see. And of course you can do gardens first and the palace later. The palace tends to be very crowded no matter when you do it.
The one place they visited that they regretted was the Paris Opera House, because they said it was overrun by wannabe social media influencers who were monopolizing every interesting space with their posing and photography help.
When they checked into their hotel (Hilton Paris Opera) they checked their mattress for bedbugs and didn’t see anything or have any issues when they returned home on Friday. Here’s an article from the WSJ saying the Paris bedbug scare is at least partially exaggerated: Paris Battles Bedbug Outbreak, Real Or Imagined - WSJ
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Just got back from France Thursday. When you go to Versailles, you can rent golf carts. It’s a must and I highly recommend it.
The Seine Dinner Cruise was wonderful, so I highly recommend that. We ended up skipping the Louvre and went to D’Orsay instead. Louvre another time.
Taxis are hard to get in Paris and the traffic is horrible. We took the metro most of the time. Thankfully our friends had already done it and knew how it worked. It’s doable once you learn it, but they even got mixed up a few times.
It seemed we rushed around a lot to see things on just 4.5 days. When I go back, I’m giving more time to just wandering and sitting at cafes. Visit the Marais district, it’s very nice. I’ll stay there again whenever I go.
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Thanks for the tips!
I’m a little confused about tickets for the Eiffel Tower. I hear you need tickets but maybe I used the wrong website because everything was sold out on the days we are there. Which is unusual because it’s mid November and every other place I booked, times were wide open. Maybe you could direct me to a place to get those tickets.
I booked a tour for Versailles. I did not buy the museum pass because I booked an English tour for the Louvre and the Van Gogh exhibit at the d’Orsay which includes admission. We will be in Paris for 3 days plus the day we arrive. I am not booking any thing for that day.
@conmama, can you tell me which company you used for the dinner cruise? I was looking at that but I was unsure.
I haven’t booked anything for Prague. Things are very easy in Paris. The websites for Prague are a little harder to navigate. And I’m not sure if I need or want to book a tour on the 2 days we are on our own. We will be a part of the Viking trip for the first 2 days and I have things scheduled through them. For that part of Prague. Mostly because it’s so easy.
Thanks so much, I really appreciate all the advice.
Our honeymooners also skipped the Louvre. It’s always crowded and overrun by tourists taking selfies, and there are so many other wonderful museums and places to visit. Especially if you have a short visit and are already spending a day at Versailles. I second the recommendation to visit the Marais: Sacre Coeur, Dali Museum, and try to eat at L’As Du Fallafel.
That looks amazing.
I always claimed the best, most simple meal of my life was eaten in the Marais at a place when I look it up is no longer open 
Every bite of that simple meal was so, so good.
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L’As Du Fallafel has been a favorite for a long time: L'As du Fallafel - Wikipedia. D and SIL got lucky because they were in the takeout line when a table opened up and they were offered it. The sandwiches are a little more expensive for indoor seating but they immediately said yes.
Paris- next to the Louvre is the Musee des Arts Decoratif. They have a fascinating, diverse permanent collection (furniture, glass, jewelry, etc) and a variety of exhibits rotate through as well. It is popular, but not likely to be as crowded as the Louvre.
Glad to hear of so many great trips!
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I love falafel but my husband is not a fan. Too bad.
There is a great falafel place a block from my daughter in Philly. I always make a point of going there.
I do like recommendations, my husband is not a fan of middle eastern food. Which is unfortunate because it’s one of my absolute favorites
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Is it worth 100€ for the Eiffel Tower? 2 people.
That’s the only tickets available. Lift to the top plus 2 glasses of champagne. We aren’t even drinkers.
Seems like a lot.
It does seem like a lot. I looked at the website and it was pretty confusing to me. It does say that if online e-tickets are sold out, you can buy them on-site the day of. That’s what we did. And we went in mid July in 2015. There was a huge line for the elevator. We walked right up to the counter since we wanted to walk up the first two levels. And then you had to take the elevator to the top.
My mom got our picture
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For what it’s worth my favorite time to enjoy the Eiffel Tower is to see it twinkling at night. The sunset tour of the Seine cruise is one way to take it in. We skip the meal cruises and just enjoy the view and dinner afterwards. There are also restaurants, view towers and museums with views of the ET at night. I’ve seen it from the top of the Pompidou Museum (a distance away) and a quick google yields other suggestions (haven’t been, but some recommend Montparnasse Tower). If you are interested in a close view of the tower itself and the experience of the trip up, these ideas won’t appeal.
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To each his own, but personally I had satisfaction just from seeing the Eiffel Tower with my feet on the level ground. And the joy of seeing it from so many spots around the city. Always there, evident and tall wherever we went. I didn’t need to see it from off the ground.
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My friend booked through Viator. The 8:30 one. So beautiful at night. It’s enclosed, try to get upfront,
We took the Hoho bus the first day. I like riding around like that to see a city. I wanted to go to the Gallerie Layaette Department store. Just gorgeous. We were too late fir the Eiffel Tower tickets but I didn’t care. Just not a “to do “ for me. I wanted to go up the arc de triumphs and see the view from there, but no time. Our food tour guy told us to walk the Champs d’ lessy (sp) at night. It’s nothing during the day. He said similar to Times Square, day vs night
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We couldn’t buy tickets directly, either. My theory is tour companies are buying all the tickets and marking them up. I think we paid $45 each, with no champagne, and the guide only walked us to the elevator line, which wasn’t long at 10am.
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Years ago my D was a Rotary Exchange student in the Czech Republic. Her sister and I visited, and found the food delicious, if heavy in that rib sticking, meaty eastern European way. Svickova, a beef dish was my favorite, with a sauce over meat and the typical bread dumplings. D loved the fruit dumplings. Great colder season food. Not sure of your time limits, but we found a trip to Terezin, (Theresienstadt in German) memorable. I remember it being about an hour outside Prague. Prague was terribly crowded, but I adored the smaller cities and D loved Czesky Krumlov.
My Paris favorites are the Orangerie and the Rodin Museum. But in both cities, I agree with the advice to leave time for spontaneous wandering. If there are free walking tours, take them and tip generously. I have so enjoyed walking tours this past year, as they can make cities come alive with stories.
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