From the main road (Rue Saint-Antoine) start walking down Rue Saint-Paul, for about 10-15mins through the pretty streets, you will then reach the River Seine, walk around Pont Marie bridge and here you will discover Notre Dame. If you are facing the front of Notre Dame, directly behind you about a 5 min walk is the beautiful Sainte-Chapelle church, these two places should not be missed. From Saint-Chapelle start walking down (opposite direction from you hotel) Bd Saint-Michel this will eventually lead you to the glorious Les Jardin du Luxembourg (the most magical gardens).
You will go through the gorgeous area of St Germain des Pres http://www.aparisguide.com/stgermain/index.html , this colourful area has amazing shops, FOOD, bars, cafes – great place to stop a revive!
After St Germain you are still on your way to the gardens But WAIT you can not go there empty handed!!!! Gerard Mulot is your pit-stop www.gerard-mulot.com/ , you must go here first (a little tricky to find, ask a local it’s very well known) and collect a platter of tasty treats, then go to the gardens, pull up a chair in front of the fountain and watch the beautiful Parisian children play with the wooden boats. Spend some quality time here and savour every moment!
Now that you’ve eaten your baguette, éclairs and many other treats from Gerard-Mulot, you now have the energy to proceed!!! I would recommend visiting the magnificent Pantheon http://www.pantheonparis.com/ , if you are facing the fountain with the palace behind you, the Pantheon is on your left, head to the gates and find Rue Soufflot, you can’t miss the Pantheon such a grand structure, if you have time, the visit to the top is well worth it and the view is spectacular.
Walk back towards the direction you just came, walk through the Luxembourg gardens again, but head straight through going in a straight line, you should come out to Rue Guynemer, really I recommend getting a taxi from here, but if you are up for the walk, you are heading to Le Bon Marche www.lebonmarche.com/ the grand department store. The food area is fantastic, the couture section is to die for! Surely you must be tired, head back to the hotel to relax before dinner but make sure you cross Pont Neuf (bridge) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_Neuf, recommend for your first night, have dinner in one of the restaurants in your courtyard, the food is excellent in every single one, pick the one with the most people and enjoy.
Day 2:
There are many hidden gardens in Le Marais, wake up enjoy a coffee and head off to find the hidden garden behind the gates of http://www.parismarais.com/flowers.htm Musee Carnavalet at 16 Rue de Francs Bourgeois. From Hotel Jeanne D’Arc you head away from the main road towards Rue de Francs Bourgeois, ask a local for the hidden garden from here they will show you where it is difficult to find. Make sure you sit on the chairs provided and enjoy the moment. Head down back the way you came to Rue Rambuteau and walk towards Place des Vosges (again ask a local to make sure you are walking in the right direction) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_des_Vosges this is my favourite park in the whole world. Around the park are various cafes, grab a breakfast baguette and enjoy in the park. What a great way to start the day!
Today is another day of walking, you can easily catch the Metro and stop along the way, but you miss so much if you are underground. Heading back towards your hotel and back towards the main road Rue Saint-Antoine, if you are facing the bakery (Boulangerie Paul) you need to go right along Saint-Antoine which then turns into Rue de Rivoli. Walking along this main road you will come across beautiful churches, stores, cafes, keep going you will reach Hotel de Ville http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4tel_de_Ville,_Paris, it’s the city’s administration building and a great meeting spot. From here keep walking along Rue de Rivoli and this will eventually lead you to Musee du Louvre http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en and it’s glorious gardens Jardin de Tuileries. Spend as much or as little time here, to be honest we loved the gardens more than the museum, but the internals are amazing to see.
If you keep walking directly ahead same direction through the gardens this will lead you to Champs Elysees which eventually leads you to Arc de Triomphe. Walk back towards the Louvre and turn right down Pl Clemenceau, which turns into Av Winston Churchill, this takes you past Le Grand Palais and leads you to Pont Alexandre III (bridge) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_Alexandre_III here you have the second most beautiful Museum in the world Musee D’Orsay www.musee-orsay.fr/en/home.html now at this point you should consider taxi or metro as the walk to the Eiffel Tower is between 30min – 1 hour depending on your fitness. But if you continue along the water in the opposite direction from your hotel you will eventually reach The Eiffel Tower and its beautiful gardens www.tour-eiffel.fr/
Day 3:
Today you must get to Galeries Lafayette http://www2.galerieslafayette.com/international/index.do if you go nowhere else in this building, you MUST go to LEVEL 1 their food mecca, enjoy many hours here!!!! It’s quite a distance from your hotel and we recommend either Metro or Taxi from Le Marais.
Spend your time wandering the streets and markets around here, we were not a real fan of the grittier part of town but we hear the shows at Moulin Rouge are amazing http://www.moulinrouge.fr/
Dinner at Casa San Pablo 5 Rue de Sevigne, right next to hotel in Le Marais
Other places to try include:
