Traveling To Paris? Here Is a Tour Designed For Seniors

While there are many tours that you can take and there is hardly a bad turn to make in Paris, the following tour is ideal for seniors because it has the advantage of scalability; that is to say, with a good mix of must sees, should sees, and off the beaten track, you can look at this walking tour with restaurant and shopping suggestions as a guide for a few days or several weeks.

Start at the Pantheon. Walk up to the top of the Pantheon & you can step outside and walk the perimeter of the dome, which gives you a tremendous view of the city which gives you an idea of the layout of where you are going. Down the main road, you will see the Jardin de Luxembourg which is where you’ll be heading next. This is a spectacular neighborhood walk through the Latin quarter & Sorbonne. Depending on when you start, Le Violon Dingue is a classic expatriate bar on Rue de la Montagne St Genevieve, right down the hill from the Pantheon. The bar itself is always crowded with English-speakers, so it’s a good place relax with a helpful wait staff and a way to meet people and have a nice break.

Now you are at the Jardin the Luxembourg, one of the most beautiful and captivating central parks in the world. Enjoy the boats on the fountain pond, sit in the chairs and people watch, perhaps see if there is a show at the Musee Luxembourg. Now, if you are into the lost generation writers, continue up the Avenue de L’observatoire and have a cafÃ?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ or lunch at the Closerie des Lilas. If not, maybe try Balzar’s on the Rue des Ecoles or if you are spendy Cafe de Medicis which looks out on the Jardin.

Now, make your way down to the Eglise Saint-Sulpice to see the rose line that was the first GMT line before Greenwich (remember your Dan Brown?), as well as a glorious church and fountain. Walking out of the church, take a right and walk down rue Princesse (the English friendly Village Voice is here) and you’ll see a few other great cafes and enter on either side of you a good shopping district with small and relatively inexpensive boutique gifts for friends at home – other good streets for this are Rue du Four, rue de Rennes and rue Bonaparte.

Soon you will hit the Boulevard Saint Germain. This is a truly beautiful street walking either direction, but a few things worth seeing: The Saint Germain church is beautiful, and can be seen when you arrive on the boulevard to your left; for cafes, they are the most famous but overpriced here – Cafe Deux Magots, Cafe Flore and Brasserie Lipp. also, straight ahead is Rue de Seine with wonderful art galleries down the length of it.

If you go left, you will get to the Musee D’Orsay which is a “must” museum in Paris – I would suggest carving out another day to do this and then see the Eiffel tower, the Hotel des Invalides and make your way over to the right bank for a trip down the Champs Elysees, to see the Arc de Triomphe (Then walk down and back on the Avenue Georges V – magnificent), the Place Concorde, take a left and walk Rue Faubourg and Rue Faubourg Saint Honore for high end shopping – Then make your way back to the Tuileries gardens (The Louvre if you like, but not a must), the Place Vendome, up to the Opera Garnier and finish at Harry’s New York Bar at 5 Rue Daunou – but, like I said, that is a different day.

OK, so we have decided to turn right on Boule Saint German! Good! You’ll pass the section called the Odeon, where there are lots of movie theaters (If you’re interested, look for films which say V.O. on the poster for which stands for Version Originale – these are in English) and you get to Boulevard Saint Michel. Take a left here and go down to the river. When you look back to the place you came from, you will see one of the most beautiful fountains in the world, a la the Fountain of Trevi in Rome.

Then, you can see the bookinistes which are the book sellers with the little green boxes on the Seine’s walls. Either walk right along there on the other side you can walk the Rue Boucherie and see the old Shakespeare & Co. Bookstore made famous by the Lost Generation too. If you see 2 restaurants there called Les Bookinistes and Ze Kitchen Galerie, they have exotic and wonderful menus and are cool places to eat. Another great dinner spot I would suggest is Le Coup Chou, which will blow you away. This is not a inexpensive, but if you decide to splurge on a big dinner, this is a truly magnificent experience.

Now you are at Notre Dame, which is certainly worth seeing. Take a walk in the shadow of the flying buttresses behind Notre Dame in the little park and you’ll see a tiny bridge that connects the Ile de la Cite the island where Notre Dame is situated) to Ile Sant Louis – take that bridge and stop at the Brasserie de l’Ile St Louis (The Brass) – They pour Muzig, a deceptively strong beer – two or three of these will leave you “muziged.” They also serve hearty Bavarian food – if you enjoy kraut and sausage, you can do no better than the brass. The bartenders are legendary old timers.

After this, make your way over to the Right bank (opposite side of the Seine than you’ve been) and turn right. You are now headed toward the quirkiest part of Paris, le Marais (the swamp). This is now the 4th arrondisement, and the oldest neighborhood in the city. Windy streets, beautiful architecture, quiet little cafes, an excellent place to explore for a while. There is the Musee de Picasso, a smaller museum that gets relatively little traffic and is very manageable, the Centre Georges Pompidou which is modern art and a great place to see, and the Place Des Vosges – If you visit the Musee de Picasso, afterward wander east from the Marais toward La Bastille and pass through Place des Vosges. This architecture is as beautiful as it gets. All around the Place are tiny streets, cafes and shops, and it is a truly fun area to wander through. Finally, get a drink at Stolly’s Stone Bar on Rue Roi de Siecle – very English friendly.

For other restaurant suggestions, try the 6th and 7th arrondisements for the following:

L’Epi Dupin at 11 rue Dupin is tiny and excellent.
It’s always full, reserve in advance and try to get a table in the small tiny salle rather than the hall leading to the kitchen.

La Marlotte at 55 rue du Cherche Midi is very traditional, friendly and good.
It’s such a typically traditional restaurant that Parisians and visitors both love it.

Marmite et Casolette at 157 bd. du Montparnasse is really good and reasonable.

Le Cherche-Midi at 22 rue du Cherche Midi. The restaurant offers simple Italian cuisine.

Dominique, 19 rue Brea. Russian, with lots of atmosphere, and pretty decor based on the original from the Twenties.

For tried and true great food:

Les Ambassadeurs, H�¯�¿�½tel de Crillon, 10, place de la Concorde

Le Cinq at the Hotel Georges V is tough to beat, but if you can’t get in, try Taillevent, 15, rue Lamennais – not far away and GREAT food.

For other suggestions, I would suggest picking up a copy of Timeout Paris (free at many shops) or visiting www.timeout.com/paris/. This website is a phenomenal resource, as is Pariscope, available at any newsstand. For restaurants near your hotel the Guide Pudlo Paris is my favorite for descriptions of a wide array of restaurants. On sale at most bookshops and I think they also have an English edition.

I hope this helps you plan your trip – if it is half as fun as it was for me to reminisce about the city of love, I know you’ll have a great time!