Help me plan a 1st visit to Paris for my mom's 80th

[Anonymous]

It's my mom's dream to visit Paris and Normandy. She has limited means, and we'd like to take her there for her 80th birthday. Her birthday is in the spring and we can be flexible on dates. She can get around, but she is slow, and her hip/back tends to bother her on longer walks. My brother and I will split the cost of the trip. He doesn't have a ton of money, and I've got kids about to go to college to price is a consideration for us.


Open to any and all suggestions!

[Anonymous]

oh - we will probably have 4 days on the ground.

[Anonymous]

Sorry to be a downer but 4 days to cover Paris and Normandy with an 80 year old sounds wildly unrealistic. You have to consider between jet lag/flight recovery the first day will be a wash, which essentially leaves one day for Paris, 1/2 day for travel to Normandy, 1 day to see Normandy, and 1/2 day to travel back to Paris for your flight home, which is an ambitious travel schedule for a young adult, much less a senior citizen.

The most significant cost is going to be flights, so I’m confused as to why you would plan a 4 day trip for an 80 year old who presumably is no longer working and has ample time. If you or your brother really can’t take additional leave perhaps that person could bow out if one portion of the trip, or it’s the case for both of you then you could stagger your dates.

[Anonymous]

You need more time OP, mom will NOT enjoy this trip based on the time you have laid out. The jet lag is killer and so is packing up and continuously moving with a bad hip etc

[Anonymous]

Agree with PPs. I think it is so sweet that you are doing this for your mom but 4 days is barely enough for one location, let alone two. Long haul travel and jet lag is really tough on an elderly person’s body.

[Anonymous]

I think 4 days in Paris, especially with the jet lag, is all I'd recommend. I wouldn't pack in Normandy unless you can add at least a couple of days to that, preferably 3 or 4.

At any rate, if you are looking for an affordable hotel I love Henri IV in the Latin Quarter. It is very close to Notre Dame and very charming. https://henri-paris-hotel.com/en/

I'd be worried about your mom being ok on those long flights given the hip/back issues, but I will assume you have thought that out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry to be a downer but 4 days to cover Paris and Normandy with an 80 year old sounds wildly unrealistic. You have to consider between jet lag/flight recovery the first day will be a wash, which essentially leaves one day for Paris, 1/2 day for travel to Normandy, 1 day to see Normandy, and 1/2 day to travel back to Paris for your flight home, which is an ambitious travel schedule for a young adult, much less a senior citizen.

The most significant cost is going to be flights, so I’m confused as to why you would plan a 4 day trip for an 80 year old who presumably is no longer working and has ample time. If you or your brother really can’t take additional leave perhaps that person could bow out if one portion of the trip, or it’s the case for both of you then you could stagger your dates.

I guess I can take a longer trip if necessary and thanks for the advice, I appreciate it. This is why I asked! We can make it a week.

[Anonymous]

So we could do 3-4 days in Paris and 2 days in Normandy? She really only wants to see the beaches and the cemetery there. This is her idea, and I want to honor it, but also I do want to be realistic.

This has been super helpful so far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So we could do 3-4 days in Paris and 2 days in Normandy? She really only wants to see the beaches and the cemetery there. This is her idea, and I want to honor it, but also I do want to be realistic.

This has been super helpful so far.

I think 4-5 days Paris and 2 days Normandy is much more doable.

[Anonymous]

Re: Paris, I would really talk to her about what her dream is. It might be people-watching from a chic cafe in a beautiful new scarf she bought at a boutique... Or maybe it's going to the top of the Eiffel tower (a hard ticket to book but doable with planning). Or maybe she loves gardens, chocolate, etc.

Once you have a few priorities, start paring down your itinerary and looking for special access options for what she cares about. Post again on dcum for advice.

My mom and I enjoy the smaller, atmospheric museums like Rodin and Musée Jacquemart-André and would choose them (and their cafes!) over the Lourve if we only had 4 days. Many would think that's sacrilegious! My mom (early 80s) would also prefer to eat a leisurely lunch than a late dinner, and to travel by train rather than bus.

[Anonymous]

Did Normandy with my older parents and a quick stop in Paris. Agree that with longer dates you can do both okay. For Normandy beaches, I would recommend booking a van tour that will take you to the various locations (beaches and cemetery). You can do it reasonably well in a full day of touring (need to get there from Paris the night before and start in the morning). For Paris, you should pick what things your mom most wants to see. Notre Dame is still closed but the new spire is up. Musee D'Orsay is easier than spending too much time at the Louvre, but again it depends on what she most wants to do/see.

[Anonymous]

Reserve the Louvre and Eiffel Tower in advance. If you do some sort of Seine boat tour, your mother can sit while seeing a lot.

[Anonymous]

Rick Steves can be very helpful for budget Europe for older people. Free travel classes and videos on line and candid advice about what to see and skip.

I would focus a lot on the accommodations piece. Make sure there's an elevator, search reviews for keywords like "mattress" since a comfy bed is so important. I might send a few emails asking about grab bars etc. Once there, consider stopping at a drugstore for a cheap non-slip bathmat. Surprisingly missing from many European hotels.

[Anonymous]

Parisian native here.

This year? The Olympics are driving up prices for July and August, so make sure you avoid those months like the plague.

If it were me, I'd travel before the schools close for summer vacation (ostensibly early July, but some families take out the kids in late June). That's when all the hotels and rentals increase their prices. So play around with the calendars on their websites, but plan to leave by mid-June. Bonus - it won't be so hot!

My 73 year old parents would NOT enjoy a lightning vacation like this, but if your mother is sprightly, you could perhaps do Paris and Normandy in one week. Jet lag is brutal the older you get. Maybe get her some melatonin.

Be sure to plan everything in advance and allow plenty of downtime for rest. Museums rotate closure days. The Musee du Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, for example. The Eiffel Tower is supposedly open all year, but had a recent closure for a dispute about maintenance. Anything can close at the drop of a hat if there's a specific terrorist threat. If there's a Holiday, then things might be closed too.

What does she want to see in Normandy? Please don't do the Jeep tour of the landing beaches, it's very shaky! But you can visit la Pointe du Hoc and other American landing sites, they're very interesting and the coast is lovely.

If I were to make an itinerary for a first time visitor, I would include:

1. Paris - small boutique hotel. Take a day off to recover from the flight and drive around major monuments, by night for illuminations. Then four days to visit Louvre, Tour Eiffel, Catacombes, walk around Notre Dame (you can't go inside yet, but next year maybe), stroll around Ile de la Cite and Ile Saint Louis, eat ice cream at Berthillon on Ile Saint Louis, maybe get a bateau mouche trip on the Seine.

2. Possible day trip to Versailles.

3. Leave for Normandy, stop at Giverny, Monet's house and garden. Maybe overnight there.

4. Stay in Normandy. If you can get a hotel room ON the Mont St Michel, please don't pass that up. It's my favorite place in France, and so worth it. Visit the abbey, take in the views, eat nice food. Much more funto stay on the Mont, but due to very limited space, hotel rooms are often booked a year or months in advance. It's less expensive to book accommodations near the Mont on the mainland.

5. Drive to the landing beaches, without missing Pointe du Hoc, on a cliff, where the American Rangers lost so many, and for nothing, because the batteries that were supposed to be installed at the top to repel the Allies had not been installed yet. D-Day Anniversary is on June 6th, you might run into higher prices around that time, but also find yourself in a commemorative event. That area also has Utah and Omaha beaches and the American cemetery. The Memorial de Caen, in the city of the same name, is a museum about D-Day, WWII and has a very graphic section about the Holocaust. It's very good.

6. Return to Paris.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry to be a downer but 4 days to cover Paris and Normandy with an 80 year old sounds wildly unrealistic. You have to consider between jet lag/flight recovery the first day will be a wash, which essentially leaves one day for Paris, 1/2 day for travel to Normandy, 1 day to see Normandy, and 1/2 day to travel back to Paris for your flight home, which is an ambitious travel schedule for a young adult, much less a senior citizen.

The most significant cost is going to be flights, so I’m confused as to why you would plan a 4 day trip for an 80 year old who presumably is no longer working and has ample time. If you or your brother really can’t take additional leave perhaps that person could bow out if one portion of the trip, or it’s the case for both of you then you could stagger your dates.

I guess I can take a longer trip if necessary and thanks for the advice, I appreciate it. This is why I asked! We can make it a week.

Yes, 7 days is much more doable! As pp’s have suggested just make sure you prioritize must-do’s in advance and book ahead to avoid wasting lots of time waiting in long lines. I would plan for the first four days in Paris (with the first day mostly dedicated to travel recovery) two for Normandy and one travel day.