Paris Proposal

[JCF Dallas]

I want to propose to my girlfriend In paris at the top of the Eiffel tower On Valentines day. I want to blow her away with romance and uniqueness. I know this idea in itself is not unique, however im looking for some ideas to make it unique. HELP!

 

[chialea]

Eh, it's not my favorite spot in Paris. Why don't you go to the neighborhood around Ile St. Louis or Ile de Paris, and get her a crepe or something (there are a good number of stands if you go a bit south)... but put the ring in a waxed-paper envelope inside -- make sure you attach a bit of bright ribbon coming out the top, though, so she sees it and gets confused. Confused is better than eating a ring.

Ok, I'm silly.

However, I do think it's a much nicer area of town, especially around that time of year. There are wonderful little restaurants and churches and squares... The Eiffel tower will be probably somewhat mobbed and cold. However, if you want it to be around there, there is a nice park with some museums in it that's right next to it, and not as busy...

 

[JCF Dallas]

Thanks for the insight. THe more I think about it Valentines day may be too common and obvious. What is the best time of year to go to Paris?

 

[chialea]

Well, in February, I believe it'll be pretty cold. Late April/early May might be a nice time, it's before most of the hordes hit. Or you could try to hit the other side of the season and go for early October or late September. I'm not sure what the weather's like then, though.

Paris has really cool things to do, see, and eat, but it's not my favorite part of France, I have to admit. I would, however, reccomend staying somewhere close to the 1 Metro line (reasonably close to the Seine, basically), and I prefer a little south of Notre Dame. You might want to avoid being actually in the student quarter, though. Once you're out of there it's quite nice, and convenient to good food and interesting sights.

 

[adillus]

I don't think you can go to the top of the Eiffel tower. I may be misremembering, but I'm pretty sure the stairs & elevators only go about 1/2 way up. Also, it's very touristy. It sounds romantic if you've never been there, but it's among the Paris sites that look better in pictures than in reality (imagine a subway station with a view).

You might want to check out Versailles. If the weather's agreeable, you could do a lot worse than the gardens there. They're beautiful, immense, and have lots of hideaways for an intimate moment.

 

[chialea]

you can in fact go up to the top -- the stairs only go halfway, you have to take the elevator the rest of the way. (at least you used to be able to, I don't know that it's changed) however, the part where you wait in line for a ticket and pay a nutty amount of money for the privalege is not all its cracked up to be.

versailles is quite nice as well. I love the gardens if you go in the off-season. when I was there it had recently rained, and so the paths were a bit sloshy, so keep that in mind.

 

[hoorray]

I think late May is a great time in France. April can still be pretty cold and I was there once in early Oct and nearly froze. (shoulder seasons are iffy -- can be great, can be cold). May is just before the summer hordes of people.

I think the Eiffel tower is too touristy to be romantic or unique. (It can be pretty at night as a backdrop tho if it is still lit up.) Paris is a place that if I didn't want to propose in a restaurant (which isn't my choice), I would just wait for a romantic moment to happen. There are LOTS of opportunities for that.

 

[chialea]

So one place which is really unique that I would go is walking along the big street that fronts the Seine, from Notre Dame to the Louvre. there's a few blocks that are full of pet stores with the strangest pets -- really not-usually-domesticated kind of things. I felt really sorry for the squirrels running around like mad in their cages, but the assorted poultry looked just fine...

 

[katbadness]

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On 6/16/2004 11:19:24 AM JCF Dallas wrote:

I want to propose to my girlfriend In paris at the top of the Eiffel tower On Valentines day. I want to blow her away with romance and uniqueness. I know this idea in itself is not unique, however im looking for some ideas to make it unique. HELP!----------------

Does it have to be Paris?

Giverny, the area where Monet did a lot of his paintings is quite lovely. You can do a day-trip from Paris.
Just keep in mind that they open April 1 (I was there a week early the year I went.. *sob*

)

There are other places outside of Paris that's quite lovely (e.g. Loire Valley).

 

[africanuck]

I would agree about doing it outside of Paris, unless you decide to do it in August, when the city pretty much empties of it's inhabitants. Perhaps an evening dinner on a Bateau Mouche ride down the Seine?

The Loire valley is a good idea, and I believe that you can even take hot air balloon rides, which might be nice if no one is afraid of heights.

Although it's not Paris, my first choice (if I weren't already married) would definately be the rooftop restaurant of the Swisshotel in Istanbul, where you have the most spectacular view of the Bosphorus (and can see both Asia and Europe). At night, the Bosphorus is like a fairyland of lights, the service is excellent, the hotel itself is one of the nicest that I have ever stayed in (and I travel a great deal). As an added bonus for gemaholics, there is the Grand Bazaar (don't buy unless you really know what you are talking about though, there are a lot of stones there that are not what they are presented as)and even better, Topkapi Palace, where the jewels of the Ottoman sultans are on display. Way better than the French chateaux, since everything was looted during the Revolution.

 

[chialea]

There are lovely spots all over, it's not that hard to find em. Is there something special that you two have shared in the past that you might want to incoporate into the proposal?

 

[phoenixgirl]

I got engaged there in early April of this year. It wasn't warm, but it wasn't awful.

Check Weather.com's monthly averages for Paris for an idea of the weather at different times.

We got engaged in the gardens of the royal palace, which is sort of near the Louvre and the Musee dOrsay. It was an enclosed park (a courtyard surrounded by the palace), so it was a little more private than a place out in the open.

Some ideas for proposing:
By candlelight outdoors at a cafe
Take a trip to a chateau outside of Paris
Wander around the gardens off of the Champ Elysees

I think the Eiffel Tower would be sort of a cliche, but maybe you can carry the ring around (carefully! My fiance safety-pinned it inside his pocket) and just wait for that perfect moment. It's Paris . . . at some point you'll just happen upon an orchestra playing a beautiful song or the moon reflecting off of the Seine as you cross a romantic bridge . . . If it happens to be on the Eiffel Tower that the magic moment happens, great, but if not, there are many other places that will be romantic too.